Frustration control during driving using auditory false heart rate feedback

Drivers' frustration and anger during driving may be causes of aggressive driving, such as road rage, which can lead to accidents. Thus, development of a frustration control method is beneficial for preventing accidents. False heart rate (fHR) feedback is a well-known method that alters feelings or mental states of people by presenting a heart rate (HR) that is faster or slower than their actual HR. In this study, we develop a new method for controlling drivers' frustration based on fHR feedback. In the proposed method, drivers are presented with heartbeat-like sounds with a tempo that is slower than their actual HR during driving. In this study, we performed an experiment using a driving simulator (DS) in order to validate the proposed frustration control method. Fifty healthy volunteers participated in the experiment. They repeated a driving simulation while hearing heartbeat-like sounds and answered questionnaires on mental workload, including frustration. Some participants heard heartbeat-like sounds synchronized with their actual HR, whereas others were presented with heartbeat-like sounds with a tempo that is faster or slower than their actual HR. The experimental results showed that a slower fHR feedback pattern with HR−20 bpm reduced frustration of participants during driving. The experiment also indicated that the proposed method does not disturb driving because the driving operation of participants were not altered by the presented fHR pattern. The present study provides a new driver-assist technique for controlling frustration during driving and will contribute to realizing a society with safe roads in the future.