Lennart Leicht1, Pascal Vetter2, Steffen Leonhardt, Daniel Teichmann
15:18 - 15:36 | Wed 28 Jun | | WeCPl.7
In this work, a sensor system for physiological driver state monitoring is presented which is integrated onto a safety belt. The system incorporates two different sensor concepts: An optical system intended for heart activity monitoring and a magnetic induction (MI) system for respiration monitoring. The optical sensor system emits infrared (IR) light from LEDs towards the body of the driver. A part of the light passes through the clothing of the driver, is reflected in the body and detected by a photosensor in the optical sensor system. Light reflection varies during heart beat intervals and can hence be used for heart beat detection. The MI system is composed of a high-frequency oscillator incorporating an embroidered coil on the safety belt. During inspiration, the orientation of the driver changes with respect to the coil, which, due to a change in permittivity, results in a frequency change. Hence, respiration can be detected by observing the oscillator frequency. The belt-integrated sensor system has been evaluated in a laboratory experiment. Using a reference ECG as heart beat reference and a piezoelectric sensor belt strapped around the thorax as a respiration reference, the feasibility of the sensor system was investigated. First results showed a readily apparent respiratory signal and a good heart beat signal. It was shown that the monitoring of heart and breath activity is indeed possible.