El dream It is one of the factors behind a high percentage of accidents. It is a determining factor that influences reflexes and abilities of any person, both physically and psychologically, something that translates into a very important danger when mixed with driving. It seems that sleep is a factor present directly or indirectly between 15 and 30% of traffic accidents registered in our country.
Without a doubt, it is a great enemy of every driver, because, if we fall asleep at the controls of our vehicle, it prevents us from reacting until it is already too late; which is why so many sleep-related car accidents have disastrous consequences. To help us fight it, Samsung launches the application for smartwatches "Samsung Copilot"; Totally free and universal.
Drowsiness may appear at any time of day, depending a lot on the lifestyle of each person, their schedules, their habits or even their mood. But experts have detected two time slots in which it is more common when we drive, one of them is early in the afternoon, between 14 and 16 p.m.; and the other during the early morning, between 3 and 5 o'clock. The most likely are professional drivers, because they spend a high number of hours behind the wheel.
But it can also affect individuals. On dates of long journeys, such as summer vacations, and days of family and professional lunches and dinners, such as recent Christmas, where we meet with family and co-workers; It is very common for these situations to occur. Copious lunches and dinners with long after-meals are usually very common, finishing quite late on many occasions.
It should be noted that, despite being aware of this and of the health risk that driving while sleepy entails, the 55% of Spanish drivers have stated that they continue to drive despite feeling drowsy. According to reports from the Spanish Foundation for Road Safety (Fesvial), 17 million Spaniards have suffered drowsiness at the wheel and 8 million the dreaded microsleeps.
Some are usual and typical tips to combat drowsiness such as: avoid those dangerous times mentioned above, rest well before starting a long trip, avoid driving at night, make a stop every 2 hours or 200 kilometers of driving, drink caffeinated beverages, do not eat large meals and play music during the trip ; among many others. Nevertheless, not always enough to beat sleep.
La "Copilot Samsung" application, developed for smartwatches together with a Research Group from the Higher School of Engineering and Technology of the International University of La Rioja, aims to reduce these claims vials caused to a greater or lesser extent by drowsiness; notifying the driver when the device detects that he may be suffering from the dreaded drowsiness.
Initially, the application learns from the user's driving style, also taking their vital signs. On the other hand, it stores a contact in the user's agenda to use in an emergency, calling the aforementioned contact when we have the app open and simply pressing twice on the screen; a very fast method for situations that require it. This part is basically a first configuration of each user's profile.
Subsequently, the application understands and gathering information of the movements of the driver's arms, using a vital signs meter, an accelerometer, a gyroscope and a pedometer. With the information constantly obtained, it detects if there are deviations in the previously recorded patterns; what serves the device for interpret whether the driver is entering a drowsy pre-sleep state.
If so, will emit a vibration to the driver's wrist through the smartwatch itself, which is the most effective way to alert drivers in this type of situation. A good initiative to significantly reduce the percentage of road accidents that, in addition, is completely free for users.