An idea that spawned following a close call when his father fell asleep at the wheel over a decade ago won a budding engineer the James Dyson Award 2016 for Malaysia.

The creator of the anti-sleep device – M. Mugilan – remembered his life flashing before his eyes during a family trip from his hometown in Kulim, Kedah, to his aunt’s home in Rawang.

“We were travelling late at night when our car suddenly veered into the fast lane,” he recalled.

“All of us could have been killed if not for the driver who was trailing us, sounding the horn. My father was jolted awake, thanks to the kind motorist,” he said.

Besides Mugilan, others travelling together were his mother and younger brother. All of them had fallen asleep and were awoken by the frightening moment.

Mugilan’s invention called Vizhi – which means eye and being awake in Tamil – was developed during his final year as a mechanical and automotive student in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

The device can detect eye movement when a driver is about to fall asleep behind the wheel.

Besides winning £2,000 (RM10,000), the 23-year-old is in the running for the James Dyson International Award with national winners from 21 other countries.

In explaining the device, Mugilan said eye movements detected through a webcam would be analysed by the software and categorised as “normal, low alertness, possible drowsiness, low concentration and risk of falling asleep”.

He said the device was still a prototype but would eventually be linked to an alarm or would vibrate the seat to alert the driver to take a rest.

Mugilan said his device could potentially save countless lives on roads.

Last year, more than 4,000 people died in car accidents and the Malaysia Institute of Road Safety Research has identified falling asleep at the wheel as the second most common cause. The first is overtaking.

Mugilan, who stands to get another £30,000 (RM160,000) if he wins the international prize, said he would use it to complete his invention.

Source:
courtesy of THE STAR

by NEVILLE SPYKERMAN

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