Center of Gravity Tracker for Operator Fatigue Detection

Driver fatigue is a cause of serious accidents for heavy machinery operators. Monitoring operator position, as indicated by their Center of Gravity (CoG), may be a means to non-invasively detect driver fatigue. We prototyped a research tool that tracks CoG from four sensors located within the legs of a seat, and validated its accuracy and precision. Our primary contributions are the development of a low-cost integrated CoG detector for seated drivers and the design of a flexure structure to protect load cells from shocks, tensile and shear forces. This system will enable research into CoG as an indicator of fatigue.