OPEN ACCESS JSIP Characterisation of Real-World Bus Acceleration and Deceleration Signals

Copyright © 2014 Marietta Kirchner et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. In accor-dance of the Creative Commons Attribution License all Copyrights © 2014 are reserved for SCIRP and the owner of the intellectual property Marietta Kirchner et al. All Copyright © 2014 are guarded by law and by SCIRP as a guardian. Public transportation by bus is an essential part of mobility. Braking and starting, e.g., approaching a bus stop, are documented as the main reason for non-collision incidents. These situations are evoked by the acceleration forces leading to perturbations of the passenger’s base of support. In laboratory studies perturbations are ap-plied to getting insight into the postural control system and neuromuscular responses. However, bus perturba-tions diverge from laboratory ones with respect to duration, maximum and shape, and it was shown recently that these characteristics influence the postural response. Thus, results from posturographic studies cannot be gener-alised and transferred to bus perturbations. In this study, acceleration (ACC) and deceleration (DEC) signals of real traffic situations were examined. A mathematical approach is proposed in order to identify characteristics of these signals and to quantify their similarity and complexity. Typical characteristics (duration, maximum, and shape) of real-world driving manoeuvres concerning start and stop situations could be identified. A mean dura