Sujal Agrawal (he/his/him)
Sujal is a product design engineer with a background in mechanical engineering. He likes to use mindfulness and slowness in his design process along with design thinking to evaluate problems and generate sustainable user-friendly products. Through his master’s course at the Glasgow School of Art, he has developed a heightened sense of responsibility for using a circular design approach and including human factors in design decisions. However, the most rewarding part for him of being a designer is creating meaningful products to improve people’s lives. And seeing people use his products drives him to produce his best results and to keep honing his skills.
Drivy: A Drowsiness Prevention Device
Product Description
Drivy is a drowsiness prevention device designed to detect a driver’s sleepiness and give early indications through an alarm. It also helps prevent drowsiness by using various stimulating and uplifting essential oils such as Peppermint, Basil, Rosemary, etc.
“The product aims to prevent drowsiness while driving and increase driving confidence in long routes.”
Why this product
About 21% of fatal car crashes occur due to drowsy driving. Moreover, according to a study, around 60% of adult drivers in the west reported driving while tired at least once. Further, sleepiness increases reaction time. With a sleep of 50 micro-seconds, the car can move forward 5+ feet at 70 mph (real-life consequences). Though the number of sleepless drivers is increasing, there is no specific solution to prevent it. Thus, “Drivy” is designed to avoid such occurrences and is essential in every automobile to protect you from micro-naps and other road users from potential casualties.
How does it work?
Drivy uses blink rate with head movement detection to analyse whether the driver is sleepy or not. Upon drowsiness detection, it alarms the user and releases stimulating variable smells (essential oils) to increase driver alertness. Research shows that some essential oils (peppermint, basil, rosemary, lemongrass etc.) are proven effective against drowsiness and provide stimulation.
Who is the User?
According to research, business travellers, commercial drivers, new parents, young adults, the elderly, shift workers, people with disorders etc., are found sleepy and even excessively sleepy. Therefore, Drivy is generally suitable for all drivers and must be available in all vehicles since the drivers don’t really know when they will can get sleepy and how sleepy they are. However, drivers have shown drowsiness more often while driving a long distance thus, for such users, this product is most appropriate.
