Facial and voice recognition in cars sounds like a privacy nightmare

I plopped into the front seat, expecting to laugh in the face of the machine attempting to measure my age, gender, emotional state, and comfort level all through infrared cameras and other sensors. But sitting expectantly in the car, equipped with French automotive software company Valeo's Smart Cocoon 4.0 system, I was flabbergasted when it pinpointed my exact age.

Getting that number right made me trust the car's biometric system more than I probably should have, even as more tools that measure your heartbeat, track your eyes, head position, voice, and more enter vehicles everywhere. 

At CES this year, driver and passenger monitoring kept popping up. It's a preview of what will become commonplace in the driver's seat in the coming years. Read more...