Before the age of the driverless car comes along, there's little doubt that the 'connected car' age will play a huge role in our driving lives.

This connectivity promises easier and smarter driving – but it also promises safer driving.

One Australian firm called Seeing Machines aims to take car safety a step further than simply telling a driver that their tyres have lost pressure, or that they are going in the wrong direction. They plan to alert the driver if they are becoming distracted – perhaps by looking at their phone or not paying enough attention to the road.

The London-listed company aims to do this by harnessing eye- and head-tracking systems which can work out where the driver is looking. Japanese safety equipment firm Takata has signed a deal with Seeing Machines to help manufacture the technology.

According to the Financial Times, US car maker GM will be using Seeing Machines' tracking technology in forthcoming production cars.

Further down the track could be features such as facial recognition systems, which could ensure that a thief cannot steal a car, or that a son or daughter cannot drive it late at night.

This technology from Seeing Machines is just one facet of a huge struggle between firms that wish to dominate car connectivity – whether that relates to dashboard and associated mobile apps, self-driving cars, or other aspects of occupants' on board experience.