METHOD FOR PROVIDING A CONTEXT BASED COACHING MESSAGE TO A DRIVER OF A VEHICLE

• US 20150258996A1
• Filed: 01/15/2013
• Published: 09/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Volvo Lastvagnar AB (Volvo AB)
• Original Assignee: Volvo Lastvagnar AB (Volvo AB)
• Inventors: Kronberg, Peter, Victor, Trent
• Application Number:
  US14/428,071
• Publication Number:
  US 20150258996A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/04 Traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/16 Control of vehicles or other craft simulators G09B9/02
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/04 for teaching control of land vehicles

Abstract

A method is provided for providing a coaching message to a driver of a vehicle for encouraging a desired driving behavior of the vehicle, the coaching message provided by a coaching arrangement included with the vehicle, the method including determining a driving context for the vehicle, determining a coaching level for the driving context, and selecting the coaching messages to be provided to the driver using a multimodal user interface of the coaching arrangement based on a correlation of the determined coaching level and the determined driving context.

Claims

1. A method for providing a coaching message to a driver of a vehicle for encouraging a desired driving behavior of the vehicle, the coaching message provided by means of a coaching arrangement comprised with the vehicle, the method comprising:

determining a driving context;

determining a coaching level for the driving context, and

selecting the coaching messages to be provided to the driver using a multimodal user interface of the coaching arrangement based on a correlation of the determined coaching level and the determined driving context.

2. Method according to claim 1, further comprising:

providing a notification to the driver that the coaching arrangement begins a coaching session having a predetermined duration.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the driving context is determined based on an operational context of the vehicle and an operational state of the driver of the vehicle.

4. Method according to claim 3, wherein the operational context of the vehicle is determined based on at least one of a geographical position of the vehicle, a spatial positioning between the vehicle and a further vehicle, a spatial positioning between the vehicle and a vulnerable road user, a spatial position of the vehicle in relation to infrastructure, or an upcoming traffic situation relating to the vehicle.

5. Method according to any one of claim 3 or 4, wherein the operational state of the driver of the vehicle is determined based on at least one of an interaction with the vehicle and the driver, a visual fixation of the driver, a physiological state of the driver, a predetermined profile of the driver, a predetermined risk assessment of the driver, an accumulated behavior of drivers of the type of vehicle, or manually selected in relation to the driver of the vehicle.

6. Method according to any one of claim 3 or 4, wherein the operational state is set by a fleet operation based on prerequisite information of the driver.

7. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the coaching level is determined based on at least one of a change in driving context or a correlation between the driving context and an accumulated driving context.

8. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the coaching level is proportionately determined based on at least one of a change in driving context or a correlation between the driving context and an accumulated driving context.

9. Method according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the operational context depends on at least one of:

the time of the day, the weather condition within the surrounding of the vehicle.

10. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the coaching message is provided in the form of an audio, voice, visual or haptic output from the multimodal user interface.

11. Method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the coaching message is provided to the driver for driving safely, economically, defensively, keeping distance in mind, minimizing the duration of glances away from the road.

12. A coaching arrangement for providing a coaching message to a driver of a vehicle for encouraging a desired driving behavior of the vehicle, the coaching arrangement comprised in the vehicle, wherein the coaching arrangement comprises:

means determining a driving context;

means determining a coaching level for the driving context, and

means selecting the coaching messages to be provided to the driver using a multimodal user interface of the coaching arrangement based on a correlation of the determined coaching level and the determined driving context.

13. Coaching arrangement according to claim 12, wherein the coaching arrangement is further configured to receive signals from internal and/or external sensors of the vehicle for determining an operational context of the vehicle and an operational context of the driver of the vehicle, the operational context of the vehicle and the operational context of the driver provided for determining the driving context.

14. Coaching arrangement according to claim 12, wherein the internal and/or external sensors of the vehicle comprises at least one of a camera system configured to observe the driver of the vehicle, a radar system arranged externally of the vehicle, a camera system configured to monitor the surrounding of the vehicle.

15. Coaching arrangement according to claim 14, wherein the camera system is provided for identifying for how long time the driver is looking away from a road onto which the vehicle is driven.

16. A computer readable medium embodying a computer program product for providing a coaching message to a driver of a vehicle for encouraging a desired driving behavior of the vehicle, the coaching message provided by means of a coaching arrangement comprised with the vehicle, the computer program product comprising code configured to, when executed by a processor of the coaching arrangement:

code for determining a driving context;

code for determining a coaching level for the driving context, and

code for selecting the coaching messages to be provided to the driver using a multimodal user interface of the coaching arrangement based on a correlation of the determined coaching level and the determined driving context.