RE: Thoughts on Human Factors27 Dec 2020 23:35
SEEuJ,
Been meaning to reply, but stuff got in the way!
It is always good to hear from posters who have relevant experience which complements SEE.
I would think that SEE has solved many problems along the way. Most are of the “just make it work” category with recent issues being the move to 940nm IR and the problems that they had with low sunlight reaching the camera. Many of our competitors hadn’t yet reached sufficiently demanding tests when they were selected due to the OEMs and Tier 1s not being aware of the problems that needed to be solved in this demanding environment. As a result they have either pulled the plug late or they have restricted the operating domain to 0 mph as problems were identified in the later stages of real world testing.
When Seeing Machines were developing Guardian, they controlled the whole system and are directly responsible for how it is deployed, but not for the rest of the environment, so they can’t adjust the HVAC, cab lighting, audio etc. But the seat vibrator which is installed near the kidneys is a far nicer way of waking up a driver who has dozed off than an impact with the windscreen. It operates at the lower levels of the brain and quickly rouses the driver, but it is the final shot in the arsenal, you don’t want to go nuclear for every event, or wires can get “accidentally” damaged by the driver when he next pulls over.
Stepping back from a slumped driver, it is the years of research that allows SEE to pick up the more subtle clues that happen before the pantomime yawns and stretches and eyes drooping that lesser (and purely ML trained) systems rely on.
You need to observe and measure the patterns of saccades and fixations as the eyes respond to events, check the speed, check the mirror and look at the road ahead, there are patterns and as tiredness kicks in, these patterns reduce. At the same time the pupil size changes with the external light and reacts to events, but with the onset of fatigue, the size and speed of change of pupils can also be used as a measure. These various measures have also been validated along with other more invasive tests in labs, in simulators and on the road, so you don’t need an ECG or heart monitor as the correlations are already known.
Of course that is all academic and when working with a Tier 1 for an OEM you need a system that is not only robust and reliable, but also works in the style of the OEM and works with what is available in the cabin. For some, this is a change of colour on the LEDs on the steering wheel, with escalating pings or bongs. For others it will be the infotainment muting and a soothing, then insistent voice, before the brakes are briefly used to jolt the driver. Others may crank up the A/C and reduce the volume, before you realise that you were starting to flag. We may contribute our HF advice, but the system that is eventually built by the Tier 1 is the one that is selected by the OEM.
Merry Christmas All!
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