IHBI Advances March 2016 Edition 25

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March 2016 edition 25

ihbi

Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation

IN THIS ISSUE

ADVANCES Multi-faceted approach to counter hay fever allergies Bid to use native plants for infections and diseases Research push uses implant in bid to stop inflamed mouth Targeting a protein involved in aggressive prostate cancer Global approach needed to unlock migraine complexity Executive Director’s report

IHBI research fellow Dr Ronald Schroeter

Collaboration with industry to develop in-car technology addressing risky driving Researchers in industry and academia are combining their expertise in a collaboration that aims to develop in-car technology to address risky driving behaviour and reduce road deaths and injuries. At the centre of the collaboration is IHBI research fellow Dr Ronald Schroeter. Dr Schroeter argues risky behaviour is often the result of drivers being under-stimulated. Drivers may take risks by seeking external stimuli, for example through mobile phone use, or set themselves challenges such as speeding, rapid lane changes or tailgating. ROAD CRASHES Since record keeping started in 1925, there have been more than 185 000 deaths on Australia’s roads. Road deaths per year have fallen from 3798 in 1970 to 1209 in 2015. Figures increased from 1155 in 2014 to 1209 in 2015. DRIVER DISTRACTION One of Queensland Police’s fatal five, along with speeding, drink and drug driving, fatigue and failure to wear a seatbelt. A contributing factor for about 22 per cent of car crashes. Almost 80 per cent of crashes and 65 per cent of near-crashes involve some form of driver inattention within three seconds before the event. SPEEDING A major cause of fatalities on Queensland roads. Increases the risk of crashing but also the severity of injuries resulting from a crash. HEAD-UP DISPLAYS A transparent display that presents data without requiring drivers to look away from their usual viewpoints. Initially developed for military aviation to display airspeed, altitude, a horizon line, heading, turn/bank and slip/skid indicators. Now installed in luxury cars and available as an after-market option.

Such behaviours and distractions are major causes of more than a million deaths and 50 million serious injuries around the world each year. The cost of road crashes for the Australian society is estimated at $27 billion per year. Dr Schroeter is working with colleagues at IHBI’s Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q) and Honda Research Institute in the US to take a new approach to prevention. The focus will be on the time in the car before risk-taking occurs. “The approach is to understand the psychological and social motivators of risky behaviours and make safe driving more engaging so drivers will take less risk,” Dr Schroeter says. Key to the research will be determining how to keep drivers engaged and influence behaviour using visual cues projected onto the windscreen in 3D using Honda’s cutting-edge head-up display prototype. Honda Research Institute is working on installation of a prototype of a 3D augmented reality application across a windscreen in a drivable car. It builds on present technology that provides visual information and situation awareness without drivers taking their eyes off the road. “The application aims to provide visual stimulus to the driver without causing distraction. Instead, it aims to redirect attention and engagement towards the primary task – driving.” IHBI researchers will use a simulator study to measure gaze patterns and eye tracking, including fixation on hazards and response times, to evaluate the application. The studies will use IHBI’s advanced driving simulator, incorporating a life-size car mounted on a motion platform that

can move and twist in three dimensions. A driver in the simulator is immersed in a virtual environment including a 180 degree front field of view, simulated rear view mirror images, surround sound for engine and environment noise, real car cabin and simulated vehicle motion. The simulator provides an opportunity to study driver behaviour in different conditions, with a high degree of realism, but free of crash risk. A driving scenario can be created to select specifications and enable researchers to observe, challenge and record the driver’s reactions and skills with accuracy. The research team will establish innovative methodologies on closed road circuits to evaluate the benefits of a 3D head-up display in the real world, with outcomes informing visual design principles for head-up displays, such as optimum size, contrast, colours, movement and timing. The QUT team includes IHBI professors Andry Rakotonirainy, with expertise in road safety and context-aware systems, and Joanne Wood, with skills in vision and driving; and Associate Professor Daniel Johnson, with experience in human-computer interactions. Dr Schroeter’s research will be conducted at CARRS–Q with the support of a $300 000 Australian Research Council Linkage Project grant. “At CARRS-Q, we have long-term partnerships with government and industry bodies in many countries to educate, shape public debate and influence policymakers in road safety. We appreciate the enormous human, economic and social costs resulting from road crashes. The hope is that we can use the latest technology to positively impact on this, address risky driving behaviour and reduce road deaths and injuries.”


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