New biomonitoring innovation ‘can help prevent car accidents’

Researchers in Spain have developed a possible new means of preventing fatigue-related car accidents through the use of biomonitoring sensors.

The EU-funded project, dubbed Harken, is being carried out at the Instituto de Biomecanica de Valencia (IBV) and aims to produce a means of non-invasively tracking a driver's heart rate to gauge their fatigue and alertness levels, reports The Engineer.

Their method involves incorporating sensors and a signal-processing unit into seatbelts and into driving seat covers, drawing power from the car's own battery and offering enough sensitivity to differentiate between signals given off by the movements of the driver and the car itself.

Having developed this technology, the team now hopes to produce accompanying visual and audible warning systems that change intensity depending on how tired the driver becomes.

Dr Jose Solaz, IBV innovation manager for automobile and mass transportation technologies, said: "The safety belt works, in this case, as a sensor, but it keeps its normal functions as a passive safety element."

In the UK, it is estimated that almost 20 percent of accidents on major roads are sleep-related. Such incidents are more likely than others to result in a fatality or serious injury.