Nissan made this weird, sweat-sensing car seat to detect dehydration

In a peculiar interior design experiment, Nissan covered the car seats and steering wheel on a sporty Nissan Juke vehicle with a material that changes color when it absorbs sweat. 

This may seem kind of strange, and perhaps a bit gross. But not to Nissan. The Japanese car company banded with Droog Design to develop the "sweat-sensitive" fabric they call SOAK, to raise awareness about the risk of driving while dehydrated.

This could very well be a relatively cheap marketing ploy, but Nissan cites a 2015 study, undertaken by Loughborough University, which claims that even mild dehydration can result in increased driving errors on long, monotonous drives. Read more...