Physiological Information for Pavement Ride Quality Verification

Heart rate variability (HRV) refers to the beat-to-beat fluctuations in heart rate, which is one of the most promising physiological indicators reflecting mental stress of humans. It has different spectral components in the high and low frequency ranges that are 0.15–0.4 Hz and 0.04–0.15 Hz, respectively. One of the interesting features of HRV is that mental stress inactivates the high frequency (HF) spectral oscillations depending on its severity. The purpose of this study was to verify pavement ride quality ratings based on HRV. For this purpose, a sophisticated driving simulator (KITDS: Kitami Institute of Driving Simulator) was employed and was confirmed to be applicable to physiological testing for pavement ride quality.