Xiaomi and the stress-detecting car

Xiaomi is adding more artificial intelligence (AI) into its cars, including a feature that can detect driver stress and respond by adjusting lighting and music inside the vehicle.

Reuters reported during the Beijing Auto Show that Xiaomi’s HyperOS can also help with tasks such as restaurant reservations and other trip-related requests.

That may sound like a small feature until the driver reaches the office or home, tired from heavy traffic and needing a few quiet minutes before settling down for work or sitting down to dinner.

A car that can read stress will not replace a proper break after work, but it may help during the drive itself.

If the system notices harder braking or repeated honking, it could play calmer music or suggest a short stop before the driver becomes more aggressive.

Road rage does not always start with a crash. Sometimes it starts when one driver cuts into a lane after everyone else has waited.

Many Filipino drivers read other cars like people, so a car that cuts in too late becomes selfish, while a slow car in the fast lane becomes the reason everyone is late.

The driver says all this out loud inside the car, even if nobody asked for traffic commentary.

A tired driver may lose patience faster, and a simple warning from the car may stop the next long honk or angry shout.

A calmer driver may reach home with more patience for the family, and a couple going to dinner may avoid a small argument after circling the parking area several times.

Xiaomi’s reported system builds on driver-monitoring features already used in many vehicles. These systems usually check if the driver looks sleepy or distracted.

Stress detection goes further by reading the driver’s face, voice, steering movement, and braking behavior.

Our roads and traffic will test that feature hard because sudden braking does not always mean panic. Sometimes the driver is only avoiding a motorcycle that cuts across the lane or entering a narrow mall parking ramp where one wrong move can scrape the side mirror or bumper.

A stress-detecting feature may work best when it acts early, not when it simply makes the drive more comfortable. Once the driver has already shouted or kept pressing the horn, the warning comes too late. The car has to step in before patience runs out.

It is not exactly “Minority Report” for road rage, because the car will not arrest anyone before a crime. It may only notice that the driver is close to losing patience and try to calm things down before the horn gets pressed again and again.

Xiaomi is not the only one moving in this direction, as Reuters reported that Chinese automakers are adding more AI into cars, while The Guardian reported on XPeng’s feature that lets drivers ask the car to park near a shopping center entrance.

Cars used to tell us when the fuel was low or the door was open. Soon, they may also tell us when our patience is running low.

That feature may be very useful because not every warning light has to be on the dashboard.

The driver may already be the warning sign.

When bad driving becomes a habit, even the car may need five minutes of meditation.