Seeing Machines Regulatory News (SEE)

2 Jul 2007 07:01

Seeing Machines Limited02 July 2007 2 July 2007 Seeing Machines Limited ("Seeing Machines" or the "Company") NEW PRODUCT RELEASES Seeing Machines (AIM: SEE), a leading developer of advanced computer basedimaging software systems, announces the release of: • faceLAB(R) 4.5 a new version of its flagship human performance measurement product • Driver State Senor (DSS) DSS 2.0 the second generation of its driver monitoring system These will be launched at the Driving Assessment Conference in Washington, 9-12July. faceLAB(R) 4.5 faceLAB(R) 4.5 introduces a new class of precision gaze tracking algorithms,inspired by the development of the TrueField Analyzer, the company'srevolutionary new medical device. These algorithms dramatically enhance theperformance and accuracy of faceLAB(R) when used to track gaze direction oncomputer and video screens, for instance, in applications such as websiteusability analysis and market research. The new "precision mode" algorithms track the gaze direction of each eye in true3D, and enable a 1-click setup (automatic initialization) for everyone,including people wearing glasses. To reduce set-up time, tracking is performedfrom a single camera platform without the need for additional light sources tobe placed around the screen. In addition, the volume of the tracking zone hasbeen more than doubled, to allow the subject more freedom of movement. Theaccuracy of the head-tracking is also improved through the use of the precisioneye tracking data. Traditional "classic-mode" gaze tracking used in vehicle cockpit tracking hasalso been improved with upgrades to the performance of the head-trackingalgorithm, which is now more stable and adaptive to changing conditions. Nick Langdale-Smith, Director of Sales and Marketing at Seeing Machines said"This version of faceLAB(R) delivers significant performance improvementsparticularly for applications in the rapidly growing market segment of on screengaze tracking and will enable us and our distributors to pursue this marketaggressively. We have chosen the Driving Assessment conference for the launch as it is afantastic forum to showcase these exciting new products to the key people intransport safety who are a key customer group for both faceLAB(R) and the DSS." DSS2 The Driver State Sensor allows the fully automatic measurement of the driver'sfatigue level, and now also driver distraction. Estimates of the US basedNational Highway Traffic and Safety Authority (NHTSA) show that 30%-40% of alllarge truck crashes are related to driver fatigue, while a recent large scalestudy at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute showed that up to 80% of alltraffic accidents are related to driver distraction. Nick Cerneaz, CEO of Seeing Machines, said: "In addition to improving existingdriver fatigue functionality, the DSS2 release adds a number of new andimportant features, including the fully automatic detection of driverdistraction and a new camera system with automotive specifications. This productis now ideally suited for large scale driver behaviour studies and fleetoperator driver monitoring and awareness applications. Initial sales to partnercompanies ahead of the formal launch have already been strong and we have alsosigned a number of product evaluation agreements with automotive OEM companies.This technology has a tremendous opportunity to make a significant dent in therate of serious crashes due to driver fatigue and distraction, and we areexcited about the prospects for the DSS2 in this regard." Trent Victor of Volvo Technology, and a director of Seeing Machines, has beenworking with driving monitoring systems for over 10 years at Volvo, and said ofthe DSS: "This technology has redefined the state-of-the-art. Operating fullyautomatically, the DSS2 achieves a level of performance previously unseen andthe technology now becomes a real contender for serial production systems." Further information about Seeing Machines and these products can be obtainedfrom the company website www.seeingmachines.com. --- ENDS --- Enquiries: Seeing Machines Limited Insinger de Beaufort Parkgreen CommunicationsNick Cerneaz, CEO Peter Ward Clare Irvine+61 (0) 2 6125 6501 +44 (0) 20 7190 7015 +44 (0) 20 7851 7480 www.seeingmachines.com Notes to editors: About Seeing Machines Seeing Machines is an award winning Technology Company which focuses on visionbased human machine interfaces. Formed in 2000 in Canberra, Australia, SeeingMachines' purpose is to commercialise its computer-vision across a range ofindustries and applications. Seeing Machines deliver advanced computer vision solutions for researches anddevelopers in human factors, transportation safety, computer human interaction,robotics, medical research and psychology. The flagship product faceLAB(R)provides an automated and contact-free gaze and head tracking technology, itsolves the problem of observing human behaviour naturally, non-intrusively andwith a high degree of accuracy and usability. Building on these unique facetracking and pupil measurement and monitoring capabilities, the TrueFieldAnalyzer(R) is a development undertaken by Seeing Machines in partnership withcolleagues from the Research School of Biological Sciences (RSBS) at theAustralian National University (ANU). The TrueField Analyzer(R) offers a new objective method to help doctors diagnoseand manage a range of eye diseases including glaucoma, age related maculardegeneration and diabetic retinopathy. Glaucoma affects about 2-3% of thepopulation over 40 years of age and is a leading source of blindness. Unlikemost other devices available to the clinician the TrueField Analyzer is acompletely objective test and it is quick and easy for patients and techniciansalike. The device measures both eyes concurrently and due to the reliabilitythat arises from the objective nature of the test, it has the potential tobecome a new standard in the measurement of visual field defects and thus in thediagnosis and management of disease such as glaucoma. More generally Seeing Machines' computer vision systems are able to measure theorientation and position of a human head, estimate eye-gaze direction, detecteye blinks and track other facial features. This functionality is achievedentirely though visual means, using video cameras connected to advanced imageprocessing software, with no attachments required on the subject. Products suchas faceLAB(R) are designed to allow human factors researchers and designers toassess the interaction of an operator in an environment and this findsapplication in designing operator environments, such as cockpits for cars,trucks, trains, and aeroplanes for instance, and other industrial designapplications, as well as medical and psychological research situations. Thetechnology also has application in monitoring automobile drivers and if itdetects drowsiness or that the driver is distracted and their attention has beendiverted from the road, an alarm can be raised to alert the driver to eitherpull over and rest in the case of drowsiness or to pay more attention to theroad. The systems work in real-time, enabling the behaviour of subjects to be trackedin real-time. This technology is paving the way in promoting safer drivingconditions and works to enhance the driving experience and to eliminateaccidents caused through driver drowsiness or distraction. There are many different sectors that can benefit from this revolutionarysoftware, for which it has been developed, including: automotive; academicresearch; medicine/healthcare; defence; autostereoscopy (next generationdisplays); sport; and games. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange