Average heart rate for driver monitoring systems
DOI: 10.1504/ijhfe.2016.083521
archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified
Summary
Biondi, Coleman, Cooper, & Strayer (2017, IJHFE) tested whether average heart rate from a wearable monitor is a sensitive index of mental workload for driver monitoring systems in semi-autonomous vehicles. Three age groups (21-34, 35-53, 54-70) interacted with an in-vehicle infotainment voice interface at varying demand levels while heart rate was recorded with a portable commercial monitor. Average heart rate increased with secondary-task demand, and a task x age interaction showed younger drivers' heart rate rose more steeply with demand than older drivers'. The authors argue heart rate adds a complementary physiological channel to the steering- and ocular-based metrics that current driver monitoring systems rely on.
Key finding
Average heart rate from a commercial wearable scales with cognitive secondary-task demand and interacts with age (steeper rise in younger drivers), making it a viable physiological input for adaptive driver-state monitoring during automated-to-manual handovers.
Methodology
Within-subjects voice-IVIS workload manipulation crossed with three age groups (21-34, 35-53, 54-70). Average heart rate logged with a commercial portable HR monitor; workload manipulated by voice-controlled IVIS interactions of graded complexity.
Sample size: N=136 (72 female); 21-34 N=50, 35-53 N=51, 54-70 N=35.
Quality score: 5 / 5