Many automobile accidents around the world are caused by tired drivers falling asleep at the wheel. Now, a U.K. company is aiming to help alleviate this deadly problem.

Nottingham Trent University's Advanced Textiles Research Group has partnered with the electronic sensor development company, Plessey, to develop car seats with electronic sensors knitted into the fabric that alert drivers if they begin to fall asleep behind the wheel.

These car seat covers are in the developmental and research phase right now. However, if they are brought to market, they have the potential to save a lot of lives.

The two groups are working on a feasibility study to determine the best way to integrate the electrocardiogram sensors directly into the fabric of car seats. The project itself is funded by the Technology Strategy Board, which is the main agency for technological innovation in the U.K.

With the driver simply sitting on the car seats, the sensors will be able to pick up on whether he or she is alert or drifting off to sleep. If sleep is sensed, the sensors will sound off a small warning signal that will wake up the driver and prevent these types of accidents.

Heart signals that indicate alertness or sleepiness can be detected with sensors embedded in car seat fabric. What the project must do now is to make the data that is collected and sent by these sensors more reliable and consistent.

Doing this requires a unique design for the sensor. The knitted conductive textiles being produced by the university are viewed as the best type of textile to use for the sensors, as the fabric is designed in a way that makes it easy to incorporate electronics without being a bother or distraction to the driver.

If the driver is so tired that he or she does not hear the warning signal — or ignores it — the sensor would be attached to the car's computer system, and that system would be signaled to engage cruise control, or to pull the car off the road entirely.

Information could also be sent from the sensors through wireless networks to local police to alert them to potential problems with motorists on the road, including their location, so help can be dispatched if needed, and any problems can be taken care of right away.

The Technology Strategy Board has pledged 88,318 pounds to this project, which is part of its overall study of the feasibility of a variety of online sensors for many different types of machines. The goal is to get a wide array of machines and appliances to communicate with each other through wireless networks. The Nottingham Trent University and Plessey project is one of 11 projects to receive funding from the Technology Strategy Board, which has 1.1 million pounds invested in these studies.

If the car seat sensor project is successful, the aim is to roll it out to the commercial truck driving industry first, then to the luxury car market, before entering the average car market as a standard part of car software.