Variation of the Heartbeat and Activity as an Indicator of Drowsiness at the Wheel Using a Smartwatch

Abstract

Sleepiness is one of the first causal factors of accidents. An estimated 10-30% of road deaths are related to fatigue driving. A large number of research studies have been conducted to reduce the risk of accidents while driving. Many of these studies are based on the detection of biological signals by drowsiness/sleepiness. The activity of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) presented alterations during different physical states such as stress or sleepiness. This activity is measured by ECG (electroencephalogram) and, in different studies, it can be measured with the variation of the heart beat (HRV-Heart Rate Variability) in order to analyze it and then detect drowsiness/sleepiness in drivers. The main advantage is that HRV can be performed using non invasive and uncomfortable means compared to EEG sensors. New Wearables technologies are capable of measuring the heart beat and, further, using other sensors like Accelerometer and Gyroscope, embedded on a simple clock allow us to monitor the physical activity of the user. Our main goal is to use the pulsations measurements in conjunction with the physical activity for the detection of driver drowsiness/sleepiness in advance in order to prevent accidents derived from fatigue.