Cableless Measurement of Hand Griping Patterns and Heart Rate with Flexible Pressure Sensor Sheet

The number of death due to traffic accidents in 2013 reached 1.25 million, summarized by World Health Organization Driver errors involving poor steering skills were recognized as the main causes of vehicle accidents Discussion about how drivers place their hands and change hand position usually used language of clocks. A '10 and 2 clock' steering technique is frequently advocated at driving schools in the UK and on the highway [3]. Now in the United States, '9 and 3 clock' is also optional even '8 and 4 clock' is accepted when driving for long distance on the freeway. It cannot be denied that some drivers ignored the strict traffic laws and regulations, which undoubtedly placed passengers and drivers themselves in high risk of car accident. For this reason, recent study tried to assess different steering techniques in order to characterize the drivers' steering profile by tracking hand position using simulators and motion capture system However, only focusing on hand position can hardly ensure maintenance of car control and react ability at any time. Topics on how drivers hold the steering wheel should be paid more attention, so that we can take a close look at drivers' performance. Unfortunately, understanding how human exploit hand function and sensory feedback of hand griping pattern is a challenging topic that still is not completely understood