Designing Senior Project Website
Rey A. Quiambao |
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Rosa I. Chaidez |
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Jorge L. Melchor Jr. |
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Objective
To design and implement an automated system
which will deter people from falling asleep while driving,
therefore helping to prevent unnecessary accidents from occurring.
Abstract
In today's busy society, it appears that too many accidents are occuring due to factors such
as people falling asleep while driving. People are not getting the recommended eight hours of
sleep a night, and consequently, are tired while driving. Along with this, populations have increased,
which means that there are now more vehicles on the road. Falling asleep while driving is a problem that
affects everyone who drives a vehicle. It takes only an instant for an accident to occur, and it does not
have to be your own fault, it could be someone else's.
Method of Completion
The system to be designed will be a system consisting of three main parts.
The most complicated part of the project will include the Machine Vision System which will monitor
an individual's facial expressions and detect whether the person is falling asleep while driving.
The second part of the project will include a Heart Rate Monitor which will monitor an individual's
heart rate, looking for a decrease in the individual's heart rate. The last part of the project will
consist of an Audible Alarm which will sound when both the Heart Rate Monitor and the Machine Vision
System have detected that an individual is falling asleep while driving.
Issues
Certain issues that our group faced in the process
of implementing our project mainly pertained to the Machine Vision System, but were not limited to only that.
Initially a framegrabber, with it's own specific software was going to be utilized, but it ended up not being as
practical as first expected. During the course of the software programming, this part of the project was
changed to incorporate the use of Matlab programming and that of a different camera, which actually worked much
better than the previous method. The second set of issues arose with the design of the heart rate monitor. The
photodiode which was enclosed in the reflective object sensor was very sensitive. Filtering out the noise which
it was picking up due to the flourescent lights, laboratory equipment, and 60 Hz cycles was difficult. Lastly,
since the overall system is actually meant to be placed in a vehicle in the future, the project developed was a prototype
system.
Schematics
Click here to view A to D converter configuration.
Click here to view Machine Vision configuration.
Click here to view Heart Rate Monitor configuration.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the project was completed according to the required specifications. Since the system designed
by our group was only a prototype system, improvements may be made on it in the future.
Future Improvements
The Machine Vision System can be improved upon by eliminating the software and implementing it on hardware.
This change can improve upon the systems speed, therefore allowing for better image processing techniques which would result
in more accurate calculations. As far as the Heart Rate Monitor is concerned, improvements could be made by purchasing a higher
quality sensor that possesses shielded wires to protect the sensor from external noise, and which is also designed to reduce
motion artifact.