Intel is not just working on new chips to surprise both the computer and mobile phone industry - it is also investing on research for road safety. Recently, researchers from Intel are now focusing their attention on how drivers think. The company aims to gain more understanding on how drivers behave on the road and what can make roads safer.

The company's researches are utilizing a brain scanning method referred as functional near infrared spectroscopy to try and separate traits of a driver when focused on the road and when they are not. This will help shed light on what causes people to suddenly lose their control while behind the wheel.

"We're trying to understand people better, what they're thinking, what they're feeling," Paul Crawford said. He works as a senior research scientist at Intel Labs. Crawford also noted the amount of studies done on drivers and road-related accidents.

"We want to understand cognitive workload, how hard someone is having to work to do something," he said.

The company conducted a demonstration last Tuesday regarding measuring brain activity for drivers. The driver was in a stimulator working with a virtual Formula One car. The car was moving at 50 miles per hour within a racetrack. The driver's cap was connected to infrared sensors allowing researchers to measure up to the 2 centimeters on the outermost part of the brain. Understanding the differences between driver focus can help identify primary problems - how a driver's brain behaves when the car is top speed and when in slow speed.

"When you're driving, sometimes you're looking at the road and paying attention, and sometimes you're looking at the road and you're not paying attention. There are some subtle differences there that I hope, and I hypothesize, we can tease out," Crawford explained.

"With that information, we can say 'maybe they need some additional stimulation, maybe we [change the radio station], maybe we dial up or down the amount of control, maybe we pull you off the car in front of you a little bit," he said.