Single Omnidirectional Camera System for Motorized Mobility Scooters to Measure Driving Operations, User Behavior,...

Ensuring the safety of motorized mobility scooters (MMSs) is challenging, particularly for elderly people with reduced physical function due to aging or health conditions. Previous studies have addressed this issue by assessing the driving skills of MMS users using measurement systems. However, these systems often required complex setups to capture the detailed data needed for driving assessment, making them less practical for clinical applications. To address this limitation, this study developed an MMS driving measurement system using a single omnidirectional camera, specifically designed for application in clinical environments. The system measures driving operations, user behavior, and vehicle location during MMS driving through video images captured by the omnidirectional camera and its built-in sensors. This study also proposed evaluation factors related to MMS driving safety based on the collected data and compared these factors under various driving conditions. The experimental results showed that the single-camera system with a simple setup successfully recorded diverse data related to MMS driving. In addition, the recorded data clarified that the driving evaluation factors had significant variations depending on driving conditions, such as driving courses and MMS settings. The MMS driving data collected by this system have the potential as input for computing assessment factors that reflect a user's driving attentiveness and safety awareness. Further investigation using this system may lead to the development of an effective index for evaluating the MMS driving skills of elderly people.Clinical relevance- This study presents a practical system consisting of a single device for assessing MMS driving skills, in contrast to existing assistive mobility driving measurement systems that require multiple devices. This technology enables physical and occupational therapists to easily obtain quantitative data during MMS driving, which contributes to the objective clarification and development of evaluation methodologies for MMS driving skills.