DE-102017214509-B4 - Method for operating an assistance system for a vehicle and corresponding assistance system

Abstract

Method for operating an assistance system for a vehicle (1), comprising an environment sensor for determining road data representative of a road course (2) lying in the direction of travel of the vehicle (1), and a sensor system for determining vehicle data representative of a trajectory (3) of the vehicle (1) in the direction of travel, wherein the vehicle data includes at least one of the following: steering angle, yaw rate, wheel angle or wheel speeds, and in the method - it is checked whether road data is available that meets a specified accuracy standard, - if road data is available that meets the specified accuracy, an attention area (5) is determined based on the road data which is representative of a desired gaze direction of the driver, and - otherwise the attention area (5) is determined depending on the vehicle data.

Inventors

• Florian Bade
• Moritz Blume
• Martin Buchner
• Julia Niemann
• Michael Wolfram
• Joris Wolters
• Carsten Isert

Assignees

• BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20170821

Claims (10)

1. Method for operating an assistance system for a vehicle (1) comprising an environmental sensor for determining road data which The system comprises a road course (2) that is representative of a road course (2) lying in the direction of travel of the vehicle (1), and a sensor system for determining vehicle data that is representative of a trajectory (3) of the vehicle (1) in the direction of travel, wherein the vehicle data includes at least one of the following: steering angle, yaw rate, wheel angle or wheel speeds, and in the procedure - it is checked whether road data is available that meets a specified accuracy, - if road data is available that meets the specified accuracy, an attention area (5) is determined depending on the road data that is representative of a desired direction of gaze of the driver, and - otherwise the attention area (5) is determined depending on the vehicle data.
2. Procedure according to Claim 1 , further comprising a navigation device for providing road data, wherein the procedure - checks whether road data provided by the navigation device is available that meets the specified accuracy, - if road data provided by the navigation device is available that meets the specified accuracy, the attention zone (5) is determined depending on the road data provided by the navigation device, and - otherwise checks whether road data provided by the environment sensor is available that meets the specified accuracy, - if road data provided by the environment sensor is available that meets the specified accuracy, the attention zone (5) is determined depending on the road data, and - otherwise the attention zone (5) is determined depending on the vehicle data.
3. Method according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising a gaze sensor device for determining a direction parameter that is representative of an actual gaze direction of the driver, and in the method - depending on the direction parameter and the attention area (5) an attention parameter is determined that is representative of an estimated attention of the driver.
4. Procedure according to Claim 3 , in which a warning or assistance function is controlled depending on the attention level.
5. Procedure according to a Claims 3 or 4 , where the direction parameter is representative of a driver's head position.
6. Assistance system for a vehicle (1), comprising: - an environment sensor for determining road data representative of the road course (2) in the direction of travel of the vehicle (1); - a sensor system for determining vehicle data representative of a trajectory (3) of the vehicle (1) in the direction of travel, wherein the vehicle data includes at least one of the following: steering angle, yaw rate, wheel angle or wheel speeds; and - a control unit configured to execute the method according to one of the Claims 1 until 5 to carry out.
7. Assistance system according to Claim 6 , furthermore comprehensively - a navigation device for providing road data.
8. Assistance system according to Claim 6 or 7 , furthermore, a gaze sensor device for determining a direction parameter that is representative of the actual gaze direction of a driver of the vehicle.
9. Computer program for operating an assistance system, wherein the computer program is trained to perform a procedure according to one of the Claims 1 until 5 to be carried out on a data processing device.
10. A computer program product comprising executable program code, wherein the program code, when executed by a data processing device, performs the method according to one of the Claims 1 until 5 executes.

Description

The invention relates to a method for operating an assistance system for a vehicle as well as a corresponding assistance system, computer program and computer program product. Modern driver assistance systems for monitoring a driver's attention can, for example, include a camera sensor that detects the driver's head pose, gaze direction, and/or position, perhaps based on facial features. The assessment of the driver's attention can then be based on a detected head movement within a fixed vehicle model. Generally, a driver is considered attentive if their head is looking out of the vehicle's interior. This can correspond to a head orientation towards an outer, central area of interest (AOI). However, a problem arises from the fact that, due to the high dynamism of road traffic, the driver's attention is often misjudged. DE 10 2016 208 405 A1 relates to a method for operating a driver assistance system for a motor vehicle, wherein a driver's gaze direction is monitored and compared with at least one target value, wherein the at least one target value is determined depending on the course of a journey, and an attention value for the driver is determined depending on the comparison. The object underlying the invention is to create a method for operating an assistance system for a vehicle and a corresponding assistance system that contributes to a precise detection of the driver's attention. The problem is solved by the independent patent claims. Advantageous embodiments are characterized in the dependent claims. According to a first aspect, the invention relates to a method for operating a vehicle assistance system. The assistance system comprises an environmental sensor for determining road data representative of a road course in the direction of travel of the vehicle and a sensor system for determining vehicle data representative of a trajectory of the vehicle in the direction of travel. The vehicle data consists of at least one of the following: steering angle, yaw rate, wheel angle, or wheel speeds, which can be detected by appropriate sensors. The procedure checks whether road data is available that meets a specified accuracy standard. If road data is available that meets the specified accuracy, an attention area is determined based on the road data, which is representative of a desired viewing direction of the driver; otherwise, the attention area is determined based on the vehicle data. This advantageously allows the assistance system to adapt to the dynamics of road traffic. In particular, it contributes to a more precise detection of the driver's attention. Improved attention detection during cornering can increase both driving comfort and safety, as only those who are following or anticipating the road's course with their minds are recognized as attentive. Specifically, this prevents certain additional assistance functions from deactivating when the driver is correctly identified as attentive. For example, from a legal perspective, it may be necessary for the continued operation of autonomous systems that the driver is recognized as attentive. An adaptation like the one described above thus increases the duration of fully autonomous journeys and enables the correct adjustment of other support systems, even on winding stretches of road. The environmental sensor is, for example, a camera that detects road boundaries or lane markings. The environmental sensor may also be equipped with a radar or lidar unit, either alternatively or additionally. Specifically, the environmental sensor is designed to detect the curvature of the road in relation to the current distance from the vehicle. Particularly in the case of sensor malfunctions, the environmental sensor may fail to collect any road data or obtain insufficiently accurate data. In this case, the vehicle data serves as a fallback for determining the area of attention. The attention zone refers specifically to a circular or elliptical cone whose apex is located at the driver's head position and whose base defines a field of vision within which the driver's intended gaze direction lies. Depending on the determined road curvature, the cone can be horizontally pivoted so that a dynamic road profile is taken into account within the attention zone. In an advantageous embodiment according to the first aspect, the assistance system also includes a navigation device for providing road data. The procedure first checks whether the road data provided by the navigation device meets the specified accuracy requirements. If road data provided by the navigation device is available that meets the specified accuracy, the attention zone is determined based on the road data provided by the navigation device; otherwise, it is checked whether road data provided by the environment sensor is available that meets the specified accuracy. If road data provided by the environmental sensor is sufficient for the specified accuracy, the attention zone is determined based on the road dat