Methods and systems for driver assistance

• US 9,605,970 B1
• Filed: 09/03/2015
• Issued: 03/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Harman International Industries Incorporated (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Harman International Industries Incorporated (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: Day, William P., DeClerck, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): Kan, Yuri
• Application Number:
  US14/845,061
• Publication Number:
  US 20170067750A1
• Time in Patent Office: 572 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/37, 701/408, 705/4
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/015 the regulating means comprising electric or electronic elements B60G17/002, B60G17/005 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/0165 to an external condition, e.g. rough road surface, side wind
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/10 Acceleration; Deceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2400/82 Ground surface
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2401/142 Visual Display Camera, e.g. LCD
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2401/16 GPS track data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/14 Adaptive cruise control
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3461 Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types, segments such as motorways, toll roads, ferries
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3605 Destination input or retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096758 where no selection takes place on the transmitted or the received information
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096783 where the origin of the information is a roadside individual element
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096827 where the route is computed onboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096838 where the user preferences are taken into account or the user selects one route out of a plurality
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096844 where the complete route is dynamically recomputed based on new data

Abstract

Embodiments are disclosed for driver assistance. An example driver assistance system for a vehicle includes a sensor module communicatively coupled to one or more sensors, a user interface to receive input from a user, a processor, and a storage device storing instructions executable by the processor to determine a route for the vehicle to travel. The instructions are further executable to select route segments of the route if the route segment quality of the route segments are greater than a threshold, one or more of the threshold and the route segment quality being based on inputs indicating an observed condition of the route segment, the inputs being received form one or more of the user and a remote user outside of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A driver assistance system for a vehicle, the driver assistance system comprising:

a user interface to receive input from a user;

a processor; and

a storage device storing instructions executable by the processor to;

determine a route for the vehicle to travel, the route including one or more route segments; and

for each of the one or more route segments in the route, select that route segment from a plurality of candidate route segments if a route segment quality of that route segment is greater than a threshold, one or more of the threshold and the route segment quality being based on inputs indicating an observed condition of the route segment and a health condition of the user, the inputs being received from one or more of the user and a remote user outside of the vehicle.

2. The driver assistance system of claim 1, wherein the instructions are further executable to not select one or more candidate route segments for inclusion in the route if the route segment quality of each of the one or more candidate route segments is lower than the threshold.

3. The driver assistance system of claim 2, wherein the instructions are further executable to identify that the route segment quality of a route segment on which the vehicle is travelling is lower than the threshold and present alternate route segments to the user to guide the user in a determined direction or to a determined destination.

4. The driver assistance system of claim 1, further comprising a sensor module communicatively coupled to one or more sensors, and wherein one or more of the threshold and the route segment quality is further determined based on inputs from the sensor module and/or route segment information from a navigation database, and wherein the navigation database is stored in one or more of the storage device and a server.

5. The driver assistance system of claim 4, wherein the one or more sensors include one or more of an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a camera.

6. The driver assistance system of claim 1, wherein the threshold is further adjusted based on a user preference, the system further comprising a global position sensor (GPS).

7. A method for a navigation system of a vehicle, the method comprising:

receiving a request from an occupant of the vehicle to determine a route of travel for the vehicle, the request including one or more of a destination and a direction of travel;

determining the route of travel for the vehicle, the route including one or more route segments; and

selecting the route from a plurality of candidate routes if a route score of that route is greater than a threshold, the route score being based on a quality of the one or more route segments of the route as reported by one or more of the occupant of the vehicle and a remote user outside of the vehicle, and one or more of the route score and the threshold being further based on additional input from one or more of the occupant and a sensor of the vehicle, the quality of the one or more route segments including one or more of a type of an irregularity, a size of the irregularity, and a frequency of occurrence of the irregularity in each of the one or more route segments, and wherein the input from the occupant further includes a tolerance to the irregularity.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the route score of the route is based on a total route segment score of the route segments in the route, and wherein the quality of the one or more route segments is adjusted based on an ambient vehicle noise detected using a microphone.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the total route segment score is one or more of a sum, an average, and a weighted average of route segment scores of the route segments in the route.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the sensor includes one or more of a camera, an accelerometer, and a gyroscope.

11. A navigation system of a vehicle, the system comprising:

a route segment score memory;

a sensor module communicatively coupled to a plurality of sensors;

a user input interface configured to receive a user input;

a processor; and

a storage device storing instructions executable by the processor to;

generate a route segment score of a route segment based on the user input and input from the sensor module, the user input including one or more of an indication of an observed condition of the route segment and a health condition as entered by an occupant of the vehicle or a remote user outside of the vehicle;

store the route segment score in one or more of the route segment score memory and a cloud server; and

determine a route for the vehicle based on the route segment score of the route segment, the route including the route segment if the route segment score is above a threshold, and the route segment score being selectively retrieved from the route segment score memory or the cloud server.

12. The navigation system of claim 11, wherein the system further includes a wireless transmitter that transmits the generated route segment score to the cloud server.

13. The navigation system of claim 12, wherein the system further includes a wireless receiver that receives the route segment score from the cloud server.

14. The navigation system of claim 13, wherein the storage device includes further instructions executable by the processor to:

responsive to a route request, the route request received via the user input interface, identify and map route segments along the route, and wherein the user input includes each of the indication of the observed condition of the route segment and the health condition.

15. The navigation system of claim 14, wherein the storage device includes further instructions executable by the processor to:

responsive to identifying the route segments, retrieve the route segment score for the identified route segments from any of the cloud server via the wireless receiver and the route segment score memory.

16. The navigation system of claim 15, wherein the storage device includes further instructions executable by the processor to select a final route based on a total route segment score being higher than a threshold, the total route segment score based on the route segment score of each of the route segments along the route.

17. The navigation system of claim 16, wherein the total route segment score is further adjusted based on one or more of a user condition and a user avoidance preference.

18. The navigation system of claim 17, wherein the user condition and the user avoidance preference are determined based on the user input.

19. The navigation system of claim 16, wherein the storage device includes further instructions executable by the processor to adjust vehicle settings based on the total route segment score.

20. The navigation system of claim 19, wherein the vehicle settings include one or more of adjusting a suspension of the vehicle, and enabling/disabling automatic cruise control.