Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, have developed a soft, self-contained sensor that attaches to the eyelid and tracks eye movements to determine a person's level of fatigue, NotebookCheck reports with reference to Tech Xplore.
The device, described in the scientific journal Nature, combines a new type of sensor with an artificial intelligence algorithm that analyzes data in real time.
The measurement accuracy, according to the test results, is 96.4%. The technology is based on a property discovered in 2021 by the same team - the giant magnetoelastic effect in soft materials. This effect allows the polymer composite to convert mechanical pressure from eyelid movement into a magnetic and then into an electrical signal.
The sensor design includes a layer of silicone rubber with embedded micromagnets and a thin conductive gold coil deposited on a thermoplastic elastomer. The device is stretchable, waterproof, and designed to be worn directly on the eyelid. It converts eye movements into high-precision signals that are processed by a neural network.
The algorithm analyzes six blink parameters to determine the user's level of fatigue. The developers note that the discovery of the magnetoelastic effect in soft systems has significant scientific potential that has yet to be fully explored.