Blink Measurement to Detect a Driver's Drowsy State by Moving Image Processing

Abstract

Drowsiness in car-driving relates to eye-blinking. Authors have developed the robust image capture CCD system by moving image processing for the brightness of day and night in a car, using the weak pulsed infrared LED’s light. This effect was evaluated by real circumstances in a car: darkness in night and brightness in direct sunshine. To extract upper and lower eyelids’ fringes from noises, a pair of edges from a pupil was used. The second derivative to blinking waveform was introduced to obtain the stable blinks, eliminating the different characteristics among individuals’ ones. The experiment to presume the drowsiness was referred to the steering wheel movement. This tentative experiment indicated good correlation between drowsiness and eye closure time.