Kia wants to know when its drivers are sad — and it wants the vehicle to be able to make autonomous changes to the cabin to improve the driver's condition.
As showcased by the story of an animated sunfish trying to make his way through the fast-paced future, Kia demonstrated R.E.A.D. (Real-time Emotion Adaptive Driving).
The system monitors specific biometrics, like your breathing and heart rate. For example, when when the sunfish becomes overwhelmed behind the wheel, the car jumps into autopilot, kicks the seat back and puts on a custom playlist to sooth the poor fish. Don't you suppose that Kia should've at least used an animal with legs?
As we have seen with other sensing systems, I think it is a step in the right direction to monitor alertness. I only become skeptical with when and how the software decides to takes over the system.