The Fun Theory

It is proven that a driver's mood can influence car fuel consumption by over 20%. So what if we could turn driving into an eco-driving game, making it fun? The idea is to read the instant fuel consumption from the on-board computer with a small processing unit, or in older models, read the accelerator pedal position with a simple and cheap infrared position sensor. A small and discrete LCD/LED screen would be placed on the dashboard where a toy face would appear. The face would vary between very hapy, happy, indifferent, angry and very angry, with color change, depending on the kind of driving. The baseline for fuel consumption would be the car's average consumption, based on the maker official value. Points would be awarded or subtracted depending on the driving style. Also, different car drivers (for instance husband, wife and son) would have individual profiles in the same car, so at the end of the week/month they could check who won the eco-drive game!
Simple sounds could be added to the game, and for instance with the "very happy" face a soft gentle sound would be heard, and with the "very angry" face a roar or any unpleasent sound would be heard.
Submitted by Leonel Ramos