The PhysioWheel Matt DeGraw, Bobby Zarubin, Drew Jackson, Jonny Locher Drew Jackson, Jonny Locher

Meet Judith. Judith is a mother of three and an above average driver. Judith always makes sure to be a safe driver because she frequently is transporting her kids to and from school, practice, etc. Despite the fact that Judith is a dedicated and attentive driver, she is not able to devote all her attention to the road due to several complaints and requests coming from the back seat. Even with technologies like Siri who are created to help with navigation, your attention is focused on communicating with the car, rather than on the road. As much as she would like to keep her kids as safe as possible, she can’t. She doesn't have the PhysioWheel.

Situational Awareness The Problem: Maximizing situational awareness to increase driver safety The intended user for the PhysioWheel is everyone who drives or will one day drive a car Our product is designed to address the problem of driver situational awareness Situational Awareness: “The internal conceptualization of the current situation. More formally SA involves (...) the perception of the elements in the environment within a volume of time and space, the comprehension of their meaning and the projection of their status in the near future” (Bolstad 195). Situational awareness is the accepted measure of driver safety When driving, drivers are surrounded by distractions including many functions and features of the car itself which create an unsafe driving environment Car companies are trying to increase the safety of modern cars by implementing voice controlled technology. Voice controlled is safer than buttons or controls because it allows the driver to keep his eyes on the road and hands on the wheel However, voice controlled technology is imperfect. Voice controlled means that drivers will have to be thinking about whatever changes they would like to make in the car. Thus, the driver isn’t fully focused on the road and is distracted The PhysioWheel will use physiological sensors to track the specific measurements of the driver and will adjust the car without the driver even having to think about making any changes, therefore, maximizing situational awareness

Technology The technology(sensors and processor) will all be contained within the wheel The sensors will be used to collect physiological data about the driver and the computer processor will analyze the data and send signals to other parts of the car making changes The PhysioWheel is very ubiquitous because the sensors in the wheel will be collecting data and using that data to make decisions without the driver even realizing

The Product The PhysioWheel is a steering wheel that senses physiological conditions of the driver and adjusts the car accordingly without the driver even having to think; maximizing situational awareness This product will eliminate the need for a control panel, touchscreen, and/or voice control technology to control car functions such as: temperature, humidity, song choice The PhysioWheel will also measure driver conditions such as: tiredness, brain activity, blood alcohol content, and emotion

Temperature Judith is driving her kids to baseball practice on a hot day. The PhysioWheel can sense her body temperature through her hands on the wheel and the air temperature in the car, and automatically adjusts the temperature in the car for a more comfortable, cooler trip. Now, Judith won’t have to take her eyes off of the road in order to adjust the climate control dial manually.

Humidity Although changing the temperature helps cool Judith and her kids down a bit, it is just so humid out that they still aren’t comfortable. The PhysioWheel will sense this through the moisture on Judith’s palms and the moisture in the air in the car and adjust the car accordingly using the built in dehumidifier in the car.

Tiredness Judith has been driving her kids around all day and is beginning to feel tired, so tired that she begins to daze off. The PhysioWheel has the capability of recognizing how long a driver’s hands have been idle for and the driver’s pulse, and will vibrate to wake up the driver, eliminating any chance of falling asleep at the wheel. Also, the wheel will have sensors that can see if the driver’s head or eyelids begins to droop. vibrates

Blood Alcohol Content After dropping the kids off at the babysitter’s house, Judith and her husband Carl go out for a night on the town. 3 wine glasses later, Judith and Carl get back in the car to head home, but the car will not start because the wheel can sense that Judith isn’t suitable to drive using its Galvanic Skin Response sensors. Luckily, Carl didn’t drink any wine, so then he drives home.

Emotion Judith’s favorite feature of her new PhysioWheel is its ability to sense her emotion. The PhysioWheel picks songs from her song library that it thinks Judith will enjoy based on her mood. Also, the PhysioWheel adjusts any of the speaking functions in the car to match Judith’s mood. For example, if Judith is in a bad mood, the GPS system will give directions in a more monotone voice and skip out on the polite additives. The wheel can sense Judith’s mood through its pulse monitor and based on how tight she is gripping the wheel.

Safety In 2010, 10,228 people lost their lives in drunk driving accidents according to the National Highway Traffic Administration The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration conservatively estimates that 100,000 police-reported crashes are the direct result of driver fatigue each year Drunk and drowsy driving could be a thing of the past due to the PhysioWheel