Title Quantitative Assessment of Construction Workers’ Fatigue using Remote Photoplethymography (rPPG)
Authors KyuHoi Kim ; GyuNam Park ; KwangSeop Lim ; HyunSung Jung ; MinGeun Chang ; JungHo Jeon
DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.6106/KJCEM.2026.27.4.072
Page pp.72-82
ISSN 2005-6095
Keywords Remote Photoplethymography; Fatigue Assessment; Construction Workers; Construction Safety
Abstract This study proposes a noninvasive method for estimating construction workers’ physical fatigue using remote photoplethysmography (rPPG). Nine participants were measured before and after a fatigue-inducing lifting task using an iPhone 14 camera (30fps). Preprocessed rPPG signals were analyzed with a MATLAB-based sliding window approach and AMPD (Automatic Multiscale-based Peak Detection) algorithm to extract RR intervals. The root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) was used as the primary heart rate variability (HRV) indicator reflecting parasympathetic activity. After the task, 81.8% of participants showed decreased RMSSD, indicating increased fatigue, which aligned with NASA-TLX subjective scores. These results suggest that rPPG can serve as an effective, noninvasive tool for real-time fatigue monitoring in construction settings. Future work should include additional HRV indicators and expand validation in real-world environments to enhance workplace safety and accident prevention.