Method and system to estimate driving risk based on a hierarchical index of driving

• US 8,160,811 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2008
• Issued: 04/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Motor Corporation
• Original Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Incorporated (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Prokhorov, Danil V.
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Tuan C.
• Application Number:
  US12/146,806
• Publication Number:
  US 20090326796A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,391 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/300, 707/711, 707/741
• US Class Current: 701/300
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/161 Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

A system and method for providing driving risk assessment for a host vehicle equipped with on-board sensors or vehicle-to-vehicle or infrastructure-to-vehicle systems. The system includes a hierarchical index of passive driving conditions, a means of collecting active driving conditions and a processor whereby the sum of passive driving conditions may be further refined by the active driving conditions. The method incorporates a hierarchical index of risks associated with passive driving conditions, and refining said risks with active driving conditions of the vehicle to generating a driving risk assessment for current vehicle operation.

Claims

1. A system for providing driving risk assessment in a host vehicle operated by a vehicle operator, the driving risk assessment identify the degree of risk of the current operating condition, the system comprising:

a hierarchical index of passive driving conditions, the hierarchical index having a plurality of passive conditions, each of the plurality of passive conditions assigned a first risk factor, and the plurality of passive conditions arranged in order by value of first risk factor, wherein passive conditions are conditions not influenced by another driver, wherein each passive driving condition is assigned a first risk factor;

an active driving conditions identification system operable to detect moving objects within a predetermined distance of the host vehicle, wherein said system further providing characteristics of said objects such as speed, relative speed, distance, trajectory, and size, wherein said active driving conditions identification system assigning a second risk factor to each of each of said active driving conditions identified; and

a processor for generating a driving risk assessment, said processor identifying each of said passive driving condition applicable to current driving conditions so as to determine a totality of first risk factors, the processor further operable to refine said identified passive driving conditions with the identified active driving conditions to provide a driving risk assessment for current host vehicle operation.

2. The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said passive driving conditions include conditions selected from the group consisting of driving scenes, environmental conditions and intended driving maneuvers of the operator of the host vehicle.

3. A method for providing driving risk assessment to an operator of a host vehicle equipped with on-board sensors or vehicle-to-vehicle or infrastructure-to-vehicle systems, whereby said assessment may also be incorporated into an autonomously driven vehicle to provide for the safe operation thereof, said method comprising the steps of:

establishing a hierarchical index of passive driving conditions;

assigning a first risk factor to each passive driving condition, wherein passive conditions are conditions not influenced by another driver;

identifying each passive driving condition related to current vehicle operations;

identifying active driving conditions of the vehicle, wherein the active driving conditions are moving objects detected within a predetermined area of the host vehicle, and assigning a second risk factor to each active environmental conditions;

generating a driving risk assessment for current vehicle operation based upon each of the first risk factors of the identified passive driving conditions of the hierarchical index and the active driving conditions.

4. The method as set forth in claim 3 wherein the passive driving conditions include conditions selected from the group consisting of driving scenes, environmental conditions and intended driving maneuvers of the operator of the host vehicle.

5. The method as set forth in claim 3 wherein the active driving conditions include information gathered by the on-board sensors or provided by the vehicle-to-vehicle or infrastructure-to-vehicle systems relating to operating conditions of other vehicles or moving objects within a predetermined distance.

6. The method as set forth in claim 5 wherein further including the step of adding selected first risk factors together and then multiplying each of said selected first risk factors by the first risk factors associated with weather and road conditions.

7. The method as set forth in claim 6 wherein fuzzy logic is used to assign a risk factor to each of the known driving conditions.

8. The method as set forth in claim 7 wherein crisp logic is used to assign a risk factor to each of the known driving conditions.

9. The method as set forth in claim 6 wherein the risk driving assessment generated is binary.

10. The method as set forth in claim 9 wherein the risk driving assessment generated is scaled or gradual.