Eye-Com Research Validates PERCLOS for Drowsiness Detection: Part 3

This is the third in a series of five posts detailing the research conducted by Eye-Com Corporation in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Part 3: The Eye-Com Biosensor, Communicator and Controller (EC6)

The EC6 Measures PERCLOS to Detect Driver Drowsiness

The EC6 device is worn as an eyeglass-style, wrap-around frame. Micro-cameras embedded in the bottom, horizontal portion of the eye-frame provide video of the wearer’s eyes. LED illuminators embedded in the vertical portions of the eye-frame provide the necessary illumination upon the eye without obscuring the wearer’s vision. Data are transferred by wires running through the ear supports through a power box and to a computer running the operating software (the Eye-Com Eye-See® software).

This device can be worn as an ambulatory biosensor in any environment or domain, stationary or moving, and in any vehicle. The EC6 moves with one’s head, maintaining its same orientation to the eyes, regardless of the direction the wearer is looking or to what direction the wearer’s head is turned.

The Eye-See® program can identify the disappearance of a pupil as it is covered by a closing lid, thereby allowing for the determination of eye-blink duration (EBD) and eye-blink frequency (EBF) as well as PERCLOS. The software can also identify and track the diameter and area of the pupil, and it can track eye gaze and the movement of an eyeball over time. The EC6 system can detect and respond to driver impairment, including the gradual loss of awareness of one’s own state of sleepiness, which occurs in association with lapses in attention or sudden two- to three-second-long micro-sleeps. The EC6 can record and distinguish, in real-time, human-factor error from machine failure.

Continued in Part 4: The Eye-Com PERCLOS Validation Study

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