DRIVER ASSISTANCE APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD FOR THE SAME

• US 20170036673A1
• Filed: 08/02/2016
• Published: 02/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: LEE, Choil
• Granted Patent: US 10,286,905 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/112 for measuring diameter of pupils
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/024 Detecting, measuring or recording pulse rate or heart rate A61B5/0205, A61B5/021 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/165 Evaluating the state of mind, e.g. depression, anxiety
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/408 Radar; Laser, e.g. lidar
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/06 Direction of travel
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/105 Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/125 Lateral acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/22 Psychological state; Stress level or workload
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/221 Physiology, e.g. weight, heartbeat, health or special needs
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/225 Direction of gaze
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2552/53 Road markings, e.g. lane marker or crosswalk
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2554/4046 Behavior, e.g. aggressive or erratic
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/00 Input parameters relating to data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/09 Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/0956 the prediction being responsive to traffic or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/12 Limiting control by the driver depending on vehicle state, e.g. interlocking means for the control input for preventing unsafe operation
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/00274 considering possible movement changes
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 : using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 : Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/14 : Digital output to display device ; Cooperation and interconnection of the display device with other functional units
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/58 : Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/597 : Recognising the driver's state or behaviour, e.g. attention or drowsiness
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 : for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

Disclosed are driver assistance apparatus and a control method for the same. The driver assistance apparatus includes a sensing unit configured to acquire information regarding an object outside a vehicle, the object including a first other vehicle being driven in the vicinity of the vehicle, and a processor configured to judge whether the first other vehicle is a dangerous vehicle based on at least one of the information regarding the object, user input provided from a driver of the vehicle, information regarding the state of the driver, and information regarding the first other vehicle provided from a second other vehicle being driven in the vicinity of the vehicle, and to execute at least one predetermined operation upon judging that the first other vehicle is a dangerous vehicle.

Claims

1. A driver assistance apparatus comprising:

a sensing unit configured to acquire information regarding an object outside a vehicle, wherein the object includes a first other vehicle being driven in the vicinity of the vehicle; and

a processor configured to;

judge whether the first other vehicle is a dangerous vehicle based on at least one of the information regarding the object, user input provided from a driver of the vehicle, a state of the driver, and information regarding the first other vehicle provided from a second other vehicle being driven in the vicinity of the vehicle, and

execute at least one predetermined operation based on judging that the first other vehicle is a dangerous vehicle.

2. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the user input is a gesture of the driver, and

wherein the processor is configured to judge whether the first other vehicle is a dangerous vehicle based on the gesture of the driver pointing to the first other vehicle.

3. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to detect a gaze and pupils of the driver based on an image of the driver that is included in an indoor image of the vehicle, and to judge the state of the driver based on a size of the pupils of the driver when the driver'"'"'s gaze is directed to the first other vehicle.

4. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processor is configured to receive a heart rate of the driver that is acquired by a wearable device worn on the driver, and to judge the state of the driver based on the received heart rate.

5. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the processor is configured to judge whether the first other vehicle is a dangerous vehicle based on determining that the state of the driver is an anxious state.

6. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to judge whether the first other vehicle is a dangerous vehicle based on determining that the state of the driver is an anxious state.

7. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to acquire a driving pattern of the first other vehicle based on movement of the first other vehicle included in the information regarding the object, to compare the driving pattern of the first other vehicle with a predetermined reference pattern, and to judge whether the first other vehicle is a dangerous vehicle based on determining that the driving pattern of the first other vehicle matching the reference pattern.

8. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to receive the information regarding the first other vehicle from the second other vehicle via inter-vehicular communication.

9. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to judge whether the first other vehicle is a dangerous vehicle based on a sound of the first other vehicle that is included in the information regarding the object.

10. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined operation includes a first operation, and

wherein the first operation is an operation of notifying the driver of information regarding the first other vehicle that is judged to be a dangerous vehicle.

11. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined operation includes a second operation, and

wherein the second operation is an operation of predicting a behavior of the first other vehicle based on the driving pattern of the first other vehicle being judged to be a dangerous vehicle.

12. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the predetermined operation includes a third operation, and

wherein the third operation is an operation of changing the driving state of the vehicle based on the predicted behavior of the first other vehicle.

13. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to change the driving state of the vehicle by executing at least one of steering control, acceleration control, or a speed reduction control.

14. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined operation includes a fourth operation, and

wherein the fourth operation is an operation of providing a third other vehicle being driven in the vicinity of the vehicle with information regarding the first other vehicle that is judged to be a dangerous vehicle.

15. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to transmit the information regarding the first other vehicle to the third other vehicle being driven in the vicinity of the vehicle via inter-vehicular communication.

16. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to display the information regarding the first other vehicle on a display mounted to an exterior of the vehicle.

17. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to process a plurality of driving images provided from at least one camera of the vehicle into a first driving image that includes the first other vehicle and a second driving image that does not include the first other vehicle, and to separately store the first and second images.

18. The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to, based on a plurality of cameras being provided at the vehicle, activate one or more of the cameras that is selected to capture an image of the first other vehicle based on a position of the first other vehicle relative to the vehicle.