An FAU team will test a low-cost, unobtrusive in-vehicle sensing system with senior drivers to see if it can detect driving behaviors indicative of cognitive impairment. Data from a driver-facing camera, forward-facing camera, and telematics unit will be downloaded regularly and compared with the results of cognitive testing of the drivers. The system, which is based on open-source hardware and software, was developed by FAU engineering researchers.
Researchers are gauging abnormal driving such as getting lost, ignoring traffic signals and signs, and near-collision events, as well as number of trips, miles on the highway, and driving in severe weather. “These travel-pattern-related driver behavior indices are known to be indicative of the changes in older drivers’ cognition and physical functions since they tend to incorporate deliberate avoidance strategies to compensate for age-related deficits,” says Ruth Tappen of FAU’s College of Nursing.
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