DROWSINESS DETERMINATION APPARATUS AND PROGRAM

• US 20110216181A1
• Filed: 09/15/2009
• Published: 09/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.), DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.), DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Omi, Takuhiro, Tsuda, Taishi, Terashima, Ryuta, Yoda, Takumi
• Application Number:
  US13/063,332
• Publication Number:
  US 20110216181A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/78
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2503/22 Motor vehicles operators, e.g. drivers, pilots, captains
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1103 Detecting eye twinkling
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6821 Eye
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/06 responsive to incapacity of driver

Abstract

An image is captured of a region including an eye of a driver using an image capture device 12, and the degree of eye openness is detected with a degree of eye openness detection section 24. A standard closed eye threshold value, a large value closed eye threshold value and a small closed eye threshold value stored in the threshold value storage section 28 are employed by the feature amount extraction section 30 to extract plural types of blinking feature amount from the detected degree of eye openness time series data. Threshold value determination is performed for each of the plural types of blinking feature amount by the threshold value determination section 32, and determination of the state of drowsiness of the driver is made by the drowsiness determination section 34 based on the threshold value determination results for the plural types of blinking feature amount. Accordingly, respective threshold values appropriate to the types of blinking feature amounts are employed in extracting blinking feature amounts, enabling determination of state of drowsiness to be performed with good precision.

Claims

1. A drowsiness determination apparatus comprising:

an image capture means for capturing a region including an eye of a determination subject;

an openness detection means for detecting a degree of eye openness based on the image captured by the image capture means;

a feature amount extraction means for, based on the degree of eye openness detected by the openness detection means, extracting a plurality of types of blinking feature amount selected from the group consisting of;

a blinking feature amount related to grouping of blinking, derived by employing a threshold value for degree of eye openness smaller than a standard threshold value,

a blinking feature amount related to a number of blinks, derived by employing the standard threshold value and differing from the blinking feature amount related to the grouping of blinking,

a blinking feature amount relating to length of open-eye state in a given time period, derived by employing a threshold value greater than the standard threshold value and a value corresponding to the entire length of open-eye state in the given time period,

a blinking feature amount relating to length of open-eye state in a given time period, derived by employing a threshold value smaller than the standard threshold value and a value corresponding to the length of a portion of open-eye state in the given time period,

a blinking feature amount relating to length of closed-eye state in a given time period, derived by employing a threshold value smaller than the standard threshold value and a value corresponding to the entire length of closed-eye state in the given time period, and

a blinking feature amount relating to length of closed-eye state in a given time period, derived by employing a threshold value greater than the standard threshold value and a value corresponding to the length of a portion of the closed-eye state in the given time period; and

a state of drowsiness determination means for determining the state of drowsiness of the determination subject based on the plurality of types of blinking feature amount extracted by the feature amount extraction means.

2. The drowsiness determination apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a threshold value computation means for, based on the degree of eye openness detected by the openness detection means, computing the standard threshold value, the threshold value greater than the standard threshold value and the threshold value smaller than the standard threshold value.

3. The drowsiness determination apparatus of claim 2, wherein the threshold value computation means computes the standard threshold value, the threshold value greater than the standard threshold value and the threshold value smaller than the standard threshold value based on a distribution of the degree of eye openness obtained from the degree of eye openness detected by the openness detection means.

4. The drowsiness determination apparatus of claim 3, wherein the threshold value computation means:

extracts a maximum value with larger degree of eye openness and a maximum value with smaller degree of eye openness from two maximum values in the degree of eye openness distribution, together with a minimum value present between the two maximum values; and

computes the standard threshold value based on the minimum value, computes the threshold value smaller than the standard threshold value based on the minimum value and the maximum value of greater degree of eye openness, and computes the threshold value smaller than the standard threshold value based on the minimum value and the maximum value of larger degree of eye openness.

5. A recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to function as:

an openness detection means for detecting a degree of eye openness based on an image captured by an image capture means for capturing a region including an eye of a determination subject;

a feature amount extraction means for, based on the degree of eye openness detected by the openness detection means, extracting a plurality of types of blinking feature amount selected from the group consisting of;

a blinking feature amount related to grouping of blinking, derived by employing a threshold value for degree of eye openness smaller than a standard threshold value,

a blinking feature amount related to a number of blinks, derived by employing the standard threshold value and differing from the blinking feature amount related to the grouping of blinking,

a blinking feature amount relating to length of open-eye state in a given time period, derived by employing a threshold value greater than the standard threshold value and a value corresponding to the entire length of open-eye state in the given time period,

a blinking feature amount relating to length of open-eye state in a given time period, derived by employing a threshold value smaller than the standard threshold value and a value corresponding to the length of a portion of open-eye state in the given time period,

a blinking feature amount relating to length of closed-eye state in a given time period, derived by employing a threshold value smaller than the standard threshold value and a value corresponding to the entire length of closed-eye state in the given time period, and

a blinking feature amount relating to length of closed-eye state in a given time period, derived by employing a threshold value greater than the standard threshold value and a value corresponding to the length of a portion of the closed-eye state in the given time period; and

a state of drowsiness determination means for determining the state of drowsiness of the determination subject based on the plurality of types of blinking feature amount extracted by the feature amount extraction means.