A Study on Ride Comfort Control Method Using Heart Rate Variability in Consideration of the Physiological State

Abstract

In recent years, ultra-compact mobility vehicles have been being introduced in Japan. This ultra-compact mobility vehicle is an electric automobile for 1 or 2 passengers and is currently being sold by several automobile manufacturers. Unlike ordinary cars, ultra-compact electric vehicles can easily drive on a narrow or unpaved path. Being lightweight, however, they are subject to vibration from road irregularities and road surface steps, and it is necessary to develop a vibration control system for safe and comfortable driving. To improve ride comfort against up-and-down vibration, our research group has proposed an active seat suspension using a voice coil motor at the seat section of the vehicle. Our past research examined driver's heart rate variability, a type of biometric data, and found that different acceleration degrees of vibration resulted in significantly different driver's stress responses measured through the driver's heart rate variability. This paper proposes a vibration control system that first evaluates the psychological state of the driver from the biometric data continuously collected while driving, and then selects from the preconfigured ride comfort options the ride comfort experience that the driver prefers.