Mobile and fast detection of visual field defects for elderly drivers as a necessary input into driver assistance systems for mobility maintenance

Abstract:
Due to the demographic changes the percentage of elderly drivers will increase in the coming years. Although the maintenance of individual mobility is of essential importance for the elderly, accident statistics indicate a decreased driving ability of elderly drivers. Therefore future vehicles not only have to adapt to the physical condition of elderly drivers, above all, new systems and solutions are needed that enable the detection of the driver’s sensory deficits. Sensory deficits of elderly drivers mainly regard the reduction of vision, especially reduction or defects in the visual field as a result of diseases like glaucoma, stroke, or as medication side effects. In this paper we present a new and portable campimetric solution, the PC-based Tuebingen Mobile Campimeter (TMC), for mobile, automated, and fast detection of visual field defects at low-cost. We evaluated the developed PC-based TMC in a pilot study. TMC measurement results can be used to adapt camera-based driver assistance systems to driver’s visual field defects.