The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.

Konica-minolta Holdings, Inc.

Tsugutake Sadoyama

Masayoshi Kamijo

Akira Kuramori

Noritaka Koguchi

Satoshi Hosoya

Yoshio Shimizu

Yoshjo Shimizu

Takeyoshi Iguchi

Toru Sugahara

Noritaka c/o The Yokohama Rubber Co Ltd Koguchi

Akira c/o The Yokohama Rubber Co Ltd Kuramori

Masayoshi c/o Shinshu University Kamijo

A time series myoelectric potential signal is acquired, which is representative of time series activity amount of a muscle of a driver when the driver is performing a driving operation on the vehicle, the muscle being involved in the driving operation. Based on the acquired time series myoelectric potential signal, a parameter value indicative of a fluctuation amount of the time-series myoelectric potential signal and an average value of the myoelectric potential signal are obtained. Drivability of the vehicle is evaluated based on the obtained parameter value and the obtained average value.

Method, apparatus, and program for evaluating drivability of a vehicle

A plurality of electrode pairs, each of which is constituted by two electrodes of the plurality of biomedical electrodes are set and at least one of an electrical impedance value between two electrodes forming a pair and a resistance value between the two electrodes, for each of the electrode pairs is measured. An attachment state of each of the electrode pairs is judged by comparing the impedance value or the resistance value, with a predetermined range of numeric values. An electrode in an inappropriate attachment state is identified from the plurality of electrode pairs based on the judged attachment state o each of the plurality of electrode pairs.

Bioelectrical information acquisition device and inappropriately-attached-electrode identifying method

Different loads are applied to the skeletal muscle of at least one of an upper arm, an upper limb girdle, and a lower limb of the test subject to cause isometric muscle contraction under each load and measure the muscle activity of the skeletal muscle. Then, an upper limit of the muscle activity in a region where a magnitude of the load and an intensity of the muscle activity have a linear relationship is determined as the limit in an appropriate muscle activity range that suits the test subject. Subsequently, the muscle activity of the skeletal muscle of a test subject operating an instrument is measured, and the test subject's force for operating the instrument is evaluated based on a frequency distribution where the frequency of the muscle activity of the skeletal muscle being exercised to operate the instrument is distributed with respect to the obtained limit.

Method for evaluating an instrument operating force

A workability evaluating apparatus comprises a myoelectric potential detecting unit, a signal processing unit, an arithmetic operation unit, and an output unit. The myoelectric potential detecting unit detects time-series fluctuations in myoelectric potentials of at least one pair of muscles, which show antagonistic activities while operating equipment among muscles of an operator used to operate the equipment, as myoelectric potential signals. The signal processing unit processes the detected myoelectric potentials. The arithmetic operation unit calculates time-series data of a first correlation coefficient in a specified sampling time between signals obtained by processing the myoelectric potential signals from the pair of antagonistic muscles, and performs evaluation of workability in operating the equipment by using the calculated time-series data. The output unit outputs a result of the performed evaluation.

Workability evaluating apparatus, workability evaluating method, and workability evaluating program

The driving skill evaluating apparatus is an apparatus that evaluates the driving skill of a driver who drives a vehicle. The evaluating apparatus includes: driver load measurement means for measuring the degree of physical load on the driver in a driving operation activity of the vehicle; driving operation quantity measurement means for measuring the quantity of driving operation performed by the driver for the vehicle in the driving operation activity; and evaluation means for evaluating the driving skill of the driver by using the degree of the physical load on the driver and the quantity of driving operation. And the driving load efficiency informing apparatus includes: the driver load measurement means: the driving operation quantity measurement means; load efficiency judgment value calculating means for calculating a load efficiency judgment value indicating a efficiency of efficiency of the physical load on the driver in the driving operation activity of the vehicle to the quantity of driving operation performed by the driver for the vehicle in the driving operation activity of the vehicle, by using the degree of the physical load on the driver and the quantity of driving operation; and informing means for informing the driver of the efficiency of the physical load on the driver to the driving operation activity of the vehicle in accordance with the load efficiency judgment value.

Apparatus and method for evaluating driving skill and apparatus and method for informing efficiency of driver's physical load to driving operation

An apparatus and method for evaluating the degree of work comfort of a user is disclosed. A pair of sensors detect myoelectric potentials of a pair of bilaterally symmetrical muscles. A waveform processing unit generates a synchronous contraction waveform by either using the smaller value between signals from the two muscles at a given time, or by determining the geometric mean between the signals at a given time. An evaluation unit uses the intensity or frequency information from the synchronous contraction waveform to evaluate the user's level of comfort performing a task such as driving.

Apparatus and method of evaluating degree of work comfort

A work comfort evaluating device is a device for evaluating a level of comfort of work by measuring myoelectric potentials of plural muscles when the work is done by antagonistic activities of the muscles. The device has a pair of detecting sensors, an amplifier, a signal processing part, a work-load intensity calculating part, and an evaluation part. The sensors sense myoelectric potentials of the muscles at a time of the work. The signal processing part calculates a synchronous contraction intensity of the muscles by using myoelectric potential waveforms. The work-load intensity calculating part calculates a level of a work load intensity in the work. The evaluation part evaluates a level of comfort of the work by normalizing the synchronous contraction intensity by the level of the work load intensity calculated.

Work comfort evaluating device and work comfort evaluating method

A stress-at-work evaluating device evaluates a stress of a subject at work by measuring activities of one of the right and the left masseter muscles, the work including exercise of arms or feet of the subject. The device evaluates the stress from a normalized intensity of the myoelectric potential one of the right and the left masseter muscles. The normalized intensity is calculated by dividing the intensity of the measured myoelectric potential of the masseter muscles by the level of the external force acting on the head of the subject at work.

Stress-at-work evaluating device and method

An attractive facial image determining system, including a first detecting section for detecting lateral angle points of both eyes in a facial image; a second detecting section for detecting oral angle points; a constructing section for constructing a rectangle which is formed of a line segment made by a side that passes through the lateral angle points of both eyes detected by the first detecting section, and an opposed line segment that passes through both oral angle points detected by the second detecting section; and a determining section which obtains a ratio of a long side and a short side of the rectangle obtained via the constructing section, and determines whether the ratio is within a predetermined range.

Attractive facial image determining system

A stress-at-work judging apparatus, program, and method for judging the stress exerted on the subject at work such as steering of a vehicle by the subject. An myoelectric potential signal of the masseter muscle is inputted during an object work carried out by the activity of muscles independent of the activity of the masseter muscle opening/closing the jaw of the subject. The myoelectric potential signal representing a change of the activity of the masseter muscle and generated when the object work acts as a stressor of the subject is used to judge the stress. A camera or microphone is disposed near the subject to exclude the period during which the subject speaks or masticate by using the masseter muscle independently of the object work from the object period during which stress is judged.

Stress-at-work judging apparatus, stress-at-work judging program, and stress-at-work judging method

During a driving activity of an automobile, a work characteristic evaluating apparatus is provided for judging a factor (a physical work load or a mental load) of stress that a work activity places on the worker to evaluate a work characteristic. The work characteristic evaluating apparatuscomprises a masseter muscle myoelectric potential acqusition devicewhich measures and acquires myoelectric potential of a masseter muscle which moves independently of the driving activity of the driver, a work intensity acquisition devicewhich measures and acquires steering torque around the steering shaft as a work intensity of steering activity, a correlation calculating modulewhich computes a correlation between time-series data of the myoelectric potential of the masseter muscle and time-series data of the steering torque, and a judgment modulewhich judges whether the stress placed on the worker is caused by a physical work load or a mental load based on the correlation coefficient.

Growing community of inventors

Ibaraki, Japan

Tsugutake Sadoyama