- Overview
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Human-oriented Mobility Engineering
Based on knowledge of mechanical engineering, we carry out studies on active vibration control, energy harvesting, application of multi-channel signal processing method such as independent component analysis for condition monitoring, measurement of bio-signals, haptic guidance control, human-machine interface in automobiles, ability of elderly drivers, and so on. Wide studies on measurement and control, mainly related to automobiles, are being conducted - Major Research Themes (click for details)
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- Mobility Engineering Using Bio-signals
- Insight into human-machine interaction is a critical topic with the large-scale development of intelligent vehicles; meanwhile, bio-signal analysis can provide a deeper understanding of driver behaviors that may indicate rationally practical use of the automatic technology. Therefore, this study concentrates on biosignal analysis to quantitatively evaluate mental stress of drivers during automatic driving of trucks.
- Haptic Guidance Control
- Haptic Guidance Control is an assist system for a driver to realize smooth steering behavior by supplying tiny torque to the steering wheel to follow the desired trajectory. Its performance is examined through experiments using a driving simulator.
- Estimation of Drowsiness of Drivers with Haptic Interface
- Moat of crashes are caused by:
driver distraction, speeding.
drunk driving.
reckless driving.
drowsy driving.
In the case of drowsiness, driver reaction time drasticallyincreased which induces impaired driving. - Evaluation of Human-Machine-Interface of Automobiles with Gaze Measurement
- A car navigation system on a smart phone is a popular method to provide traffic information. To ensure driving safety, driver behaviors are evaluated by the eye-gaze tracking analysis, time-to-collision investigation, and subjective evaluation on the display sizes and positions.
- Influence on Behaviors of Inter-vehicle Traffic Signal
- Emerging vehicular communication makes it possible to provide traffic light information to drivers inside vehicles with the application of in-vehicle devices. This study proposed two modes of in-vehicle traffic lights to assist drivers: a “current” mode and a "predicted" mode. Two kinds of in-vehicle devices were compared for displaying in-vehicle traffic lights: a normal 4.3-inch display and a head-up display. A driving simulator experiment was executed for eleven subjects, and driver behavior was evaluated for driving operations and eye-gaze behavior.
- Traffic Control with Inter-vehicle Traffic Signals and Road Signs
- Energy Harvesting in Rotating Tires Using Stochastic Resonance
- A multistable nonlinear model is proposed to validate that the phenomenon of stochastic resonance can occur at the rotating environments, and exploited to enhance energy harvesting under practical automobile tire. The suggested application for this harvester is to provide electrical power for a tire pressure monitoring system.
- Application of ITS Technology to Railway Vehicles
- Independent Component Analysis Applied to Measurement of Vehicle Vibration
- Evaluation of Driving Ability of Elderly Drivers with with White Matter Lesions
- White matter lesions are small areas of dead cells found in parts of the brain, which are commonly found in the brains of the elder people. There are five grades for white matter lesions: G0, G1, G2, G3, and G4. The driving abilities of G0 and G2 subjects, who are over 50, are examined as well as subjects in their 20s.
- Experiment Device
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