Polestar 3 to include driver attention monitoring as standard

Each January, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas (Nevada, USA) kicks off the year with a huge display of new and whiz-bang gadgets for the cashed-up consumer to drool over, along with a more serious side of lectures, presentations and seminars on the future directions that technology may take.

Interestingly, as vehicles trend more towards being ‘computers on wheels’, the show has taken on ever greater importance for vehicle manufacturers to attend and show off their wares.

One of these will be Polestar, which will demonstrate its new driver monitoring system (DMS) to be included in the (soon to be released) Polestar 3 as standard.

With the use of driver monitoring cameras and software, the DMS will track the driver’s head, eye and eyelid movements. Should the system detect a distracted, drowsy or disconnected driver – it will trigger a cascading series of warning messages, sounds and even an emergency stop function.

“This technology addresses some of the main reasons behind fatal accidents and can help save lives by prompting the driver to refocus attention on the road – and can initiate preventive action when they don’t, or can’t,” says Thomas Ingenlath, Polestar CEO.

For those of you in LA at the start of January, the show begins on January 4 and runs through to January 7. For those who aren’t (like most Australian readers here 😉 – it’s something to watch as announcements regarding the near and mid-term future of EVs (as well as technological directions in general) tend to come thick and fast during this event.

In standard (all-wheel drive) form, produces a total of 360kW and 840Nm of torque. (With the optional Performance Pack, total output is 380 kW and 910 Nm). With a 111kWh battery providing an estimated WLTP driving range of up to 610 km, the Polestar 3 will be the first car built on a new all-electric platform developed by and shared with Volvo Cars.

Production for initial launch markets is planned to begin in Volvo Cars’ facility in Chengdu, China with an incremental ramp-up phase from mid-2023. First deliveries are expected in the fourth quarter of 2023, with Australian deliveries expected to commence late in 2023 or early 2024.