Drowsiness Prevention System in Automatic Driving -- Effects of Light Position on Comfortable and Unconscious Wakefulness During Driving

Zhang, Han; Lee, Seunghee · 2023 · Crossref

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1002816

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Summary

This study addresses the critical safety challenge of driver drowsiness in highly automated driving (HAD) environments, particularly on highways where monotonous conditions increase fatigue risks. While existing drowsiness prevention systems (DPS) often rely on intrusive auditory alarms that negatively impact the driving experience, this research investigates whether combining voice reminders with visual stimuli at different locations can induce "comfortable and unconscious wakefulness." The primary objective was to determine how the position of light stimuli—specifically on the steering wheel (handwheel) versus the ambient cabin environment—affects driver concentration, subjective sleepiness, and emotional response compared to voice-only alerts. The experiment involved twenty participants (mean age 33.7 years) who underwent simulated driving sessions in a full-scale vehicle mock-up. Each participant experienced three 20-minute conditions in random order: voice-only reminders, voice with handwheel lighting, and voice with ambient lighting. Drowsiness and attention were measured using the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) for subjective fatigue, the Mackworth Clock Vigilance Test (MCVT) for reaction time and attention, and EEG headsets for physiological data. Additionally, participants completed a subjective evaluation survey assessing emotional responses such as excitement, anxiety, and surprise. Stimuli were triggered when participants missed or delayed responses in the MCVT. The results indicated no significant differences among the three stimulation modalities regarding objective attention scores (MCVT, p = .547) or overall subjective sleepiness levels (KSS, p = .082). However, the position of the light significantly influenced the driver’s audiovisual experience. Post-hoc Bonferroni pairwise comparisons revealed that participants felt significantly more "surprised" when the handwheel light was activated compared to both the no-light condition (p = .012) and the ambient light condition (p = .036). Conversely, there were no significant differences in the perception of being "awake" across the three conditions. Notably, while the overall KSS scores did not differ significantly between conditions, pre- and post-experiment comparisons showed that both ambient (p = .013) and handwheel (p = .003) lights significantly reduced drowsiness compared to baseline, whereas voice-only stimulation was less effective. The study concludes that while light position does not alter objective vigilance or general wakefulness perception, it significantly impacts the subjective emotional experience of the driver. Specifically, handwheel lighting induces a higher sense of surprise, which may be less desirable for maintaining a relaxed state compared to ambient lighting. These findings suggest that for drowsiness prevention systems aiming to maintain comfortable and unconscious wakefulness, ambient lighting may be a preferable visual placement over steering wheel lighting, as it effectively reduces drowsiness without causing the startling surprise associated with handwheel stimuli. This provides specific design references for optimizing the visual interface of future automated driving assistance systems.

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Topics

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• drowsiness
• drowsiness detection algorithms
• sleep deprivation
• circadian factors
• dark adaptation mesopic
• vigilance

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: physiological data
• Methodological Resource: tool software
• Theoretical Contribution: theory or model