Advanced Motorcycle Riding Simulation: a Case Study of Sleep Deprivation Effects on Motorcyclist Muscle Fatigue

Abstract

In enabling scientific studies on motorcycling, a full-scale ergonomic and adjustable motorcycle simulator, Postura MotergoTM was developed at the METAL laboratory, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. A case study was conducted using the simulator to simulate prolonged motorcycle riding simulation along with a wireless surface electromyography (sEMG) device to monitor the respondent’s muscle activities. The aim was to investigate the effects of sleep deprivation amongst motorcyclist during prolonged motorcycle riding. It involved five (5) male respondents aged 23 years with a normal BMI and several years of motorcycling experience with one (1) respondent amongst them was sleep-deprived. They were required to ride the simulator for a maximum period of 2-hours non-stop. Seven (7) bilateral muscle groups were monitored throughout the simulations. It concluded that the muscles start to fatigue at a much earlier time significantly compared to other respondents that was mainly caused by sleep deprivation.