SCS Software posted an interesting report describing how its popular sim Euro Truck Simulator 2 has been used to develop fatigue monitoring gear.
In the post on Steam we read about Michal Martinka, a researcher at the Technical University of Liberec in Czechia, Faculty of Textiles. He has been developing smart t-shirts that can monitor vital signs and detect fatigue in a driver much more efficiently than what vehicles can do nowadays.
Testing the technology in a real vehicle would have been prohibitively dangerous, so the research team created a simple simulation rig with a real car seat and a commercial truck wheel, on top of a PC running Euro Truck Simulator 2.
During six months of testing, the rig and the game were used to test challenging real-life driving schedules often from 6:00 am to 2:00 or 3:00 pm, replicating fatigue-inducing conditions and enabling the testing of the gear.
Specifically, the gear developed by the team can monitor breathing patterns to pinpoint the moment in which a driver enters a microsleep, which is a sudden and temporary moment in which an individual becomes unconscious for a few seconds, and is extremely dangerous while on the road.
This resulted in the development of sensors that are nearly invisible, washable, and are more precise in detecting fatigue than standard vehicle equipment.
Martinka’s research already garnered attention overseas, specifically in Japan, while he has been collaborating with other universities in the Czech Republic as well.
That being said, the research is still ongoing, and Martinka’s team continues to improve the sensors via ongoing research.
If you’re unfamiliar with Euro Truck Simulator 2, it’s a truck driving simulator available exclusively for PC and it recently received update 1.53 with the rework of Germany, (including Berlin, München, Mannheim, Leipzig, and Dresden) and another rework for the Volvo FH Series 4. Free add-ons including the Iveco S-Way and the Volvo FH Series 6 and 5 have also been released.
A DLC dedicated to Greece has been recently released and you can take a look at screenshots of the Highways, a massive cement production plant, the Corinth Canal, industries and depots, some natural vistas, big cities, smaller ones on the coast, the hotels, and an extensive gameplay video.
The next regional release is the Nordic Horizons DLC, you can check out its landscapes, landmarks, and the city of Oulu, while the nearby (geographically) Scandinavia DLC will get a relevant update to match it.
A few days ago, we also learned more about further plans for the simulator and its sister game American Truck Simulator, on top of the upcoming rigid trucks.
