TANAKA MIRAI Lab., JAF MEDIA WORKS, and Della have begun joint research to visualize drivers’ conditions through the analysis of sweat components. The study aims to combine sweat and saliva samples with questionnaire data to explore associations with driving fatigue, stress levels, and other conditions.
The research will analyze changes in organic and inorganic components using multivariate analysis and other methods. This approach is expected to enable an objective and quantitative understanding of conditions that change from day to day, such as fatigue, stress, and drowsiness.
Background and Objectives of the Study
In recent years, factors such as growing demand for logistics have increased the importance of managing drivers’ conditions. Although regulatory frameworks are steadily being developed, current health assessments in transportation operations primarily consist of annual health checkups and daily roll calls.
Driver shortages and an aging driver workforce have become serious challenges in the transportation and vehicle service industries. This has increased the importance of driver safety and health management, including addressing long hours of driving and preventing accidents believed to be caused by drivers’ health conditions.
The study focuses on drivers’ sweat, which contains a wide range of biological information, including organic and inorganic components. Rather than measuring only a single component, the study aims to establish a new approach to capturing changes in a person’s condition through multivariate analysis.
Research Methodology
Sweat and saliva samples were collected from drivers engaged in JAF MEDIA WORKS’ transport operations before and after driving and after listening to healing music provided by Della. Questionnaire surveys to assess stress and perceived fatigue were also conducted at the same time.
The sweat samples will undergo inorganic component analysis using inductively coupled plasma analysis and organic component analysis using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Exploratory analysis will also be conducted to examine correlations between changes in multiple components and the condition of the study participants.
Chief Researcher Masahiro Ito of TANAKA MIRAI Lab. notes that accurately assessing fatigue and stress is fundamental to safe driving. The study’s findings could lead to the development of technologies that allow fatigue and stress to be assessed easily using a tiny amount of sweat, helping to reduce the risk of traffic accidents.
The collaboration among the three companies brings together expertise from different industries, with TANAKA contributing its knowledge of precious metals, JAF MEDIA WORKS providing its experience in the transportation industry, and Della offering its expertise in healing music.
Chief Director Kunihito Ikeda of Sound Wellness Lab states that the study represents a new field that has emerged through collaboration among the three companies, and the opportunity to contribute to this field through the science of sound is a major step forward.
The study is being conducted with approval from the Research Ethics Committee for Research Involving Human Subjects, Public Health Research Foundation, and an anonymized data management system has been established to keep personal information separate from analysis data.
With the study’s focus on biosensing research, it is positioned as an approach to exploring biological signals and developing technologies that use sensors to monitor humans and quantify biological information. The study’s findings could lead to new possibilities for biosensing and the development of sensors and other devices.
The research framework is being established, and components in each sample are being analyzed, with various initiatives advancing toward future applications in sensors and other devices.
Della is providing healing music, incorporating research data and findings from psychological and medical perspectives. The study’s results could provide clues for understanding the underlying mechanisms of human fatigue and stress, and ultimately contribute to the development of technologies that improve driver safety and health management.