We've heard of smart cars, but this is getting into a whole new dimension. Mercedes studied the brain waves of sleepy drivers, and matched those up with lackadaisical steering tendencies, resulting in a car that can sense if you're spacing out.

Attention Assist uses precision sensors on the steering column to watch your attention level, and if you start to fall asleep, it sounds an obnoxious alarm, accompanied by an icon in the middle of the speedometer suggesting that you pause for a cup of coffee.

Soon to appear on Mercedes E-Class cars, we're hoping this tech trickles down to cars driven by those of us firmly entrenched in the bourgeoisie. Come to think of it, let's add this life-saving wizardry to our list of features we'd like to see in every car.

Autoweek, via Engadget