We introduce in this paper a new Instrumented Steering Wheel (ISW) for ADAS development. The ISW has been designed, constructed and employed with satisfactory results. The ISW is able to measure three forces, three moments and the grip force at each hand of the driver. The ISW has been used for ADAS activities on an instrumented road vehicle. The aim was to use both the vehicle states and the ISW data for evaluating the driver behaviour. Two research activities were performed. The first activity refers to monitoring the driver behaviour during tests on a track. The second activity refers to the use of haptic ISWs, able to improve the ADAS systems.
Referring to the first activity, the greatest majority of drivers applied always the same sequence of forces (pull, radial, tangential) either during emergency manoeuvres, either during slow speed curving.
Referring to the second activity, we found that, by exploiting an ISW, the driver steering purpose could be inferred, before the steering wheel is rotated.