TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Malang students invent device that pinches butt of drowsy drivers
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Asri Anjani (left) and Prayogo Bintang, mechanical engineering students from the Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java, test the driver drowsiness detection device they invented, in Malang on Wednesday, June 21. The device uses a heart rate sensor placed on the driver's wrist. If he or she is detected becoming drowsy, a panel on the bottom of the user will vibrate and pinch. (The Jakarta Post/Aman Rochman)
A
sri Anjani and Prayogo Bintang, mechanical engineering students of the University of Brawijaya in Malang, East Java, have created a device they claim is capable of preventing road accidents caused by drowsy drivers.
The device uses a heart rate sensor, which is put on a driver’s wrist, and another panel placed on the bottom of the driver, which will vibrate and squeeze the user if he or she is detected becoming drowsy.
“Human heart pulse is 80 bpm [beats per minute] or below when sleeping. The device detects if the heart pulse is approaching that rate,” Asri said while conducting a test of the device at the university’s campus on Wednesday.
The students said they created the device due to concerns over the high rate of accidents involving cars and motorcycles.
She said the device could be very useful especially for motorists on long journeys such as those currently on the Idul Fitri exodus.
“We did not use an electrical shock to alert the driver because that could surprise the driver,” she said.
Read also: Malang students create eco-friendly plastic from banana peel
She said they were still finalizing the ideal shape of the wrist sensor and the bottom panel, to make the product more practical and comfortable to wear.
Bintang said they planned to file a patent application for the device. They also plan to enter their invention into competition during the upcoming National Student Science Week (Pimnas). (bbs)
