System and method for closed-loop driver attention management

• US 9,235,987 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2012
• Issued: 01/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: GM Global Technology Operations LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Green, Charles A., Salinger, Jeremy A., Tsimhoni, Omer, Raphael, Eric L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dager, Jonathan M
• Application Number:
  US13/678,622
• Publication Number:
  US 20130131905A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,152 Days
• Field of Search: 701/23, 340/576, 180/272
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/066 actuating a signalling device B60K28/063 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/22 Psychological state; Stress level or workload
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0055 with safety arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/00 Traffic control systems for road vehicles arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00 ; automatic vehicle control B62D

Abstract

A method and system may manage the driver'"'"'s attention while driving. The driver may be driving using an autonomous driving system or limited-ability autonomous driving system. A method may detect, by a sensor, characteristics of a driver; determine, based on the detected characteristics of the driver, whether the driver exercises sufficient supervisory control of the vehicle; and provide a series of one or more prompts, wherein each prompt'"'"'s intrusiveness is related to the determination of whether the driver exercises sufficient supervisory control of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring awareness of a driver of an autonomously or semi-autonomously driven vehicle, the method comprising:

providing a control-indicator for indicating at least one of N predetermined levels of supervisory control required by the driver;

providing a driver-monitoring-system configured to monitor driver attentiveness;

providing one or more prompts responsively to detection of driver inattentiveness, the prompts implemented as instructions to perform specific acts; and

initiating a corrective action responsively to detection of non-performance of one or more of the specific acts;

wherein the specific acts are selected in accordance with the at least one indicated-level, as indicated by the control-indicator.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the corrective action is operative for at least one of:

preventing acceleration of the vehicle, reducing velocity of the vehicle, and stopping the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the providing of the one or more prompts is issued at a predetermined time interval.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the instructions are selected from the group consisting of visual image, textual message, audio message, and light flash.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the specific acts further requires the specific acts are selected from the group consisting of:

specific verbal response, specific arm gesture, specific hand gesture, specific contact-interaction with at least one of the vehicle'"'"'s systems, specific contact-interaction with at least one of the vehicle'"'"'s secondary-systems, a turn of head towards a specific location, a gaze towards a specific location, and any combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein the light flash is implemented as a plurality of light pulses;

the light pulses differ from each other in at least one characteristic selected from the group consisting of;

color, frequency and time of illumination.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising emitting a plurality of light signals from a steering wheel, each of the light signals associated with the at least one indicated-level of supervisory control required by the driver;

and wherein the light signals differ from each other in at least one characteristic selected from the group consisting of;

color, frequency and time of illumination.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the N predetermined levels of supervisory control required by the driver comprising:

road-monitoring, being interactive and taking-over.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one indicated-level of supervisory control is determined by the driver'"'"'s response to a prompt.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the driver-monitoring-system comprises at least one sensor configured to verify performance of the specific acts.

11. A system for monitoring awareness of a driver of an autonomously or semi-autonomously driven vehicle, the system comprising:

a driver-monitoring-system configured to monitor driver attentiveness; and

a prompting-system configured to provide one or more prompts responsively to detection of driver inattentiveness, the prompts implemented as instructions to perform specific acts;

a control-indicator configured to indicate at least one of N predetermined levels of supervisory control required by the driver;

wherein the system is operative to initiate a corrective action responsively to detection of non-performance of one or more of the specific acts; and

wherein the specific acts are selected in accordance with the at least one indicated-level, as indicated by the control-indicator.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the corrective action is operative for at least one of:

preventing acceleration of the vehicle, reducing velocity of the vehicle, and stopping the vehicle.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more prompts are issued at a predetermined time interval.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the instructions are selected from the group consisting of visual image, textual message, audio message, and light flash.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the specific acts are selected from the group consisting of:

specific verbal response, specific arm gesture, specific hand gesture, specific contact-interaction with at least one of the vehicle'"'"'s systems, specific contact-interaction with at least one of the vehicle'"'"'s secondary-systems, a turn of head towards a specific location, a gaze towards a specific location, and any combination thereof.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the light flash is implemented as a plurality of light pulses;

the light pulses differ from each other in at least one characteristic selected from the group consisting of;

color, frequency and time of illumination.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein a plurality of light signals is emitted from a steering wheel, each of the light signals associated with the at least one indicated-level of supervisory control required by the driver;

and wherein the light signals differ from each other in at least one characteristic selected from the group consisting of;

color, frequency and time of illumination.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the N predetermined levels of supervisory control required by the driver comprising:

road-monitoring, being interactive and taking-over.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the at least indicated-level of supervisory control is determined by the driver'"'"'s response to a prompt.

20. The system of claim 11, wherein the driver-monitoring-system comprises at least one sensor configured to verify performance of the specific acts.