Method and system for mitigating the effects of an impaired driver
First Claim
1. A method for use with a vehicle control system installed on a host vehicle and having one or more vehicle sensor(s), one or more environment sensor(s), and a control module, the method comprising the steps of:
- detecting an impaired driver;
gathering sensor readings from at least one of the vehicle sensor(s) or the environment sensor(s) at the control module;
using the control module and sensor readings from at least one of the vehicle sensor(s) or the environment sensor(s) to develop a customized scenario-dependent response to the impaired driver, wherein the customized scenario-dependent response at least partially depends on a likelihood of collision and/or a potential severity of a collision and includes at least one awakening action or automated driving action to address a current driving scenario and to mitigate the effects of the impaired driver; and
performing the customized scenario-dependent response.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method that, in response to the detection of an impaired driver, develops a scenario-dependent response with an escalating sequence of awakening actions and/or automated driving actions that are designed to mitigate the effects of impaired driving for that particular driving scenario. Some examples of awakening actions include visual, audible, haptic and/or miscellaneous warnings intended to awaken or reengage the impaired driver. If the awakening actions are ineffective, one or more automated driving actions may be used to control certain aspects of vehicle braking, steering, accelerating, etc. The scenario-dependent response is at least partially based on the state, conditions and/or environment in and around the host vehicle (i.e., the current driving scenario) and may take into account factors such as: vehicle dynamics, road characteristics, pedestrian and vehicle traffic conditions, weather conditions and more.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for use with a vehicle control system installed on a host vehicle and having one or more vehicle sensor(s), one or more environment sensor(s), and a control module, the method comprising the steps of:
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detecting an impaired driver; gathering sensor readings from at least one of the vehicle sensor(s) or the environment sensor(s) at the control module; using the control module and sensor readings from at least one of the vehicle sensor(s) or the environment sensor(s) to develop a customized scenario-dependent response to the impaired driver, wherein the customized scenario-dependent response at least partially depends on a likelihood of collision and/or a potential severity of a collision and includes at least one awakening action or automated driving action to address a current driving scenario and to mitigate the effects of the impaired driver; and performing the customized scenario-dependent response. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for use with a vehicle control system installed on a host vehicle and having one or more vehicle sensor(s), one or more environment sensor(s), and a control module, the method comprising the steps of:
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detecting an impaired driver; gathering sensor readings from at least one of the vehicle sensor(s) or the environment sensor(s) at the control module; using the control module and sensor readings from at least one of the vehicle sensor(s) or the environment sensor(s) to make adjustments to a scenario indicator code that is representative of certain aspects of the current driving scenario; using the scenario indicator code to develop a scenario-dependent response to the impaired driver that includes an escalating sequence of awakening actions designed to engage the impaired driver and automated driving actions designed to mitigate the effects of the impaired driver; and performing the scenario-dependent response.
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20. A vehicle control system installed on a host vehicle, comprising:
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one or more vehicle sensor(s) configured to provide vehicle sensor readings; one or more environment sensor(s) configured to provide environment sensor readings; one or more output device(s) configured to receive command signals and to initiate a scenario-dependent response when an impaired driver is detected; and a control module coupled to the vehicle sensor(s) for receiving the vehicle sensor readings, the environment sensor(s) for receiving the environment sensor readings, and the output device(s) for providing the command signals; wherein the control module is configured to develop a customized scenario-dependent response to the impaired driver and to initiate the customized scenario-dependent response with the command signals provided to the output device(s), and the customized scenario-dependent response at least partially depends on a likelihood of collision and/or a potential severity of a collision and includes at least one awakening action or automated driving action to address a current driving scenario and to mitigate the effects of the impaired driver.
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21. A method for use with a vehicle control system installed on a host vehicle and having one or more vehicle sensor(s), one or more environment sensor(s), and a control module, the method comprising the steps of:
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detecting an impaired driver; gathering sensor readings from at least one of the vehicle sensor(s) or the environment sensor(s) at the control module; using the control module and sensor readings from at least one of the vehicle sensor(s) or the environment sensor(s) to generate a scenario indicator code that is numerical and is representative of certain aspects of a current driving scenario, and using the scenario indicator code to develop a scenario-dependent response to the impaired driver, wherein the scenario-dependent response includes at least one awakening action or automated driving action that is customized to address the current driving scenario and to mitigate the effects of the impaired driver; and performing the scenario-dependent response.
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Specification