Name: Australian technology saving lives on the roads
Uploaded: 2025-10-04T21:14:11.796Z
Duration: 4 min 3 s
Description: Driver monitoring systems developed by Australian company Seeing Machines are increasingly being adopted worldwide, with major manufacturers including BMW, Mercedes and Mitsubishi embedding the technology in more than 3 million cars and 60,000 trucks.

Driver monitoring systems developed by Australian company Seeing Machines are increasingly being adopted worldwide, with major manufacturers including BMW, Mercedes and Mitsubishi embedding the technology in more than 3 million cars and 60,000 trucks.

Canberra

Australian technology company Seeing Machines, headquartered in Canberra, has developed advanced driver monitoring systems that detect driver fatigue and distraction in real time. These systems, which use software and camera-based technology, have been integrated into over 3 million cars and 60,000 trucks globally through partnerships with major automotive manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Ford, and General Motors.

While Australia does not currently mandate such technology in passenger vehicles, other regions like Europe and the United States are implementing stricter regulations. Seeing Machines is advocating for similar action in Australia and, through a new partnership with Mitsubishi Electric, is expanding its technology into sectors including rail and factory automation. The company employs over 300 people across six continents and continues to innovate in vehicle safety.

Australian technology saving lives on the roads

Every blink, every glance, every moment of movement captured in real time to stop a second of driver distraction or drowsiness potentially leading to a life lost in an instant. Our purpose is to ensure that everyone gets home safely. Here at the Canberra headquarters of Australian technology company Seeing Machines, for the past 23 years the world's most advanced driver monitoring systems have been developed, trialled and tested before being deployed in vehicles right around the globe. We develop software and camera based systems that can determine whether or not you're paying attention to the road and they can tell importantly if you're becoming more and more tired. Working with car makers like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Ford and General Motors, Seeing Machines technology is now installed in more than 3 million cars and 60,000 trucks globally. Technology that CEO Paul McGlone says is playing a big role in helping reduce road fatalities. There are more than 1.3 million road deaths a year that are counted and a large proportion of those are caused by fatigue and distraction. John Noble is Seeing Machines chief technology officer. Tell us a little bit about the technology. It's giving you an indication of what is happening within the vehicle. If you were to get drowsy now, what happens? So if the system detects that I'm too tired to drive, then it's going to trigger a response in the vehicle depending on how severe it thinks the impairment is. While Australia doesn't currently have laws mandating driver fatigue or distraction technology in passenger vehicles, in other parts of the world the situation is very different. Europe is leading the way with distraction and drowsiness. The United States has mandated that there will be an impaired driving or drunk driving regulation within the next two years. As international regulations tighten, Chief Safety Officer Professor Mike Lanais, backed up by a team of Seeing Machines researchers, is calling on regulators here to follow suit. There is this world first solution to this massive global trauma problem, so I think we need to get our skates on. Australia was the first country to mandate the adoption of the seatbelt, one of the greatest safety devices ever invented. I don't think we lead anymore. From humble beginnings, operating out of one of the robotics labs at the Australian National University in Canberra, Seeing Machines now employs more than 300 people across six continents. You've actually gone straight from uni to this job. What was it like? Pretty much. Classic start-up really. I mean we had foosball tables, Swiss balls people were sitting on, but smart people. And now, thanks to a new partnership with Mitsubishi Electric, the smart people at Seeing Machines are working to roll out their fatigue and distraction detection technology across a number of other sectors too. We're looking at a whole range of new opportunities that sit across the Mitsubishi Electric group, looking at where we can deploy the vision technology that underpins our driver monitoring systems into places like rail, factory automation, building systems. Everyone has a right, or should have a right, to have access to the latest safety features. We have a uniquely strong, successful track record. So when we talk about what's possible in two to three years, there is confidence that we're able to deliver on that promise.

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