Face recognition algorithms developed by a Russian company called VisionLabs now power a driver fatigue/attention monitoring system Yandex.Taxi is about to launch following thorough testing on a few thousand cars, Firrma.ru reported. Yandex.Taxi is the ride-hailing subsidiary of Yandex, Russia’s web search giant.

The system is said to be able to assess a driver’s state and, if necessary, send him an alarm signal or temporarily ban access to further passenger orders. A Yandex-developed neural network is responsible for recognizing driver fatigue, and with VisionLab technology it can do the job when the driver moves.

The fatigue/attention monitoring system is a small infrared Yandex Signal Q1 camera with dedicated software, to be fixed on the windshield facing the driver. The Yandex.Taxi-developed gadget is reported to be able to assess one’s state by analyzing 68 key spots on his face. The face has to be recognized both statically (side and front view) and in motion, when the driver turns his head. That’s where VisionLabs’ SDK tech comes in handy.