SafeDriving: A mobile application for tractor rollover detection and emergency reporting

• A smartphone application was developed to detect tractor rollover accidents.
• The application was implemented for iPhones and iPads.
• The application calculates a stability index value to detect accidents.
• The application transmits automated emergency messages to predefined contacts.
• The emergency message includes the GPS coordinates, date and time of the accident.

This paper introduces a tractor rollover detection and emergency reporting software application, SafeDriving, developed for iOS-based mobile electronic devices (smartphones and tablet computers). The SafeDriving application uses a mathematical model to calculate the stability of a tractor using the physical parameters of the tractor and the data from the inbuilt sensors of the mobile electronic devices or the data from the external sensors attached to the tractor. When the SafeDriving application detects an accident, it sends automated email and phone messages with the GPS location, date, time and other critical information. The functions of the SafeDriving application were tested on a small-scale model tractor in laboratory conditions and on a 45 HP utility tractor in field conditions. The field-upset tests with the utility tractor were conducted for 10 times at 10.8 km/h and 21.6 km/h. During all of the tests, the application successfully monitored the vehicle stability and reported the accidents to the emergency contacts when a rollover accident happened.