US-12623677-B2 - Scope manager for autonomous vehicle

US12623677B2US 12623677 B2US12623677 B2US 12623677B2US-12623677-B2

Abstract

A vehicle system of a vehicle may include one or more processors that receive first data indicating a driving environment of the vehicle while performing autonomous driving, receive second data indicating a direction that a driver of the vehicle is looking at a plurality of time steps, determine a first duration of time that the driver is allowed to look away from a first set of predetermined directions based on the first data, determine a second duration of time that the driver has looked away from the first set of predetermined directions based on the second data, and when the second duration of time is greater than the first duration of time, output a warning to the driver.

Inventors

Jaime S. Camhi Espinoza
Michael L. Elkins

Assignees

TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240130

Claims (20)

1 . A vehicle system of a vehicle comprising one or more processors configured to: receive first data indicating a driving environment of the vehicle while performing autonomous driving; receive second data indicating a direction that a driver of the vehicle has looked at a plurality of time steps; determine a first duration of time that the driver is allowed to look away from a first set of predetermined directions based on the first data; determine a second duration of time that the driver has looked away from the first set of predetermined directions based on the second data; and when the second duration of time is greater than the first duration of time, output a warning to the driver.
2 . The vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive third data indicating an attentiveness of the driver; and determine the first duration of time based at least in part on the third data.
3 . The vehicle system of claim 2 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to, when the second duration of time is greater than the first duration of time: output a first warning to the driver when the attentiveness of the driver is greater than or equal to a first threshold level; and output a second warning to the driver when the attentiveness of the driver is less than the first threshold level.
4 . The vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: determine the first duration of time based at least in part on an amount of vehicle traffic in the driving environment of the vehicle.
5 . The vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: determine the first duration of time based at least in part on a number of pedestrians in the driving environment of the vehicle.
6 . The vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: receive a location of the vehicle; determine a risk of autonomous driving failure based on the location; and determine the first duration of time based at least in part on the risk of autonomous driving failure.
7 . The vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: determine the first duration of time based at least in part on a level of visibility.
8 . The vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: determine whether the driver looks at a direction among the first set of predetermined directions within a third predetermined duration of time after outputting the warning; and upon determination that the driver does not look at a direction among the first set of predetermined directions within the third predetermined duration of time after outputting the warning, output a second warning.
9 . The vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: when the second duration of time is greater than the first duration of time, limit a scope of autonomous driving to be performed.
10 . The vehicle system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: limit the scope of autonomous driving to be performed by lowering a maximum speed to be driven by the vehicle.
11 . The vehicle system of claim 9 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to: limit the scope of autonomous driving to be performed by increasing a following distance to other vehicles to be observed by the vehicle.
12 . A method comprising: receiving first data indicating a driving environment of a vehicle while performing autonomous driving; receiving second data indicating a direction that a driver of the vehicle has looked at a plurality of time steps; determining a first duration of time that the driver is allowed to look away from a first set of predetermined directions based on the first data; determining a second duration of time that the driver has looked away from the first set of predetermined directions based on the second data; and when the second duration of time is greater than the first duration of time, outputting a warning to the driver.
13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising: receiving third data indicating an attentiveness of the driver; and determining the first duration of time based at least in part on the third data.
14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising, when the second duration of time is greater than the first duration of time: outputting a first warning to the driver when the attentiveness of the driver is greater than or equal to a first threshold level; and outputting a second warning to the driver when the attentiveness of the driver is less than the first threshold level.
15 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising: determining the first duration of time based at least in part on an amount of vehicle traffic in the driving environment of the vehicle.
16 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising: receiving a location of the vehicle; determining a risk of autonomous driving failure based on the location; and determining the first duration of time based at least in part on the risk of autonomous driving failure.
17 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising: determining whether the driver looks at a direction among the first set of predetermined directions within a third predetermined duration of time after outputting the warning; and upon determination that the driver does not look at a direction among the first set of predetermined directions within the third predetermined duration of time after outputting the warning, outputting a second warning.
18 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising: when the second duration of time is greater than the first duration of time, limiting a scope of autonomous driving to be performed.
19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising: limiting the scope of autonomous driving to be performed by lowering a maximum speed to be driven by the vehicle.
20 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising: limiting the scope of autonomous driving to be performed by increasing a following distance to other vehicles to be observed by the vehicle.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present specification relates to autonomous driving, and more particularly, to a scope manager for an autonomous vehicle. BACKGROUND Modern vehicles can operate with different levels of autonomy. Driving automation is typically specified as one of six levels ranging from L0-L5. Level L0 is no automation, in which a human driver performs all driving functions. Level L1 is driver assistance, in which a vehicle includes a single automated system. Level L2 is partial automation, in which the vehicle autonomously performs steering and acceleration, but a human driver monitors vehicle operation and can take control of the vehicle at any time. Level L3 is conditional automation, in which the vehicle autonomously performs most driving tasks but human override is still required. Level L4 is high automation, in which the vehicle autonomously performs all driving tasks under specific circumstances, but human override is still possible. Level L5 is full automation, in which the vehicle autonomously performs all driving tasks under all conditions, and no human monitoring or interaction is needed. As stated above, in an L2 driving system, a vehicle may be autonomously driven, but a human driver must monitor the autonomously driven vehicle and take over manual control in certain situations. However, human drivers in an L2 vehicle may not be as attentive as they should be while the vehicle is being autonomously driven, and as such, may not be able to take over manual control of the vehicle in a quick enough manner when manual control is required. As such, it may be desirable to monitor the human driver to ensure that the driver is sufficiently attentive while the vehicle is being autonomously driven, and output a warning when the driver is not sufficiently attentive. However, the required level of driver attention may vary based on driving situation. Thus, a need exists for an improved method of monitoring drivers and performing autonomous driving in an L2 driving system. SUMMARY In an embodiment, a vehicle system of a vehicle may include one or more processors that receive first data indicating a driving environment of the vehicle while performing autonomous driving, receive second data indicating a direction that a driver of the vehicle is looking at a plurality of time steps, determine a first duration of time that the driver is allowed to look away from a first set of predetermined directions based on the first data, determine a second duration of time that the driver has looked away from the first set of predetermined directions based on the second data, and when the second duration of time is greater than the first duration of time, output a warning to the driver. In another embodiment, a method may include receiving first data indicating a driving environment of a vehicle while performing autonomous driving, receiving second data indicating a direction that a driver of the vehicle has looked at a plurality of time steps, determining a first duration of that the driver is allowed to look away from a first set of predetermined directions based on the first data, determining a second duration of time that the driver has looked away from the first set of predetermined directions based on the second data, and when the second duration of time is greater than the first duration of time, outputting a warning to the driver. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative and exemplary in nature and not intended to limit the disclosure. The following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, where like structure is indicated with like reference numerals and in which: FIG. 1 schematically depicts a system for performing level L2 autonomous driving, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; FIG. 2 schematically depicts a vehicle system, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; FIG. 3 schematically depicts memory modules of the vehicle system of FIG. 2, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of a method that may be performed by the vehicle system of FIG. 2, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; and FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart of another method that may be performed by the vehicle system of FIG. 2, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The embodiments disclosed herein include a method and system for performing autonomous driving. In particular, embodiments disclosed herein are directed to performing L2 autonomous driving. In L2 autonomous driving a vehicle system autonomously performs steering and acceleration for a vehicle. However, a human driver is expected to monitor the driving performance of the vehicle and take over manual driving if necessary. For example, if weather conditions or other factors make it dif