Peekaboo is a clever car mirror, situated on the dashboard facing the passenger seat, designed to promote eye contact between parent and child during a car journey.
What is it?
Peekaboo is a clever car mirror, situated on the dashboard facing the passenger seat, designed to promote eye contact between parent and child during a car journey. This eye contact helps ground the child in their physical environment, increases their focus and facilitates dialogue. According to research, one of the cornerstones of the parent-child relationship is communication, serving as the foundation for the child's emotional, cognitive and social development. Eye contact provides a substantive basis for communication and social interaction as it directly triggers the brain's arousal systems, causing a strong emotional response. The car itself provides a space with significant potential for intimate conversation and interaction between its passengers, hence our aim to 'exploit' this time.
Project Info
Students: Arazi Almog, Berenstein Goldenberg Amit, Rosenwasser Lihi, Vigodman Ido, Winkowski Uri
YEAR: 2024
Lecturer: Dr Morag Noa
Technological lecturer: Mashiach Assaf
Teaching Assistant: Sadka Ofir, Kelner Aviad
How does it work?
The system is composed of a mirror, an electric motor, and a camera positioned at the front of the car towards the passenger, along with a button on the driver's side. Utilizing a computer vision algorithm, the camera detects pupil movement. At the start of the journey, the parent activates the system via the button at their disposal. In the event that the camera, located on the side of the mirror does not detect the pupils, it begins a silent countdown. After 60 seconds of no eye contact, it performs two swift movements to attract attention. If the child lifts their gaze, the detection of the pupils becomes positive and the mirror will stay steady at an angle that enables eye contact between the parent and the child. The movement of the mirror is delicate and not intrusive, and only happens once during each journey, with the aim of enabling interaction, not enforcing it.