Computational Analysis of Breathing Rates for Distracted Drivers

Distracted driving is a major cause of accidents. Adding different stress factors to driving can not only distract from the road but can also affect the body’s response to stress. To see how distracted driving affects the body, an experiment was conducted where subjects were asked to drive in a simulator while also being asked to perform various tasks. We want to see how breathing rate changes during different stages of the acquisition and how this change in breathing rate may differ between participants. Some of the tasks included in the data acquisition were playing white noise, playing a BBC clip, asking questions, asking subjects to look at their phone, and to drive with no distractions. All subjects had sensors on them which allowed for the gathering of data. The data from acquisitions was then processed and an algorithm was created that can determine breathing rate. Graphs of the breathing rates were plotted for the subjects to see the change of breathing rate throughout all acquisitions. Comparing the data from the graphs of all subjects against each other, we are starting to see some patterns in the breathing rates of phases across all the subjects. By analyzing and observing patterns in the breathing rates, we can see how the breathing changes when subjects are under various stress. The project will continue to further develop the approach and incorporate other modalities and life metrics such as heart rate