Drowsiness Alarm using Infrared Sensor as Mean of Accident Prevention

Abstract

Drowsy driving is one of the reasons for vehicle accidents. Recent study found the fact that drowsiness is a bigger risk factor in vehicle accidents than previously thought. This paper proposes a drowsiness alarm which utilizes infrared sensor to detect eyelid position of a driver. The sensor is adequately able to operate in the range of 2-30 cm. After correctly fixed into position, the sensor can evidently detect the left eyelid position of the driver, whether it is closed or open, with the accuracy of above 95%. This eyelid position is taken as the sleepiness symptom of the driver. If a sleepiness symptom is detected, then an alarm is activated. The sound of the alarm is intended to bring the driver back to full consciousness and to prevent possible vehicle crash. The proposed system also consists of a deactivator. The driver must push a correct button sequence in order to deactivate the alarm. Every event of drowsiness is recorded to a smartphone which is connected to the system via Bluetooth connection. This provides time record for further analysis and evaluation. Simulation and testing proved the ability of the sensor to accurately detect eyelid position and confirmed the functionality of the device.