Eye-Tracking Technology to Combat Driver Fatigue

Every year, accidents involving commercial truck drivers result in more than 110,000 people injured, and over 5,000 killed.¹In response to these horrific statistics, many people have sought an explanation as to what primarily causes these accidents involving commercial trucks, and the conclusions have all been the same: sleep deprivation.

When a person is sleep deprived, they are unable to concentrate on the road, and they are not fully aware of their actions or those around them. Moreover, their reaction time is slower than normal. Since truck drivers often drive long-distance trips, it is important to monitor when they are too tired, and to identify when it becomes unsafe for them to properly drive on the roads in order to prevent accidents. In order to do so, detection systems that aim to reduce the amount of people who are injured and killed annually by sleep-deprived drivers have been created. Many different innovators have utilized technology to create systems to detect when drivers become tired. These efforts have varied, but they all have the same goal in mind: to save lives.

With $48 billion dollars spent annually on the 341,000 motor vehicle crashes, car manufacturers have begun to employ eye-tracking devices into everyday vehicles to prevent accidents.¹ Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Volvo and Volkswagen offer various types of technologies, such as Fatigue Detection and Driver Assist, to aid drivers and prevent deadly accidents. These manufacturers have implemented forward facing cameras, and have taken into consideration steering wheel angles and vehicle sensors to detect for sleep deprivation. ² They additionally are able to monitor eye movement and test for gaze direction and eyelid movement. ²These methods involve using a camera that senses eye movements and collects data to predict when a driver is drowsy.  

The method that Dr. Baura had presented at Loyola University’s Neuroscience Seminar consisted of a sensor that is placed directly under the driver’s eye. Dr. Baura discussed the current technology, PERCLOS, which monitors the percent of eyelid closure over time.  If signals suggest that a person is falling asleep, a noise in the vehicle or vibration of the seat will be triggered to go off in the truck in order to wake up the driver. The concept of under the eye sensors is certainly a promising step in the right direction towards detecting drowsiness and making the driver more alert.

Overall, people have recognized the fact that countless injuries and deaths have occurred due to sleep deprivation. Various different measures are being taken, whether it be fatigue detection or driver assist, using cameras or under the eye sensors in order to detect driver fatigue. While further advancement is necessary for many of these eye trackers, they are all effectively working to reduce the amount of collisions by taking preemptive measures to identify sleep deprivation.

Resources:

1.         Mitler, et al. “The Sleep of Long-Haul Truck Drivers,” https://luc.app.box.com/v/neuroseminar/file/251218239087, date accessed December 9^th, 2017.

2.         J. West, “Eye Tracking Technology is Making New Cars Safer,” 11 December 2014, http://www.eyegaze.com/eye-tracking-technology-is-making-new-cars-safer/, date accessed December 9^th, 2017.

3.         Fernandez, et al. ”Driver Distraction Using Visual-Based Sensors and Algorithms,” 16 November 2016, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5134464/, date accessed December 9^th, 2017.