London South East | The UK's favourite investor portal.

Method and system for judging attention of driver
Abstract The present invention provides a method and system for judging driver's attention, which relates to the field of vehicles. The method for judging the driver's attention first obtains the length of time the driver's eyes are open during the first preset time and the length of time the eyes are on the road, and then when the length of time the driver's eyes are open during the first preset time reaches It is determined that the driver is in the awake state at a preset threshold, and it is determined that the driver is in the focused state when the duration of the driver's eye gaze on the road within the first preset time reaches the second preset threshold. Finally, when the driver is in a sober state and is in a focused state, it is preliminarily determined that the driver is focused. The invention combines the length of the driver's eyes opening and the length of the eyes on the road to determine whether the driver's attention is concentrated, improves the accuracy of the judgment system, meets the higher level of functional safety requirements and increases the driver's state Coverage

The information processing module is configured to determine that the driver is in the awake state when the driver's eye-opening duration within the first preset time reaches the first preset threshold, and when the driver's eyes are within the first preset time When the duration on the road reaches the second preset threshold, it is determined that the driver is in a focused state, and when the driver is in a sober state and is in a focused state, it is preliminarily determined that the driver is focused.

The present invention introduces the blink frequency of a normal driving driver within a certain period of time as a basis for determining whether the driver is focused. According to the comparison of the blink frequency of the normal driving driver, it can also prove that the driver ’s eyes are on the road. To improve the system ’s recognition rate and reduce false negatives. The introduction of new judgment standards can reduce the occurrence of system misjudgment caused by the driver's daze and confusion, and the comparison of two different logic schemes can improve the system's functional safety level. In addition, compared with only considering whether the driver's eyes are on the road to determine whether the driver's attention is focused on driving, the present invention can achieve a higher functional safety level, while increasing the system's driver status monitoring range, thereby reducing The accident happened.
https://tinyurl.com/ydynawzv

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DEVICE INTERACTION BASED ON A DETECTED GAZE
Systems and methods are provided that allow a user to interact with a device using gaze detection. In the provided systems and methods, the gaze detection is initiated by detecting a triggering event. Once gaze detection has been initiated, detecting a gaze of a user may allow the user to activate a display component of the device, pass a security challenge on the device, and view content and alerts on the device. The gaze detection may continue looking for the user's gaze and keep the display component of the device activated as long as a gaze is detected, but may deactivate the display component of the device once a gaze is no longer detected. To conserve power the gaze detection may also be deactivated until another triggering event is detected.

[0019] According to some embodiments, optical detection sensor module 122 may include or be in communication with a camera, such as a built-in front facing camera of processing device 100, or a camera built into a coupled display or a coupled peripheral camera device. The camera may be a visible light camera or a depth-sensing camera, such as the Microsoft® Xbox™ Kinect™ camera.

In some embodiments, optical detection sensor module 122 may also include or be in communication with an infrared or other light-based eye tracker that senses light reflected from an eye or particular features within an eye of user 120 to track the eye of user 120. According to some embodiments, optical detection sensor module 122 may be configured to cause a sensor to capture frames of images that are processed within module 122 or, in some embodiments, by processing component 106 for detecting a face in the frames of images and, if a face is detected, detecting a gaze from the face. A face and a gaze may be detected using one or more face and gaze detection algorithms stored in module 122 or any of memories 108, 110, and 112. For example, a gaze may be detected by determining eye direction of a detected face, such as user 120. According to some embodiments, optical detection sensor module 122 may be configured to detect a face and then a gaze of user 120 for use in determining whether to activate or deactivate display component 114, pass a security check of device 100, and/or display an alert or message on display component 114. In some embodiments, optical detection sensor module 122 may be configured to detect a gaze based on user 120 gazing at a predetermined object or area, such as processing device 100 or display component 114. Thus, detecting a gaze as described herein may require user 120 to face processing device 100 or display component 114. In some embodiments, user 120 may only be required to have their eyes looking toward processing device 100 or display component 114 to detect a gaze.
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?II=0&ND=3&adjacent=true&locale=en_EP&FT=D&date=20200520&CC=ES&NR=2761579T3&KC=T3#

CONTROL DEVICE, SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE PERCEPTUAL LOAD OF A VISUAL AND DYNAMIC DRIVING SCENE

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0001] The present disclosure is related to a control device, system and method for a vehicle for determining the perceptual load of a visual and dynamic driving scene, in particular of an uncontrolled, dynamically changing visual scene that the driver must perceive to carry out the driving task. More in particular, the present disclosure enables to determine the spatial and temporal intensity distribution of the perceptual load across the sensed driving scene.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0002] The ability to recognise perceptual load of the uncontrollable dynamic visual environment in which vehicles are driven and changes hereof including sudden surges, could significantly improve driving safety by providing the basis for new designs and strategies for use of warning signals. It could also set a standard against which the usefulness of other measures of detecting driver attention and engagement can be assessed, e.g. physiological measures such as pupil or EEG measurements. Further it could also apply to designing optimum strategies for vehicle-to-driver interactions for highly automated vehicles, for example but not limited to the case of so-called take-over-requests, where the automatic control system requests a driver to re-take control over vehicle operation.

[0003] Methods are known which model safety critical events after they have occurred, i.e. once the driver e.g. steers or brakes to avoid a collision.

[0004] However, it remains desirable to anticipate critical events by considering one of the root causes—inattention due to the level of information load from the visual scene. For example, it is well established in cognitive neuroscience that the amount of load on the brain is critical to determining whether a task can be fully perceived, with high levels of perceptual load causing inattentional blindness—a phenomenon where a person looks but “fails to see”. This can have serious consequences in driving, where failing to notice changes in the visual environment can result in accidents. On the other hand very low levels of load may imply the risk that the driver's concentration deteriorates.
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=US&NR=2020143183A1&KC=A1&FT=D&ND=3&date=20200507&DB=&locale=en_EP#

In patent DE 10 2012 112 802 A1 a method is described in which during an autonomous or semi-autonomous driving mode of a vehicle, environmental data and driving-dynamics data of a vehicle and possibly data of a navigation system can be identified, which are merged in an evaluation unit. The situation described by the merged data is evaluated with regard to detection of a hazardous situation, and from this using a risk estimation unit a transfer probability is determined that an operator intervention will take place. Using an attention estimation unit, the attention level of the driver is estimated and depending on this level of attention a duration until a warning signal is generated for the driver is determined from the transfer probability.

In U.S. Pat. No. 9,840,257 B2 a device for displaying information in a vehicle is disclosed. In this, with a driver attention estimation unit the attentiveness of the driver is estimated, and taking into account vehicle and environmental information, as a function of the estimate an information display is configured with which the driver is informed of a process of transfer of control from an autonomous driving mode to a manually controlled driving mode.

In US 2017/0248952 A1 an autonomous control of a vehicle, in particular based on the attentiveness of the occupants of the vehicle, is described. In this case, sensor signals are evaluated which capture aspects of the condition of the driver and the vehicle and the area around the vehicle. A driver alertness factor, a driver readiness factor, a driver action probability and a self-driving confidence factor or risk factor are determined, the combination of which is used to determine the degree of self-control of the vehicle that is set.

However, systems that place the driver at the center of their estimate of the driving situation function with varying degrees of success, depending on how well the individual status of each individual driver is captured by the sensors and analysis methods used, whether the environmental sensors used capture the sensor data particularly relevant to this driver, and depending on how well the correlation of measured sensor data from the environmental sensors and driver condition sensors reflects the actual context for each individual driver.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a system for vehicles, which enables an evaluation of the traffic situation of a vehicle to be provided independently of the individual condition of the driver in a simple manner, which can then be used as an estimate of an objectively required attentiveness of drivers.
https://patents.justia.com/patent/20200148225

APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING AN ATTENTION REQUIREMENT LEVEL OF A DRIVER OF A VEHICLE
The present invention relates to an apparatus for determining a required level of attentiveness, i.e. an attention requirement level, of a driver of a vehicle, to a vehicle which has such an apparatus and to a method with which an attention requirement level of a driver of a vehicle can be determined by using such an apparatus.

The required degree of attentiveness of the driver of a vehicle, in particular of a motor vehicle, strongly depends on the current, possibly dynamically changing, circumstances under which the vehicle is operated in traffic. Thus in a society in which the total level of traffic is constantly increasing, the attentiveness of the driver, i.e. their concentration on the traffic conditions and the behavior of the vehicle, in particular a manually controlled vehicle, is necessary at all times, wherein in specific traffic situations such as particularly heavy traffic, which can lead to congestion, the attention should be increased further, since a particularly large range of dynamic influencing factors can affect the journey.

With the increasing popularity of driver assistance systems and partially autonomously driven, i.e. partly self-controlling vehicles, there are also traffic situations in which the driver can, in principle, be temporarily occupied with other things, without directing his/her complete attention to the events occurring on the road. As a result, however, phases also occur in which the driver's attention must be directed (back) to the traffic conditions and the control of the vehicle. These include, for example, the transfer phases in which control is passed from the vehicle back to the driver. This also relates to the phases in which the situations in which the vehicle is operating, i.e. the current driving circumstances, are so complex, unstable or uncertain that they could easily change and a transfer phase might be required, or the vehicle may even relinquish control itself in the interests of safety.

In U.S. Pat. No. 9,740,203 B2 a driving assistance device is disclosed, in which a temporarily autonomously driven vehicle determines a remaining distance or time interval, by the end of which a transfer of control from the vehicle back to the driver must be completed, wherein it is provided to use a concentration level estimating unit to estimate the degree of concentration of the driver based on condition parameters, determined using sensors, that describe the driver's condition, and depending on the driver's condition and the remaining transfer distance or time, to determine how much the driver should be stimulated to regain control of the vehicle.
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?II=26&ND=3&adjacent=true&locale=en_EP&FT=D&date=20200514&CC=US&NR=2020148225A1&KC=A1#

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR TRANSITIONING A VEHICLE FROM AN AUTONOMOUS DRIVING MODE TO A MANUAL DRIVING MODE .
Systems, methods, and other embodiments associated with transitioning a vehicle from an autonomous mode of operation (“autonomous driving mode”) to a manual mode of operation (“manual driving mode”) are disclosed. Research has shown that an alert driver watching the road ahead requires about 1.4 seconds to respond to a notification to take manual control of the vehicle. If the driver is engaged in another activity (e.g., reading a book), that time grows to about four seconds. Therefore, when a handover to a human driver becomes necessary, it is desirable for the vehicle to give the driver as much notice as possible.
One of the conditions that can necessitate a handover is failure of a vehicle's localization system. Localization is the process of comparing detected features such as lane markings with map data to determine accurately the vehicle's current position. The embodiments described herein can accomplish the goal of providing earlier notice of an impending handover by detecting localization failures earlier.
In some embodiments, the vehicle includes one or more of cameras and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensors for detecting features such as lane markings ahead of the vehicle's direction of travel along a planned route. This forward feature-detection region is divided into at least two subregions, which may or may not overlap, depending on the embodiment. In some embodiments, the forward feature-detection region is divided into a first detection region and a second detection region. Though it is an arbitrary choice, throughout this Detailed Description, the “first detection region” is the area immediately ahead of the vehicle and extending a predetermined distance ahead along the roadway, and the “second detection region” encompasses a portion of the roadway environment that is farther ahead than that encompassed by the first detection region. Herein, the first detection region will sometimes be referred to as the “near detection region,” and the second detection region will sometimes be referred to as the “far detection region”
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=US&NR=2020150652A1&KC=A1&FT=D&ND=3&date=20200514&DB=&locale=en_EP#
https://patents.justia.com/patent/20200150652

Also note/read across previously posted handover/Transition patent from Bosch 2020-02-06
METHOD AND DEVICE FOR ASSISTING A DRIVER DURING THE DEACTIVATION OF A HIGHLY AUTOMATED DRIVING MODE OF A VEHICLE
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=US&NR=2020039535A1&KC=A1&FT=D&ND=3&date=20200206&DB=&locale=en_EP#

Latest Share Chat

Member Info for johnchucka

Followers

Following

Posts (Last 30 Days)

Posts (All Time)

Last Post

Member Since

Share Chat Post Distribution (Last 30 Days)

Activity Log (Last 30 Days)

Latest Share Chat

Member Info for johnchucka

Followers

Following

Posts (Last 30 Days)

Posts (All Time)

Last Post

Member Since

Share Chat Post Distribution (Last 30 Days)

Activity Log (Last 30 Days)

Please enter at least 2 characters

No results found

Search results

Recently viewed

Trending