At the Tokyo Motor Show, which opened here to the press this week, Nissan unveiled the Pivo 2 concept vehicle with a "robot agent" that can monitor a driver's emotions or physical condition through their facial expressions.

"For example, if the driver is surprised by another car cutting in, the robot agent can tell you, 'Don't worry, you're all right'," said Ken Mitamura, manager of the mobility laboratory at Nissan's research centre.

"When you are sleepy, the robotic interface can detect it by monitoring a very slow pace of eye blinking and say, 'It's time to have a rest'," he said.

Nissan's researchers have worked on the development of the function for about a decade to make cars that are easier and less tiring to drive, he said.

It is typical of a move by car manufacturers to use advancing technology to improve safety, navigation and parking assistant systems in an effort to boost sales.

Not to be outdone, rival Toyota, which has developed similar technology, showed off a concept car with a focus on increased comfort thanks to seats that help maintain good posture.

The car, named RiN, also has functions such as heated seats and an oxygen-level conditioner, as well as a heart monitoring system in the steering wheel, developed by affiliate Denso Corp.

When the driver grips the steering wheel, the system measures the electrical activity of the person's heart through electrodes on the surface of the wheel.

"Because 90 percent of traffic accidents are said to be caused by human factors, carmakers are now looking to human bodies to improve safety functions," said Takashi Koumura, a senior researcher at Denso.

"Detecting actual physical conditions like fatigue, drowsiness and irritation is the real challenge for us. It will probably take us at least five years to develop that sort of technology," he said.

Electronics maker Omron exhibited its system to detect hand and eye movements with cameras and alert drivers when they take their eyes off the road.

French firm Valeo meanwhile showed off technology that can detect involuntary changes in the path of a vehicle and alert the driver with an audio, visual or vibration warning.

But mini-car specialist Daihatsu is aiming to achieve every motorist's dream -- to make collisions a thing of the past.

With two wide-angle laser radars, its system flashes LED lamps if it detects vehicles are on course for a smash.

At the same time, three-dimensional images pop up in front of the driver to show information about the direction of approaching obstacles.

"It's all the more important for our customers to avoid collisions because it's particularly dangerous for small cars to have crashes," said Daihatsu engineer Toshio Ito.

But analysts are sceptical about the latest safety technology.

"It's tricky for carmakers to commercialise those advanced safety functions," said Atsushi Kawai, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities.

"Those functions cannot guarantee 100 percent safety in driving a car. That means that once an accident happens it could cause product liability issues for carmakers," said Kawai.

"I'm sure carmakers are well aware that safety functions should serve only to complement, not to substitute for, drivers' ability to detect danger," he added.

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