It seems simple enough- don't drive if you're tired. Trouble is, apparently nobody wants to take a nap at the office at the end of the day, especially
those who have a fair drive ahead of them in the dark. Every year, thousands of these sleepy drivers take to the roads, doze off, and wind up injured or worse- often taking others with them.
It's not the first time a system has been conceived to alert drivers that they might be too tired to drive- but it is currently the most advanced.
Mercedes engineers studied people who were drowsy for various physical similarities. Their findings serve for the basis of the yet-unnamed system which will be present in new products from the German carmaker within a few years time.
For instance, sleepy drivers blink more often, but more slowly. For that reason, an infared sensor fixed on the drivers head monitors his blinking patterns and sounds an alarm if sleep is imminent. Yet another warning sign is a lack of steering wheel input- if the driver doesn't steer for a pre-set
period of time, the alarm will also sound.
"Microsleep" is a dangerous condition of spontaneous over-fatigue which can even result in the driver loosing consciousness with their eyes open. The new Mercedes system combats microsleep by monitoring a slew of fatigue-related variables instead of just one or two.
It's no substitute for a good nights sleep, but it will serve to get drowsy drivers home to bed more safely.
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| (Photo: DaimlerChrysler) |
It's not the first time a system has been conceived to alert drivers that they might be too tired to drive- but it is currently the most advanced.
Mercedes engineers studied people who were drowsy for various physical similarities. Their findings serve for the basis of the yet-unnamed system which will be present in new products from the German carmaker within a few years time.
For instance, sleepy drivers blink more often, but more slowly. For that reason, an infared sensor fixed on the drivers head monitors his blinking patterns and sounds an alarm if sleep is imminent. Yet another warning sign is a lack of steering wheel input- if the driver doesn't steer for a pre-set
 |
| (Photo: DaimlerChrysler) |
"Microsleep" is a dangerous condition of spontaneous over-fatigue which can even result in the driver loosing consciousness with their eyes open. The new Mercedes system combats microsleep by monitoring a slew of fatigue-related variables instead of just one or two.
It's no substitute for a good nights sleep, but it will serve to get drowsy drivers home to bed more safely.