Hyundai Tests Eye-Tracking Control System

Hyundai Motor Co.'s HCD-14 Genesis concept sedan highlights technology that enables its driver to switch on the audio or HVAC systems simply by looking at their icons.

The debuted earlier this week at the Detroit auto show.

The car eye-tracking system uses a video camera and light reflected from the eye's lens to deduce what a person is looking at. The HCD-14 couples the technology with a second system that uses a 3-D camera to interpret hand gestures.

In one example, the driver would switch on the radio simply by looking at a radio icon projected onto a windshield head-up display. A hand wave near the instrument panel would then adjust the volume.

Head-up displays already help drivers keep their eyes on the road while monitoring such data as vehicle speed. Hyundai says eye-tracking technology would extend that concept to reduce the distraction of manually controlled comfort and convenience features.