2024 Polestar 3 Electric SUV Makes Driver, Passenger Monitoring Standard Features

Vehicles like the upcoming 2024 Polestar 3 electric SUV have processing capabilities and design to support the next generation of advanced driver assistance systems that can help keep occupants safe on the road and improve the driving experience. One of these new built-in features was on display at the CES 2023 tech conference in Las Vegas this week.

Now equipped with even more powerful chipsets and software-defined platforms, the Polestar 3 breaks away from its sibling Polestar 2 hatchback sedan on more than just height and battery power. The Volvo spinoff brand’s first crossover uses Polestar’s new SPA2 architecture that it shares with Volvo, which can support a higher number of software-driven capabilities, such as a driver monitoring system, or DMS, from fellow Swedish brand Smart Eye that will be standard in the Polestar 3 when it’s released.

More than Monitoring

As seen on a prototype on the show floor, in the driver’s seat, dual cameras with 2 megapixel resolution are embedded in the instrument panel to monitor the driver’s behavior. Each time someone gets behind the wheel of the car, the DMS tracks their eyes—even behind sunglasses and in the dark. 

But the power behind the safety feature is really the neural network, which uses artificial intelligence to process the data and determine the driver’s state. If the system thinks that the driver is distracted, drowsy or having a medical event, it will keep the vehicle centered in its lane and attempt to bring the driver’s attention back to the road. If it’s unsuccessful and the driver is thoroughly distracted or incapacitated, the system will bring the vehicle to a controlled stop in the lane and alert emergency services. 

Although the Polestar 2 has emergency automatic stop assistance, the EV isn’t equipped with an ocular-based DMS that tracks the driver’s eyes. Rather that feature detects tactile inputs on the steering wheel, like grabbing or touching the wheel, to ensure the driver is paying attention. Polestar 3’s advanced platform will enable the system to process more data to provide higher levels of driver assistance.

For the 3, the processing power has been centralized and contained in one Nvidia so-called supercomputer. “We have more than 20 different sensors to be able to understand the world around the car and to be able to then support the driver,” Dennis Nobelius, Polestar’s chief operating officer, said at a CES interview.

An Inside Job

In addition to cameras, the company is using radar inside the cabin. These interior radar sensors can detect heartbeats, which can be a life saver for parents or anyone that accidentally leaves a child or pet unattended in the vehicle. If the system determines the seats are occupied by passengers rather than just large bags or bulky cargo, it will keep the climate control active to prevent the cabin from overheating. 

Polestar’s new capabilities aren’t solely about safety: The Swedish company announced gaming potential at CES 2023 that will help keep occupants entertained while parked or plugged in at a public charging station. 

Nobelius said the gaming potential depends on the chips new Polestars will include. “You will be able to access Fortnite or whatever game you would like in the car through a controller using the screen in the car through a gaming cloud that Nvidia is providing,” he explained.

The options for new features feel limitless, but the company is following a roadmap that will eventually lead to self-driving cars. The company announced that the Polestar 3 will also feature Google’s high-definition maps that will enable higher accuracy when using Level 2 driver assistance features, and eventually Level 3 mixed autonomy with driver input when it adds lidar to the sensor mix. 

The Polestar 3 will be on display at the CES show in Las Vegas through Sunday.