Monitoring of a driver's heart rate using a microwave sensor and template-matching algorithm

A method of monitoring a driver's heart rate using a microwave sensor on a seat backrest is proposed. The heartbeat signal was learned as a template while the car engine idled. This template was used to calculate correlation between observed signals. The proposed method amplifies a weak heartbeat signal and reduces road noise. A basic experiment was conducted on an actual road at low speed. The proposed method detected the heart rate with accuracy exceeding 90% relative to heart rates measured with a contact-based system.