The FIA confirmed at Friday's World Motor Sport Council meeting that the new device, mandatory on all Rally1 hybrid cars next year, will take the form of a forward facing in-car camera. A statement issued by the FIA, which also confirmed the 2022 calendar, revealed that the camera will have the ability to scan the stage for hazards and can be used to analyse the position of spectators. Spectator safety has been an ongoing issue in rallying and a number of stages have been cancelled this season due to fans standing in dangerous locations. However, moves to improve spectator safety through technical devices have been in the pipeline for a while. Exactly how the device works and will be utilised is yet to be explained by the FIA and WRC. "Starting from 2022, the FIA Artificial Intelligence Safety Camera (AISC) will become mandatory in all Rally1 cars," read a statement from the FIA.

Tesla has reportedly activated the in-car camera on its electric vehicles to monitor driver attentiveness when using the automaker's partially self-driving car technology. The move qualifies as something of a concession toward safety watchdogs, who have criticized the company for not doing enough to prevent drivers from misusing its Autopilot system. Several other automakers have also deployed in-car cameras with eye-tracking capability to ensure that people keep their focus on the road while using hands-free or partially autonomous driving systems. They include General Motors and Mercedes-Benz. Typically, when drivers take their eyes off the road for more than a few seconds, the systems sound an alert.

The electric 2022 Chevrolet Bolt EUV offers GM's hands-free Super Cruise highway driving assistang. Fox News Autos Editor Gary Gastelu lets it take him for a spin. Tesla has let some of its unofficial test drivers go. Elon Musk confirmed on Twitter that several Tesla owners that had opted into a Beta release of the automaker's latest Full Self-Driving semi-automated system have had their privileges revoked because they weren't paying enough attention to the road while using it. The feature, which Tesla drivers have pre-paid up to $10,000 for while it is in development, can "make lane changes off-highway, select forks to follow your navigation route, navigate around other vehicles and objects, and make left and right turns."

If sometimes you feel like somebody's watching you, get ready to feel that way all the time. At least if you spend a good amount of time in your car. And you'll only be more surveilled in the future, as automakers find new and more efficient ways to keep track of what's happening inside their vehicles. One of the latest tools in this move toward a, let's say senior sibling, state comes from Guardian Optical Technologies, an Israeli outfit promising a whole new view of what's happening inside the car. This week at CES in Las Vegas, the Tel Aviv-based startup showed off what it calls Optical Cabin Control.