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Changes in a driver's physiological variables indicate his condition. Knowing how these variables change when driving is important in measuring the driver's mental and physical fatigue caused by driving. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the number of hours of driving and characteristics of heart rate variable (HRV) signal. 5 subjects were asked to drive four different passenger vehicles on an expressway. All tests were repeated twice. The experimental number was 40 times. After 3-hours of driving, differences in the HRV signal characteristics were observed. These indicated that driving fatigue is able to detected through the HRV signal.

The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship of driver's fatigue and driving postures in the actual automobile, and the type of accumulation of fatigue. The experiment was performed on actual automobile. Also the total distance of driving (about 250Km), total driving time (about 3 Hours), and driving speed (about 90Km/H) were fixed. Measurements of fatigue were based on the electromyography (EMG), flicker test, Kwansei-gakuin sleepiness scale (KSS), and so on. According to the results, lumbar had more discomfort than neck. Flicker values were decreased as time passed. And it was founded that closed posture was fatigued more easily than open posture. The results of this study can be effectively used to take a more comfortable driving posture. Also, it can be used to design comfortable automotive driving workstation, in particular, automotive design for Korean. Obtaining more data for better driving comfort is desirable because of individual characteristics.

Driving is a complex activity with the continuously changing environment. Safe driving can be challenged by changes in drivers’ physical, emotional, and mental condition. Population in the developed world is aging, so the number of older drivers is increasing. Older drivers have relatively higher incidences of crashes precipitated by drivers’ medical emergencies when compared to another age group. On the elderly population, automakers are paying more attention to developing cars that can measure and monitor the drivers’ health status to protect them. In recent years, the automotive industry has been integrating health, wellness, and wellbeing technologies into cars with Internet of Things (IoT). A broad range of applications is possible for the IoT-based elderly smart healthcare monitoring systems.

Drivers’ physical and physiological states change with prolonged driving. Driving for extended periods of time can lead to an increased risk of low back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders, caused by the discomfort of the seats. Static and dynamic are the two main categories must be considered within the seating development. The posture and orientation of the occupant are the important factors on static comfort. Driving posture measurement is essential for the evaluation of a driver workspace and improved seat comfort design. This study evaluated the comfortable driving posture through physiological and ergonomics measurements of an automotive premium driver seat. The physiological evaluation includes electroencephalographic (EEG) for brain waves, Biopac’s AcqKnowledge program, and subjective measurements on 32 healthy individuals. JACK simulation was used for the ergonomics evaluation, i.e., the magnitude of the spinal loads about lumbar vertebrae was estimated.

In this study, we analyzed the physiological characteristics of elderly drivers when they met an unexpected event like a sudden stop by the car in front or cut in lane while driving on the highway. Electroencephalogram (EEG), electrocardiogram (ECG), Galvanic skin response (GSR), and skin temperature (SKT) were measured and analyzed from drivers during driving using a driving simulator. In this experiment, 20 elderly people (males, 65.6±5.0 years old) who have driving experience more than 10 years participated. As a control group, twenty young male adults (26.3±2.0 years old) in twenties whose driving experience was over 3 years. All subjects performed practice driving about for 10 min to adapt to the driving simulator before the main test. Driving speeds given to subjects were 50, 70, 90, 110 km/h. Unexpected events were repeated twice. As a result, compared with young drivers, elderly drivers showed longer and greater cognitive strain while driving simulator.

The physiological stress and responses involved in last-minute braking situations are studied very little. The purpose of this study was to investigate older and younger drivers' physiological (central and autonomic nervous systems') responses and driving performance in two unexpected driving situations in a driving simulator. The subjects performed the test for two times, one for unexpected event while driving during 70 km/h and another driving during 90 km/h. An unexpected event described as while the lead-vehicle stops unexpectedly the subject vehicle needs to apply last minute braking. Nineteen healthy older (age: 65.6 ± 5.0 years) and nineteen healthy younger (age: 26.3 ± 2.0 years) drivers performed continuously simulated driving tasks with a simultaneous physiological parameters recording of each subject.

Seating comfort is one of the most important indicators of the performance of automotive seats. The objective and subjective evaluation of seating comfort plays an important role in the development of seating systems. Objective methods are primarily based on evaluating the influence of vibrations on the driver's seat and assessing the seat pressure ratio. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate the comfort of two car seats (sedan and compact) by comparing a subjective technique with an objective technique like body pressure ratio for a sample of 12 subjects. The results show that the pressure ratio for IT (ischial tuberosity) and L4/L5 were significantly greater for the seat of a compact car than the seat of a sedan car. The subjective comfort was significantly greater for the seat of the sedan car and females than the seat of the compact car and males, respectively.

Vibration is both a source of discomfort and a possible risk to human health. There have been numerous studies and knowledge exists regarding the vibrational behavior of vehicle seats on adult human occupants. Children are more and more becoming regular passengers in the vehicle. However, very little knowledge available regarding the vibrational behavior of child safety seats for children. Therefore, the objective of this study was to measure the vibrations in three different baby car seats and to compare these to the vibrations at the interface between the driver and the automobile seat. The test was performed on the National road at the average speed of 70 km/h and acceleration levels were recorded for about 350 Sec (5.83 min). One male driver considered as an adult occupant and a dummy having a mass of 9 kg was representing one year old baby. Four accelerometers were used to measure the vibration. All measured accelerations were relative to the vertical direction.

The ride comfort in road vehicles and the drivers' fatigue are dependent on a complex combination of variables, including the vibration. In many study, ride comfort and driving fatigue are studied as an independent research area respectively. A subjective measures, as a general method, are used in evaluating them. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the factors affecting drivers' ride comfort and fatigue in a scientific and systematic manner in order to provide the drivers with more safely operated automobiles and to prevent the traffic accidents due to fatigue. An evaluating system for ride quality and fatigue in vehicle is constructed. This system consists of a 12 axis vibration measurement module, an electromyography(EMG) measurement module and an ultrasonic 3D motion analyzer. In this study, we investigated the overall ride value of seven types of vehicle so as to choose the two vehicles which have a good or bad ride quality.