The Role of Physiological Monitoring in the Implementation of Vehicle Automation

Abstract

Automated systems are increasingly shifting the responsibility for safe control of the vehicle away from the driver. From a human factors perspective, there are concerns that during periods of highly automated driving, a driver's situation awareness, mental workload and attention levels may be affected, with reduced capacity to retake control of the vehicle safely when certain control aspects are subsequently returned to the driver. Under these circumstances, some form of physiological monitoring may be necessary to assess the driver's state to ensure the driver is sufficiently attentive and alert at appropriate times. This article provides an overview of the physiological approaches to real-time driver-state detection that are likely to play a key role in future implementation of automated vehicles, citing examples from within the automotive industry, as well from latest developments in wearable and third-party technologies. Potential barriers to the implementation of physiological monitoring in automated vehicles are also briefly discussed, emphasising the need for reliable measurement techniques that are robust across a variety of conditions.