Abstract
Nowadays, due to the advances and the increasing implementation of the autonomous braking systems in vehicles, the non-collision accident is expected to become more common than a crash when a sudden stop happens. The most common injury in this kind of accident is whiplash or cervical injury since the neck has high sensitivity to sharp deceleration. To date, biomechanical research has usually been developed inside laboratories and does not entirely represent real conditions (e.g., restraint systems or surroundings of the experiment). With the aim of knowing the possible neck effects and consequences of an automatic emergency braking inside an autonomous bus, a surface electromyography (sEMG) system built by low-cost elements and developed by us, in tandem with other devices, such as accelerometers or cameras, were used. Moreover, thanks to the collaboration of 18 participants, it was possible to study the non-collision effects in two different scenarios (braking test in which the passenger is seated and looking ahead while talking with somebody in front of him (BT1) and, a second braking test where the passenger used a smartphone (BT2) and nobody is seated in front of him talking to him). The aim was to assess the sEMG neck response in the most common situations when somebody uses some kind of transport in order to conclude which environments are riskier regarding a possible cervical injury.
Highlights
Neck injuries caused by non-collision accidents remain a meaningful health problem
With the aim of knowing the possible neck effects and consequences of an automatic emergency braking inside an autonomous bus, a surface electromyography system built by low-cost elements and developed by us, in tandem with other devices, such as accelerometers or cameras, were used
Thanks to the collaboration of 18 participants, it was possible to study the non-collision effects in two different scenarios (braking test in which the passenger is seated and looking ahead while talking with somebody in front of him (BT1) and, a second braking test where the passenger used a smartphone (BT2) and nobody is seated in front of him talking to him)
Summary
Neck injuries caused by non-collision accidents remain a meaningful health problem. These musculoskeletal disorders are expected to continue growing due to the increase of the automatic braking systems in vehicles, as well as the autonomous vehicles. The cervical spine is one of the most sensitive body regions to sudden changes in velocity. Due to their different inertia, in case of an emergency braking, head and torso move with a time delay between them. This is translated into a lash like effect in the neck, forcing some vertebrae in flexion at the same time that others are in hyperextension, with this being the main cervical injury mechanism. The role of muscles is essential in cervical injury, especially in low-speed cases
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