How to measure monotony-related fatigue? A systematic review of fatigue measurement methods for use on driving tests

Abstract

The aim of this study is to identify suitable science-based methods for measuring monotony-related fatigue. Monotony is one of three causes of fatigue that to date has rarely been considered in isolation. With an ongoing automation of the driving task the drivers monotony will drastically increase in the future. The methods used, such as the questions asked in interviews, can influence and distort the monotony experienced by subjects during driving tests. For this reason, not all measurement methods generally used to measure fatigue can be used when studying the role of monotony. A systematic literature search based on previously defined criteria allowed us to identify 53 publications which adequately described and evaluated the measurement methodology used to measure fatigue. The result was a list of 25 methods used in the 53 studies that we analysed. These include studies of drivers’ condition data and data about their performance. The measurement methods were evaluated based on the evaluations published by the authors who used each method. Further the methods influence on a monotonous study design was critically discussed by the authors of this paper. The paper concludes with a derived measurement concept for simulated driving tests. This work supports future research teams in the selection of a suitable measurement concept for investigating monotony related fatigue and appropriate countermeasures.

Keywords:

• Fatigue
• measure
• monotony
• review
• methods

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research project was supported by the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for Commercial Transport, Postal Logistics and Telecommunication. The authors are responsible for the content of this publication.

Notes on contributors

Lukas Bier

Lukas Bier studied industrial engineering at the Technische Universität Darmstadt and his major subjects were ergonomics and project management. He spent one term of his studies at the LIU in Linköping (Sweden). Since March 2014 he is a research associate at IAD and is part of the automotive ergonomics team. He is researching on gamification as a countermeasure to monotony-related fatigue.

Philipp Wolf

Philipp Wolf is a student at TU Darmstadt and was researching in the monotony research team for a period of 6 months.

Hanna Hilsenbek

Hanna Hilsenbek is currently a student at University of Mannheim. During the last year she was assisting in the monotony research team at TU Darmstadt.

Bettina Abendroth

Bettina Abendroth studied industrial engineering, majoring in mechanical engineering at the TU Darmstadt University of Technology. She completed her Ph.D. in July 2001. Her topic was driver types of vehicles and driving support at longitudinal guiding. She has occupied a senior research position about vehicle ergonomics at the IAD since 2000.