ADAPTING VEHICLE PERSONALITY USING ANALYZED DRIVER PERFORMANCE METRICS

• US 20150057931A1
• Filed: 08/21/2013
• Published: 02/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. (Continental AG)
• Inventors: Pivonka, David B.
• Granted Patent: US 9,103,688 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/533
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles

Abstract

A vehicle'"'"'s driving personality is adapted to a driver by determining a driver'"'"'s ability to operate the vehicle by monitoring the driver'"'"'s operation. The driver'"'"'s operation, such as vehicle speed, lane usage, and braking, is compared to known characteristics of the road segment on which the vehicle is being driven. The driver'"'"'s competency is evaluated by comparing how the driver operates a vehicle on a segment of roadway to how the vehicle could be operated and stay within limits imposed by law. A driver'"'"'s ability to operate the vehicle can also be obtained from sensors that monitor a driver'"'"'s heart rate, respiration rate, eye movement, and other health-indicating autonomic responses. After the driver'"'"'s capabilities are determined, navigation instructions provided to the driver thereafter are modified to route the driver over roads that are either preferred or appropriate for the driver'"'"'s physical abilities.

Claims

1. A method of adapting vehicle personality comprising:

determining driving capabilities of a vehicle'"'"'s driver by comparing characteristics of how the vehicle is operated by the driver over a first road segment, to known characteristics of the first road segment; and

providing driving directions to the driver, which direct the driver to travel over a second road segment having known characteristics, the second road segment being selected from a plurality of road segments extending between a starting location and a destination, responsive to the determined driving capabilities of the driver.

2. The method claim 1, wherein the step of determining driving capabilities of a vehicle'"'"'s driver comprises at least one of:

determining a speed at which the vehicle was operated by the driver over the first road segment and comparing the speed at which the vehicle was operated over the first road segment, to a known speed limit for the first road segment;

determining different road lanes in which the vehicle was driven over the first road segment and comparing the lanes that were used by the driver over the first road segment to the number of lanes on the first road segment;

determining distances that the vehicle was driven in different road lanes over the first road segment;

determining the vehicle'"'"'s brake pedal usage over the first road segment and comparing the brake pedal usage to a known traffic congestion for the first road segment; and

determining lane changes made by the driver over the first road segment and determining turn signal indicator operation for said lane changes;

determining a direction and a rate at which lane changes are made by the driver over the first road segment; and

determining the time of day at which the vehicle was driven over the first road segment to known traffic patterns for the first road segment, at different times of day, and

determining a driver'"'"'s health from at least one of a heart rate, respiration, temperature and eye movement.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of determining driving capabilities further comprises weighting a driver'"'"'s ability to:

operate the vehicle at a posted speed limit over the first road segment;

operate the vehicle in different lanes over the first road segment;

indicate lane changes over the first road segment;

operate the vehicle in congested traffic over the first road segment; and

apply vehicle braking responsive to traffic conditions over the first road segment.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing a second road segment comprises the step of providing visual and audible navigation directions.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing a second road segment comprises:

determining a starting point and an ending point for a driver-specified desired destination;

determining a plurality of different roads that extend between the starting point and ending point, the different roads having different characteristics; and

providing to the driver, a second road segment having characteristics corresponding the driver'"'"'s capability to operate the vehicle.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein step of providing a second road segment having a characteristic corresponding to a determined driver capability comprises at least one of:

providing a road segment according to a driver-appropriate posted speed limit;

providing a road segment according to a driver-appropriate traffic congestion level;

providing a road segment according to a driver-appropriate number of lanes on the road segment; and

providing a road segment according to a driver-appropriate travel time.

7. A method of adapting vehicle personality to a driver'"'"'s capabilities, the method comprising:

determining driving capabilities of a vehicle'"'"'s driver by at least one of determining a speed at which the vehicle was operated by a driver over a road segment and comparing the speed at which the vehicle was operated over the road segment to a posted speed limit for the road segment;

determining road lanes in which the vehicle was driven over a road segment and comparing the lanes that were used by the driver over the road segment to the number of lanes on the road segment;

determining times and distances that the vehicle was driven in different road lanes over a road segment;

determining the vehicle'"'"'s brake pedal usage over the road segment and comparing the brake pedal usage to a known traffic congestion for the road segment;

determining when lane changes were made by the driver over a road segment and determining whether turn signals were correctly used by the driver for a plurality of lane changes;

determining a direction and a rate at which lane changes are made by the driver; and

determining the time of day at which the vehicle was driven over a road segment and correlating the time of day to known traffic patterns for the road segment, at different times of day;

receiving the driver'"'"'s request for a route that extends between first and second end points; and

selecting contiguous road segments between the first and second end points responsive to determined driving capabilities of the driver.

8. An apparatus for adapting vehicle personality to a driver'"'"'s driving capabilities, the apparatus comprising:

a driving capability determiner coupled to a vehicle and configured to determine driving capabilities of a vehicle'"'"'s driver by comparing characteristics of how the vehicle is operated by the driver over a first road segment, to known characteristics of the first road segment;

a navigation system coupled to the driving capability determiner and configured to provide driving directions to the driver, driving directions being selected to route the driver over road segments responsive to the determined driving capabilities of the driver.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the driving capability determiner comprises:

a computer;

a non-transitory memory device coupled to the computer and storing program instructions, which are executable by the computer;

a plurality of sensors coupled to the computer and vehicle, the sensors being configured to provide signals to the computer representing the driver'"'"'s operation of said vehicle.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the sensors comprise at least one of:

a global positioning system;

a speed sensor;

a braking sensor;

an accelerometer;

a turn signal sensor;

a heart rate sensor;

a respiration sensor;

a temperature sensor; and

an eye movement sensor.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a user interface coupled to the computer, the user interface configured to receive input signals from a driver and to provide driving directions to a driver responsive to an input from the driver and a determination of the driver'"'"'s ability to operate the vehicle.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the non-transitory memory device stores program instructions, which when executed cause the computer to:

read signals from the sensors;

determine a driver'"'"'s physical ability to drive a vehicle from signals obtained from the sensors;

store a representation of the driver'"'"'s physical ability in a memory device;

receive a request for driving instructions from the user interface; and

provide driver-appropriate driving instructions responsive to the received request for driving instructions and a stored representation of the driver'"'"'s physical ability to operate the vehicle.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the user interface comprises a touch-sensitive display device configured to receive tactile inputs and display images.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the user interface comprises an audio speaker.