Modern cars are already covered in cameras. They watch the road, monitor blind spots, help with parking and, increasingly, keep an eye on the driver to make sure they’re paying attention.
Toyota has now come up with another potential job for all that hardware. Instead of reaching for your phone when something interesting appears outside, your car could take the picture for you.
A newly published Toyota patent describes a system capable of determining where the driver is looking and using exterior vehicle cameras to photograph whatever has caught their attention. The idea is essentially a hands-free camera built into the car.
See an interesting classic driving alongside you, a bizarre vanity plate, or a billboard you want to remember? Toyota’s system could potentially capture it without requiring you to pick up your phone and point it through the window.
Your Car Knows Where You’re Looking
Toyota’s U.S. patent application, titled “Systems and Methods for Capturing Driver-Relevant Road Scene Information,” combines an interior driver-monitoring camera with one or more exterior cameras. The interior system determines the driver’s line of sight, allowing the vehicle to determine what they’re looking at outside.
The driver could then request a photograph using a voice command or physical control. Toyota even describes standing instructions, including an example where the driver asks the vehicle to automatically photograph any classic cars it encounters.
The system could attach location information to the resulting images, making it possible to find the same place later. Once the journey is over, the driver could review the photos on a separate device such as a smartphone.
It Could Do Much More Than Take Pictures
Toyota’s proposal goes considerably deeper than replacing your phone’s camera. The vehicle could analyze captured objects and provide information about them, potentially identifying a product, determining where it came from, and finding its price.
Using multiple exterior cameras could also allow the system to combine images taken from different angles and generate a 3D representation of an object. Toyota even suggests the vehicle could automatically photograph things based on interests it has inferred about its user.
One particularly unusual example involves health information. If a driver has been advised to walk regularly, the system could analyze pedestrian activity along a route and create a heat map, potentially recommending places to walk depending on whether the person prefers busy or quieter areas.
Useful Feature Or Privacy Nightmare?
There is an obvious safety argument behind the basic idea. Drivers already take pictures from behind the wheel, and allowing the vehicle to handle the photography could reduce the temptation to grab a smartphone while driving.
These capabilities also raise plenty of privacy questions, particularly if a future version could combine camera footage with browsing interests, health information, and location data. Toyota’s filing describes possible implementations rather than confirming exactly how any production system would handle that information.
There is also no guarantee you’ll find this technology in a future Toyota. Automakers routinely patent ideas that never reach showrooms, and the filing does not confirm a production model or launch date.
Still, using the car’s existing cameras as a hands-free photography system is an intriguing idea. Your next road-trip photo album could theoretically be shot by the car itself.