Monitoring Driver Activities

Project summary:

This study sought to identify and analyze distractions to the driver both within a vehicle as well as outside. In the experimental system developed during this project, a dashboard-mounted camera uses infrared light bursts to identify the pupil of the driver's eye. Software then tracks the relative position of the eye and pupil to make observations about the driver's gaze. The Framework for Processing Video, developed by Osama Masoud at the University of Minnesota, was an important component of this resesarch. The study also developed a method for measuring the driver's response to traffic and interactions between the driver and vehicle itself. The results will be used to study distractions to the driver and their effect on driver behavior in real road conditions.