"Reducing Drowsy Driving by Measuring Brainwaves" Hyundai Mobis Proven with Gyeonggi Bus

Brainwave-Based Driver Monitoring System
Reduces Crisis Situations by up to 30% and Highway Inattention by 20%

Overview of Hyundai Mobis Embrain. It is a hearing aid-shaped wearable device that measures brain waves and alerts the driver in various ways when inattentive situations occur.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] A pilot project has shown that measuring drivers' brainwaves can significantly reduce dangerous situations such as drowsy driving. Among automotive accident prevention technologies using biometric signals, utilizing brainwaves is considered an advanced field. Currently, commercialized technologies mainly involve monitoring drivers' gaze and providing alerts. Actively using biometric signals like brainwaves is expected to contribute to reducing traffic accidents involving large commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks.

Hyundai Mobis, together with the Gyeonggi Research Institute, disclosed on the 18th the analysis results of the Embrain effect, which was pilot-applied to public buses in Gyeonggi Province over the past year. Embrain is a brainwave-based driver monitoring system developed by the company last year, the first of its kind in the world. It is a wearable device in the form of a hearing aid that measures brainwaves around the ear, enabling real-time monitoring of the driver's condition.

The pilot project results showed that drivers wearing this device reduced drowsy driving and failure to focus on the road during post-meal periods, when drowsiness is frequent, by nearly 30%. On highways, driver inattention was reduced by about 20%.

It also helps drivers quickly refocus on the road even in situations of drowsy driving or distraction. The Embrain device detects inattentive situations in real time and provides warnings through speakers around the neck or vibrating seats. Drivers using this device were able to recover their attention in as little as 2.3 seconds, compared to 6.7 seconds?about three times longer?without it.

Photo by Asia Economy DB

The company cited as a key achievement of this demonstration project the acquisition of valid data on how brainwave signals respond to drivers' health conditions and driving environments in real traffic situations. Data obtained from actual road driving is considered a core competitive advantage for refining vehicle healthcare technologies.

A company representative said, "Currently, global competitors in the vehicle healthcare sector are showcasing autonomous driving technologies using relatively easy-to-measure biometric signals such as pupil response or pulse. Through this pilot project, we have achieved world-first technology development and secured large-scale data in the more advanced brainwave technology field."

Hyundai Mobis plans to expand the use of this device to about 300 public buses by the end of this year. The pilot project was conducted in three phases with 12 buses. The company intends to broaden the demonstration scope and accelerate analysis by introducing deep learning technology. In addition to deep learning for interpreting brainwave signals, they will speed up the development of digital healthcare technologies integrating other biometric signals. Examples include technologies that detect heart rate and electrocardiograms via steering wheel sensors and technologies that recognize the entire face to assess passenger conditions.

They also plan to collaborate in various ways, including demonstration projects, with local governments and the transportation industry. The industry expects that in the fully autonomous driving stage using Purpose Built Vehicles (PBVs), it will be possible to provide customized healthcare and infotainment services based on passengers' biometric signals.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.