Technical Report - Proposal to Install Health-Monitoring Sensors in Vehicles

Problem Statement
An ideal car should be fitted with health monitoring sensors. However, the sensors present in cars today do not have the capability to monitor the health condition of the driver. The goal is to introduce electrocardiogram (ECG) and drowsiness sensors to monitor the driver’s condition in cars.

Proposed Solution

The proposed solution is to implement the installation of ECG sensors into the driver’s seat of cars and drowsiness sensors on the top of the dashboard of cars as it has the most interaction with the driver. These sensors will allow drivers to monitor their current condition and enable the vehicles to react to emergencies when it detects that the driver is unwell. Drivers might be unaware that they are not feeling well when they are driving, and to close this gap, the sensor will be triggered and send a warning to the driver to inform them of the trigger cause. 

Having the ECG sensor on the driver’s seat will constantly monitor the pathway of electrical impulses through the heart muscle and provides detailed information on the heart’s response to injured tissues, exertion, nerve conduction. The drowsiness sensor will be placed on top of the dashboard of cars as it is stationary and it will help give a more accurate measurement. The sensor determines how long the driver’s eyes have been closed. If the sensor detects that the driver’s eyes have been closed for a certain amount of time, the sensor assumes that the driver is starting to doze off. The car will then sound an alarm to wake them up and grab their attention.

Benefits
The use of ECG sensor and drowsiness sensor is to monitor the driver’s conditions before the driver moves off and when the driver is driving. The health and wellness of the driver play a key role in determining the passengers, other road users as well as their own safety. The 4 benefits that can be attributed to this are: Safety, Enhanced User Experience, Multifunction and Awareness.

Conclusion

The proposed solution of having sensors in vehicles addresses the problem by reducing the chance of an accident happening due to drowsiness or health conditions. With assistance from automotive companies, the adoption of ECG and drowsiness sensors will be swift and ultimately help to reduce the number of road accidents each year.