Arousal meter project


A computer system today receives no data regarding the physiological or cognitive state of the user, but there are many cases where these data could be useful. For example, as the user becomes bored or lethargic, the system could raise the workload or audio-visual feedback to stimulate arousal. As the user becomes tense or strained, the system could lighten the workload or simplify the feedback to lessen arousal. This type of physiological-based closed-loop feedback could be applied in a number of scenarios, such as driving, training, stressful repetitive work (e.g. air-traffic control), and military operations.

In this project we have built a monitoring device that produces a real-time cardiac-based measure of physiological arousal. The measure is based upon changes in respiratory sinus arrhythmia, an established measure of vagal activity. The monitor provides the computing system with information about the physiological state of the user.

Papers about this project:

Software:

Hardware:

In order to use our software, a heartbeat detector is required. We recommend using the latest version of the EZ-IBI, available from UFI, Inc.. We have worked closely with UFI over the past few years to integrate our software closely with their hardware. They also sell a completely self-contained hardware arousal meter (the wearable arousal meter, or WAM), that embeds our software into their hardware. Contact UFI for more details.


AMeter Project Page / Clemson / ahoover@clemson.edu