Adaptive interface providing apparatus and method

• US 8,106,756 B2
• Filed: 07/25/2007
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Yoon, Daesub, Kwon, Ohcheon, Lee, Soocheol
• Primary Examiner(s): Swarthout, Brent
• Application Number:
  US12/377,227
• Publication Number:
  US 20100182141A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,651 Days
• Field of Search: 340/438, 340/439, 340/575, 340/576, 701/35, 701/45
• US Class Current: 340/439
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/06 responsive to incapacity of driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2040/0818 Inactivity or incapacity of driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2040/0872 Driver physiology
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/072 Curvature of the road
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/076 Slope angle of the road
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/105 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/06 indicating a condition of sleep, e.g. anti-dozing alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages

Abstract

An adaptive interface providing apparatus and method of setting an individual degree of attention for a specific driver based on an average degree of attention are provided. The adaptive interface providing apparatus includes a statistics database unit which analyze a predetermined statistical population, extracts a context feature including an average degree of attention required when a driving operation, a state of a car, or an external environment changes, a degree of attention required for interface manipulation when a driver manipulates interfaces of a car, and a similarity between the functions of the interfaces using at least one of a sensor, an RFID, and a GPS and stores and manages the context feature; an adjusting unit which senses a change in at least one of the driving operation, the state of a car, and the external environment using at least one of the sensor, the RFID, and the GPS and adjusts an individual degree of attention based on the extracted context feature and the average degree of attention according to the sensed change; and a safety determining unit which determines whether or not a sum of the individual degree of attention and the degree of attention required for interface manipulation when the driver manipulates the interfaces is larger than a predetermined threshold degree of safety attention required for safe driving.

Claims

1. An adaptive interface providing apparatus comprising:

a statistics database unit which analyzes a predetermined statistical population, extracts a context feature including driving operations, an average degree of attention required when a driving operation, a state of a car, external environment changes, a degree of attention required for interface manipulation when a driver manipulates interfaces of a car, and a similarity between the functions of the interfaces using at least one of a sensor, an RFID, and a GPS, and stores and manages the context feature;

an adjusting unit which senses a change in at least one of the driving operation, the state of the car, and the external environment using at least one of the sensor, the RFID, and the GPS and adjusts an individual degree of attention based on the extracted context feature and the average degree of attention according to the sensed change;

a safety determining unit which determines whether or not a sum of the individual degree of attention and the degree of attention required for interface manipulation when the driver manipulates the interfaces is larger than a predetermined threshold degree of safety attention required for safe driving; and

an adaptive safety determining unit,

wherein, when the sum of the individual degree of attention and the degree of attention required for interface manipulation is larger than the threshold degree of safety attention, the adaptive safety determining unit searches for a new substitute for the interface based on the similarity and provides the new substitute for the interface to the driver, and

wherein, if there is no substitute for the interface, the adaptive safety determining unit issues an alert message to the driver.

2. An adaptive driving supporting method comprising:

(a) analyzing a predetermined statistical population, extracting a context feature including driving operations, an average degree of attention required when a driving operation, a state of a car, or an external environment changes, a degree of attention required for interface manipulation when a driver manipulates interfaces of a car, and a similarity between the functions of the interfaces using at least one of a sensor, an RFID, and a GPS, and storing and managing the context feature;

(b) sensing a change in at least one of the driving operation, the state of the car, and the external environment using at least one of the sensor, the RFID, and the GPS;

(c) adjusting an individual degree of attention based on the extracted context feature and the average degree of attention according to the sensed change;

(d) determining whether or not a sum of the individual degree of attention and the degree of attention required for interface manipulation when the driver manipulates the interfaces is larger than a predetermined threshold degree of safety attention required for safe driving;

(e1) when the sum of the individual degree of attention and the degree of attention required for interface manipulation is larger than the threshold degree of safety attention, searching for a new substitute for the interface based on the similarity and providing the new substitute for the interface to the driver; and

(e2) if there is no substitute for the interface, issuing an alert message to the driver.