An Automobile-Integrated System for Assessing and Reacting to Driver Cognitive Load

A highly integrated system was constructed to assess, and react to, a driver's cognitive load. Sensors embedded throughout the car track a wide variety of driver activities, including driving conditions, driver reactions, control usage, driver reflexes, passenger interaction, and driver attention. The raw sensor readings are compiled and parsed, and used to assess the cognitive and stress load on the driver based on affective computer modeling. Various outputs to the driver, including alarms, warnings, and communications, are selectively suppressed or dynamically reconfigured to maximize driver attention on the road scene and avoid cognitive overload.