The Electroencephalographic Response during a Driving Process: Normal Driving, Turning and Collision

The objective of this study is to estimate the driver´s cognitive state under different situation and driving scenarios by analyzing EEG signal. The experiment was conducted on a high fidelity driving simulator. Three different scenarios were designed to investigate the driver´s state during normally driving (braking and accelerating) and turning (left or right). In the daily-urban scenario, a deer collision occurred. During each driving trial, the EEG signal was recorded by a 32-lead system. The EEG dynamics were analyzed using power spectrum density (PSD), event-related potential (ERP), independent component analysis (ICA) and time-frequency analysis (TFA). In normally driving, the EEG responses are similar during the three different scenarios. The power concentrates on the frontal and back lobes. During turning, the EEG response is somehow different from that in normally driving (only braking and accelerating). In the deer-collision event, a rapid response is apparent in the ERP mapping.