Open AccessSafety Helmets for Motorcycle Rider with Hearing Impairment
Author(s) -
Muhammad Hafiyuddin Abdul Mutalib,
AUTHOR_ID,
Yew Been Seok,
AUTHOR_ID
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of engineering and science research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2289-7127
DOI - 10.26666/rmp.jesr.2021.3.2
Subject(s) - siren (mythology) , engineering , aeronautics , sound (geography) , automotive engineering , audiology , acoustics , medicine , art , physics , literature
Motorcycle fatal accidents on roads in Malaysia are one of the major causes of death and injuries. There is a need to increase and improvise road safety awareness. In Malaysia, riders with hearing impairment are allowed to ride a motorcycle on the road but restrictions such as responding to the surrounding sounds, especially the sounds produced by the horns and emergency siren from other vehicles warrant a high degree of concern. In this work, a safety helmet is designed to aid the rider with hearing impairment, in detecting the sounds produced by the horns and emergency siren of vehicles. A simple mechanism is developed by using sound sensors as the input, light-emitting diode (LEDs) as the output, and Arduino Uno Board as the controller. The threshold of the sound sensor is 96 dB. When the sensor detected sound waves that exceed the threshold, the LEDs will turn on, which serves as the awareness indication for the rider with hearing impairment. The functionality of the sound detection mechanism in the designed safety helmet is tested based on its response to car and motorcycle horns. The sound intensity produced by car and motorcycle horns is in the range of 107 – 109 dB and 96 – 105 dB. Respectively. The functionality test was conducted at three different distances starting from 4.7m, 9.4m, and 14.10m and the developed system operates to detect the sound of horns in the range of 120-90 dB. Finite element analysis was also performed in analyzing the carbon fiber material for the designed safety helmet, which shows the least deformation (6.174 mm) with the stress of 1014 MPa resulting in the lowest strain of 0.01181 when the load of 3432N was applied to it vertically. Safety helmets that impair hearing with hearing aids are crucial for riders with hearing impairment. However, this work implements an alternative method that focused on using visual warning signals instead of audible warning signals, in aiding the riders with hearing impairment, especially completely deaf riders to stay alert and safe on the road.