SafeStudent Driving: A Multimodal Driver-Safety System to Support Teen Drivers Using Computer Vision and Mobile Sensing
Teen drivers face disproportionately high crash rates, often due to inexperience and inconsistent attention to basic traffic rules. SafeStudent Driving addresses this problem with a multimodal coaching system deployed on both a Raspberry Pi device and a Flutter-based mobile app. The system uses three YOLO-based computer-vision models to detect traffic lights, light-bulb colors, and road signs, an OCR module to read speed-limit values, and an audio model plus IMU data to infer whether turn signals are used during turns. An analysis layer smooths detections over time and triggers prioritized voice prompts through text-to-speech or pre-recorded audio. Key challenges included achieving sufficient model accuracy in varied lighting, running inference fast enough on limited hardware, and designing prompts that inform without distracting the driver [3]. Experiments on sign detection and turn-signal recognition highlight strengths and failure modes, guiding future improvements. Overall, the project demonstrates a practical, low-cost way to help novice drivers build safer habits in real traffic.