Non-Intrusive Contact Respiratory Sensor for Vehicles

In this work, we propose a low-cost solution capable of collecting the driver’s respiratory signal in a robust and non-intrusive way by contact with the chest and abdomen. It consists of a microcontroller and two piezoelectric sensors with their respective 3D printed plastic housings attached to the seat belt. An iterative process was conducted to find the optimal shape of the sensor housing. The location of the sensors can be easily adapted by sliding them along the seat belt. A few participants took part in three test sessions in a driving simulator. They had to perform various activities: resting, deep breathing, manual driving, and a non-driving-related task during automated driving. The subjects’ breathing rates were calculated from raw data collected with a reference chest belt, each sensor alone, and the fusion of the two. Results indicate that respiratory rate could be assessed from a single sensor located on the chest with an average absolute error of 0.92 min(−1) across all periods, dropping to 0.13 min(−1) during deep breathing. Sensor fusion did not improve system performance. A 4-pole filter with a cutoff frequency of 1 Hz emerged as the best option to minimize the error during the different periods. The results suggest that such a system could be used to assess the driver’s breathing rate while performing various activities in a vehicle.