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CN-121989964-A - Vehicle control device

CN121989964ACN 121989964 ACN121989964 ACN 121989964ACN-121989964-A

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a vehicle control apparatus. The vehicle control device (1) includes a surrounding situation identifier (51) configured to identify a surrounding situation of a vehicle (2), a travel controller (52) configured to perform travel control of the vehicle (2) based on an identification result of the surrounding situation identifier (51), and a driver state determiner (56) configured to determine whether a state of a driver of the vehicle (2) captured by an in-vehicle camera (25) is normal or abnormal based on an image of the driver. The driver state determiner (56) is configured to determine that the state of the driver is abnormal less likely when the travel controller (52) is executing the travel control than when the travel control is not being executed.

Inventors

  • KOBAYASHI

Assignees

  • 本田技研工业株式会社

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20251029
Priority Date
20241108

Claims (9)

  1. 1. A vehicle control apparatus, the vehicle control apparatus comprising: a surrounding situation identifier configured to identify a surrounding situation of the vehicle; a travel controller configured to execute travel control of the vehicle based on a recognition result of the surrounding situation recognizer, and A driver state determiner configured to determine whether a state of a driver of the vehicle is normal or abnormal based on an image captured by an in-vehicle camera capturing an image of the driver, wherein, The driver state determiner is configured to determine that the state of the driver is abnormal less likely when the travel controller is executing the travel control than when the travel control is not being executed.
  2. 2. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driver state determiner is configured to set a time threshold based on the running control of the running controller, and to determine the state of the driver as abnormal when an improper state in which a driver whose image is taken by the in-vehicle camera does not meet a prescribed suitability criterion continues to be above the time threshold, and The driver state determiner is further configured to set the time threshold to be larger when the travel controller is executing the travel control than when the travel control is not being executed.
  3. 3. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a notifier configured to issue a notification to the driver when the driver state determiner determines that the state of the driver is abnormal, wherein The notifier is configured to delay activation of the notification when the travel controller is executing the travel control, as compared to when the travel control is not executing the travel control.
  4. 4. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising an emergency controller configured to decelerate or stop the vehicle when the driver state determiner determines that the state of the driver is abnormal, wherein The emergency controller is configured to delay starting of deceleration of the vehicle or stopping of the vehicle when the travel controller is executing the travel control, as compared to when the travel control is not being executed.
  5. 5. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the running control includes at least one of a vehicle speed control and a vehicle steering control, and The driver state determiner is configured to change the time threshold in response to a change in the running control to be executed.
  6. 6. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the travel controller is capable of performing a plurality of types of travel control, and The change in the running control to be executed is a change in the type of the running control or a change in the control amount of the running control executed by the running controller.
  7. 7. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the travel controller is configured to set the time threshold smaller when the control amount is large, as compared to when the control amount of the travel control is small.
  8. 8. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the travel control includes a first driving mode and a second driving mode, the second driving mode being a mode in which a degree of driving task applied to the driver is greater than the first driving mode or a degree of driving assistance provided to the driver is less than the first driving mode, and The driver state determiner is configured to determine that the state of the driver is abnormal less likely when the first driving mode is being executed than when the second driving mode is being executed.
  9. 9. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the driver state determiner is configured to set a time threshold based on the running control of the running controller, determine that the state of the driver is abnormal when an improper state in which a driver whose image is taken by the in-vehicle camera does not satisfy a prescribed suitability criterion continues to be above the time threshold, and The driver state determiner is further configured to set the time threshold to be larger when the first driving mode is being executed than when the second driving mode is being executed.

Description

Vehicle control device Technical Field The present invention relates to a vehicle control apparatus that controls running of a vehicle, and more particularly, to a vehicle control apparatus that performs vehicle running control based on a state of a vehicle driver. Background In recent years, efforts have been actively made to construct sustainable traffic systems, taking into account the weaknesses among the traffic participants. In order to achieve this object, development to further improve traffic safety and convenience by developing driving assistance techniques is attracting attention. Conventionally, a travel control apparatus is known in the art, which includes a surrounding detection unit that detects a surrounding situation of a vehicle, and a lane-keeping control unit that performs lane-keeping control based on a detection result of a lane line by the surrounding detection unit (for example, see JP 2017-146817A). The travel control device determines whether a lane change is possible based on the lane change intention of the driver, and notifies the determination result to the driver through a display and/or a speaker. In a vehicle that provides such driving assistance, the driving load of the driver is reduced, but the driver's attention to driving tends to be lowered. As a means for detecting the distraction state of the driver, JP2016-71577A discloses a driver state detection means that uses a change in the facial expression of the driver to accurately determine whether the driver is in the distraction state. The driver state detection means detects a change in a specific portion of the face of the driver, and determines that the driver is in a distraction state when the temporary change in the specific portion continues for a prescribed time or longer. JP2018-149941A discloses an attention determining device that combines driving safety and driving comfort. The attention determining device includes a monitoring data acquisition unit that acquires monitoring data from a sensor that monitors a driver of a vehicle, and an attention evaluation unit that evaluates a driving attention level of the driver based on a prescribed index from the monitoring data. In the case where the driving concentration level does not satisfy the prescribed criteria, a command signal for providing assistance to the driver is output. When the running control of the vehicle is executed by the control device, the driving posture of the driver tends to become more unstable than in manual driving. Therefore, if the abnormal state of the driver is determined based on the driving posture of the driver during the running control of the vehicle being executed and is determined using the same criteria as those used during manual driving, the abnormal state may be excessively determined. Further, if the driver is notified every time the abnormal state is determined, the number of notifications during execution of the running control may become excessively high, causing the driver to feel bored. Disclosure of Invention In view of the above background, an object of the present invention is to appropriately determine an abnormal state of a driver and to improve the accuracy of the driver state determination, thereby suppressing excessive determination and excessive notification during execution of running control. This will ultimately contribute to the development of sustainable traffic systems. In order to achieve the object, one aspect of the present invention provides a vehicle control apparatus including a surrounding situation identifier configured to identify a surrounding situation of a vehicle, a travel controller configured to perform travel control of the vehicle based on an identification result of the surrounding situation identifier, and a driver state determiner configured to determine whether a state of a driver is normal or abnormal based on an image captured by an in-vehicle camera capturing an image of the driver of the vehicle, and configured to determine that the state of the driver is less likely to be abnormal when the travel controller is performing the travel control than when the travel control is not being performed. Therefore, according to the above aspect, it is possible to appropriately determine the abnormal state of the driver, and to improve the accuracy of the driver state determination. Drawings FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle system according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 2 shows an image taken by a camera in a vehicle; Fig. 3A is an explanatory diagram of an example of an improper driving state in an image captured by an in-vehicle camera; fig. 3B is an explanatory diagram of an example of an improper driving state in an image captured by an in-vehicle camera; Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of driving assistance control by the control apparatus; fig. 5 is a timing chart of an example of driving assist control when the running control is not being executed; Fig. 6 is a t