Tactile Sensor Array Design for Triple Seat Detection and Control 2016-28-0258

In the field of automotive if a vehicle is designed for a particular per person riding capacity considering the aspects of safety, design and power exceeding those limits puts the driver and pillion riders at considerable risk. With a step ahead in this paper we are trying to detect and limit the number of persons sitting on two wheeler. As per the traffic rules in India the maximum number of persons cannot exceed two, apart from the driver only one pillion rider can be carried in behind while driving. Despite of the ban, driver carries more than a single person. Two Pillion riding is also a root of a lot of accidents happening in two wheelers. To make the detection process effective, robust and cost effective a new sensor design was to be put forward.

There is no sensor available that could detect the differential load over the larger area at effective cost. To cater to this problem Bubble based tactile based sensors were developed and checked for this application. An array of Bubble based Tactile sensors are placed on the seat that are most likely to encounter weights during multiple pillion riding, as per the number of persons seated the state of the switches will be read and monitored by a small Control Unit(microcontroller). The mechanism to detect the number of seater’s is done by detecting the concentration points, an algorithm is implemented that will detect a valid occupant on the seat. After the detection of overloading of the persons on the bike the Control unit can disable the engine or set a warning light. So far no such device is made to tackle such situations and this innovation can prove a viable option to reduce triple seat driving in two wheelers.