US-12617410-B2 - Driver assistance apparatus

US12617410B2US 12617410 B2US12617410 B2US 12617410B2US-12617410-B2

Abstract

A driver assistance apparatus includes an environment recognition unit, a travel state detection unit, a driver assistance control unit, and a driving skill estimation unit. The driver assistance control unit makes a driver assistance control based on an output of the environment recognition unit regarding the environment and an output of the travel state detection unit regarding travel state. The driver assistance control includes assisting a driver in driving in one or both of entering a curved road and traveling along the curved road. The driver assistance control unit changes contents of the driver assistance control, in accordance with the driving skill of the driver estimated by the driving skill estimation unit. The driving skill estimation unit makes the estimation of the driving skill at least once in each driving cycle of the vehicle.

Inventors

Isamu Nagasawa

Assignees

Subaru Corporation

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230413
Priority Date: 20220429

Claims (16)

1 . A driver assistance apparatus comprising: an environment recognition unit configured to recognize an environment around a vehicle; a travel state detection unit configured to detect a travel state of the vehicle; a driving skill estimation unit configured to perform estimation of driving skill of a driver, based on variations in driving behavior derived from driving data of the driver, and to classify the estimated driving skill into one of predefined driving skill levels; a driver assistance control unit configured to: select a mode of a driver assistance control in accordance with the classified driving skill level of the driver estimated by the driving skill estimation unit; and perform the selected mode of the driver assistance control based on an output of the environment recognition unit regarding the environment and an output of the travel state detection unit regarding the travel state, the driver assistance control including assisting the driver in one or both of entering a curved road and traveling along the curved road, wherein the driving skill estimation unit is further configured to perform the estimation of the driving skill at least once in each driving cycle of the vehicle, and wherein the driving skill estimation unit is configured to estimate the driving skill based on at least one of: a variance of a gaze position in a vertical direction of the vehicle; a standard deviation of the gaze position; a frequency of vertical movement of gaze of the driver; and an average value of an amount of the vertical movement of the gaze.
2 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the driving skill estimation unit is configured to, during one driving cycle of the vehicle, sequentially repeat the estimation of the driving skill at predetermined intervals.
3 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising: a gaze direction detection unit configured to detect a gaze direction of the driver; and a yaw angle detection unit configured to detect a yaw angle of the vehicle with respect to a lane on which the vehicle travels, wherein the driving behavior of the driver includes a history of the gaze direction of the driver detected by the gaze direction detection unit and a history of the yaw angle of the vehicle with respect to a direction of extension of the lane in one or both of entering the curved road and traveling along the curved road.
4 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising a vehicle performance detection unit configured to detect performance of the vehicle, wherein the driver assistance control unit is configured to select the mode of the driver assistance control, in accordance with a change in the performance of the vehicle detected by the vehicle performance detection unit in addition to the classified driving skill level of the driver estimated by the driving skill estimation unit, and wherein the vehicle performance detection unit is configured to detect the performance of the vehicle at least once in each driving cycle of the vehicle.
5 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein detecting the performance of the vehicle by the vehicle performance detection unit includes detecting one or more of a characteristic of a tire of the vehicle, a characteristic of a suspension device of the vehicle, a total weight of the vehicle, and weight distribution of the vehicle.
6 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising an occupant state determination unit configured to detect one or more driver states, wherein the driver assistance control unit is configured to select the mode of the driver assistance control, in accordance with the detected one or more driver states in addition to the classified driving skill level of the driver estimated by the driving skill estimation unit, and the occupant state determination unit is configured to detect the one or more driver states at least once in each driving cycle of the vehicle.
7 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein detecting the one or more driver states by the occupant state determination unit includes one or more of a consciousness state of the driver, an emotional state of the driver, and a health state of the driver.
8 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein in the driving cycle, which is defined as a period of time from turning on of a main power supply of the vehicle to turning off of the main power supply, the driving skill estimation unit is configured to repeatedly estimate the driving skill at predetermined intervals, and the driver assistance control unit is configured to reflect, in the driver assistance control, changes in the driving skill during the driving cycle resulting from changes in a physical condition of the driver.
9 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: a gaze direction detection unit configured to detect a gaze direction of the driver; and a yaw angle detection unit configured to detect a yaw angle of the vehicle with respect to a lane on which the vehicle travels, wherein the driving behavior of the driver includes a history of the gaze direction of the driver detected by the gaze direction detection unit and a history of the yaw angle of the vehicle with respect to a direction of extension of the lane in one or both of entering the curved road and traveling along the curved road.
10 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a vehicle performance detection unit configured to detect performance of the vehicle, wherein the driver assistance control unit is configured to select the mode of the driver assistance control, in accordance with a change in the performance of the vehicle detected by the vehicle performance detection unit in addition to the classified driving skill level of the driver estimated by the driving skill estimation unit, and wherein the vehicle performance detection unit is configured to detect the performance of the vehicle at least once in each driving cycle of the vehicle.
11 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein detecting the performance of the vehicle by the vehicle performance detection unit includes detecting one or more of a characteristic of a tire of the vehicle, a characteristic of a suspension device of the vehicle, a total weight of the vehicle, and weight distribution of the vehicle.
12 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an occupant state determination unit configured to detect one or more driver states, wherein the driver assistance control unit is configured to select the mode of the driver assistance control, in accordance with the detected one or more driver states in addition to the classified driving skill level of the driver estimated by the driving skill estimation unit, and the occupant state determination unit is configured to detect the one or more driver states at least once in each driving cycle of the vehicle.
13 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein detecting the one or more driver states by the occupant state determination unit includes one or more of a consciousness state of the driver, an emotional state of the driver, and a health state of the driver.
14 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the driving cycle is defined as a period from ignition-on to ignition-off of the vehicle.
15 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein in the driving cycle, which is defined as a period of time from turning on of a main power supply of the vehicle to turning off of the main power supply, the driving skill estimation unit is configured to repeatedly estimate the driving skill at predetermined intervals, and the driver assistance control unit is configured to reflect, in the driver assistance control, changes in the driving skill during the driving cycle resulting from changes in a physical condition of the driver.
16 . A driver assistance apparatus comprising circuitry configured to: recognize environment around a vehicle; detect a travel state of the vehicle; perform estimation of driving skill of a driver, based on variations in driving behavior derived from driving data of the driver, and to classify the estimated driving skill into one of predefined driving skill levels; select a mode of a driver assistance control in accordance with the classified driving skill level of the driver; and perform the selected mode of driver assistance control based on the environment around the vehicle and the travel state of the vehicle, the driver assistance control including assisting the driver in driving in one or both of entering a curved road and traveling along the curved road, wherein the circuitry is further configured to perform the estimation of the driving skill at least once in each driving cycle of the vehicle wherein the circuitry is further configured to estimate the driving skill based on at least one of: a variance of a gaze position in a vertical direction of the vehicle; a standard deviation of the gaze position; a frequency of vertical movement of gaze of the driver; and an average value of an amount of the vertical movement of the gaze.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-075526 filed on Apr. 29, 2022, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND The disclosure relates to a driver assistance apparatus that makes a driver assistance control of a vehicle such as an automobile. As a technique relating to driver assistance for a vehicle such as an automobile, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2003-99897 describes a curve travel assistance apparatus that determines a level of a driver's skill and controls driver assistance in accordance with the level. The level of the driver's skill is based on, for example, an amount of a brake operation and an amount of steering by the driver in traveling along a curve, an average value of an amount of displacement from a target track, and a variance value of a vehicle speed. JP-A No. 2003-99897 also describes skill evaluation in consideration of lane keeping, and driver assistance in accordance with the skill. JP-A No. 2015-219830 describes a driver assistance apparatus that provides driver assistance in lane keeping. The driver assistance apparatus assists in steering and braking, and sets, or weights, an amount of assistance in accordance with a driver's skill estimated in advance. JP-A No. 2007-210437 describes a technique of estimating a driver's ability to return to inside a lane. When the ability is low, assistance is switched from a steering torque assistance control to a vehicle stabilization control. JP-A No. 2007-210437 also describes a technique of estimating a driving ability in accordance with relation between assistance torque and the driver's driving operation in response to the assistance torque. JP-A No. 2021-93033 describes a driving consciousness estimation apparatus that monitors a gaze area of a driver and records sideward gazing time. Based on the sideward gazing time thus recorded, the driving consciousness estimation apparatus estimates quality of a manual driving ability as a space recognition ability. SUMMARY An aspect of the disclosure provides a driver assistance apparatus including an environment recognition unit, a travel state detection unit, a driver assistance control unit, and a driving skill estimation unit. The environment recognition unit is configured to recognize environment around a vehicle. The travel state detection unit is configured to detect a travel state of the vehicle. The driver assistance control unit is configured to make a driver assistance control based on an output of the environment recognition unit regarding the environment and an output of the travel state detection unit regarding travel state. The driver assistance control includes assisting a driver in driving in one or both of entering a curved road and traveling along the curved road. The driving skill estimation unit is configured to make estimation of driving skill of the driver. The driver assistance control unit is configured to change contents of the driver assistance control, in accordance with the driving skill of the driver estimated by the driving skill estimation unit. The driving skill estimation unit is configured to make the estimation of the driving skill at least once in each driving cycle of the vehicle. An aspect of the disclosure provides a driver assistance apparatus including circuitry. The circuitry is configured to: recognize environment around a vehicle; detect a travel state of the vehicle; make a driver assistance control based on the environment around the vehicle and the travel state of the vehicle. The driver assistance control includes assisting a driver in driving in one or both of entering a curved road and traveling along the curved road The circuitry is configured to make estimation of driving skill of the driver. The circuitry is configured to change contents of the driver assistance control, in accordance with the estimated driving skill of the driver. The circuitry is configured to make the estimation of the driving skill at least once in each driving cycle of the vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments and, together with the specification, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a system configuration of a vehicle including a driver assistance apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating arrangement of a driver monitoring camera and a seat surface pressure sensor in the driver assistance apparatus according to the embodiment. FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating examples of a position history of a central visual field of a driver while the vehicle is traveling on a general road. FIG. 4 is