Synchronization of Spontaneous Eyeblink during Formula Car Driving

Abstract

Formula car racing is a highly competitive sport. Previous studies have investigated the physiological characteristics and motor behaviors of drivers; however, little is known about how they modulate their cognitive states to improve their skills. Spontaneous eyeblink is a noteworthy factor because it reflects attentional states and is important for drivers to minimize the chance of losing critical visual information. In this study, we investigated whether the blink rate, blink synchronization among laps in each driver, and synchronization across drivers were related to their performance. Toward this end, we recorded the blinks and car behavior data of two professional drivers in quasi-racing environments. The results showed higher synchronization in higher-performance laps of each driver and across drivers but no significant change in blink rate. These results suggest that blink synchronization could reflect the changes in performance mode during formula car driving. CCS CONCEPTS• Human-centered computing → Empirical studies in HCI;• Computing methodologies → Activity recognition and understanding.

Highly reproducible eyeblink timing during formula car driving

“…There were hidden task-related spatial structures underlying the eyeblink pattern. Our analysis extrapolated findings from the known individual differences in eyeblink rate 11 , 36 ( Figures 1 F and S2 ) and eyeblink synchronicity for engagement 31 , 32 ( Figures 1 I and S4 ) and showed a correlation between short-term cognitive demand and eyeblink generation probability ( Figures 2 A and 2B). 14 , 22 These findings were valid and underlay the spatial pattern, but cast doubt 37 , 38 on the effect of the relationship between longer-term cognitive demand and eyeblink rate 19 ( Figure 1 H) in a real-world extreme sensorimotor task.…”

“… 31 With driving at a faster lap pace, cognitive demand and engagement in driving would increase, and a decrease in eyeblink rate and an increase in eyeblink pattern similarity were assumed. Our preliminary results 32 suggested that the relationship between lap pace and eyeblink timing pattern similarity was more robust than the relationship between lap pace and eyeblink frequency. This was replicated in the larger dataset of this study ( Figures 1 I, S4 , 1H, and S3 ).…”

“…Eyeblink patterns are synchronized when people are highly engaged in a task. 30 , 31 , 32 If the engagement in driving increased while the lap pace became faster, eyeblinks might become more synchronized. To test this, we compared SPIKE-distances between faster and slower laps, relative to the median of lap times ( Figures 1 I and S4 ).…”

Gaze Strategies in Driving–An Ecological Approach

“…Blinks (0.1-0.3 s duration) also break up the visual input. Expert racing drivers that are highly reliant on high-quality input seem to tactically perform blinks at specific, less critical parts of the track (Nishizono et al, 2021). 5.3.…”