Abstract:

A driving simulator experiment was carried out to validate the effect of the environmental sound as a fatigue countermeasure. Various types of the simulating sound rource were synthesized by different intensities, frequencies, and durations of sound. The monotonow scene at midday was chosen to do experiment because of initiating easily the fatigue symplom. The eye movement and the other facial features were used as the criteria for fatigue judgement. The sound stimuli were given as the fatigue symptom appeared, and the variations of the driver physiological signals including the electroencephalogram, the electwcardiogram, and the eye movement and his driving performance were analyzed before and during the sound stimulation. The results showed the alerting reaction exists for the monotonous sound stimulation when the driver is in the fatigue state, but the alert only lasts for a few minutes. The type of the stimulating sound affects significantly  on the result of stimulation. Therefore, it is necessary to further study the effects of various factors of the sound against the driving fatigue and establish a lasting, alerting sound combination as an effective driving fatigul countermeasure.

Key words: engineering of communications and transportation safety, driving fatigue, sound stimulus, driving simulator, physiological indicator, driving performance