Design Interactive, Inc. — Department of Transportation SBIR Phase I: 21-FM2

Description

Design Interactive, Inc. (DI) proposes development of Greenlight, a readiness assessment technology designed to objectively measure drivers’ alertness before operating a commercial motor vehicle (CMV). Greenlight also provides tools for improving readiness by mitigating fatigue via monitoring and managing stress. This capability will contribute to an overall reduction in crashes due to drowsy driving, furthering the strategic objectives set out in FMCSA’s 2020 Annual Modal Research Plan. Wrist-worn sensors will be used to capture data directly relevant to CMV drivers’ alertness, such as quantitative sleep information via actigraphy, and quantitative stress information via an analysis of heart-rate variability using onboard pulse photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors. Data from wrist-worn sensing devices will be integrated into a mobile application, allowing for real-time quantification of readiness as a function of sleep and stress status. For CMV carriers, a web portal will provide the ability to monitor and interact with information about their registered drivers. The portal will provide a dashboard of drivers as well as their current and future fatigue. This will enable better scheduling, individualized recommendations for sleep, and easy integration with other data sources.