Automobile driving is continuation of complicated action that requires diversified abilities including perception, decision making and motor function and as it induces sustained extensive concentration of consciousness or tension against outside stimulation, driver is apt to feel mental, physical fatigue during driving. In addition, it is reported that long-time driving, lack of sleep, boring driving situation and heat, noise, vibration, toxic air in car being generated from car are causes of driving fatigue and drowsy driving and it becomes a major cause of fatal traffic accident. Therefore, in connection with ergonomics for driveability, its basic design method has been established and that of stability has also been regulated and standardized from long time ago as it has close relation with human life.
Latest technology of automobile parts is being developed to an intelligent type car that warns driver by sensing unpredictable risky condition through various separate sensors in advance. However, most of the systems are composed by focusing on sensing between car and outside situation and interface system that transmits this information to driver mainly depends on an existing visual/auditory system. Car information transmission system being mainly composed of visual/auditory system like this faces with its limitation under sophisticated and complicated traffic situation and a study on a new transmission system for overcoming this problem is being attempted. In this study, car haptic-seat for playing a role of preventing traffic accident in advance by providing appropriate driving information through vibrated stimulation of car seat is intended to be developed and through this, it is intended to be helpful for improving driving ability of aged drivers whose perceptional and driving function is declined. For this objective, effectiveness and difference of haptic-seat were evaluated by measuring and analyzing recognition rate of seat vibration under virtual driving condition of youth group and aged group. First, in an experiment of seat vibration stimulation being performed under virtual driving situation by targeting youth group, recognition rate by location of vibrated stimulation in 30 places of which strength is variable depending on motor operating voltage was analyzed after measuring it. Test subjects totally recognized vibrated stimulation of motor being operated with 2.5V, 3.5V in 30 places and even in 1.5V that is the lowest operating voltage, recognition rate over a certain level was represented. Second, in an experiment of seat vibration stimulation being performed under virtual driving situation by targeting the elderly aged over 65 years old, average score of test subjects for total vibration recognition was 3.5/4 points and recognition rate of 87.5% was represented. In addition, a result that all the test subjects totally recognized overspeed warning signal of 4 times was represented. As a result of statistical analysis for vibration recognition score by each group depending on TMT score, a significant difference was not found and a result that tactile function of which vibration is recognized even by the aged whose visual, perceptional function is declined showed an equal ability was obtained. In conclusion, it is considered that if haptic-seat using tactile stimulation should be used to the elderly whose visual, auditory function and perception function are declined together with existing visual, auditory based driving information transmission system, it would provide an effective method of being able to overcome limitation of existing driving information transmission and contribute to improve driving ability of the aged.