Method and arrangement for controlling vehicular subsystems based on interpreted driver activity

• US 7,639,148 B2
• Filed: 06/07/2004
• Issued: 12/29/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Volvo Technology Corporation
• Original Assignee: Volvo Technology Corporation
• Inventors: Victor, Trent
• Primary Examiner(s): Swarthout; Brent
• Application Number:
  US10/862,786
• Publication Number:
  US 20050030184A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,031 Days
• Field of Search: 340/576, 340/575, 340/439, 180/272, 701/93, 701/97, 701/98
• US Class Current: 340/576
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/143 Touch sensitive instrument input devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1438 Touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/179 Distances to obstacles or vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/143 Touch sensitive input devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/1438 Touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2370/179 Distances to obstacles or vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/06 responsive to incapacity of driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 31/04 and means for comparing one electrical quantity, e.g. voltage, pulse, waveform, flux, or the like, with another quantity of a like kind, which comparison means is involved in the development of an electrical signal which is fed into the controlling means
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/10 Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/28 characterised by the type of the output information, e.g. video entertainment or vehicle dynamics information; characterised by the purpose of the output information, e.g. for attracting the attention of the driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/08 Lane monitoring; Lane Keeping Systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/081 using distance control
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/086 using driver related features
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/087 using active steering actuation
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/28 Wheel speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/10 Accelerator pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/12 Brake pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/14 : Clutch pedal position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/16 : Ratio selector position
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/18 : Steering angle
• 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 50/087 : where the control system corrects or modifies a request from the driver

Abstract

Method and arrangement for controlling a subsystem of a vehicle dependent upon a sensed level of driver inattentiveness to vehicle driving tasks. A variable characteristic is measured, on a substantially real-time basis, which correlates to the driver'"'"'s inattentiveness. The level of inattentiveness is assessed based at least in part on the measurement. The performance of a subsystem of the vehicle, such as cruise control or lane keeping support, is tailored, based thereupon, to assure that behavior of the vehicle appropriately matches the driver'"'"'s present level of inattentiveness. The subsystem'"'"'s operation is controlled in an effort to avoid or prevent the establishment of driving conditions that become inherently more dangerous as the driver'"'"'s level of inattentiveness increases.

Claims

1. A method for assessing a traveling vehicle driver'"'"'s level of inattentiveness caused by excessive workload due to the driver'"'"'s performance of secondary tasks and responsively adapting a vehicle motion control subsystem based thereupon, said method comprising:

taking a series of measurements of a driver'"'"'s head or eye movement variability and inputting the measurements to a computer processor for analysis;

analyzing the input measurements using the computer processor and determining therefrom whether an excessive amount of driver attention is being paid to a secondary task based on an assessment of driver workload;

detecting a decrease in driving control task performance occurring simultaneously with the excessive driver workload; and

preventing engagement of or disengaging the vehicle motion control subsystem based upon said assessment of the driver'"'"'s excessive level of workload and the detected simultaneous decrease in driving control task performance, thereby assuring that behavior of the traveling vehicle appropriately matches the driver'"'"'s present level of attentiveness to driving control tasks.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

controlling operation of the vehicle motion control subsystem to avoid said vehicle motion control subsystem'"'"'s establishment of driving conditions that become inherently more dangerous as the driver'"'"'s level of inattentiveness increases.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, further comprising:

controlling operation of the vehicle motion control subsystem to prevent said vehicle motion control subsystem'"'"'s establishment of an inherently more dangerous driving condition when said assessment of the driver'"'"'s present level of inattentiveness exceeds a predetermined threshold level.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

disengaging performance of said vehicle motion control subsystem, on an automated basis, after said assessment of the driver'"'"'s present level of inattentiveness exceeds a predetermined threshold level.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, further comprising:

providing a driver warning prior to said automated disengagement of said vehicle motion control subsystem.

6. The method as recited in claim 5, further comprising:

permitting the driver to abort automated disengagement of said vehicle motion control subsystem.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said vehicle motion control subsystem is a cruise control feature.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein said cruise control feature is of the forward vehicle distance based adaptive type.

9. The method as recited in claim 7, further comprising:

controlling said cruise control feature to reduce set speed when said cruise control is engaged and said assessment of the driver'"'"'s present level of inattentiveness exceeds a predetermined threshold level.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said vehicle motion control subsystem is a lane keeping support feature.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein said lane keeping support feature automatically urges, via the vehicle'"'"'s steering system, the vehicle toward a predetermined relative widthwise position within the travel lane.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said step of measuring, on a substantially real-time basis, a variable characteristic which correlates to a driver'"'"'s inattentiveness to vehicle driving tasks further comprises at least one step selected from the group consisting of:

measuring a driver'"'"'s eye movement;

measuring a driver'"'"'s eye-gaze direction;

measuring a driver'"'"'s eye-closure amount;

measuring a driver'"'"'s blinking movement;

measuring a driver'"'"'s head movement;

measuring a driver'"'"'s head position;

measuring a driver'"'"'s head orientation;

measuring driver'"'"'s movable facial features; and

measuring a driver'"'"'s facial temperature image.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said step of measuring, on a substantially real-time basis, a variable characteristic which correlates to a driver'"'"'s inattentiveness to vehicle driving tasks further comprises at least one step selected from the group consisting of:

measuring driver grip force on a steering wheel; and

measuring movement of a steering column.

14. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said step of assessing the driver'"'"'s present level of inattentiveness to vehicle driving tasks based at least partially on the measured variable characteristic further comprises one or more steps selected from the group consisting of:

assessing a time weighted parameter characterizing a driver'"'"'s eye closure over a predetermined period of time;

assessing a time weighted parameter characterizing a driver'"'"'s off-road eye-gaze over a predetermined period of time;

assessing a time weighted parameter characterizing a driver'"'"'s blinking movement over a predetermined period of time;

assessing a time weighted parameter characterizing a driver'"'"'s head position over a predetermined period of time; and

assessing a time weighted parameter characterizing a driver'"'"'s head movement over a predetermined period of time.

15. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising informing the driver of an assessment of inattentiveness exceeding the predetermined threshold level on a real-time basis.

16. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising informing the driver of an assessment of inattentiveness exceeding the predetermined threshold level in the form of post-trip feedback.

17. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein said step of informing the driver further comprises a step of providing a histogram representative of a given period of time.

18. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein said step of informing the driver further comprises a step of providing a histogram representative of a given period of time.

19. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein said step of informing the driver further comprises providing a scaled comparison between a presently measured level of inattentiveness and at least one normative value thereof.

20. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein said step of informing the driver further comprises providing a scaled comparison between a presently measured level of inattentiveness and at least one normative value thereof.

21. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising providing the driver with a feedback message on how the driver'"'"'s attitude should be changed to become less inattentive.

23. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

assessing vehicle condition data provided by vehicle condition detection means positioned on the vehicle, assessing environment data provided by environment detection means positioned on the vehicle, and determining the safety range as a function of at least one of the vehicle condition data and of the environment data.

24. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein said vehicle condition detection means comprise detection means selected from the group consisting of:

steering column detection means;

vehicle speed detection means;

gear shift detection means;

brake detection means;

throttle pedal detection means;

clutch detection means; and

wheel speed detection means.

25. The method as recited in claim 23, wherein said environment detection means comprise detection means selected from the group consisting of:

luminosity detection means;

road condition detection means;

vehicle positioning detection means;

proximity detection means; and

lane location detection means.

26. The method as recited in claim 15, wherein informing the driver comprises outputting information data through a human-machine interface.

27. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein informing the driver comprises outputting information data through a human-machine interface.

28. The method as recited in claim 21, wherein said step of outputting information data comprises at least one step selected from the group consisting of outputting visual information data on a screen display;

outputting visual information data on a head-up display; and

outputting spoken information on an voice output.

22. The method as recited in 1, further comprising determining that the driver'"'"'s level of inattentiveness is outside a safety range, and informing the driver that the safety range has been exceeded.

29. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein said step of outputting information data comprises at least one step selected from the group consisting of outputting visual information data on a screen display;

outputting visual information data on a head-up display; and

outputting spoken information on an voice output.

30. A method for assessing a traveling vehicle driver'"'"'s level of inattentiveness caused by excessive distraction due to the driver'"'"'s performance of secondary tasks and responsively adapting a vehicle motion control subsystem based thereupon, said method comprising:

taking a series of measurements of a driver'"'"'s head or eye movement variability and inputting the measurements to a computer processor for analysis;

analyzing the input measurements using the computer processor and determining therefrom whether an excessive amount of driver attention is being paid to a secondary task based on an assessment of driver distraction;

detecting a decrease in driving control task performance occurring simultaneously with the excessive driver distraction; and

preventing engagement of or disengaging the vehicle motion control subsystem based upon said assessment of the driver'"'"'s excessive level of distraction and the detected simultaneous decrease in driving control task performance, thereby assuring that behavior of the traveling vehicle appropriately matches the driver'"'"'s present level of attentiveness to driving control tasks.

31. The method as recited in claim 30, further comprising:

controlling operation of the vehicle motion control subsystem to avoid said vehicle motion control subsystem'"'"'s establishment of driving conditions that become inherently more dangerous as the driver'"'"'s level of inattentiveness increases.

32. The method as recited in claim 31, further comprising:

controlling operation of the vehicle motion control subsystem to prevent said vehicle motion control subsystem'"'"'s establishment of an inherently more dangerous driving condition when said assessment of the driver'"'"'s present level of inattentiveness exceeds a predetermined threshold level.

33. The method as recited in claim 30, further comprising:

disengaging performance of said vehicle motion control subsystem, on an automated basis, after said assessment of the driver'"'"'s present level of inattentiveness exceeds a predetermined threshold level.

34. The method as recited in claim 33, further comprising:

providing a driver warning prior to said automated disengagement of said vehicle motion control subsystem.

35. The method as recited in claim 34, further comprising:

permitting the driver to abort automated disengagement of said vehicle motion control subsystem.

36. The method as recited in claim 30, wherein said vehicle motion control subsystem is a cruise control feature.

37. The method as recited in claim 36, wherein said cruise control feature is of the forward vehicle distance based adaptive type.

38. The method as recited in claim 36, further comprising:

controlling said cruise control feature to reduce set speed when said cruise control is engaged and said assessment of the driver'"'"'s present level of inattentiveness exceeds a predetermined threshold level.

39. The method as recited in claim 30, wherein said vehicle motion control subsystem is a lane keeping support feature.

40. The method as recited in claim 39, wherein said lane keeping support feature automatically urges, via the vehicle'"'"'s steering system, the vehicle toward a predetermined relative widthwise position within the travel lane.

41. The method as recited in claim 30, wherein said step of measuring, on a substantially real-time basis, a variable characteristic which correlates to a driver'"'"'s inattentiveness to vehicle driving tasks further comprises at least one step selected from the group consisting of:

measuring a driver'"'"'s eye movement;

measuring a driver'"'"'s eye-gaze direction;

measuring a driver'"'"'s eye-closure amount;

measuring a driver'"'"'s blinking movement;

measuring a driver'"'"'s head movement;

measuring a driver'"'"'s head position;

measuring a driver'"'"'s head orientation;

measuring driver'"'"'s movable facial features; and

measuring a driver'"'"'s facial temperature image.

42. The method as recited in claim 30, wherein said step of measuring, on a substantially real-time basis, a variable characteristic which correlates to a driver'"'"'s inattentiveness to vehicle driving tasks further comprises at least one step selected from the group consisting of:

measuring driver grip force on a steering wheel; and

measuring movement of a steering column.

43. The method as recited in claim 30, wherein said step of assessing the driver'"'"'s present level of inattentiveness to vehicle driving tasks based at least partially on the measured variable characteristic further comprises one or more steps selected from the group consisting of:

assessing a time weighted parameter characterizing a driver'"'"'s eye closure over a predetermined period of time;

assessing a time weighted parameter characterizing a driver'"'"'s off-road eye-gaze over a predetermined period of time;

assessing a time weighted parameter characterizing a driver'"'"'s blinking movement over a predetermined period of time;

assessing a time weighted parameter characterizing a driver'"'"'s head position over a predetermined period of time; and

assessing a time weighted parameter characterizing a driver'"'"'s head movement over a predetermined period of time.

44. The method as recited in claim 30, further comprising informing the driver of an assessment of inattentiveness exceeding the predetermined threshold level on a real-time basis.

45. The method as recited in claim 30, further comprising informing the driver of an assessment of inattentiveness exceeding the predetermined threshold level in the form of post-trip feedback.

46. The method as recited in claim 44, wherein said step of informing the driver further comprises a step of providing a histogram representative of a given period of time.

47. The method as recited in claim 45, wherein said step of informing the driver further comprises a step of providing a histogram representative of a given period of time.

48. The method as recited in claim 44, wherein said step of informing the driver further comprises providing a scaled comparison between a presently measured level of inattentiveness and at least one normative value thereof.

49. The method as recited in claim 45, wherein said step of informing the driver further comprises providing a scaled comparison between a presently measured level of inattentiveness and at least one normative value thereof.

50. The method as recited in claim 30, further comprising providing the driver with a feedback message on how the driver'"'"'s attitude should be changed to become less inattentive.

52. The method as recited in claim 30, further comprising:

assessing vehicle condition data provided by vehicle condition detection means positioned on the vehicle, assessing environment data provided by environment detection means positioned on the vehicle, and determining the safety range as a function of at least one of the vehicle condition data and of the environment data.

53. The method as recited in claim 52, wherein said vehicle condition detection means comprise detection means selected from the group consisting of:

steering column detection means;

vehicle speed detection means;

gear shift detection means;

brake detection means;

throttle pedal detection means;

clutch detection means; and

wheel speed detection means.

54. The method as recited in claim 52, wherein said environment detection means comprise detection means selected from the group consisting of:

luminosity detection means;

road condition detection means;

vehicle positioning detection means;

proximity detection means; and

lane location detection means.

55. The method as recited in claim 44, wherein informing the driver comprises outputting information data through a human-machine interface.

56. The method as recited in claim 45, wherein informing the driver comprises outputting information data through a human-machine interface.

57. The method as recited in claim 50, wherein said step of outputting information data comprises at least one step selected from the group consisting of outputting visual information data on a screen display;

outputting visual information data on a head-up display; and

outputting spoken information on an voice output.

51. The method as recited in 30, further comprising determining that the driver'"'"'s level of inattentiveness is outside a safety range, and informing the driver that the safety range has been exceeded.

58. The method as recited in claim 51, wherein said step of outputting information data comprises at least one step selected from the group consisting of outputting visual information data on a screen display;

outputting visual information data on a head-up display; and

outputting spoken information on an voice output.