An anti-fatigue test seat that captures data on the driver and produces a range of stimuli features including audio, electromechanical vibration, cooling and heating has been launched by Marcopolo.
The prototype, presented at the SAE Brazil Congress in Sao Paulo, is the result of a partnership between Marcopolo and CEMSA – Multidisciplinary Centre for Sleepiness and Accidents of Woodbridge.
Petras Amaral manager of design and innovation at Marcopolo said the “Antisleep Seat is equipped with mechanical and physiological distraction devises which, through stimuli, extend the alertness of drivers at critical times.”
The seat has an integrated module, responsible for receiving several data points on the state of fatigue of the driver, as well as travel length and time of day.
According to Petras, the numerous tests carried out with different fatigue conditions and stimuli proved, the effectiveness of the system, observing a change in the alertness of the driver, as well as a shortening of reaction time (reflex) to avoid accidents.
“Unlike other systems found on the market that act in a reactive manner, the Antisleep Seat acts in a preventive way, using specific data from the driver and the journey, thus reducing the risk of accident,” he says.
The Antisleep Seat can be treated as an anti-fatigue system and not as a mere seat. In the foreseeable future, we believe operators could start integrating it with driver sleep pattern data as well as real-time fleet management,”said Petras.
Final tests and the official presentation of the seat to the market are expected in 2017.
