Development and testing a drowsiness detector based on ECG sensors in steering wheel

Abstract

Sleeping or drowsiness while driving contributes to human error, being one of the most relevant causes of traffic collisions and accidents in the world. Although it is foreseen that completely automated vehicles can reduce significantly these numbers, there will be a sequential incorporation of automated vehicles, from existing vehicles, level 0 or 1, to level 2 and level 3 of automation (according to SAE definition) in which the risk of drowsiness can persist or even increase. For this reason, reliable detection of drowsiness is one of the leading objectives in the development of new Advanced Driver Assistance systems. The main hypothesis in the present work is that the physical response in drivers can be indirectly measured via biophysical parameters, such as changes in heart variability (HRV), and that measurement can lead to early drowsiness detection. Following this principle, the main objective of this paper is to present the development a non-invasive system integrated in the vehicle steering wheel to detect the presence of somnolence while driving and validate it via KSS. The final purpose is to integrate the system in vehicles to create warnings or alarms for the driver to avoid accidents related with fatigue or drowsiness.

Keywords: drowsiness, HRV, sensors, steering wheel.

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1002470