Which automakers have pilot programs for in‑cab impairment detection, and what technical approaches are they testing?
Executive summary
Several legacy automakers and newer EV firms are already testing in‑cab impairment detection through pilot programs or supplier partnerships that pair camera‑based Driver Monitoring Systems (DMS) with alternative biosensing approaches; reporting names Tesla, GM, Ford and Toyota as operators of DMS or coalition participants and highlights suppliers such as Smart Eye and DADSS partners developing both passive breath and skin‑based alcohol sensing NHTSA/702635/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">[1] [2] [3]. Regulators and rating bodies — most visibly NHTSA, Euro NCAP and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — are accelerating pilots into de facto product roadmaps, but public reporting does not publish a single consolidated roster of every automaker pilot, so some industry activity must be inferred from supplier demos and coalition membership [4] [5] [1].
1. Which automakers are publicly linked to pilots or programs
Tesla, General Motors and Ford are explicitly cited as using driver‑monitoring cameras or related attention systems today and are therefore among the firms most often listed in reporting about impairment‑detection rollouts; Toyota and other members of the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety also participate in industry research collaborations such as the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) program [1] [6] [3]. Volvo is singled out in supplier/industry analysis as integrating DMS with broader vehicle safety actions — a signal that premium OEMs with advanced ADAS roadmaps are running pilots to meet Euro NCAP’s new in‑cab standards [7] [8]. Public sources also show many automakers working indirectly through Tier‑1 suppliers (Smart Eye, Renesas, Alps Alpine, etc.), and Euro NCAP/Anyverse reporting indicates most major OEMs are preparing DMS/OMS strategies even if individual pilot disclosures remain limited [2] [7] [9].
2. Camera‑based DMS: the default pilot approach
The most widely tested technical route is camera‑based driver monitoring: inward‑facing cameras with AI that track eye, head and facial cues to infer drowsiness, distraction and signs of impairment, already shipping on many models and demonstrated at CES 2026 by suppliers such as Smart Eye [2] [9]. Euro NCAP’s 2026 protocols explicitly push OEMs toward direct monitoring (eye/head tracking) rather than steering‑torque inference alone, and suppliers expect cabin‑facing cameras plus software to be the backbone of impairment detection pilots [5] [8].
3. Sensor fusion, depth sensing and occupant classification pilots
Beyond simple 2D cameras, pilots increasingly use sensor fusion — combining 3D depth sensing, radar and vision — to handle occlusions (sunglasses, masks) and to extend detection across the whole cabin for child presence and impairment classification; this is the architecture many suppliers and OEMs showcased at CES and in Euro NCAP preparation briefs [9] [8]. Anyverse reporting and Smart Eye materials describe integrated DMS/OMS platforms that fuse multiple modalities to reduce false positives and allow tiered interventions [9] [2].
4. Biosensing pilots: passive breath and skin alcohol measurement
Separately, industry pilots and long‑running research efforts are testing hardware that measures alcohol directly: the DADSS program and companies showcased infrared‑based touch sensors that infer blood alcohol through skin and passive breath sensors mounted near dash vents to sample cabin air — technologies intended to be hard to spoof compared with forced breathalyzers [3] [10] [11]. Regulators have signaled they will consider either direct alcohol content detection, driver‑monitoring or combinations thereof, which is why automakers and suppliers are trialing both behavioral and biosensor approaches [1] [12].
5. Research, validation and the limits of public reporting
Academic pilots — including University of Michigan work on low‑cost infrared/3D camera systems that flag eyelid dynamics and other “tells” — show the research community is testing alternatives designed to be cheaper and robust under varying light [13]. However, reporting so far aggregates supplier demos, coalition memberships and regulatory prompts rather than a comprehensive OEM pilot list; many automakers test via Tier‑1 partners and do not publicly disclose full pilot scope, so the public record names a subset (Tesla, GM, Ford, Toyota, Volvo) and otherwise points to supplier ecosystems (Smart Eye, DADSS partners) as the locus of most pilots [2] [1] [3].