Driver's Seat Research Articles

Design of a System for Driver Drowsiness Detection and Seat Belt Monitoring Using Raspberry Pi 4 and Arduino Nano

This research explores the design of a system for monitoring driver drowsiness and supervising seat belt usage in interprovincial buses. In Peru, road accidents involving long-distance bus transportation amounted to 5449 in 2022, and the human factor plays a significant role. It is essential to understand how the use of non-invasive sensors for monitoring and supervising passengers and drivers can enhance safety in interprovincial transportation. The objective of this research is to develop a system using a Raspberry Pi 4 and Arduino Nano that allows for the storage of monitoring data. To achieve this, a conventional camera and MediaPipe were used for driver drowsiness detection, while passenger supervision was carried out using a combination of commercially available sensors as well as custom-built sensors. RS485 communication was utilized to store data related to both the driver and passengers. The simulations conducted demonstrate a high level of reliability in detecting driver drowsiness under specific conditions and the correct operation of the sensors for passenger supervision. Therefore, the proposed system is feasible and can be implemented for real-world testing. The implications of this research suggest that the system’s cost is not a barrier to its implementation, thus contributing to improved safety in interprovincial transportation.

Impact Safety Evaluation of Driver Seat Frame Using Dynamic Analysis and Testing Method

Impact Safety Evaluation of Driver Seat Frame Using Dynamic Analysis and Testing Method

We are in the Driver's Seat - A Magic Carpet Ride

Humanity facing the challenge of shaping a transformation process for sustainable development. Decarbonization and the circularity of production processes are key concerns for project management. To manage these challenges a paradigm shift is necessary. Project managers should see themselves as designers of the future. To this end, the separation between strategic and operational management must be closed. The current first story of take-make-waste, supplemented by a second story for a green wonderland, continues to be based on an ideology of controllability and will not be able to solve the issues. What is needed is a global understanding of responsibility for strategic and operational management. A practical methodological approach to reach this objective has been presented and discussed over the past three years. Further studies and experiences are now available. These have led to the further development of the methodological approach and describe the cooperation between strategic decisions and the operational implementation of projects. Aim is to enable transformation process for the decarbonization of production processes and circular economy. The prerequisite is an expansion of the area of responsibility for strategic and operational management. This requires a third story far from the controllability ideologies, referred as Next7G Management and derived from the UN Brundlandt Commission of 1987, which proposed the principle of anticipating all actions to the extent that they are considered up to the seventh generation after them. This approach was further developed for strategic planning and the resulting implementation by operational management and applied to the next seven product generations. This will radically expand and change project managers' understanding of their role and competencies. They will become the designers of the future sitting in the driver’s seat, who will have to think beyond the mere delivery of their project results in closed structures and thus be involved in strategic decisions in a creative way. Only in this way can the paradigm shift for sustainable global development be realized.

Evaluation of ride performance of PID controller in active suspension systems for an electric vehicle

In order to evaluate ride performance of an electric vehicle (EV) active suspension systems (ASSs), a 8-DOF full-vehicle dynamic model of EV under random road excitation is set for control ASSs of EV to enhance ride comfort. A PID controller is proposed for control. The parameters of the PID controller are tuned using the Ziegler-Nichols method. The achieved results indicate that the root mean square (RMS) values of the vertical driver's seat, vehicle body, pitching and rolling acceleration responses with ASSs using the proposed controller respectively reduce by 31.12 %, 24.76 %, 15.00 %, and 11.59 % in comparison with passive suspension systems (PSSs) under the investigated condition. In addition, these results will be the basis for optimizing the parameters for PID controller to improve the ride performance of ASS.

Evaluating the Responses of the THOR and Hybrid III Small Female ATDs during Frontal Sled Tests

<div>There is evidence to suggest that males and females respond differently in motor vehicle collisions, making it important to study how both sexes respond to vehicle safety systems. The THOR 5th-percentile female (THOR-05F) anthropomorphic test device (ATD) was developed to represent a small female occupant better than the Hybrid III 5<sup>th</sup>-percentile female (HIII-05F) ATD. However, there are few studies in which they have been directly compared. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare the responses of the two ATDs in matched frontal sled tests simulating a realistic driver seat environment. A 7th-generation Toyota Camry driver seat test buck was used with Camry parts (i.e., 3-point belt, modified seat, steering wheel, airbag, and column). The belt was equipped with a 4-kN load limiter and pretensioner. Rigid foam (65 psi) was used to represent the knee bolster. Thirteen tests were conducted using speeds of 30 and 56 kph. Chest bands were used to measure external chest deflection. Greater neck compression loads, flexion moments, and extension moments were measured in the HIII-05F tests due to different airbag interactions compared to the THOR-05F. Upper neck compression in the HIII-05F was greater for the 30 kph tests than the 56 kph, reinforcing a need to research crashworthiness at lower speeds. Chest deflections were greater in the THOR-05F tests, which was likely due to the more compliant rib cage. External chest deflections indicated that belt routing and breast tissue influenced the location and magnitude of maximum chest deflections. External deflections also indicated that the HIII-05F rib cage might be more coupled bilaterally than the THOR-05F. Femur loads were slightly greater in the THOR-05F, although knee bolster loads were greater for the 56 kph HIII-05F tests. Future work will include conducting matched small female PMHS sled tests.</div>

Optimization of electric vehicle suspension parameters using improved artificial fish swarm algorithm

This study proposes a solution to reduce vertical vibrations and body pitching in response to random road surface excitations. To achieve these objectives, a half-vehicle model of an electric vehicle (EV) is developed to determine optimal parameters for both the EV suspension system and the driver's seat suspension system. An Improved Artificial Fish Swarm Algorithm (IAFSA) is implemented using MATLAB software to optimize these suspension parameters. The optimization aims to minimize the root mean square (RMS) values of three objective functions: vertical driver's seat acceleration (aws), vertical vehicle body acceleration (awb), and pitching vehicle body acceleration (awphi). The optimization results reveal that the values of these three objective functions decrease when using the optimized suspension parameters compared to the original suspension settings. Specifically, the aws, awb and awphi values are reduced by 15.44%, 11.46%, and 8.65%, respectively, when the vehicle travels on an ISO road class B at a speed of 20 m/s with a full load. Furthermore, the peak amplitude values of as, ab, and aphi in the frequency domain are also reduced with the optimized suspension parameters compared to the original settings under the specified conditions.

“Placing community in the driver's seat”: Key strategies and critical enablers of an equitable place-based COVID-19 vaccination response

Addressing health inequities requires both national and local-level action. In the case of COVID-19, locally-led place-based programs were instrumental in addressing vaccination inequities that resulted from implementation gaps in national and state-level universal COVID-19 vaccination programs. To prepare for future pandemics, understanding which local strategies are effective and the conditions that enable their effectiveness is crucial. We conducted a case study using qualitative interviews (n = 22) and document analysis to identify key strategies employed to increase vaccination uptake among priority populations in a regional community in Victoria, Australia, and the conditions perceived to enable or constrain the success of those strategies. Interviewees included Aboriginal and migrant community members (n = 12) and representatives from organisations that designed and implemented the COVID-19 vaccination program (n = 10). Strategies perceived to be effective by local migrant and Aboriginal communities included the location of outreach clinics (places considered physically, cultural and political accessible and safe), communication via trusted community leaders, practical supports such as translation services and transport, and empowering community in clinical interactions. Conditions perceived to influence program implementation and outcomes related to four themes: (i) shared vision and strong bonds of local partners, (ii) placing community in the driver's seat, (iii) rebalancing power through leadership grit and guts, and (iv) equity-enabling service and funding models. Our study supports strengthening of national and state government investment and engagement with local partnerships to place equity and community at the centre of future pandemic and public health responses.

Evaluation of Integration Methods for Time-Domain Response Analysis of Vibrations in a Full-Car Model

Vibrations generated by road surface irregularities are intrinsically linked to the comfort level experienced by drivers and passengers in several means of transport. Consequently, the effects can range from mild discomfort to permanent trauma, depending on the vibration amplitude and exposure time. This effect is further exacerbated when traversing off-road terrain. Therefore, this study aims to determine the time-domain system responses and investigate system transmissibility in an 8-degree-of-freedom full-car vehicle model of a vehicle used in rural areas. To achieve this, a class E road surface according to ISO 8608 was generated for all four wheels using power spectral density and transformed into its corresponding time-domain representation. The system's natural frequencies and vibration modes were calculated using the vehicle's input data. Three integration methods (Newmark, Central Finite Differences, and State Space) were used to obtain the displacements and accelerations of both the vehicle body and the driver's seat, demonstrating the equivalence of the methods.

An Investigation of the Effects of a Dynamic Vibration Absorber (DVA) to the Comfort of a Bus's Driver Seat

The frequency weighted acceleration, relative displacement, and Seat Effective Amplitude Transmissibility (SEAT) of a bus driver's seat are investigated by a 4 degrees of freedom (4DOF) vertical dynamic model, including a dynamic vibration absorber (DVA). The Root Mean Squared (RMS) values of the gain responses in the frequency domain are analyzed in the DVA damping ratio domain to help determine the optimal value of the DVA' s suspension. The obtained results show that the comfort evaluation index, in the case of a bus driver's seat with DVA, can be improved by more than 15% and nearly 10%, respectively, with the seat suspension natural frequency of 1~Hz and 4~Hz respectively. The comfort is better with the lower seat suspension natural frequency and vice versa. Especially in the case of both the seat and the DVA suspensions with low natural frequencies, all the three mean of evaluation indexes in the whole damping ratio domain of the DVA, have improved by more than 12%. This is the case with all three evaluation indexes which are the best when the damping ratio of the DVA is greater than 0.6.

Effects of seatback angle, seat rotation, and impact speed on injury risk of occupants in highly automated vehicles in frontal crashes

Objective The objective of this study is to examine the effects of seatback angle, seat rotation, and impact speed on occupant kinematics and injury risk in highly automated vehicles. Methods The study utilized the Global Human Body Models Consortium midsize male (M50-OS+B) simplified occupant model in a simplified vehicle model (SVM) to simulate frontal crashes. The M50-OS+B model was gravity-settled and belted into the driver and left rear passenger seat. To investigate the effects of seatback angle, seat rotation, and impact speed on occupant kinematics and injury risk in frontal crashes, a design of experiments (DOE) was conducted. The DOE incorporated four seatback angles (13°, 23°, 45°, and 57.5° about vertical), four seat rotation angles (0°, 25°, 45°, and 90°), three impact speeds (25, 35, and 45 kph), and four frontal crash type configurations. All four seatback angles were used with 0° seat rotation, whereas 13° seatback angle was used with the remaining seat rotation configurations because of cabin fit considerations. Injury risks were estimated for the head, neck, shoulder, thorax, pelvis, and lower extremities for both occupants for each simulation (n=588). Results Statistically significant differences between all the groups within each independent variable category were observed based on the analysis of variance. HIC-based head injury risk and chest injury risk decreased and femur force for the driver and tibia force for the passenger increased with an increase in seatback angles. The head injury risk increased with seat rotation. All the injury risks increased with an increase in impact speed. The driver airbag was able to safeguard the driver from head injuries for all seat rotations except at 90° of seat rotation. Conclusion This is the first vehicle modeling study that collectively looked at the effects of seatback angle, seat rotation, and impact speed along with the interaction of occupants on the risk of injury in frontal crashes. The rear passenger experienced higher seatbelt loads than the driver. More reclined seats decreased head and chest injury risk, but increased driver femur injury risk and rear passenger tibia injury risk. Results underscore the necessity for additional anti-submarining mechanisms and driver airbag designs adapted for the anticipated occupant positions.

Ergonomic Evaluation of Driver Posture and Seats in Metropolitan Subway Vehicles

Ergonomic Evaluation of Driver Posture and Seats in Metropolitan Subway Vehicles

Multi-Body Model of Agricultural Tractor for Vibration Transmission Investigation

This article analyses vibration transmission on agricultural tractors with the excitation from the road to the driver’s seat. A multi-body model of agricultural tractors created in Adams is presented. The main parts for the investigation of vibration transmission are the tractor body, where the only suspension elements are tyres, the tractor cabin, spring-dampers suspended at the rear and bushings at the front, and the driver seat with its pneumatic spring. A series of measurements were performed, and the model was validated using vertical acceleration values on the tractor body at four different locations. The FTire model (physical FEM-based model) was chosen to describe the behaviour of tyres. The model was created using measured tyre characteristics. Measured characteristics of spring-dampers and front cabin bushings were also implemented. For comfort investigation, ride simulations on ISO 5008 rough roads were performed. The transmission of vibrations in ride simulations was examined. A modal analysis of the linearised model was performed to confirm assumptions of the contribution of suspension elements to overall vibration levels. Finally, three case studies were conducted to better understand the model’s vibration transmission properties.

Police vehicle contamination by inorganic gunshot residue (iGSR) in Zagreb County Police Administration (Croatia): Analysis of characteristic and indicative particles across different vehicle parts and contributory risk factors.

Inorganic gunshot residue (iGSR) analysis, crucial for linking suspects to firearm use, faces challenges from potential environmental contamination, notably in police vehicles. The present study aimed to explore the level of iGSR contamination in police vehicles from the Zagreb County Police Administration (Croatia), considering particle types and their position in vehicles, and to identify associated risk factors. From December 2021 to April 2022, 65 of 86 police vehicles (margin of error: ±6% at a 95% confidence level) were sampled with GSR stubs on the drivers' seats, back seats, and backrests and analyzed using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis (SEM/EDX). Characteristic particles were found in 63.1% of vehicles, 33.8% on the driver's seat, and 24.6% on the back seat/backrest. Indicative particles were found in 70.77% of vehicles, with a fairly even distribution. McNemar's chi-square analysis showed no significant disparities in positive sample ratios across vehicle parts or particle types (p > 0.05). In total, 228 characteristic and 166 indicative GSR particles were identified, with no notable correlation among them (p = 0.346). Logistic regression analysis identified the transportation of individuals involved in firearms incidents as a statistically significant factor influencing the presence of characteristic particles (p = 0.030). The findings suggest a considerable prevalence of iGSR in the analyzed Police Administration unit, highlighting the need for careful contamination management in police operations to preserve evidence integrity, particularly in cases when individuals who used firearms had been transported in the vehicle.

Analyzing the influences of bus driver seat’s suspension system on driver’s comfort level and stability

The influences of the seat suspension on the comfort level, and stability of the bus driver are analyzed using a three-degree-of-freedom (3DOF) quarter-vehicle model. The influences are analyzed through the effects of seat suspension damping ratio ξ se on driver frequency weighted acceleration a w (m/s2) (comfort level) according to ISO 2631:1-1997 standard, the ratio of driver acceleration and gravitational acceleration a/ g (vertical stability). With random excitation according to ISO 8608, considering the same vehicle speed value v (km/h) (in the region of 10 – 20 (km/h)), the decrease of ξ se increases the a w value, this result leads to the reduction of comfort level; Considering the same ξ se value, a w value decreases as increasing v value. With transient excitation according to IRC 99 – 1988, considering the same v value, the smaller ξ se creates the larger a/ g value; Considering the same ξ se, the value of a/ g increases and reaches the extreme in the vehicle speed range 20 – 30 (km/h), outside this speed range the value of a/ g decrease.

Understanding Co-Creation in a Research Partnership Programme Exploring Patient-Driven Innovations: A Qualitative Longitudinal Study.

Research indicates that successful co-creation depends on a shared understanding of co-creation and its related concepts. However, it also shows that, in practice, views on co-creation and how to do it differ. This study aims to explore how patient innovators and researchers in a partnership research programme understand co-creation and how this understanding changes over time. An explorative longitudinal qualitative study was conducted with the 'Patients in the Driver's Seat' partnership research programme. Fifty-eight interviews were performed and analysed using a reflexive thematic approach. Four different ways of understanding co-creation were identified. These can be instrumentally conceptualized as themes using the inputs-process-outputs model: (1) combining different perspectives, experiences and backgrounds (inputs); (2) deliberately dynamic and exploratory (process); (3) striving for equity, not equality (process); and (4) diverse value creation, tangible and intangible (outputs). Together, these themes represent the varied understandings of co-creation among partnership programme members. Our study of patient innovators and researchers identified four distinct yet complementary understandings of co-creation. The study suggests that co-creation is the sum of its essential components, which can be divided into inputs, process, and outputs. This study, and the partnership programme it explored, aims to improve the relevance of research for patients and informal caregivers through an improved understanding of the concept of co-creation within research on patient innovation. All patient innovators involved in the programme were invited, as interviewees and researchers, to contribute to the study design and data analysis.

Effect of luminance of head-up displays on recognition of visual objects on roads

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of visual obstruction when a head-up display (HUD) is presented in front of a driver's field of view. BackgroundThe use of HUDs is expected to increase due to advances in augmented reality (AR) technology. A conventional HUD is displayed at a relatively low position in relation to the driver's viewpoint and has little effect on their front view. However, while an HUD, such as the AR-HUD, is presented in front of the driver's field of vision and helps them in presenting ADAS information, there is a concern that this display may obscure visual objects on the road from the driver's field of vision. MethodAn experiment using a mockup consisting of a HUD and a driver's seat was conducted with 28 participants. A passenger car, motorcycle, and crossing pedestrian were presented as visual objects on a 65-in monitor behind the image of the HUD. Participants were asked questions under different conditions with changes in the HUD luminance and asked to correctly answer questions regarding changes in the inter-vehicle distance and the existence of visual objects on the road. The number of correct answers provided by the participants was recorded. ResultsThe experimental results revealed that the HUD had an effect under the twilight condition wherein the background luminance was low. Furthermore, analyzing the number of correct answers for each visual target revealed that the HUD had an effect under conditions wherein the size of the visual object was small. ConclusionIt was experimentally derived that the luminance ratio Rluminance = 1.1 was the threshold value that affected the recognition of the visual object in the background when the HUD was presented in front of the driver's field of view. ImplicationThe threshold value of the luminance ratio Rluminance obtained in this study can be considered when deciding how to properly display the HUD in front of the driver's field of view.

Enhancing Road Safety: Fast and Accurate Noncontact Driver HRV Detection Based on Huber-Kalman and Autocorrelation Algorithms.

Enhancing road safety by monitoring a driver's physical condition is critical in both conventional and autonomous driving contexts. Our research focuses on a wireless intelligent sensor system that utilizes millimeter-wave (mmWave) radar to monitor heart rate variability (HRV) in drivers. By assessing HRV, the system can detect early signs of drowsiness and sudden medical emergencies, such as heart attacks, thereby preventing accidents. This is particularly vital for fully self-driving (FSD) systems, as it ensures control is not transferred to an impaired driver. The proposed system employs a 60 GHz frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) radar placed behind the driver's seat. This article mainly describes how advanced signal processing methods, including the Huber-Kalman filtering algorithm, are applied to mitigate the impact of respiration on heart rate detection. Additionally, the autocorrelation algorithm enables fast detection of vital signs. Intensive experiments demonstrate the system's effectiveness in accurately monitoring HRV, highlighting its potential to enhance safety and reliability in both traditional and autonomous driving environments.

Identifying the influence of airbag structure on driver injury during a crash using a dummy model

This study undertakes the analysis of collision scenario using a car model with a dummy and airbags, in the event of a direct collision with a hard wall, one of the necessary studies of passive safety. To describe in detail, the input conditions, a simulation problem of the driver's seat displacements was performed and this displacements data was exported as boundary conditions for the collision simulation. The results simulation crash show that the calculated energy values and simulation results are approximately the same (7.381E+07 and 7.367E+07), energy is converted from kinetic energy into internal energy of the elements. The airbag deployment simulation results are similar to NHTSA's previous research, both in terms of graph shape and maximum value. The impact of the collision incident on the driver is not excessively large, as evidenced by surveys on head (HIC 300), thigh (F 2.8 kN), and neck (F3,098 kN; T 190 Nm) injuries. However, the study proceeds to further analyze and assess the airbag's structure, examining its influence on these metrics, concluding that changes in the exhaust valve size (increase from 1000 mm2 to 2000 mm2) lead to a reduction in the evaluated parameters. These results suggest changes to the airbag structure to enhance driver safety, as well as a simpler simulation model to save analysis time

On-Road Evaluation of Unobtrusive In-Car Respiration Monitoring.

This paper introduces and evaluates an innovative sensor for unobtrusive in-car respiration monitoring, mounted on the backrest of the driver's seat. The sensor seamlessly integrates into the vehicle, measuring breathing rates continuously without requiring active participation from the driver. The paper proves the feasibility of unobtrusive in-car measurements over long periods of time. Operation of the sensor was investigated over 12 participants sitting in the driver seat. A total of 107 min of driving in diverse conditions with overall coverage rate of 84.45% underscores the sensor potential to reliably capture physiological changes in breathing rate for fatigue and stress detection.

STRAIN GAUGE TESTING OF 3D-PRINTED CFRP SANDWICH STRUCTURE

In this article, the authors present composite sandwich-type CFRP structures and a study of their properties by strain gauge testing. The paper presents the modeling of a parameterized elementary unit serving as the core of a 3D printed structure using Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) technology. The properties of these structures with different outer layers made of pure epoxy resin and resin with 10% and 20% carbon fiber powder were then investigated. Based on the results of the strain gauge tests, material models were reconstructed for each resin layer, which can be used in computer FEM studies of more complex components. As an application example, a strength analysis of the driver's seat of a Greenpower car made with printed sandwich structures coated with carbon fiber powder resin was conducted.