Fairport, NY: Saelig Company, Inc. (www.saelig.com) has introduced a novel solution to monitor driver fatigue that is based on Plessey’s multi-award winning EPIC sensor technology. An array of EPIC electric potential sensors can be built into a vehicle seat back, with optimal sensing location chosen to eliminate differences in the operators’ height and build. Electrical artifact noise caused by movement is minimized by placing the sensors on the lower part of the seat back, away from the shoulders. The system uses a capacitive “driven-ground-signal” plane, placed under the seat cover fabric on the base of the seat, to form a system completely hidden from the car occupant. Additional noise reduction can be achieved by coupling this “driven-ground-signal” to the steering wheel. The system has been demonstrated to be immune to electrical noise sources within the vehicle, detecting > 95% of heart beat peaks over a variety of driving conditions.
Until recently, measuring an ECG signal in a car, truck or airplane meant having a set of electrodes attached to driver’s chest skin using gel and tape. However, because the EPIC sensor utilizes capacitive coupling, it can actually measure ECG through normal clothing and seat cover fabric without actual skin contact. By monitoring a parameter called Heart Rate Variability (HRV) – a measure of how stable the heart rate is from beat to beat – it is possible to tell when the driver is starting to become sleepy. Studies have shown that driver fatigue may be a contributory factor in up to 20% of road accidents and up to 25% of fatal and serious accidents. Aircraft and industrial machinery accidents also reflect similar statistics. Manufacturers are constantly looking for ways to make their vehicles safer especially since safety can be a strong selling point. Aircraft accidents in particular not only cause untold personal damage, they also tarnish the safety record of both the airline and the aircraft maker.
The Plessey EPIC Vehicle Demo Kit includes: a seat pad containing a six EPIC sensor array on the back portion and a ground plane on the base, an interface box with a USB output to a PC, USB cable, and software for display and recording.
Made by Plessey Electronics, a leading European innovator in the development of integrated circuits and sensors, the EPIC Fatigue Monitoring Evaluation Kit PS25502 is available in North America from Saelig Company, Inc. Fairport, NY, Plessey’s USA technical distributor. For detailed specifications, free technical assistance, or additional information, please contact Saelig 888-7SAELIG, via email: info@saelig.com, or by visiting http://www.saelig.com/category/MFR0113.htm.
About Saelig Company, Inc.
Founded in 1988 in Rochester, New York, Saelig is a North American distributor with a growing reputation for finding and sourcing unique, easy-to-use control and instrumentation products and related active components, for use in a variety of industries, including: automation, automotive, aerospace & defense, computers, controls, embedded systems, medical & pharmaceutical manufacturing, motion control, R&D, wireless, etc. Products lines are continuously added from sources across the globe, and are offered at highly competitive prices, accompanied by full in-house technical support, exceptional customer service, and fast delivery. For full details of available product lines, please visit www.saelig.com.
About Plessey Semicoductors Ltd.
Plessey Semiconductors are leading experts in the development and manufacture of semiconductor products used in sensing, measurement and control applications. Plessey’s products are found in a wide range of markets including communications, manufacturing, medical, defense, aerospace and automotive. Plessey designs products for high performance applications and its range of integrated sensing products includes CMOS image sensors, Hall Effect devices and its award-winning EPIC electric potential sensors. These products all benefit from Plessey’s high precision, high temperature and radiation tolerant technologies.
