APPARATUS, METHOD AND PROGRAM FOR DETECTING ACT OF LOOKING ASIDE

• US 20090009309A1
• Filed: 07/02/2008
• Published: 01/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/04/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Original Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Inventors: Ando, Tanichi, Matsuoka, Miki
• Application Number:
  US12/167,022
• Publication Number:
  US 20090009309A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/439
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/06 indicating a condition of sleep, e.g. anti-dozing alarms

Abstract

More accurate detection of an act of looking aside is to be achieved. A direction-of-face detection unit detects the orientation of face of a driver, and a direction-of-sight line detection unit detects the orientation of sight line of the driver, based on an image photographed by the photographing unit. A field-of-view detection unit uses the sight line orientation of the driver as a reference to detect a range depending on the difference between the face orientation and sight line orientation of the driver as the field of view of the driver. A judging unit judges that the act of looking aside is going on when the face orientation of the driver is out of the face orientation-judging range. Also, the judging unit judges based on the driver'"'"'s field of view whether or not the driver is looking aside when the face orientation of the driver is within the face orientation-judging range. The invention is applicable to an apparatus for detecting an act of looking aside by a driver.

Claims

1. An apparatus for detecting an act of looking aside, comprising:

a field-of-view detection means for detecting a first range as a field of view of a person with respect to an orientation of a sight line of the person; and

a judging means for judging whether or not the person is looking aside, based on the detected field of view of the person.

2. The apparatus for detecting an act of looking aside of claim 1, wherein the field-of-view detection means adjusts a breadth of the first range according to an extent of difference between a face orientation and the sight line orientation of the person.

3. The apparatus for detecting an act of looking aside of claim 1, wherein the field-of-view detection means adjusts a breadth of the first range according to a speed of a vehicle which the person is driving.

4. The apparatus for detecting an act of looking aside of claim 1, wherein the judging means judges that the person is looking aside regardless of the sight line orientation and field of view of the person when an orientation of a face of the person with respect to a predetermined reference direction in a horizontal direction is beyond a second range.

5. A method for detecting an act of looking aside, comprising:

a field-of-view detection step for detecting a predetermined range as a field of view of a person with respect to an orientation of a sight line of the person; and

a judging step for judging whether or not the person is looking aside, based on the detected field of view of the person.

6. A program for making a computer execute a processing comprising:

a field-of-view detection step for detecting a predetermined range as a field of view of a person with respect to an orientation of a sight line of the person; and

a judging step for judging whether or not the person is looking aside, based on the detected field of view of the person.