Field programmable gate array (FPGA) intellectual property (IP) vendor Xylon has released an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) core designed to detect drowsiness and distraction in facial movements of drivers.
The logiDROWSINE Driver Drowsiness Detector IP, integrated into Xilinx’s Zynq-7000 programmable system-on-chip, monitors facial movements through a camera placed in a vehicle cabin. The IP core monitors driver’s eyes, gaze, eyebrows, lips and head, as well as continuously tracks facial behavioral features that indicate microsleep, yawn and other indications of sleep. When the IP determines the level of drowsiness in a driver, alerts or inputs are sent to other ADAS applications.
The SoC design, which integrates the logiDROWSINE and related IP cores, fits into the smallest Xilinx Zynq SoC and uses only a single CPU core. Xylon says such a low utilization allows for a parallel execution of other ADAS applications on a single Xilinx SoC device.
In order to validate and demonstrate the driver drowsiness detector, Xylon implemented the core in an ADAS development kit and installed the device in a fleet of test vehicles driven by professional drivers. Xylon has also developed a measurement optical camera system suitable for driver fatigue monitoring while wearing sunglasses and during night driving.
