How does it work?

The increasing number of deaths in the Philippines due to road crashes is quite
alarming. Based from the data presented by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA),
there was an increase of approximately 30% in the number of deaths due to road crashes
incidents from the year 2006 up until the year 2015 (Rappler, 2017). One of the causes
of this kind of accidents is drowsy driving. It is the operation of the vehicle while feeling
sleepy and very tired. In order to prevent this from happening, there is a device called
the “Sleep Sensing and Alert System for Drivers”. The purpose of the said device is to
check if the driver is falling asleep by monitoring the face of the driver while driving. This
device is composed of Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Media Center Kit as a microcontroller, a
Logitech C615 HD Webcam for webcam, a speaker and a power supply.

The Logitech C615 HD Webcam of the system is use to monitor the behavior of
the drive which includes the yawning, eye closure, eye blinking, head tilt and other face
activities of the driver. Specifically, an initial detection of the driver’s face is recorded by
the webcam to locate the eyes and their mouth of the driver. The monitoring of the face
was made possible by a high definition web camera that worked in day and even at night
with its night mode feature and its high resolution. The camera can moved in any part of
the vehicle as long as it can capture the face of the driver clearly and it did not distract
the driver while driving. The collected data from the initial detection would be stored in
the raspberry pi and will serve as a guide during the constant monitoring of the driver’s
facial gestures. If the microcontroller positively recognize signs of sleepiness or
drowsiness it would send signals to activate the speaker for it to alarm for approximately
two seconds or until the driver is alerted.

The microcontroller imbedded in the device has four USB ports and an Ethernet
port where the codes of the programs are being stored. It is also the place where the
data gathered by the webcam are being inputted. Thus, controlling the speaker if it will
give a signal in order to the wake driver up or not. Essentially, the device would only
work with the use of 12V power supply to operate all the components of the system.
The Relevance of the Perfect Technology

People use vehicles like cars as a mode of transportation. Throughout the years,
more vehicles are released which makes it more traffic and also causes accidents.
Accidents are always present everywhere which makes it difficult to avoid it which means
that these accidents must be prevented if not stopped. Almost every day, there are
reported vehicular accidents mainly due to the traffic, drunk driving, sleepy drivers and
other reasons. These accidents are common these days due to drowsy driving.

The Sleep Sensing and Alert System for Drivers will be made to observe and alert
the drivers especially if he/she is showing signs of being sleepy and not being focused in
driving. Most of the drivers in the Philippines which are involved in accidents which are
due to drowsiness (PNP – HPG, 2011). This model or technology can be a really big help
to drivers most especially to those that drives in long distances, the ones that operates
or drives huge vehicles and to those who was not able to get enough sleep. This
technology could also benefit the passengers since they can get anxious if the driver is
not focused on his/her driving and is feeling drowsy.

The relevance of this perfect technology is mainly to provide awareness to people

especially to those who always drive and gets drowsy. Its purpose is also to prevent or
lessen road accidents caused by drowsy drivers. There are certain programs that this
technology has wherein if it cannot detect the driver’s face, there will be voice recognition
that could really attract or gain the driver’s attention and make him/her focused on the
road again.

As the Philippines face these kinds of accidents, it is really important that people
should think of a way to prevent these accidents especially through technology. This
model will not only lessen the road accidents, but it will also help increase the economy
of the Philippines. If this model will be released in the market, it can benefit everyone
such as drivers, passengers, and vehicle operators.
How Original the Perfect Technology is?

As time passes by, the technological advancement are continuously growing

at the same pace of the growing population, and more technologies are being developed
for the convenience of the people specifically the consumers. The commercialization of
the advanced technologies had been a great help for the further and faster development
of our current society and the availability of these technologies have had a great impact
on the everyday life of the current generations.

There was a technology made specifically in the United States called “steer”. It is
a watch like device for your arms that will send a vibration or gentle shock at your arms
to wake you up. It has 16 sensors that measures the driver’s heart rate and if it detects
a decrease in your heartbeat it will send a vibration first and if it continues to decrease,
as if you are are falling asleep, it will send a gentle electric shock to decrease the
melatonin in your body that causes the desire to sleep, however, this device costs a
fortune. And so, researchers, graduated from the Laguna State Polytechnic University -
Sta. Cruz for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering came up to an
idea of developing a system that can make the sensory process easier to detect and not
as expensive compared with the previous study. This system produces a loud sound to
wake the driver up if it detected a change in behaviour in the face of the driver such as
yawning, rapid blinking of the eye and head tilting that indicates that the driver is sleepy.

Unlike many webcams, the Logitech C615 HD Webcam can handle the abuse of
the road. It is made of thick plastic and rubber and feels reassuringly sturdy in your hand.
It features a glass HD lens— a boon for durability and optical quality— and offers a 74-
degree field of view. Raspberry Pi is a very powerful computer having the dimensions
similar to a business card. It is not as expensive as other microcontroller yet it is capable
of providing all the basic functionalities that a computer does which costs hundreds of
dollars. A Kuku Multimedia Speaker System ST-206 has a stereo sound output for
computers, built in amplifier, power volume/tone control magnetically shielded. It is
affordable in price yet the quality is good as it gives a super high quality sound effect.
How Innovative the Perfect Technology is?

Vehicles nowadays, has become prevalent and more crucial because of an easy
transportation manner, moreover it is easier to control and safer than to commute but,
vantage situation also happens. As the number of vehicle increases the number of
accidents rises as well.

The Sleep Sensing and Alert System for Drivers is considered as very innovative
mainly because of its relevance to the growing records of accidents in the Philippines and
can be beneficial as well. It was designed to continuously monitor the face of the driver
from its overall physical characteristics from yawning, eye closure, head tilt, blinking etc.
It is monitored by HD camera and the driver is vigilant if any temporary state symptoms
are detected. Webcam was used with an alert audio system to easily alert the driver. As
for the materials used, it can be proved that the functionality of the prototype technology
is safe to use and easy to operate. Through this, number of accidents will be lessen and
many lives will be rescued, the passengers will also benefit as for their safety and also
the vehicle operators as they can lessen the occurring damages on their part.

This technology have used different technological products which helps the system
to have the top-grade evolution for its purpose. It turns the idea into a solution that
increase a value for many perspective of the community, the creativity that was applied
to the technology to create useful ideas and novel that advocates and improve the safety
of the drivers and in later time it can be used around the world to be utilized to warn the
drivers if they are showing signs of falling asleep. The said technology can be still be
improved by many researchers to be more develop. In order for small vehicles like
motorcycle use this kind of project, a smaller design should be made for them and also
concerned drivers may create a 12V power supply so that the public utility vehicles such
as jeepneys can easily use the project. Not only the technology but future researchers
should conduct constructive research that can be made for drowsy driving and its
symptoms in order to develop the system more in a precise way of monitoring the driver’s
face.
 PERFECT TECHNOLOGY:
SLEEP SENSING AND ALERT SYSTEM FOR DRIVERS

SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES LOS BAÑOS IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SOCIETY I

ALFORJA, RAIZZA ANNA

ANDAYA, NOREEN ODREE
GARCIA, GRIEZL
MALIGALIG, SHAZNAE
NOCITO, KIM DIANE
SALAZAR, DICKON PATRICK