A Study on the Gaze Range Calculation Method During an Actual Car Driving Using Eyeball Angle and Head Angle Information

Abstract

Car operation requires advanced brain function. Currently, evaluation of the motor vehicle driving ability of people with higher brain dysfunction is medically unknown and there are few evaluation criteria. The increase in accidents by elderly drivers is a social problem in Japan, and a method to evaluate whether elderly people can drive a car is needed. Under these circumstances, a system to evaluate brain dysfunction and driving ability of elderly people is needed. Gaze estimation research is a rapidly developing field. In this paper, we propose the gaze calculation method by eye and head angles. We used the eye tracking device (TalkEyeLite) made by Takei Scientific Instruments Cooperation. For our image processing technique, we estimated the head angle using the template matching method. By using the eye tracking device and the head angle estimate, we built a system that can be used during actual on-road car operation. In order to evaluate our proposed method, we tested the system on Japanese drivers during on-road driving evaluations at a driving school. The subjects were one instructor of the car driving school and eight general drivers (three 40–50 years old and five people over 60 years old). We compared the gaze range of the eight general subjects and the instructor. As a result, we confirmed that one male in his 40s and one elderly driver had narrower gaze ranges.

Gaze-Based Vehicle Driving Evaluation of System with an Actual Vehicle at an Intersection with a Traffic Light

“…In this chapter, we introduce the eye tracking and GPS devices. The eye tracking device is the same as in reference [16].…”

“…Regarding visual field abnormalities during driving, studies focusing on the number of fixations [13], average fixation time, average eye movement distance and focusing on the narrowing of the gaze range and peripheral visual field [14][15][16] have been conducted. Although distraction can be detected using these methods, they are insufficient as a method for determining the cause of distraction.…”

Design of room-temperature infrared photothermoelectric detectors based on CNT/PEDOT:PSS composites

“…Generally, ocular sensors mainly monitor temperature changes or motion variations such as the blinking period. 34,35 The thermal radiation of eyeballs covers the MWIR regime, and frequently used infrared tomography (IRT) can offer accurate temperature results with high resolution. 36 However, IRT is costly and cannot achieve portable real-time monitoring.…”

Vital Sign Monitoring in Car Seats Based on Electrocardiography, Ballistocardiography and Seismocardiography: A Review

“…The ongoing demographic change and slowly increasing life expectancy will lead to an increasing number of older car drivers [ 1 , 5 , 17 , 18 ]. That is a reason for the necessity of medical support in the automotive industry, which is expected to attract further attention from insurance companies, healthcare providers or emergency services.…”

“…Currently, there are multiple sensors located on various locations (e.g., in the steering wheel [ 1 , 38 , 39 , 40 ] or sensors which focus on the eyes in order to monitor drivers’ activity [ 3 , 4 , 17 , 41 ]. One such system which was integrated into a car seat was developed by researchers from the Nottingham Trent University in UK.…”