Smart solutions to prevent you falling asleep at the wheel

Heavy eyelids, the desire to sleep … We have all experienced drowsiness driving. But what many people do not know is that this is a very dangerous phenomenon. How to limit the risks. If the safest is obviously not to drive tired, several connected objects exist to fight against the desire to sleep. Discover our selection about smart health against drowsiness.

What is drowsiness?

First of all. What are we talking about exactly when we say we are sleepy? Somnolence or hypovigilance defines a state in which our vigilance is impaired. The main symptom is difficulty staying awake. We generally alternate phases where we are fully awake and moments of sleepiness. All our warning sensors in relation to the danger are reduced. Above all, sleepiness is characterized by micro-sleep of 1 to 4 seconds and a real risk of falling asleep.

What are the symptoms that announce that you are dozing? Often your eyelids are heavy, you want to rub your eyes, change position or move frequently and finally feel cold. The first reflex to have is to stop and take a break of 10 to 15 minutes to change drivers.

What are the causes of drowsiness? It happens frequently if you have been awake for more than 17 hours, if you have slept little in the previous days or if you drive at one o’clock or you normally sleep (night, nap time …) If 50% of drivers lack of sleep, fatigue is not the only cause of drowsy driving: night trip, hearty meal, irregular pace of life, monotony of a long journey, traffic jams or syndrome of the straight line can lead to the sleepiness.

StopSleep, the smart health against drowsiness ring

StopSleep is a ring designed to prevent drowsiness while driving. It consists of two rings surmounted by an electronic box, all in antiallergic material.

The StopSleep ring is equipped with 8 skin sensors that continuously measure the “electrodermal” activity of your skin. This level of skin activity is directly correlated to your brain activity. Thus, the ring detects the slightest decrease of vigilance.

Two alert levels are defined:

Level 1: lower vigilance. The ring starts to vibrate to alert you to a decrease in attention.Level 2: pre-drowsiness. The ring vibrates and an alert sounds to indicate that you may fall asleep and a break is required.For who ?StopSleep maps to all drivers, especially those on long journeys.

Thanks to its autonomy of 15 hours, you will have no problem for long journeys. Moreover, since it loads USB, you can also put it to recharge in the car while you take a well-deserved break. But count € 199 to put this ring on your fingers.

Toucango reads the signs of fatigue on your face

It’s both a GPS and a traveling companion. Toucango is a small box to install on the driving board. It allows users to have access to a navigation system and to limit the risk of accidents due to drowsiness. For this, it incorporates a facial recognition technology to assess the attention and vigilance of the driver. If necessary, an alert is sent immediately. “Sleepiness is characterized by certain facial expressions, certain inclinations of the head, or changes in eye rhythm. Thanks to its camera, the case of Toucango can detect them, and trigger an audible and visual alarm (by blinking of LED and display of small icons on the screen) “explains Stéphane Arnoux, the CEO and co-founder of Innov +, l company that created Toucango. It also alerts the driver if he makes use of his phone that this is a dangerous move.

Toucango seems to be intended primarily for professional drivers. It also incorporates features for tracking a fleet of vehicles. In particular, it makes it possible to map the areas at risk, the places where drivers are most likely to doze. A good situation to allow companies to secure the transport of their drivers. Eventually, the company also wants to integrate artificial intelligence at the heart of the project. The idea is to customize the alarms and tracking according to each driver. No prize for the general public seems to have been unveiled.

Harken, the seatbelt that keeps you awake

Harken is a connected safety belt for measuring the driver’s heart rate. This connected object can detect falling asleep and invite the driver to take a break.

Supervised by the Biomechanics University of Valencia in Spain, companies and researchers collaborate to develop the prototype of the connected safety belt, which they call Harken (contraction of “heart and breathing in embedded car nonintrusive sensors”) .

Harken works from a simple and effective process: sensors are integrated in the car seat and within the vehicle’s safety belt. Therefore, these sensors are able to measure the heart rate and breathing of the driver in real time during a trip while eliminating the parasitic vibrations of the vehicle. By analyzing the driver’s micro-movements, the Harken project manages (at least, it is its goal), through this connected safety belt, to detect the warning signs of a relaxation; the driver is then immediately alerted and invited to take a break as soon as possible.

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