An adaptable human fatigue evaluation system

Abstract

In medicine and diagnostics bio-signals are recorded in a stationary condition that limits the evaluation of dynamic human body changes in daily activities. There are various types of fatigue including physical and mental. In most cases, prolonged fatigue recognition may lead to various chronic health problems or even disability at work and daily life activities. In this research, a generalized human fatigue evaluation system is proposed that may identify different types of fatigue. A presented system architecture consists of several devices including a headband, chest belt, smartphone, and video camera. Depending on what type of fatigue needs to be monitored, devices may be used separately or all at once. Sensor measurements can be initiated by using wireless or wired communication. In the fatigue recognition a multimodal evaluation system is used for processing of several bio-signals (ECG, R-R, EMG, EEG, IMU) and an expert system is used to perform decision making. Every bio-signal may indicate a different type of fatigue. Furthermore, in this research several fatigue recognition methodologies are proposed: heart rate variability parameter analysis for physical fatigue evaluation and spectral dominant and eye-related symptom analysis for mental fatigue identification. The evaluation of mental or physical fatigue that is associated with low performance or loss of attention or productivity may improve road safety or critical operations. It can be used for the prevention of specific diseases or improving human wellbeing.