1. Driving Analysis & Improvement
Amy Chen, Basher Siddique,
Andy Vu, Alex Cherny
Professor Aaron Carpenter
Electrical Engineering and Technology, Wentworth Institute of Technology
Abstract
Design Details
Objective is to build on the drivers’ initial training to provide room for further improvement among inexperienced teen drivers by correlating data of the car movement to the driver. Our system will be composed of:
sensors (heartbeat, infrared distance, pressure)
Raspberry Pi
mobile phone.
The sensors will be placed throughout a car and connected to a Raspberry Pi, which will transmit data gathered from sensors to the driver’s mobile phone. The app will interpret the data and provide feedback to the user. To gather vehicle data, infrared distance sensors will be placed inside the vehicle to monitor the car’s relation to surrounding objects. The GPS on the driver’s mobile phone will provide the vehicle’s location and the speed of the car. Sensors will also be mounted on the steering-wheel to gather the drivers’ grip strength to monitor if the driver is tense or relaxed. Also, perspiration and heartbeat will be collected to help determine the driver’s emotional state. After the data is transmitted to the Raspberry Pi, it is sent to the user’s mobile phone, which is where the data will be interpreted. The data from the car and the user is correlated, and the resulting feedback will be sent to the user through an application, providing helpful information. This will help rectify potential driving mistakes, such as suggesting the user to maintain a distance from other vehicles. Our solution will improve driving among new young drivers by identifying possible errors and offer potential solutions they could implement to improve their driving habits.
Placement of sensors:
Heartbeat sensor - placed on steering wheel.
this way the driver won’t need to attach any sensors to their fingers so the wires do not interfere with their driving.
Pressure sensors - placed on steering wheel.
to determine the grip strength while driving with the steering wheel.
Infrared distance sensor - placed on the front and driver and passenger sides of the car; there will not be any on the back of the car.
to determine the distance between the car and other nearby objects.
the breadboards for the sensors - inside the car, preferably along the dashboard so the wires do not tangle up while the user is driving.
Placement for sending the data to the mobile phone app:
Raspberry Pi - on the dashboard
mobile phone - wherever the driver would like to place in the car
Figure 1: Distance Sensor
Background & Motivation
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
In 2015, over 2,000 teens were killed, over 200,000 were injured due to motor vehicle crashes in USA.
Teen drivers are 3 times as likely to get into a car collision than other age groups.
These collisions are usually caused by lack of focus, undeveloped skills, and several other factors.
Factors that lead to accidents:
Cell phone distractions, loud music, improper hand placement on steering wheel, drowsiness, anxiety, unwanted stress levels and more.
Goal: lower driver’s collision rate.
Sensors make people better drivers because they can notify the users about different circumstances, which they cannot determine on their own such as their heart rate and the amount of pressure put onto the steering wheel.
President of IAAP (International Association of Applied Psychology):
Q: What would you say are the most common sources for driving mistakes/misbehavior?
A: Distraction - stress can lead to internal distractions
Fatigue - too much stress increases wear and tear on the Driver and lead to Driving tired
Driver anger - drivers can ‘let of steam’ when stressed and this means they may drive too fast, overtake at risk and drive too close to other vehicles. The arousing impact of angry Driving leads to poor decision making and distraction. Angry drivers are more likely to use their mobile phone for example
Member of TPI (Traffic Psychology International):
One is that from the point of view of environment, we are trying to support a environment, the traffic. We are trying to not do support the feeling of safety.
Figure 2: Pressure Sensor & Heartbeat Sensor
Figure 3: Raspberry Pi
Figure 4: Testing of mobile app (current stage)
Circuits
Acknowledgements
President of IAAP: Dr. Lisa Dorn Associate of Driver Behavior, Cranfield University
Member of Steering Committee: Matus Sucha, Czech Republic
Member of Steering Committee: Ludo Kluppes, Belgium
Figure 1: Heartbeat sensor
Figure 2: Infrared distance
Figure 3: Pressure sensor