Driver Alert system

Volvo’s Driver Alert system has been developed by the Swedish automobile maker to reduce the number of accidents on the road. The safety feature is backed by a research in which statistics have proved that driver fatigue is a major road safety hazard across the world. Studies at the Sleep Research Centre at Loughborough University show that drowsiness claims more lives on the road than drunk driving.

Volvo’s clever engineers therefore decided to come up with a system which alerts the driver when he/she lacks focus while driving. The Driver Alert system uses a camera mounted between the windscreen and rear view mirror of the car which is connected to a number of sensors and a processor that constantly monitors the distance between the car and road markings. There is also a camera located in the driver information display which monitors the driver’s eye movements and expressions to detect fatigue or drowsiness in the driver. If the driver is not fit to drive the car limits the speed of the vehicle and urges the driver to not continue driving in the current condition.

If the vehicle is moving in an uncontrolled way the system alert the driver with an audible alert and a message on the driver information display panel before the driver falls asleep. The system also works if the driver loses controlling while setting the sat-nav system, audio system or while paying attention to children in the back seat. Even after all the repeated warnings if the driver does not react to take control of the vehicle the system brings the car to a safe halt. The vehicle’s cruise control also works hand in hand to slow the vehicle down to a safe halt should the driver not react in time to an obstacle in its course.

Dr Wolfgang Birk, Driver Alert project manager at Volvo Car Corporation, said, 'During our tests on simulators and in real-life, the Driver Alert system never failed to spot a driver who was falling asleep at the wheel. 'We have chosen to monitor the car's progress on the road instead of steering wheel input or the driver's eye movements. This gives us a more reliable indication if something is likely to go wrong, allowing the system time to alert the driver before it is too late. We do not monitor human behaviour ' which varies from one person to another ' but instead the effect of that behaviour ' so there is less risk of false alarms.”

Driver Alert should not be confused with Lane Departure Warning systems which alert the driver when a lane marker is passed. One crucial difference between the systems is that Driver Alert responds without any line having to be crossed,” concluded Dr Wolfgang Birk.