We all know that driving while intoxicated can cost you your license and even your life. However, did you know that driving while drowsy or sleepy is one of the major reasons for fatal car accidents? According to a report by AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, approximately 28.3 per cent of Americans admit to driving drowsy at least once in 30 days, including 19 per cent who reported doing so more than a single time. It’s understandable if one does not trust themselves to know whether they are too tired. Now a Japanese company Toyobo in collaboration with Union Tool has developed a permanent solution to this problem.
The companies came together to create Cocomi, a drowsiness detecting shirt that essentially identifies electric signals of the heart which indicate the onset of sleep. The shirt is currently in its testing stages in different parts of Japan by the ChuiChi Rinkai Bus Company.
Japan Times reports that if Cocomi works as announcement, the undershirt will sound an alarm when bus drivers begin to drift off during longer hauls. “The advantage of Cocomi is its thinness (0.3mm), high precision and conductivity, and convenient flexibility. It moves naturally with the body without sacrificing functionality unlike many wearable devices today, which tend to be bulky, uncomfortable and frequently inaccurate in their readings. Cocomi’s low electrical resistance, on the other hand, means it can collect high-accuracy biological data,” the report reads.
The shirt is expected to be launched sometime later this year.
