How 60 GHz mmWave Radar for Driver Monitoring Could Save Lives on the Road

What if your car could take action before disaster strikes? Thanks to Asahi Kasei’s advancements in 60 GHz mmWave radar for driver monitoring, this once-futuristic idea is becoming reality.

No Wires, No Wearables—Just Radar

At CES 2025, the ipXchange team got comfy in a demo car with Chris, who introduced us to a surprisingly stealthy safety system developed in partnership with Asahi Kasei. Tucked discreetly behind the seat was a 60 GHz mmWave radar for driver monitoring that silently monitored vital signs: heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), and respiratory activity. No chest straps, no smartwatches—just high-frequency waves, pioneered by Asahi Kasei, doing all the heavy lifting.

And the best part? You don’t even know it’s there.

Designed for the Unthinkable

The primary goal? Safety. This radar-based system, driven by Asahi Kasei’s innovation, is engineered to detect when something is off with the driver—whether it’s a sudden health issue or declining alertness. If the system spots a problem, especially in semi- or fully-autonomous vehicles, it can initiate countermeasures such as slowing the vehicle or pulling over to prevent an accident.

While the most obvious application is for EVs or self-driving cars, Chris was quick to point out this tech’s potential in heavy machinery, emergency response vehicles, or even your daily commute car. Wherever driver failure means risk, Asahi Kasei’s radar can step in as a silent guardian.

Calibrate and Cruise

Before monitoring begins, the system performs a quick calibration to ensure accuracy—vital when you’re cycling through hundreds of demo users at an event like CES. After that, it continuously tracks your vitals in the background, offering a real-time safety net that doesn’t interfere with your focus or comfort. Thanks to Asahi Kasei, it’s seamless, precise, and remarkably effective.

Not Just Watching—Improving Visibility Too

Beyond biometric monitoring, Asahi Kasei is also working on improving heads-up displays. While not a physical HUD themselves, they’re focused on clarity and visibility—because if you’re not squinting at blurry dials, you’re more likely to keep your eyes on the road.

Quietly Clever and Critically Important

The key to the success of 60 GHz mmWave radar for driver monitoring is that it’s invisible—not literally, but in terms of user experience. There’s no disruption to the driving routine, no wearables to maintain or charge. And yet, in the background, Asahi Kasei’s technology might just be saving your life.

A Future Where the Car Looks After You

Imagine nodding off from fatigue, or suffering a sudden health emergency, and your vehicle responding not with confusion, but with calm precision—slowing down, alerting emergency services, or safely stopping. It’s a vision of the future that’s rapidly becoming the present.

With technologies like Asahi Kasei’s 60 GHz mmWave radar, we’re entering an era where the car doesn’t just drive—it cares.