Researchers from the University of Granada and the Polytechnic University of Valencia have designed a new low-cost system which detects when drivers are fatigued or distracted, helping prevent possible traffic accidents.
Driver condition is detected via a system of four sensors, which monitor different physical parameters of the driver and their position at the wheel. If the system detects some risk of fatigue or distraction, it will generate a series of acoustic signals, alerting the driver.
Fatigue has a wide range of symptoms: blurred vision and increased blink rate; anxiety and changes in the behaviour of the driver; increasing numbers of movements in order to be comfortable on the seat, and also an increased amount of time needed for a driver to react to dangerous situations on the road.
While most driver fatigue solutions currently available focus on eye movement and face detection, the new system is able to go further and detect a wider range of symptoms in order to improve both accuracy and safety.
An electronic board acts as a central processing unit. All of this is complete with a collision sensor that detects collisions or sudden braking and a button to reset the system located on the steering wheel.
Also located on the steering wheel are two pressure sensors and two temperature sensors, which are positioned in order to monitor both of the driver's hands. An additional light sensor is embedded on the headrest to detect possible snoozing during the drive, and a buzzer generates the acoustic alarm.
Once the alarm is triggered, the driver has to disable it by pressing the reset button on the steering wheel.
The central processing unit receives data from the sensors every second, and processes them and analyses them by an algorithm to check if the results from the sensors are within the thresholds considered normal or safe.
When any of these sensors exceeds said threshold values, the algorithm tries to define if it is a false alarm or if the sensors have registered a possible fatigue or distraction situation. If the alarm is real, the acoustic alert is activated.
Looking ahead, the researchers plan to incorporate a small GPS receiver to collect the position of the vehicle and a wireless module that allows to connect the system with the drivers’ smartphones, so that, as a last resort, the system is able to make an emergency call.