Kia Claims AI-Based In-Cabin Tech Will Match Driver’s Emotions

Paul Myles

TU-Editor

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21st December 2018

Korean manufacturer Kia will debut its AI enhanced in-car entertainment concept at CES 2019 next month.

Its ‘emotive-driving’ concept, dubbed the Real-time Emotion Adaptive Driving (R.E.A.D) System, claims to be the automotive industry’s first technology bringing together “human senses-oriented in-cabin environment control and AI-based emotional intelligence”. The technology has been developed based on joint research with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab’s Affective Computing group.

The system claims to be able to analyze a driver’s emotional state in real-time through AI-based bio-signal recognition technology. According to Kia this “monitors a driver’s emotional state and tailors the interior environment according to its assessment – potentially altering conditions relating to the human senses within the cabin, creating a more enjoyable mobility experience”.

Albert Biermann, president and head of research and development division of Kia Motors, said: “We have developed R.E.A.D System to create an interactive future mobility in-cabin space by converging cutting edge vehicle control technology and AI-based emotional intelligence. Consequently, R.E.A.D System will enable continuous communication between drivers and vehicles through the unspoken language of ‘emotional feeling’ thereby providing an optimized human senses-oriented space for drivers in real-time.”

— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in London. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_