Biometric wristwatch

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Could this watch stop you from ever driving 'overtired'?

The highways and byways of Australia can be stressful places when you’re towing a big van or driving a supersize motorhome … but help (of sorts) is at hand.

The next time you’re hyper-ventilating as a monster truck tailgates you, or a road train wends its way in your direc­tion, or a camel wanders out on the road, you can glance down at your high-tech watch to see exactly how stressed you are!

Car maker Nissan has just unveiled its Nismo Watch, a biometric reader that can com­bine personal health stats with those of your car.

The smartwatch has a heart rate monitor that will pull biometric data from the driver and will also be able to display speed, fuel consumption and performance data once con­nected to a car’s onboard com­puter via Bluetooth LE. The watch will work in conjunction with the systems inside its sporty Nismo series cars.

Nissan is already planning to add ECG (electrocardiogram) capabilities to measure the intervals of the R-R rhythm of the heart and identify driver fatigue, EEG (electro­encephalogram) Brainwave to monitor the driver’s levels of concentration and emotions, and measurement of skin temperature for record of core body temperature and hydra­tion levels.

While it all sounds a bit far-fetched and futuristic, this de­veloping wearable technology does have the potential to at least raise awareness of fatigue and concentration issues for grey nomads as they clock up massive amounts of kilometres in remote country.

The user interface can be controlled by two buttons and the watch is secured onto the driver’s wrist through a snap-fit mechanism.

The smart-looking watch uses a lithium battery which can be charged by micro-USB, with a battery life of over seven days when used ‘normally’.

With internet capability, the watch can also connect drivers to social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.

Nissan says it is still currently a ‘concept’ watch and has not announced a date for com­mercial availability of a product or its pricing. The company has said, however, that it will be available in three colours … black, white, and black and red.

The watch was de­signed specifically for driv­ers of Nissan’s Nismo line of mostly sport cars. So, would grey nomads like a watch to remind them when they were too tired to drive, too stressed to drive, or too thirsty to drive … or do they prefer to rely on ‘commonsense’, or their part­ner’s ‘verbal reminders’