• by Chuck Martin , October 11, 2018

An artificial intelligence-powered driver training program was the winner of the fourth annual Isobar hackathon competition.

The winning entry, called “Third Eye Drive,” comprised a method of monitoring, tracking and analyzing driver behavior behind the wheel and then gauging and rating the attentiveness of the driver, as detailed in a distracted driving assistant video.

Five Isobar offices, four in the U.S. and one in Brazil, competed in the 48-hour project. The theme this year was to create social change through machine learning and artificial intelligence.

“The intention of a hackathon is to learn, create culture and explore the possibilities of what technology can bring to us,” Dave Meeker, chief innovation officer, global director of emerging technology, told the AI & IoT Daily. “We don’t know if these projects will become commercial products at this time, but are exploring options with clients, and other third parties that might want to partner on the concepts as we take them from prototype to full commercial production.”

The Isobar hackathons have evolved into formal, annual events across the agency’s offices, with the results often playing a role in future engagements.

“We are already taking some of the concepts and working them into larger projects that we are talking to partners and clients about , such as the ability to recognize specific types of foods by their label, and to quickly filter out food products (in a grocery store) that don’t match certain criteria with their ingredients or other data, like sustainable production, ”Meeker said.