The company teamed up with a design studio from the Netherlands to work on the technology
Nissan have been showing off smart new technology known as ‘Soak’ which can detect dehydration in a driver via a sweat-sensing car seat.
The company have teamed up with a design studio from the Netherlands called Droog to work on the technology, which can also detect dehydration through a specially designed steering wheel as well as a seat.
Droog, who are based in Amsterdam, have developed a textile that reacts to sweat on contact which then changes colour depending on its findings.
Nissan show off sweat-sensing car seats which can detect dehydration – Photo courtesy of NISSAN
According to Nissan, the smart new prototype technology could help prevent road accidents as it’s been proven in the past that dehydrated drivers are just as prone to making mistakes behind the wheel as someone who’s been drinking alcohol.
The European Hydration Institute and Loughborough University found through research in 2015 that motorists who drive whilst dehydrated are just as prone to making a mistake as drivers with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 per cent, which is currently the drink-drive limit for the UK.
‘Soak’ changes the colour of the front seats and the steering wheel from blue to yellow if it detects perspiration which is high in salt, warning the driver that they’re dehydrated.
Nissan currently has no plans to introduce Soak into road cars but merely wanted to show motorists the dangers of driving but not drinking enough – non-alcoholic drinks of course!
A Nissan Juke was fitted with the Nissan-Droog technology for the purpose of demonstrating how it all works and to show the world that Nissan are at the forefront when it comes to safety technology and innovation.
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