Method and device for evaluating a driving style

• US 20040030458A1
• Filed: 06/09/2003
• Published: 02/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz Group AG)
• Original Assignee: DaimlerChrysler AG (Mercedes-Benz Group AG)
• Inventors: Entenmann, Volker
• Granted Patent: US 6,957,142 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3626 Details of the output of route guidance instructions traffic control systems for road vehicles involving transmission of navigation instructions to the vehicle G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and to a device for evaluating driver performance, comprising the continuous detection of the actual state of travel and the actual traffic situation and determining a reference state of travel pertaining to the actual traffic situation. Said reference state of travel is the state of travel desired in the respective traffic situation according to a predetermined evaluation criterion. According to the invention, the actual state of travel detected is evaluated according to said evaluation criterion by comparing it with the pertaining detected reference state of travel. Subsequently, one or more pieces of feedback information regarding driver performance during a preceding traffic situation are given. The invention also refers to the use of the inventive device for the instructive evaluation of the driver performance of road vehicle users.

Claims

1. Method for evaluating a driving style, in which

the current driving state is continuously sensed by reference to associated driving state parameters, and the current traffic situation is continuously sensed by reference to associated traffic situation parameters,

an associated reference driving state which, in the respective traffic situation, represents a driving state which is desirable with respect to a predefinable evaluation criterion, is determined in relation to the respectively sensed current traffic situation, by means of a predefinable traffic situation reference driving state relation, and

the sensed current driving state is evaluated by comparison with the respectively determined reference driving state in accordance with the evaluation criterion, and one or more corresponding acknowledgement information items relating to the driving style during a respective preceding traffic situation are retrospectively output.

2. Method according to claim 1, further characterized in that driving style recommendations are output as a function of the reference driving state determined in relation to the current traffic situation.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, further characterized in that at least two groups of acknowledgement information items which are associated with two different values of a predefinable category parameter are predefined as driving style acknowledgement information items which can be output, and an acknowledgement generation criterion is predefined that the amount of acknowledgement information items of the one group which are output during a journey remains larger than the amount of acknowledgement information items of the other group which are output or the amount of acknowledgement information items of the one group which are output has a predefinable relationship with that of the other group.

4. Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, further characterized in that

the sensing of the current traffic situation comprises a route state prediction and the latter is also used to estimate in advance the expected loading on the driver, and

the outputting of the acknowledgement information items or driving style recommendations takes place only in time periods in which the loading on the driver which is estimated in advance lies below a predefinable threshold.

5. Device for evaluating a driving style having

means (1 to 4, 12) for continuously sensing the current driving state by reference to associated driving state parameters and means (1 to 6) for continuously sensing the current traffic situation by reference to associated traffic situation parameters, characterized by

a reference-determining unit (8) for determining a reference driving state which is associated with the sensed current traffic situation and which represents a driving state which is desirable in the respective traffic situation in accordance with a predefinable evaluation criterion, and

a driving state-evaluation unit (14) and an acknowledgement unit (16) for evaluating the sensed current driving state by comparison with the respectively determined reference driving state in accordance with the evaluation criterion and for retrospectively outputting one or more corresponding acknowledgement information items relating to the driving style during a respectively preceding traffic situation.

6. Device according to claim 5, further characterized by a recommendation-generating unit (10) for generating and outputting the driving style recommendations as a function of the reference driving state which is respectively determined in relation to the current traffic situation.

7. Device according to claim 5 or 6, further characterized in that the evaluation unit (14) is configured in such a way that it generates acknowledgements of at least two different categories and matches the outputting of acknowledgement information items in such a way that the amount of acknowledgement information items of the one group which are output during a journey remains larger than the amount of acknowledgement information items of the other group which are output in the corresponding time period.

8. Device according to one of claims 5 to 7, further characterized in that

a route state prediction unit (5) and a driver-loading prediction unit (7) which uses the route state estimation data thereof for estimating in advance the loading on the driver to be expected for the imminent traffic situation are provided, and

the acknowledgement unit (16) is set up in such a way that it outputs the acknowledgement information items or driving style recommendations only in time periods in which the loading on the driver which has been estimated in advance lies below a predefinable threshold.