GREENWICH, Conn. — O’Shaughnessy Ventures LLC (OSV) has awarded an O’Shaughnessy Fellowship to Avaneesh Babu, an engineer based in Baltimore, Maryland.
“This fellowship directly empowers me and my team to continue refining our research-grade neurotechnology,” Babu said. “We’re incredibly grateful to O’Shaughnessy Ventures for recognizing the value of our efforts, and we intend to maximize everything they’ve invested in us. Together, we will make high-stakes operations safer.”
Babu is endeavoring to develop a wearable headset that detects and counteracts drowsiness in real time
Using Neurotechnology to Fight Driver Fatigue
Babu will use the fellowship to develop wearable neurotechnology that combats fatigue in high-stakes industries, beginning with long-haul trucking, where drowsiness has been recognized as a significant safety concern. The headset uses electroencephalography (EEG) to detect drops in driver alertness in under a second, then delivers a discreet auditory cue to help the driver refocus. Unlike the cameras commonly used in the trucking industry today, which report drowsiness to management, the headset helps the driver self-correct in the moment. Over the next year, Babu plans to expand the device’s neural dataset and build a second-generation, road-ready headset, with the goal of in-cab deployment in 2027.
Avaneesh Babu
Babu is a chemical and biomolecular engineering student at Johns Hopkins University, where he conducts neuroengineering research in the lab of Nitish Thakor, a pioneer in the field. He has conducted research at Harvard Medical School, interned at the FDA and is an entrepreneur-in-residence at the startup accelerator Antler. Outside his technical work, he has served as a volunteer emergency medical technician.
“Avaneesh has trained in one of the best neuroengineering labs in the world and is now using that expertise to solve a problem that puts lives at risk every day,” said Jim O’Shaughnessy, OSV founder, CEO. “That combination of rigor and purpose is exactly what we look for.”
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
