Driving Fatigue Onset and Visual Attention: An Electroencephalography-Driven Analysis of Ocular Behavior in a Driving Simulation Task
Attentional deficits have tragic consequences on road safety. These deficits are not solely caused by distraction, since they can also arise from other mental impairments such as, most frequently, mental fatigue. Fatigue is among the most prevalent impairing conditions while driving, degrading drive...
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MDPI AG
2024-11-01
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| author | Andrea Giorgi Gianluca Borghini Francesca Colaiuda Stefano Menicocci Vincenzo Ronca Alessia Vozzi Dario Rossi Pietro Aricò Rossella Capotorto Simone Sportiello Marco Petrelli Carlo Polidori Rodrigo Varga Marteyn Van Gasteren Fabio Babiloni Gianluca Di Flumeri |
| author_facet | Andrea Giorgi Gianluca Borghini Francesca Colaiuda Stefano Menicocci Vincenzo Ronca Alessia Vozzi Dario Rossi Pietro Aricò Rossella Capotorto Simone Sportiello Marco Petrelli Carlo Polidori Rodrigo Varga Marteyn Van Gasteren Fabio Babiloni Gianluca Di Flumeri |
| author_sort | Andrea Giorgi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Attentional deficits have tragic consequences on road safety. These deficits are not solely caused by distraction, since they can also arise from other mental impairments such as, most frequently, mental fatigue. Fatigue is among the most prevalent impairing conditions while driving, degrading drivers’ cognitive and physical abilities. This issue is particularly relevant for professional drivers, who spend most of their time behind the wheel. While scientific literature already documented the behavioral effects of driving fatigue, most studies have focused on drivers under sleep deprivation or anyhow at severe fatigue degrees, since it is difficult to recognize the onset of fatigue. The present study employed an EEG-driven approach to detect early signs of fatigue in professional drivers during a simulated task, with the aim of studying visual attention as fatigue begins to set in. Short-range and long-range professional drivers were recruited to take part in a 45-min-long simulated driving experiment. Questionnaires were used to validate the experimental protocol. A previously validated EEG index, the MDrow, was adopted as the benchmark measure for identifying the “fatigued” spans. Results of the eye-tracking analysis showed that, when fatigued, professional drivers tended to focus on non-informative portions of the driving environment. This paper presents evidence that an EEG-driven approach can be used to detect the onset of fatigue while driving and to study the related visual attention patterns. It was found that the onset of fatigue did not differentially impact drivers depending on their professional activity (short- vs. long-range delivery). |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-05043d2f9c8444a58da369aec0db1ee2 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-05043d2f9c8444a58da369aec0db1ee22025-08-20T02:28:07ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2024-11-011411109010.3390/bs14111090Driving Fatigue Onset and Visual Attention: An Electroencephalography-Driven Analysis of Ocular Behavior in a Driving Simulation TaskAndrea Giorgi0Gianluca Borghini1Francesca Colaiuda2Stefano Menicocci3Vincenzo Ronca4Alessia Vozzi5Dario Rossi6Pietro Aricò7Rossella Capotorto8Simone Sportiello9Marco Petrelli10Carlo Polidori11Rodrigo Varga12Marteyn Van Gasteren13Fabio Babiloni14Gianluca Di Flumeri15Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Computer, Automatic and Management Engineering, Faculty of Information Engineering, Computer Science and Statistics, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, ItalyBrainSigns srl, Via Tirso, 14, 00198 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Computer, Automatic and Management Engineering, Faculty of Information Engineering, Computer Science and Statistics, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Civil Engineering, Computer Science and Aeronautical Technologies, Roma Tre University, 00154 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Civil Engineering, Computer Science and Aeronautical Technologies, Roma Tre University, 00154 Roma, ItalyItalian Association of Road Safety Professionals (AIPSS), 00186 Rome, ItalyInstituto Tecnologico de Castilla y Leon, 09001 Burgos, SpainInstituto Tecnologico de Castilla y Leon, 09001 Burgos, SpainDepartment of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, ItalyAttentional deficits have tragic consequences on road safety. These deficits are not solely caused by distraction, since they can also arise from other mental impairments such as, most frequently, mental fatigue. Fatigue is among the most prevalent impairing conditions while driving, degrading drivers’ cognitive and physical abilities. This issue is particularly relevant for professional drivers, who spend most of their time behind the wheel. While scientific literature already documented the behavioral effects of driving fatigue, most studies have focused on drivers under sleep deprivation or anyhow at severe fatigue degrees, since it is difficult to recognize the onset of fatigue. The present study employed an EEG-driven approach to detect early signs of fatigue in professional drivers during a simulated task, with the aim of studying visual attention as fatigue begins to set in. Short-range and long-range professional drivers were recruited to take part in a 45-min-long simulated driving experiment. Questionnaires were used to validate the experimental protocol. A previously validated EEG index, the MDrow, was adopted as the benchmark measure for identifying the “fatigued” spans. Results of the eye-tracking analysis showed that, when fatigued, professional drivers tended to focus on non-informative portions of the driving environment. This paper presents evidence that an EEG-driven approach can be used to detect the onset of fatigue while driving and to study the related visual attention patterns. It was found that the onset of fatigue did not differentially impact drivers depending on their professional activity (short- vs. long-range delivery).https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/14/11/1090EEGeye trackingfatiguehuman factorsroad safetysimulated driving |
| spellingShingle | Andrea Giorgi Gianluca Borghini Francesca Colaiuda Stefano Menicocci Vincenzo Ronca Alessia Vozzi Dario Rossi Pietro Aricò Rossella Capotorto Simone Sportiello Marco Petrelli Carlo Polidori Rodrigo Varga Marteyn Van Gasteren Fabio Babiloni Gianluca Di Flumeri Driving Fatigue Onset and Visual Attention: An Electroencephalography-Driven Analysis of Ocular Behavior in a Driving Simulation Task Behavioral Sciences EEG eye tracking fatigue human factors road safety simulated driving |
| title | Driving Fatigue Onset and Visual Attention: An Electroencephalography-Driven Analysis of Ocular Behavior in a Driving Simulation Task |
| title_full | Driving Fatigue Onset and Visual Attention: An Electroencephalography-Driven Analysis of Ocular Behavior in a Driving Simulation Task |
| title_fullStr | Driving Fatigue Onset and Visual Attention: An Electroencephalography-Driven Analysis of Ocular Behavior in a Driving Simulation Task |
| title_full_unstemmed | Driving Fatigue Onset and Visual Attention: An Electroencephalography-Driven Analysis of Ocular Behavior in a Driving Simulation Task |
| title_short | Driving Fatigue Onset and Visual Attention: An Electroencephalography-Driven Analysis of Ocular Behavior in a Driving Simulation Task |
| title_sort | driving fatigue onset and visual attention an electroencephalography driven analysis of ocular behavior in a driving simulation task |
| topic | EEG eye tracking fatigue human factors road safety simulated driving |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/14/11/1090 |
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