Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
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28 | Overdrive | October 2017 BODY LANGUAGE and quality over recent days. Combining the sleep history records with other data through each com- pany's algorithm enables the system to forecast how quickly alertness will decline, the providers say. One of the leaders in fatigue prediction, Vancouver-based Fatigue Science, is testing its Readiband actigraph with fleets, says Jacob Fiedler, the company's sales director. The system was devel- oped by the U.S. Army Research Lab with funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation. "Our core value proposition is we can give you the ability to see at what point you'll be fatigue- impaired hours in advance," Fiedler says. Other systems might do a good job of detecting fatigue, "but it's not addressing people's sleep patterns, informing the individual how to improve upon the individual's sleep. The only cure for fatigue is sleep." The system's software produces a driver score Just as actigraph-based fatigue monitoring systems have refi ned decades-old technology, SmartCap Technologies has done the same with electroen- cephalography, a decades-old technology that measures brain waves. Its LifeBand headband is part of its Life by SmartCap system that focuses on detecting microsleeps before the visible signs of long eyelid closure or head nods. EEG has long been acknowl- edged as the "gold standard" for fatigue detection, says Daniel Bongers, SmartCap's chief technology offi cer. The science has existed for about 40 years and about 20 years ago became recognized as the only way to discern the true onset of microsleep. More than half of a microsleep takes place before eye closure or head nods, he says. "That person has already been asleep two to 12 seconds, certainly more than enough time to have driven 400 yards, crossed a lane, taken out another car or slammed into a tree," Bongers says. Whereas the makers of actigraph-based systems tout their ability to provide precise predictions of a driver's rate of decline in alertness for up to 20 hours, SmartCap's system is mostly a real-time indicator. However, its narrow window of prediction is crucial, Bongers argues. That warning of being "at risk of becoming at risk," he says, allows the driver more leeway in mitigating what can be a short but dangerous period. It allows for simple ac- tions such as sipping a drink or sitting up. If the warnings per- sist, the driver needs a more vigorous response, such as pulling over for a brief walk or other exercise, which can raise the odds of safely reaching an appropriate place to nap. Bongers also claims his system's limited predictabil- ity is more valuable than the extended fatigue projections produced by actigraph-based systems. "Humans are complex," he says, noting that there are notable differences in fatigue between men and women, as well as the young and old. Also, research shows there are 243 "physiologies" that indicate distinctions in sleep cycles and alertness, which makes it diffi cult to make meaningful forecasts of alertness for all drivers, Bongers says. "There's very little connection between activity tracking [from an actigraph] and its relationship to fatigue." Following the company's early market efforts in mining and construction, "we've only recently put a focus on over- the-road trucking as a serious part of our business," Bongers says. That happened a year ago when its system was updated to be less costly and less cumber- some inside a truck cab. He declined to name inter- ested U.S. fl eets but says one represents more than 20,000 trucks. The SmartCap system also is being tested by fl eets ranging from fi ve to 100 trucks. In addition to clients in mining, SmartCap has trucking clients on other continents. The LifeBand headband, part of the Life by SmartCap system, measures brain waves to determine driver fatigue. The band fits into a beanie, cap or safety helmet or can be worn by itself. BODY LANGUAGE The CURA (Circadian User Risk Assessment) from Curaegis, based in Rochester, New York, uses an acti- graph to assess driver alertness. The name of its myCadian device reflects the emphasis on an individual's unique circadian cycle of rest and alert- ness. "Some people degrade slowly," says CEO Richard Kaplan. "Everybody's differ- ent." After detailed hourly lab tests were compared with the CURA system's predic- tions, "it's proven we can give real-time fatigue levels with laboratory accuracy," Kaplan says. BRAIN TRUST: SMARTCAP'S LIFEBAND