Current Issue : January - March Volume : 2014 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 5 Articles
A car driver�s cognitive distraction is amain factor behind car accidents. One�s state of mind is subconsciously exposed as a reaction\r\nreflecting it by external stimuli. A visual event that occurs in front of the driver when a peripheral vehicle overtakes the driver�s\r\nvehicle is regarded as the external stimulus. We focus on temporal relationships between the driver�s eye gaze and the peripheral\r\nvehicle behavior. The analysis result showed that the temporal relationships depend on the driver�s state. In particular we confirmed\r\nthat the timing of the gaze toward the stimulus under the distracted state induced by amusic retrieval task using an automatic speech\r\nrecognition system is later than that under a neutral state while only driving without the secondary cognitive task.This temporal\r\nfeature can contribute to detecting the cognitive distraction automatically. A detector based on a Bayesian framework using this\r\nfeature achieves better accuracy than one based on the percentage road center method....
This paper investigates the possibility of improving the fuel efficiency by decreasing the engine speed during the coasting phase\r\nof the vehicle. The proposed approach is stimulated by the fact that the engine losses increase with the engine speed. If the engine\r\nspeed is retained low, the engine losses will be reduced and subsequently the tractive torque will be increased, enabling the vehicle to\r\nremain moving for longer duration while coasting. By increasing the time period of the coasting the fuel efficiency can be increased,\r\nespecially travelling downhill, since it can benefit from the kinematic energy stored in the vehicle to continue coasting for a longer\r\nduration. It is already industry standard practice to cut fuel during coasting and refuel at lowengine speed.Thesubstantial difference\r\nproposed in this paper is the controlled reduction of engine speed during this phase and thus reduction in the engine losses, resulting\r\nin improved fuel economy.The simulationmodel is tested and the results illustrating an improvement to the fuel efficiency through\r\nthe proposed method are presented. Some results of the experimental tests with a real vehicle through the proposed strategy are\r\nalso presented in the paper....
It was identified that traffic accidents relate closely to the driver�s mental and physical states immediately before the accident by our\r\nquestionnaire survey. Distraction is one of the key human factors involved in traffic accidents. We reproduced driver�s cognitive\r\ndistraction on a driving simulator by means of imposing cognitive loads such as doing arithmetic and having conversation while\r\ndriving.Visual features such as test subjects� gaze direction, pupil diameter, and head orientation, together with heart rate fromECG,\r\nwere used in this study to detect the cognitive distraction.We improved detection accuracy obtained from earlier studies by using\r\nthe AdaBoost. This paper also suggests a multiclass identification using Error-Correcting Output Coding, which can identify the\r\ndegree of cognitive load. Finally, we verified the effectiveness of the multiclass identification by conducting a series of experiments.\r\nAll these aimed at developing a constituent technology of a driver monitoring system that is expected to create adaptive driving\r\nsafety supporting system to lower the number of traffic accidents...
The limited amount of energy stored on board of battery electric vehicles (BEV) spurs research activities in the field of efficiency\r\noptimization for electric drive train applications in order to achieve an enhanced mileage. In this work a control method for BEV\r\napplications with two drive trains (e.g., one at the front and one at the rear axle) is presented.Herein, a simple optimization algorithm\r\nis introduced enabling to operate the two drives with different torque values, depending on the instantaneous operation point,\r\nleading to a reduction of apparent power losses on board. Simulations on a virtual BEV yield a decrease in the cumulated energy\r\nconsumptions during typical BEV operation, leading to an increase in the achievable mileage....
While the field of automotive HCI research abounds in driver-focused design and studies of driver distraction, relatively little\r\nattention has been directed to the front seat passengers.Achallenge for designers and researchers is the ideation through exploration\r\nof passenger experiences and needs and the question of how to integrate them in design solutions. In this paper, we ground an\r\nideation exercise based on results of a probing study conducted at two petrol stations. A probing package for front seat passengers\r\nwas designed and distributed in cooperation with a petrol station company. Approximately 700 customers were approached\r\nrandomly and 90 probe packages were handed out. 30 probing packages were returned and a segment clustering and a qualitative\r\nanalysis were performed. The results gave insights into the activities and needs of front seat passengers and were then used in a\r\ndesign workshop together with a group of industrial designers. A set of ideas for novel interface solutions for front seat passengers\r\nwere developed such as the invisible engine (look through the motor block with a display-based camera system).We further discuss\r\nthe challenges and shortcomings of how to interpret and express ideas when transferring qualitative research findings into design....
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