Audi, MIT Develop 'Road Frustration Index'
We’ve all experienced stressful drives in our lives, but just how stressful can driving be?
Audi and Senseable from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) created a road frustration index (RFI) to find out. The team outfitted an Audi to quantify factors that lead to driver stress and frustration during real-world driving tasks.
The vehicle was equipped with GPS to keep track of the subject’s location and speed, cameras to monitor both the subject’s facial response and the external driving environment, a Microsoft Kinect to track the subject’s body movements, and skin conductance sensors to monitor the subject’s stress response.
The results may or may not be surprising to you, depending on how stressed out you get in traffic or driving in general. But when compared to other everyday activities, getting into an accident while driving proves to be pretty stressful. Watch a video below introducing the study and the findings will eventually be published in the future.
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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