Seat Belt Vibration as a Stimulating Device for Awakening Drivers

This paper presents a safety driving system that uses a seat belt vibration as a stimulating device for awakening drivers. The vibration stimulus was composed of pulsation tension, which was applied by the seat belt motor retractor. Magnitude, duration, and repetition rate of the additional tension were the major parameters that determined the awakening effect of the stimulus. We constructed a driving simulator, which was able to induce driver's drowsiness. In the experiments using the driving simulator, the driver's drowsiness was detected by changes in the driver's eye movements measured by electrooculography (EOG) and/or changes in facial expression of the driver monitored by the examiners through a video camera, subjective evaluation, and lane deviation. Exerting additional tension of 130 N for 3 cycles at duration and interval of 100 ms was the most effective pattern for awakening the driver without causing discomfort.