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CN-114041174-B - Device and method for determining eye image data, eye position and/or viewing direction of a vehicle user in a vehicle

CN114041174BCN 114041174 BCN114041174 BCN 114041174BCN-114041174-B

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (100) for determining the eye position and/or the current viewing direction of a vehicle user in a vehicle, comprising a camera (101) which can acquire image data of the head and eyes A1, A2 (102) of the vehicle user, an image data evaluation unit (103) by means of which the position POS A1 、POS A2 and/or the current viewing direction of the eyes A1, A2 (102) of the vehicle user can be determined on the basis of the acquired image data, and a controller (106) which generates a signal S activating a light source (104) if the current position POS A1 、POS A2 and/or the viewing direction of the eyes A1, A2 cannot be determined. The light source (104) has one or more individual light sources which are arranged and designed such that they can be seen or simultaneously seen by the vehicle user only when the eyes A1, A2 (102), the eye position and/or the current viewing direction of the vehicle user can be acquired without obstruction.

Inventors

  • E. Tarajan
  • M. HIRSCH
  • C. Wickman
  • P. Hindwolf

Assignees

  • 梅赛德斯-奔驰集团股份公司
  • 戴姆勒股份公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260421
Application Date
20200625
Priority Date
20190703

Claims (8)

  1. 1. An apparatus (100) for determining eye image data, eye position and/or current viewing direction of a vehicle user within a vehicle, comprising: a camera (101) capable of acquiring said image data, A steering wheel arranged between the camera (101) and the user's eye, -An image data evaluation unit (103), whereby the position POS A1 、POS A2 of the eyes A1, A2 (102) of the vehicle user and/or the current viewing direction of the vehicle user can be determined based on the acquired image data of the eyes A1, A2 (102), and A controller (106) which generates a signal S activating the light source (104) in the event that the eye image data, the current position POS A1 、POS A2 and/or the viewing direction of the eyes A1, A2 cannot be determined, wherein the light source (104) has one or more individual light sources which are arranged and designed in such a way that they can be viewed completely or simultaneously by the vehicle user in an unobstructed manner only if the eyes A1, A2 (102) of the vehicle user, the eye position and/or the current viewing direction of the vehicle user can be acquired by the camera (101) in a manner which is unobstructed by the steering wheel, The controller (106) is designed and configured in such a way that if the eyes A1, A2 are not detectable by the camera (101), the vehicle function associated with the detection of the eyes A1, A2 is switched off and an alarm is given to the vehicle user, The one or more individual light sources implement an integrated display element that shows the user that the camera cannot detect image data of the eye, the position of the eye and/or the current viewing direction, which display element simultaneously provides the user with a direction of intuitive operation in order to enable the use of the camera detection and the auxiliary system that relies on the camera data.
  2. 2. The device (100) of claim 1, the light source (104) comprising one or more pixels of a display (107) connected to a controller (106).
  3. 3. The device (100) according to claim 1 or 2, the controller (106) in case of generating a signal S driving a display (107) to output optical information, and wherein the information indicates to the vehicle user to adjust his seat position and/or steering wheel position adjustment such that the position POS A1 、POS A2 of the eyes A1, A2 allows a free unobstructed view to the light source.
  4. 4. The device (100) according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an audio output unit (108) connected to the controller (106), wherein the controller (106) in case of generating a signal S drives the audio output unit (108) to output sound information, and wherein the information indicates to a vehicle user to adjust his seat position and/or steering wheel position adjustment such that the position POS A1 、POS A2 of the eyes A1, A2 allows a free unobstructed view to the light source.
  5. 5. The device (100) according to claim 1 or2, further having a seat sensor capable of determining that the vehicle seat is occupied by a vehicle user, wherein the device (100) is activated only if the seat sensor determines that the vehicle seat is occupied.
  6. 6. The device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a first individual light source is arranged on the left side of the camera (101), a second individual light source is arranged on the right side of the camera and/or a third individual light source is arranged above the camera and/or a fourth individual light source is arranged below the camera, and the emission areas defined by the four individual light sources each coincide only within a region RB.
  7. 7. A vehicle having an apparatus according to one of claims 1 to 6.
  8. 8. A method for identifying an eye of a vehicle user, determining an eye position of the vehicle user and/or a current viewing direction of the vehicle user in a vehicle, the vehicle having a steering wheel arranged between the eye of the vehicle user and a camera (101), the method having the steps of: Acquiring (201) image data by means of a camera (101), -Determining (202), by means of an image data evaluation unit (103), based on the acquired image data, image data of the eyes A1, A2 (102), a position POS A1 、POS A2 of the eyes A1, A2 (102) and/or a current viewing direction of a vehicle user, and If the image data of the eyes, the current position POS A1 、POS A2 and/or the viewing direction of the eyes A1, A2 cannot be determined, a signal S activating the light source (104) is generated (203) by the controller (106), wherein the light source (104) has one or more individual light sources which are arranged and designed such that they can be seen completely or simultaneously by the vehicle user in an unobstructed manner only if the eyes A1, A2 (102), the eye position and/or the current viewing direction of the vehicle user can be acquired by the camera in a manner which is unobstructed by the steering wheel, If the eyes A1, A2 are not detectable by the camera (101), the vehicle function related to the detection of the eyes A1, A2 is switched off and an alarm is given to the vehicle user, The one or more individual light sources implement an integrated display element that shows the user that the camera cannot detect image data of the eye, the position of the eye and/or the current viewing direction, which display element simultaneously provides the user with a direction of intuitive operation in order to enable the use of the camera detection and the auxiliary system that relies on the camera data.

Description

Device and method for determining eye image data, eye position and/or viewing direction of a vehicle user in a vehicle Technical Field The invention relates to a device and a method for determining in a vehicle eye image data of a vehicle user, the current position POS A1、POSA2 of both eyes A1, A2 and/or the current viewing direction of the vehicle user. The detection of the position POS A1、POSA2 of the two eyes A1, A2 is advantageously used here as a basis for determining the current viewing direction of the vehicle user. Background In particular, modern driver assistance systems have the function of being controllable based on a determined current viewing direction of a vehicle user. Thus, many of the information is used in current driver assistance and safety systems within motor vehicles to achieve better settings and effectiveness of the system. Which also includes information from the interior of the motor vehicle that may relate to the driver or other passengers. It is therefore known, for example, to determine the direction of view of the driver of a motor vehicle and to use information relating to this in a driver assistance system. In order to determine such information, video cameras are often used, which capture the driver's head from the front. For this purpose, the camera can be located, for example, in the region of the dashboard or in the region of the dashboard, in the vicinity of the front windshield. By means of an image processing algorithm, the image taken by the camera is searched for according to typical features, such as two circular eyes, an elongated nose and a laterally extending mouth. By evaluating the symmetry of the feature, a simple head orientation recognition can already be achieved, a better embodiment providing that the pupil in the eye region is also found and evaluated. For a sufficient recognizability of the scene in darkness, an infrared camera and an active infrared illumination for the upper body of the driver can be realized from the front. The visual direction recognition or head orientation recognition is used, for example, to determine the driver's attention to observing the road. The driver assistance system and/or the safety system are then controlled with regard to the degree of focus in accordance with different degrees of early and late or intensity, i.e. the system operating parameters are set. Specific examples thereof are the early triggering of a warning or braking process when the driver turns his gaze away, which is known in collision warning and crash brake systems. In the ACC start-stop system and the congestion assisting system, automatic start cannot be realized when the driver does not look at the road condition. Lane keeping aid systems (lane departure warning) warn significantly earlier or stronger at distraction than usual. Finally, lane-changing assistance systems are also mentioned, which also warn earlier or more strongly when the driver is not looking at the outside mirror. A device for visual recognition of a vehicle user is disclosed, for example, by publication DE 10 205 206 982 A1. From this publication, a cluster comprising a display is known, wherein a camera for driver viewing or driver viewing tracking is arranged in the edge region of the display. By means of a camera, for example, the driver readiness during automatic driving is monitored or fatigue of the driver is detected. Depending on the determined viewing direction, the vehicle functions may also be controlled. For example, once the driver looks to the screen, the screen is made bright or the display/area on the screen is activated. Furthermore, the functionality may be controlled by a combination of view and language/gestures. Opening of the side window glass can thus be achieved purposefully by looking at the side window glass of the vehicle and making a gesture indicating opening. DE 10 2008 036 023 A1 discloses a vehicle information notification device, which detects the driver's face by means of a camera. Once the seat sensor mounted on the driver's seat determines that a person is seated, the camera takes a picture of the face. EP 3 249 497 A1 describes a device in which the display device is activated as soon as driver destination recognition is not possible. WO 2018208446 discloses a camera for the driver's observation, wherein a light source arranged on or beside the camera is provided for information display and object illumination. DE 10 2014 221 039 A1 discloses a device for capturing face image data, which has a camera, an image evaluation unit and a controller for providing a positioning signal indicating the steering direction of the steering wheel, so that the driver's face is not blocked and can be recognized by the camera. The precondition for reliably carrying out the function described above, which is based on the determination of the eye position POS A1、POSA2 of the respective vehicle user or on the visual orientation recognition of the vehicle user, is