drivebuddyAI secures patent for In-Vehicle Facial Recognition Technology

drivebuddyAI has received a patent for its facial recognition system designed to accurately identify drivers inside moving vehicles. The technology aims to help commercial fleet operators verify driver identity and ensure compliance with driving-hour regulations.

The system uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to recognise a driver's face even when the vehicle is in motion. Identifying drivers in such conditions can be difficult due to factors such as changing lighting, camera angles, and the driver wearing accessories like caps or mufflers, or changes in appearance such as a beard. The newly patented solution is designed to handle these variations and deliver consistent identification.

For logistics and transport companies, accurate driver identification is important for tracking attendance, monitoring driving hours, preventing impersonation, and managing fatigue. Traditional key-based identification systems can sometimes be unreliable, but drivebuddyAI's camera-based recognition aims to offer higher accuracy and predictability.

The facial recognition technology is already used in several features within the company's product suite. These include driver profiling, behaviour monitoring, and a scoring system called CARDs, which was also recently patented. The technology can also enable dynamic language alerts based on driver recognition, driver coaching insights, performance monitoring, and real-time tracking of driving and duty hours.

The development comes at a time when India is increasingly focusing on regulating truck drivers' working hours to reduce fatigue-related accidents. Authorities are exploring stronger enforcement measures to ensure commercial drivers follow safe driving limits and mandatory rest periods.

Commenting on the milestone, Nisarg Pandya, CEO of drivebuddyAI, said "Driver fatigue remains one of the most critical yet under-addressed causes of highway accidents. Our patented technology ensures that fleets know exactly who is driving, for how long, and under what conditions. This creates a foundation for enforcing safe driving limits while also enabling continuous learning and improvement for drivers. This milestone reflects our commitment to delivering technology built from the ground up and leveraging AI to enable safer and smarter driving solutions."

The company says it has built a growing intellectual property portfolio with more than 15 patents related to AI vision, edge processing and driver risk assessment. In addition, its technology has been validated under AIS?184 driver monitoring standard in India and complies with global safety frameworks such as the European Union General Safety Regulation (GSR) 2144 and the European New Car Assessment Programme's 2026 driver engagement protocol.