Is it enough to check if the eyes are closing for long enough? I fear that there is a "pre-sleep" status, where one is unable to drive but not with his eyes closed.
When sleepy and driving I blink more, I feel loss of motor skill, and I may give off other hints well in advance of finally closing my eyes.
When I finally close my eyes it is way too late.
To put it bluntly: I fear that checking if the eyes closed for too long is as useful as checking if the airbag has deployed.
These systems often use IR illuminators, as the contrast between pupil and iris is dramatic under IR. The IR can also be boosted to compensate for other light in the cabin. Spectacles are obviously impediments.[1]
Eye tracking is also great for seeing how people use user interfaces, including VR and AR scenes.[2] Cheap custom systems are available too[3], some of which are open source[4].
I've wondered before whether something similar could be implemented to help foster focus & "flow", for those of us working at computers.
By which I mean less measuring actual drowsiness, but more "lack of focus" as detected by your facial expression (perhaps also mouse movements + current open app?). This likely wouldn't be a binary thing but rather a more fluid "guide" which notices you're beginning to lose focus and guides you back to your "best next action".
Obviously intrinsic motivation is far more beneficial than external, but still it seems that something like this could be helpful (to me at least).
I experimented with something similar using iOS. Let me know if you want the link to the Github repo.
I realized quickly that lighting conditions have a huge impact on the success of eye detection. My dad suggested that reading the steering sensor is another good way to detect drowsiness. I've been meaning to take another look now that I have a wifi OBDII adapter that will work with iOS, but haven't had the time.
Good point. Night time with glasses and reflections could be a mess.
Might actually be easier with a near IR camera and a couple small LEDs for illumination, as I believe the retina is much more reflective in that range.
When sleepy and driving I blink more, I feel loss of motor skill, and I may give off other hints well in advance of finally closing my eyes.
When I finally close my eyes it is way too late.
To put it bluntly: I fear that checking if the eyes closed for too long is as useful as checking if the airbag has deployed.