Argos: An Advanced In-Vehicle Data Recorder on a Massively Sensorized Vehicle for Car Driver Behavior Experimentation

A crucial factor in traffic safety is driver behavior. A better understanding of driver actions will help in determining the most common reasons for car accidents. Therefore, research in this field helps to reduce accidents due to driver distraction. This paper presents Argos, which is a complex and powerfully computerized car to help researchers in the study of car driver behavior. The Argos system is an improved in-vehicle data recorder (IVDR) that allows recording many kinds of alphanumerical data such as the speed (vehicle data), the point of gaze (driver data), or the current distance to lateral road marks (environmental data). In addition, Argos can record up to nine simultaneous video images which are synchronized with the alphanumerical data. Argos can also generate and record different kinds of in-car light and audio stimuli, allowing an experiment supervisor to interact or to schedule specific actions to take place during an experiment.