More teenagers are killed driving while texting than drunk according to new studies. In response, engineers are looking for ways to keep young driver’s eyes fixed on the road instead of their phones.
Experimenting with a gamification interface, engineers are hoping to develop a system that makes use of eye tracking technology and proximity sensors among other measurements, to analyse a driver’s performance.
If a driver looks away from the road even for a couple of seconds, the system will alert the driver to put their eyes back on the road.
For those drivers with a competitive nature, their overall driving performance can be recorded and compared to others in their area. This friendly competition pits drivers against one another to see who can drive the most safely and efficiently.
“We also try to give people badges like in a game,” says Birsen Donmez, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering of the University of Toronto. “This may help change the intrinsic motivation of the driver.”
It is believed that the game elements of Domnez’s research will be most effective with teenagers and other risk-unaware or non-risk-averse drivers. Real-time warnings may matter more to older drivers with declines in cognitive abilities.
The biggest challenge may be in designing a feedback system that doesn’t become a new distraction.
“With something like a single alert that comes up if your eyes are off the road, the meaning is clear,” says Donmez. “But with more complex displays, we want to ensure that people’s eyes aren’t off the road for more than two seconds.”
Donmez has been running tests both in simulators and on the road, using a RAV4 tricked out with sensors and data recorders.
The vehicle was donated by Toyota Canada, supporting the research through the automaker’s Collaborative Safety Research Center (CSRC).
“Donmez’s research could eventually find its way into production,” says James Foley, senior principal engineer at CSRC. “Once the project is completed and we know the benefits it can offer to encourage safe driving and minimize driver distraction, Toyota can consider how to best incorporate them into a car.”
Donmez’s partnership with Toyota expires later in 2015, but the CSRC has announced a new round of funding.Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.