The Power of Synthetic Data for In-Cabin Automotive

Our CTO and co-founder, Gil Elbaz was interviewed by our partners at AutoSens and InCabin 2023 to speak about how synthetic data can help with data needs for automotive AI and for OMS, DMS and NCAP regulations. Before synthetic data, gathering visual data for training models involved bringing actors into vehicles to perform various actions, making the process expensive and time-consuming. Datagen generates data for DMS (Driver Monitoring Systems) and OMS (Occupancy Monitoring Systems) applications. DMS applications focus on understanding the driver’s behavior and interactions with the vehicle, while OMS applications aim to understand the cabin’s occupants’ interactions. Synthetic data helps test and train models more efficiently and quickly, enabling companies to create more advanced capabilities.

“Synthetic data has already been successfully implemented in the automotive industry, particularly with respect to the external systems such as the ADAS system. These autonomous driving systems heavily rely on synthetic data. However, there are challenges with simulating the in-cabin domain, which involves creating high-quality synthetic humans and realistic motion at scale, as well as interactions between people and objects such as seat belts and babies in the vehicle. Synthetic data is particularly useful for training and validating OMS and DMS systems. Synthetic data can be used to simulate complex driving scenarios and human interactions within the vehicle, which can be difficult to capture in real-world testing. This allows for more efficient and cost-effective development of OMS and DMS systems. Additionally, synthetic data can help to address privacy concerns and regulatory requirements, such as NCAP, by providing an alternative to using real-world data for testing and validation.”

In terms of the future of the automotive industry, Gil sees OMS (Occupant Monitoring Systems) as the future. There are many different reasons and motivations for OEM and tier one automotive companies to invest in OMS, such as improving health outcomes, assessing the situation of people in the vehicle during an accident, and providing a better experience in the vehicle itself. “The ability to infuse significant improvements and changes in the experience of people in the vehicle with minimal added costs is a new paradigm and opportunity for automakers. This can include helping users in the vehicle with health issues, automatically understanding their hand gestures and manipulating the media system, and notifying the driver if they need to take the wheel in an autonomous vehicle.”

Watch the video to learn more: