First Passenger- Driver Alerting SystemAbhinab Sonowal

IIT GuwahatiDept. of Design

abhinab@iitg.ac.in

Anmol SinghIIT Guwahati

Dept. of Designs.anmol@iitg.ac.in

Sruzan LollaIIT Guwahati

Dept. of Designlolla.sruzan@iitg.ac.in

Manteshori DeviIIT Guwahati

Dept. of Designyengkhom@iitg.ac.in

ABSTRACTThe authors in this paper have tried to identify the major causes of road accident through design research methods. They have zeroed down on one of the many causes and have tried to provide a solution in their capacity to reduce the rising number of deaths every year in road accidents.

KeywordsRoad Accidents, Drivers, Design research, Human Computer Interaction

ACM Classification KeywordsH.5.2- User-Centered Design, H.5.5- Modelling.

INTRODUCTIONRoad safety is a multi-sectorial and multi-dimensional subject. It relies on modern traffic management systems and practices, improved safety standards in design, construction, operation and maintenance of roads, and production and maintenance of safer vehicles. Owing to unsafe conditions on roads, the rate of accidents in India has been high. According to WHO statistics for 2010, out of about 1.24 million road accident deaths across the world, 231,087 deaths were reported from India alone [1]. The social cost of road accidents in India at about 3 per cent of GDP. Considering the gravity of the situation, there is consensus that concerted measures are necessary for reducing this high level of accident deaths and injuries through improved safety measures and traffic management. In India with the expansion in road network, motorization and urbanization in the country, the number of road accidents have surged. Road traffic injuries (RTIs) and fatalities have emerged as a major public health concern, with RTIs having become one of the leading causes of deaths, disabilities and hospitalizations which impose severe socio- economic costs across the world.[2]

CAUSES OF ROAD ACCIDENTSMaximum of the road accidents are caused by human error. The project specification called for a review of the following causes [2]

Over Speeding

Drunken Driving

Distractions to Driver

Over Speeding

Most of the fatal accidents occur due to over speeding. It is a natural psyche of human to excel. If given a chance man is sure to achieve infinity in speed. But when we are sharing the road with other users we will always remain behind some or other vehicle. Increase in speed multiplies the risk of accident and severity of injury during accident.

Drunken Driving

Consumption of alcohol to celebrate any occasion it’s common. But when mixed with driving it turns celebration into a misfortune, Alcohol reduces concentration.

Distraction to Driver

The distraction while driving could be minor but it can cause major accidents. Distraction could be outside or inside the vehicle. The major distraction now a day is talking on mobile while driving. Act of talking on phone occupies major portion of brain and the smaller part handles the driving skills.

Some of the distraction on road is

Adjusting mirrors while driving

Stereo/Radio in vehicle

Animals roaming on the road

Banners and billboards

SAFETY FEATURES IN VEHICLESOver the years car manufacturing companies have introduced various safety features to keep their customers happy and safe. We wanted to know about the latest safety feature existing in market, so we had to conduct stakeholder interviews to know what was economically feasible. In a business context, a "stakeholder" is a person or organization that has a legitimate interest in a project or entity. We

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interviewed a car designer and gained insights regarding the safety installations in a multi axle vehicle and their installation cost to the manufacturer. Some of the high end technologies which come factory fitted with the vehicle are

Adaptive Cruise Control

Forward collision avoidance system

Autonomous braking

Adaptive headlights

Backup camera

Parking assist

PERSONA HYPOTHESISPersona hypothesis is a first cut at defining the different kinds of users for a product. Stakeholders’ interview gave us an insight in identifying potential users to interview. Personas were created to provide basis for initial interview planning.

Figure 1. Persona of a taxi driver

CONDUCTING USER INTERVIEWSBased on the persona hypothesis, users such as bus drivers, cab drivers, etc. of different age groups were interviewed. These interviews were then analyzed to gain an insight into the general behavior of the drivers.

AFFINITY ANALYSISThe statements made by the users were examined and observed. The interviews were compiled and were put up in paper to analyze the users’ statements. A problem point was

arrived upon which needed the call for action.

Figure 2.Affinity Analysis

PRODUCT OVERVIEWAfter conducting the affinity analysis, we saw that the problem was distraction which generally leads to accidents on the road. ‘First Passenger’ is our attempt in alerting distracted drivers of vehicles and thus preventing road accidents.

Apart from alerting distracted drivers the product also displays vital information like air pressure inside the tires of the vehicles.

Fig: Indoor unit of First Passenger

WORKING OF ‘FIRST PASSENGER’ ALERT SYSTEMThe product comprises of pressure sensors, infrared sensors and an indoor unit which is to be fitted right in front of the driver on the dashboard. The indoor unit is very small (6cm X 3cm) and comprises of low air pressure in tires indicator, high speed indicator and a camera.

Low air pressure indication systemFour air pressure sensors are fitted on the wheels of the vehicle, to constantly monitor the air pressure in the tires. If there is a drop in the air pressure in any of the tires then the sensor detects it and the low air pressure indicator in the cabin unit changes color from grey to red.

Fig: Indoor unit displaying low air pressure in tyres

Distraction alert systemThe camera in the indoor unit monitors the eyes of the driver. If the camera detects that the eyes of the driver are on something else other than the road, then it activates the infrared sensor, which in turn scans the surroundings of the car while in motion. If any obstacle of considerable size appears within a range of 30 meters, the sensor detects it and the indoor unit starts to beep to get back the driver’s attention on the road.

Fig: Scanning of the infrared sensor

CONCLUSIONFirst Passenger if developed can help reduce accidents to a great extent as distraction is one of the major reasons for the death of people on the road. We have through this paper tried to provide a solution to this problem of distraction by using research methods such as user interviews, affinity analysis, etc. and prototyping the product First Passenger.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSWe would like to thank our Guide, Mr. Keyur Sorathia, Asst. Professor, Department of Design, IIT Guwahati for helping us by providing the necessary inputs required for the project.We would also like to thank the interviewees for taking out their precious time to give us an insight into their daily lives.

REFERENCES1. WHO Number of road traffic deaths

http://www.who.int/gho/road_safety/mortality/traffic_deaths_number/en/

2. Road safety and Traffic Management-Infrastructure http://www.infrastructure.gov.in/pdf/Road_Safety.pdf