Using wearable devices in naturalistic driving to analyze brain activity in roundabout maneuvers

Abstract

Naturalistic Driving Studies (NDS) register data in real driving situations, trying to extract conclusions about how real drivers behave in specific situations, and for this purpose unobtrusive devices are used. In this paper, we present our work analyzing brain activity using Muse, a wearable electroencephalography (EEG) brain band, and an ad-hoc Android smartphone application. Our study is focuses in a specific maneuver: the roundabouts, and in the comparison between the brainwaves produced in that handling and in a straight section. For this purpose we made the same route in different moments of the day and under different weather conditions, and we isolate a specific stretch of six roundabouts and a straight one. Then we compare the beta and gamma brainwaves obtained in this two different maneuvers, which occurs in normal brain alert consciousness, attention or concentration states.