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Ford's Driver Drowsiness Study 

Using Their VIRTTEX Simulator 

Has Come to a Successful End

March 12, 2004

Ford is the only North American automaker with a full-motion-based driving simulator like VIRTTEX, and they have encouraged more than thirty drivers to literally fall asleep at the wheel in order to provide data which will significantly improve car occupant safety.

Drowsiness currently causes more than 1,500 traffic deaths in the U.S. each year but hopefully the results from this research will progressively help to change that situation. The new safety technology will debut on Volvo later in the decade.

An earlier press release on the research read:

Ford is testing technology to combat the deadly problem of drowsy driving by having drivers literally fall asleep at the wheel.

It's all completely safe – utilizing Ford's state-of-the-art VIRTTEX driving simulator. The study began in October. By the time it comes to an end in March, more than 30 drivers will have taken part in the study into driver drowsiness and accident avoidance. The findings will be analyzed and announced later in the spring.

VIRTTEX stands for VIRtual Test Track EXperiment. Ford is the only North American automaker with a full-motion-based driving simulator like VIRTTEX.

The research findings will be used to develop new safety technology, slated to debut first on Volvo vehicles, known as the world's safety leader – and then possibly later on other Ford Motor Company brands.

A Deadly Problem

"Driver fatigue and falling asleep while driving is a deadly problem," said Jeff Greenberg, staff technical specialist, Vehicle Design Research, Ford Research and Advanced Engineering, and manager of the VIRTTEX lab. "What we are attempting to understand is what happens when a driver falls asleep at wheel, and when this scary situation occurs, how best to keep these drivers from hurting themselves and others on the road."

According to U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates, drowsiness accounts for about four percent of all fatal crashes – more than 1,500 deaths each year. It is a major cause of catastrophic accident and injury. It is estimated that approximately 100,000 police-reported crashes annually – about 1.5 percent of all crashes – involve drowsiness and fatigue as a principal causal factor.

"These are often not minor accidents when they occur," said Greenberg. "When someone falls asleep at the wheel, the vehicle often leaves the lane and the roadway – followed by a major crash or rollover. Our goal is to better understand these incidents and investigate whether new technologies could be developed that might detect this situation and help prevent it from happening."

Ford and Volvo researchers are investigating ways to sense when a driver is falling asleep and beginning to veer out of the vehicle's lane. After ascertaining that in fact the driver is falling asleep, the team is testing technology to help prevent that unintended lane departure.

There are several concepts being studied for effectiveness when the vehicle systems sense the driver falling asleep: The simulated vibration and sound of running over a rumble strip is broadcast. Red lights flash. And the wheel is forcibly turned to keep the vehicle from swerving out of its lane.

Planning the Tests

Prior to the start of the study, the experiments had to be designed, tested and constructed – and test subjects had to be selected. Using VIRTTEX, North America's premier driving simulator, the subjects would be allowed to fall asleep during the test in complete safety.

In September, a Ford Taurus, which had starred in an earlier breakthrough driver distraction study, was moved out of the VIRTTEX test chamber, and a Volvo S80 was moved in. The piece of technology most visible to the driver is the addition of a high-resolution camera on the center console pointed at the drivers face. It is meant to monitor the eyes and eye movement. A computer calculates the percentage of eye closed versus eye open – to sense if the driver is falling asleep.

"Our intent is to make sure this system, when developed, works right," said Greenberg. "There is nothing more annoying to a driver than false signals – false beeps, buzzes and vibration – when the driver is not falling asleep. False signals could nag the driver to the point he or she just turns it off. And a system that is turned off is not serving any purpose whatsoever."

When Ford researchers were confident that the test procedures and machinery were designed right – it was time to hire the test subjects.

Selecting the Subjects

More than 300 potential test subjects were interviewed with a detailed 15-page questionnaire. Researchers were looking for a varied group of men and women that represented likely Volvo customers in terms of income and vehicle desire.

More than 30 men and women were selected, ranging in ages from 21 to 70. They are asked to stay up all night, the night before the test, and take no caffeine after six p.m. that preceding evening. A sensor placed on a watchstrap is worn the day before the test to verify that the test subject does not fall asleep.

Performing the Tests

Early the following morning, after a sleepless night, the test subject is driven to the Ford Scientific Research Laboratories. At six a.m. the test subject enters the VIRTTEX simulator and then drives for up to three hours on a simulated darkened country road.

Some participants were unable to complete the test, falling asleep and then being unable to awaken sufficiently to complete the exercise. Others completed the drive route without incident. Most participants were somewhere in between -- dozing off and being awakened, often several times.

New Safety Features May Result

"VIRTTEX is a great tool to test driver behavior efficiently, adequately and safely," said Robert Hansson, manager, Vehicle Controls, Volvo Cars. "It provides important help in the evaluation of alternative technologies in order to come to grips with the drowsiness issue. While we are in the pure research stage at this point, we are optimistic that important findings and developments lie ahead."

Source: Ford