Fatigue technology in the heavy vehicle industry is constantly changing. From in-cab camera technology to electronic work diaries, reducing the impacts of fatigue on the road is a key part of making the wider sector safer for all road users.
Engineers at the University of California Berkeley are in the process of creating a new type of technology that could dramatically shift the goalposts in the fight against driver fatigue though. They have developed prototype earbuds that can detect signs of drowsiness in the brain.
They do this by using built-in electrodes that are designed to make contact with the ear canal. The signals detected are smaller than those detected by traditional electroencephalograms (EEGs) that attach nodes and wires to a user’s head, it is still sensitive enough to detect alpha waves.
Alpha waves are a pattern of brain activity that increases when you close your eyes or start to fall asleep. In short, the earbud could know you’re fatigued even before you do.
Associate professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences, and study senior author, Rikky Muller, says inspiration for the ear buds came from an everyday item.
“I was inspired when I bought my first pair of Apple AirPods in 2017, Muller says. “I immediately thought ‘what an amazing platform for neural recording’.
“We believe this technology has many potential uses, and that classifying drowsiness is a good indicator that the technology can be used to classify sleep and even eating disorders.”
The earbuds incorporate multiple electrodes in a cantilevered design that applies gentle outward pressure to the ear canal and uses flexible electronics to ensure a comfortable fit. Signals are then read out through a custom, low-power, wireless electronic interface.
“We found even when the signal quality from the earpieces seemed worse, we could still classify the onset of drowsiness with the same level of accuracy as much more complicated, bulky systems,” UC Berkeley postdoctoral scholar and co-first author of the study Ryan Kaveh says.
“The earpieces also retain their accuracy when categorising drowsiness in brand-new users, a characteristic of devices that could work ‘out of the box’.”
“Wireless earbuds are something we already wear all the time,” Muller adds.
“That’s what makes Ear EEG such a compelling approach to wearables. It doesn’t require anything extra.”
The Australian Automobile Association says 20 to 30 per cent of all Australian traffic collisions can be attributed to fatigue.
Road safety is once again at the forefront of the Australian transport industry’s mind, with Australian Rural Road Safety Month set to commence on September 1.
Read more ATN:
Staying safe on Australia’s rural roads
Making summer a breeze: Eurocold’s top tips
Towards Zero – Road Safety Program allocated further funding