Driver drowsiness poses significant road safety risks to both drivers and other users. This thesis proposes and evaluates a novel grip-strength sensing system that leverages the Humantenna effect, in which the human body picks up ambient electric fields from power lines, to monitor driver fatigue. Grip strength is sensed through capacitive coupling between the driver and an insulated wire embedded in the steering interface. Real-time signal processing extracts features such as root mean square (RMS) voltage levels, which are compared with measurements from a commercial force sensor. Under controlled laboratory conditions, the prototype accurately detects relative changes in grip strength. Drowsiness was additionally assessed with heart rate derived features to provide a physiological baseline, although time constraints prevented correlating grip and heart rate data within the same trials. Overall, the results demonstrate the feasibility of using power line induced voltages for grip-strength monitoring and suggest that, with further development and integration, this low-cost and non-invasive approach could contribute to future driver drowsiness detection systems.

Drowsy driving is a significant contributor to road accidents with existing detection technologies often falling short due to intrusiveness or environmental sensitivity. This thesis presents a non-invasive method for detecting driver alertness using the Humantenna effect: the phenomenon whereby the human body passively couples with ambient 50 Hz electromagnetic fields. By capacitively coupling the human body into a sensor in the vehicle’s steering wheel, grip strength and hand placement can be continuously monitored without requiring any wearable devices.
This project involves experimental validation of the Humantenna effect in a controlled environment, modelling of capacitive coupling as a function of grip strength, and the development of a custom amplifier circuit to condition the signal. Results demonstrate a consistent and measurable relation between grip strength and the amplitude of the 50 Hz signal. An operational amplifier-based configuration was found to be the most suitable for reliable signal conditioning. A functional multi-sensor prototype was developed and evaluated, indicating that the system is suitable for indoor use and scalable for integration into vehicle systems.