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CN-122009194-A - Vehicle control device

CN122009194ACN 122009194 ACN122009194 ACN 122009194ACN-122009194-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) as a driving assist device, the travel controller (52) configured to perform driving assist for the vehicle (2) based on an identification result of the surrounding situation identifier (51), and a driver state determiner (56), the driver state determiner (56) configured to determine whether a state of the driver of the vehicle (2) is normal or abnormal based on an image of the driver captured by an in-vehicle camera (25). The driver state determiner (56) is configured to determine that the state of the driver is more likely to be abnormal when the driving controller (52) is performing the driving assistance than when the driving assistance is not being performed.

Inventors

  • KOBAYASHI

Assignees

  • 本田技研工业株式会社

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20251029
Priority Date
20241108

Claims (11)

  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 driving assist device configured to perform driving assist for 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 more likely when the driving assist is being performed by the driving assist device than when the driving assist is not being performed.
  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 driving assistance by the driving assistance device, and to determine the state of the driver as abnormal when an improper state in which the driver who takes an image 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 smaller when the driving assist is being performed by the driving assist device than when the driving assist is not being performed.
  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 activate the notification earlier when the driving assist is being performed than when the driving assist is not being performed.
  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 start deceleration of the vehicle or stop of the vehicle earlier when the driving assist is being performed than when the driving assist is not being performed.
  5. 5. The vehicle control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the driving assist device is capable of performing a plurality of types of driving assist control for the vehicle, and The driver state determiner is configured to be more likely to determine the state of the driver as abnormal when the driving assist device is performing the specific driving assist control than when the specific driving assist control of the plurality of types of driving assist control is not being performed.
  6. 6. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the specific driving assistance control is driving assistance control that includes operation request control that requests the driver to perform a driving operation that changes a running situation of the vehicle.
  7. 7. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the specific driving assistance control is any one of anti-collision control for avoiding a collision between the vehicle and an obstacle identified by the surrounding situation identifier, lane departure prevention control for preventing the vehicle from deviating from the own lane, and erroneous operation prevention control for preventing the driver from performing an erroneous driving operation.
  8. 8. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driver state determiner is configured to determine the state of the driver as abnormal when the driving assistance is being performed, more likely than when the driving assistance is not being performed, when an improper state in which the driver whose image is taken by the in-vehicle camera does not satisfy a prescribed suitability criterion has continued before the driving assistance is started.
  9. 9. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the driver state determiner is configured to determine the state of the driver as abnormal when the improper state continues for a prescribed time threshold or more, and The driver state determiner is further configured to set the time threshold smaller when the driving assist is being performed by the driving assist device than when the driving assist is not being performed.
  10. 10. The vehicle control apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the driver state determiner is configured to restore the time threshold that has been set smaller to an original time threshold when the improper state that has continued before the start of the driving assistance is terminated after the driving assistance is performed.
  11. 11. The vehicle control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the driver state determiner is configured to determine the state of the driver as abnormal based on the fact that the driving assist is performed by the driving assist.

Description

Vehicle control device Technical Field The present invention relates to a vehicle control apparatus that controls vehicle travel to assist driving, and more particularly, to a vehicle control apparatus that performs assist driving 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. JP2016-71577A discloses a driver state detection device that uses a change in the facial expression of a driver to accurately determine whether the driver is in a distraction state. The driver state detection means detects a change in a specific portion of the face of the driver photographed by the imaging means, and determines that the driver is in a distraction state when the temporary change in the specific portion continues for a prescribed time or more. 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. However, in the related art, the accuracy of a driver camera for capturing an image of a driver is low, and it takes time to determine an abnormal state of the driver. Therefore, even in a truly dangerous situation, there is a risk of delayed notification to the driver due to the time required for determining whether the driver state is abnormal. Disclosure of Invention In view of the above background, an object of the present invention is to appropriately judge an abnormal state of a driver according to a driving situation and reduce a delay in notifying the driver. This will ultimately contribute to the development of sustainable traffic systems. In order to achieve such an 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 driving assist device configured to perform driving assist for 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 of the vehicle is normal or abnormal based on an image captured by an in-vehicle camera that captures an image of the driver of the vehicle. The driver state determiner is configured to determine that the state of the driver is abnormal more likely when the driving assist is being performed by the driving assist device than when the driving assist is not being performed. Therefore, according to the above aspect, since it is more likely that the state of the driver is determined to be abnormal when the driving assist is performed by the driving assist device, it is possible to appropriately judge the abnormal state of the driver according to the driving situation and reduce the delay in notifying the driver. 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 timing chart of an example of driving assist control when running control is being executed. Detailed Description As shown in fig. 1, a vehicle control device 1 is provided in a vehicle 2. The vehicle 2 may be, for example, a four-wheel car. The vehicle 2 is an autonomous vehicle or a vehicle having a driving assist function. The vehicle 2 comprises a propulsion device 3,