Steering Into the Future: TAMU-CC Developing Potentially Life-Saving Smart Steering Wheel
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Car technology has come a long way since the late 1800s, with innovations like air conditioning, power steering, and airbags making driving safer and more comfortable. Now, on the second floor of the Center for the Sciences at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Dr. Nasrin Hooshmand, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, and her research team are developing a new safety feature designed to enhance both road safety and driver well-being.
“By just gripping the steering wheel, these sensors will be able to give us a picture of the driver’s overall health,” said Ethan Hughes ’26, electrical engineering major and researcher in the Hooshmand Lab. “The hope is we can spot a medical emergency before it happens. We want to prevent a tragedy.”
The smart steering wheel is an innovative safety device that merges advanced technology with lifesaving functionality. Electrical engineering students Hughes and Thomas Krozel ’25 are gaining hands-on experience as they work to bring the project to completion under the mentorship of Hooshmand and Dr. Ashkan Zandi from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Hooshmand, the lead inventor, initiated and directed the development of this patented technology during her time at Georgia Tech, in collaboration with co-inventor Zandi. The device incorporates advanced sensors to monitor a driver’s vital signs in real time.
“While originally developed for driving safety, the system holds significant potential for broader applications in remote health monitoring,” Hooshmand said. “This next chapter of the project is being enhanced and perfected in the collaborative, innovation-driven environment at TAMU-CC.”
The sensors, each slightly smaller than a dime, use Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), which is a measure of the skin’s electrical conductance. The GSR changes with moisture levels that are influenced by sweat gland activity.
“To simplify it, the sensors can use sweat to indicate what is going on with your body,” Krozel said. “We eventually hope to refine the sensors so that they can predict if a driver is about to have a stroke or cardiac event.”
Since bringing the project to the Island University, substantial progress has been made. Initially, the sensors could only measure vital signs such as pulse rate, body temperature, and oxygen saturation. In just one year, the TAMU-CC team has successfully integrated the sensors onto a steering wheel. Now, the focus has shifted to monitoring stress levels and cardiovascular health.
“A driver should be able to get into their vehicle, put their hands on their steering wheel and know right away if they should even be driving in that very moment,” Hughes said. “According to our research, over 40% of car crashes result from drunk driving, medical conditions, or fatigue. These sensors could prevent those car accidents from happening.”
As the project evolves, Hughes and Krozel can envision a future where simply touching the steering wheel could allow sensors to detect if a person is too impaired to drive or on the verge of a medical episode, preventing the vehicle from starting altogether.
“And if the sensors go off mid-drive, they could potentially alert the driver to pull over and call for help,” Krozel said.
There is still much work to be done, and Hooshmand’s research team is optimistic that this technology could be integrated into vehicles within the next two years.
“Right now, the circuit board, like the brain of the system, is pretty bulky, with numerous wires,” Hughes said. “It’s not the most stylish system at the moment. Our next step is to streamline it — we think we can get the circuit board down to a manageable size of four-by-four inches.”
As new features are developed for this smart steering wheel technology, there is strong potential for additional patents with TAMU-CC as a contributing institution. Once the first in-house prototype is fully developed and integrated, Hooshmand hopes to present the technology to major car manufacturers. The team is also exploring opportunities for external funding to support further enhancements and breakthroughs.
