JP2006244343A - Driver activation guidance device and driver activation guiding method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for guiding a driver to a state suitable for driving by taking into consideration an individual difference in response to stimulation presentation without giving a nuisance or sense of incongruity at the time of stimulation presentation. <P>SOLUTION: In this driver activation guidance device provided with a driving state suitability/unsuitability determining means 101 for determining whether a driver's driving state is driving unsuitability being a state unsuitable for driving and driving suitability being a state suitable for driving on the basis of a biomedical signal when the driver drives and a driving manipulated variable, and a conditioned stimulation presenting means 108 having a stimulation presenting means 106 for presenting stimulation to the driver and a counter 105 for counting stimulation cumulative presentation time, the conditioned simulation presenting means 108 presents simulation to the driver when driving suitability appears and presents the same stimulation to the driver when driving unsuitability appears after stimulation is presented for a prescribed period. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a driver activation inducing device and a driver activation inducing method for guiding a driver to a state suitable for driving when the driving state of the driver is not suitable for driving.

  Conventionally, in the driver activation guidance device and the driver activation guidance method, the driving state of the driver is detected, an alarm is sounded when a decrease in arousal level or a side-viewing action is detected, and an alarm sound is used to prompt the driver to activate Many methods have been proposed. However, the method of alerting the driver with such an alarm sound has a problem that the driver is often bothered and uncomfortable. Further, when the driver is in a tension state, even if the alarm is sounded, the tension state is not alleviated, and it is necessary to take other means to alleviate the tension state. There are the following Patent Documents 1 to 4 as technical means for solving such a problem. For example, Patent Document 1 feels annoying to the driver by letting the driver hear an up-tempo song when a decrease in arousal level is detected, and conversely, letting the driver hear a slow-tempo song when the tension increases. The device is designed to give an alarm in a way that does not allow it.

JP 2004-254750 A Japanese Patent No. 3293308 JP 2000-351337 A Japanese Patent No. 2759189

  However, in such a conventional driver activation inducing device and driver activation inducing method, since the difference in individual driver responses in stimulus presentation is not fully considered, stimulus presentation does not necessarily drive each driver. There is a problem that it is not always guided to a suitable state.

  In view of this, an object is to guide the driver to a state suitable for driving without taking into account the inconvenience and discomfort at the time of presenting the stimulus, taking into account individual differences in the response to the stimulus presentation.

  In order to achieve this object, in the present invention, the driving state of the driver is determined based on the biological signal and the amount of driving operation during driving, whether the driving is not suitable for driving, and whether the driving is suitable for driving. It comprises a conditioning stimulus presentation means having a driving state suitability judgment means for judging and a stimulus presentation means for presenting a stimulus to the driver, and the stimulus is presented to the driver by the conditioning stimulus presentation means at the time of driving suitability, and the stimulus is presented for a certain period of time. It was decided to present the same stimulus to the driver at the time of driving failure.

  In the driver activation inducing device and the driver activation inducing method according to the present invention, the stimulus is presented to the driver for a certain period of time by the conditioned stimulus presentation means at the time of driving suitable expression, and the same stimulus is presented at the subsequent expression of driving failure By doing so, it is possible to guide the driver to a state suitable for driving without taking into account the individual difference in the response to the stimulus presentation and giving the driver bothersomeness and discomfort.

First Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 101 is a driving state propriety determination means for determining a driving state of the driver that is not suitable for driving and a driving state that is suitable for driving from the biological signal and the driving operation amount at the time of driving of the driver. , 108 is a conditioning stimulus presentation unit that presents a stimulus to the driver based on the result of the driving state suitability determination unit 101, and 107 is an alarm sound generation unit that generates an alarm sound and alerts the driver.

  The driving state propriety determining means 101 includes a wakefulness calculating means 102 for calculating a wakefulness indicating a driver's wakefulness from a biological signal during driving of the driver, and a degree of disturbance of driving operation from the amount of driving operation during driving of the driver. A driving operation determination unit 103 that calculates a disturbance amount indicating a degree of concentration, and a degree of concentration that indicates the degree of concentration of the driver with respect to driving from the arousal level calculated by the arousal level calculation unit 102 and the disturbance amount calculated by the driving operation determination unit 103 And the conditioning stimulus presentation unit 108 presents a predetermined stimulus to the driver when the driving state suitability determination unit 101 determines that the driving is appropriate or not. When the stimulus presentation means 106 presents a stimulus to the driver by the stimulus presentation means 106 at the time of onset of driving, the cumulative presentation time during which the stimulus is presented And a counter 105 for count.

  The arousal level calculating means 102 inputs face image data captured by the camera as a biological signal in the form of a camera video signal, calculates pupil changes from the input face image data, and obtains the arousal level. As a method for obtaining the arousal level from the pupil change, for example, there is a method disclosed in Patent Document 2. That is, the temporal position change of the pupil is calculated, and when the pupil position is relatively lowered, it is estimated that the face is depressed, and the driver's arousal level is calculated based on the degree of facial depression. It is also possible to count the number of blinks within a certain time, and determine that the degree of arousal is reduced when the number of blinks is a certain value or more. Further, it is possible to measure whether or not the pupil is detected at the pupil position, to estimate the open / close state of the eyelid from the possibility of pupil detection, and to calculate the driver's doze state from the degree of open / close of the eyelid.

  The driving operation determination means 103 inputs a steering angle sensor signal, an accelerator opening sensor signal, a brake pressure signal, and a winker signal as a driving operation amount, and compares these signals with a normal driving operation state to make a sudden braking. The presence / absence of an operation or the like is determined, a disturbance amount indicating the degree of disturbance of the driving operation is calculated from the frequency of occurrence of an abnormal driving operation signal, and the driving operation is determined.

  Conditioning stimulus presenting means 108 presents a predetermined stimulus to the driver using the stimulus presenting means 106 at the time of expression suitable for driving. The stimulus presentation time shall be presented at least for a predetermined time, and when the driving failure occurs after being presented for a certain time, the same stimulus is presented and the driver is put into a state suitable for driving from the driving failure state. Guiding a certain driving suitability. Here, the stimulus presentation unit 106 includes a backlight display change unit that can select a plurality of expressions having different brightness or colors in the backlight display of the meter.

  In the present embodiment, paying attention to the driver's arousal level, the driving state suitability determining means 101 determines that the driver has detected a decrease in the awakening level as a driving failure. After judging that the state of driving intensively is suitable for driving, and presenting a predetermined stimulus to the driver by the conditioned stimulus presenting means 108 when the state suitable for driving is detected, and after being conditioned by presenting the stimulus for a certain period of time By presenting the same stimulus to the driver at the onset of the state determined to be driving failure, the driver in the driving failure state is guided to the state of concentrated driving that is suitable for driving. is there.

  Further, when the driving state suitability determining unit 101 detects that the driving state of the driver is a dozing state, the alarm sound generating unit 107 generates an alarm sound, and then the above-described stimulus presentation unit 108 determines in advance. Presents the stimulus. In this case, the concentration level determination unit 104 specifically has a wakefulness level calculated by the wakefulness level calculation unit 102 higher than a certain value, and the disturbance amount calculated by the driving operation determination unit 103 is higher than a certain value. When there are few, it judges that it is driving intensively.

  Next, a description will be given of a method of guiding a driver who is in a driving failure state to a driving state suitable for driving in a concentrated manner. First, the driving state of the driver is detected, and a predetermined stimulus presentation is performed while the driver's state is suitable for driving. By receiving a stimulus determined in a driving-optimized state, a responding condition that will be described later is established between the driving-appropriate state and the given stimulus. Therefore, when the driver falls into a driving failure state, the driver is presented with the conditioned stimulus, and the driver is associated with the stimulus and is conditioned to be in a driving suitable state. It is possible to release from the state of no and lead to a state suitable for driving.

  Respond conditioning here is a procedure or phenomenon in which a neutral stimulus causes a new reflex by presenting a neutral stimulus and an unconditional stimulus as a pair. Let's take a dog experiment by Russian physiologist Pavlov as an example. When fed, the dog secretes saliva. This is an innate reaction. However, if you repeat the ringing of the bell at the same time as feeding the dog, the dog will begin to secrete saliva just by listening to the bell. In this case, the bait is referred to as an unconditional stimulus, and the saliva for the bait is an innate reflex, and thus an unconditional reflex. The sound of the bell presented in combination with this unconditional stimulus is called a neutral stimulus, and the secretion of saliva to the sound of the bell is a new reflex that has not been seen so far, so it becomes a conditioned reflex.

  That is, when the driver is in a driving-suitable state, the same stimulus is always presented and repeated, so that this stimulus eventually becomes a conditioning stimulus and a conditioning reaction of “stimulus = driving-suitable state” occurs. Therefore, when the driver falls into a driving failure state, the driver is guided to a driving suitable state by presenting this conditioning stimulus. This stimulus is continuously presented as long as the driver's state is concentrated and the state of wakefulness is low, so that the driver is not bothered as much as possible. It is desirable to present at.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a stimulus presenting means used for conditioning in the present embodiment. 201 is a meter section of the front panel, 202 is a tachometer, 203 is a speedometer, 204 is a fuel gauge, and 205 is an engine thermometer. The stimulus presentation by the stimulus presenting means 106 includes, for example, a backlight display changing means capable of selecting a plurality of expressions having different brightness or colors in the backlight display of the meter in the meter unit 201, and is used during normal driving. The display is different from the state of the backlight display used in the state of being suitable for driving and in the state of not being driven. The backlight display in the meter unit 201 can be changed by changing the display of all the meters at the same time, or by changing the display individually, or in the type with the speedometer in the middle. The display of only the meter may be changed.

  Next, the operation of the driver activation induction device according to the present embodiment, that is, the driver activation induction method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step S301, face image data photographed by a camera as a biological signal is input to the arousal level calculation means 102, and a steering rudder angle sensor signal, an accelerator opening sensor signal, a brake pressure sensor signal, and a winker signal are driven as driving operation amounts. Input to the operation determination means 103.

  Next, in S302, the arousal level calculation means 102 extracts the pupil portion data from the input face image data and calculates the arousal level. For example, when attention is paid to the blink frequency, the number of blinks is extracted and counted from the data of the pupil portion, and when the number of blinks in the past 1 minute exceeds 20 times, it is determined that the arousal level is lowered. When the number of times is 20 or less, it is determined that the arousal level is appropriate.

  Next, when it is determined that the degree of arousal is not reduced, the driving operation determination unit 103 calculates the amount of disturbance of the driving operation from the driving operation amount in S303, and determines the driving operation. For the determination of the driving operation, for example, it is determined by detecting whether or not steering wheel wobbling, sudden steering, sudden braking, or sudden acceleration has been performed. That is, when these elements are not detected, the driving operation is not disturbed, so the amount of disturbance is calculated to be small, and it is determined that the driving operation is normal. On the other hand, if the amount of displacement of the steering angle sensor signal, accelerator opening sensor signal, and brake pressure sensor signal within a certain period of time is greater than or equal to a preset threshold value, it is determined that the driving operation has been disturbed, and the amount of disturbance is greatly calculated. Is done. However, detection of the displacement of the steering angle when the blinker signal is detected is estimated as a lane change, and is not determined as a disturbance in driving operation.

  Here, when the driving operation is not disturbed, that is, when it is determined that the driving operation is normal, it is determined that the driver is driving intensively, the process proceeds to S304, the count of the counter 105 is incremented by 1, and the process proceeds to S305. The presenting means 106 presents a predetermined stimulus and finishes. If it is determined that the driving operation is disturbed, the process ends without doing anything.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in S302 that the arousal level calculation means 102 determines that the arousal level is lowered, the process proceeds to S306, where it is determined whether or not the patient is in a dozing state. In this case, for example, when the pupil information is not detected from the biological signal for a certain period of time from the biological signal, the arousal level calculation unit 102 determines that the eyelid is closed, and the driver determines to be doze. On the other hand, if the pupil information can be continuously detected and the arousal level calculation means 102 determines that the state is not a doze state, the driver is determined to be in a low level of arousal level and proceeds to check the count number of the counter 105 in S308.

  Conditioning in this embodiment is performed by performing a pair of presentation of driving suitability and stimulus presentation for a certain period of time, in which the stimulus presentation is performed in a concentrated driving state suitable for driving. In addition, if this stimulus presentation is not established as a conditioning stimulus, the stimulus presentation will not be effective even if the stimulus presentation is performed when the arousal level is a driving failure. Absent.

  For example, if it takes about one hour to establish as a conditioning stimulus, when this stimulus presentation processing is performed at 1 Hz, the number of stimulus presentations is 3600 times (60 minutes corresponding to the cumulative one hour (60 It is assumed that the stimulus presentation when the arousal level is lowered is not performed until the stimulus presentation of (minute × 60 seconds = 3600 seconds) is completed. Therefore, after it is determined that the count number of the counter 105 exceeds 3600, the process proceeds to S305, the stimulus presentation unit 106 presents the stimulus to the driver, and the process ends.

  On the other hand, if it is determined by the arousal level calculation means 102 that the patient is in a doze state, the process proceeds to S307, an alarm sound is generated by the alarm sound generation means 107, and then the process proceeds to S308 where the counter 105 is checked. If the count value of the counter 105 exceeds 3600, it is determined that the conditioning is complete, and the process proceeds to S305 where the stimulus presentation means 106 presents the stimulus to the driver. This is because it is difficult to guide the driver to the state of being concentrated on driving with the stimulus given by the stimulus presenting means 106 when falling into a doze state. First, an alarm sound was generated and the driver was awakened. After that, the stimulus presentation means 106 guides the driver to a state where the driver is concentrated, so that secondary conditioning described later is established between the warning sound and the driver's concentrated driving state, and the driver is driven by the warning sound itself. This is to obtain an effect of inducing a state of being concentrated on.

  Here, secondary conditioning is explained with the example of the Pavlov dog mentioned above. After conditioning is made between the sound of the bell and the bait, for example, a black square is replaced with a new conditioning stimulus. As described above, if the presentation of the pair of the bell sound and the black square is repeated, then even if only the black square is presented, the dog will secrete saliva.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the driving state suitability determining unit 101 determines whether the driving state of the driver is not suitable for driving from the biological signal and the driving operation amount during driving, and is suitable for driving. When the driving suitability is determined, the stimulus presenting means 106 of the conditioning stimulus presenting means 108 presents the stimulus to the driver, and the counter 105 counts the total presentation time of the stimulus. By presenting the same stimulus to the driver again at the time of driving failure after being presented for a certain period of time, the driver can be induced to be activated.

  According to the present embodiment, in order to detect the state suitable for each driving of the driver and perform the conditioning with the stimulation in the state suitable for the driving, individual differences are taken into account, and without bothering and uncomfortable. An effect of guiding the driver to a state suitable for driving can be obtained.

  Further, the most important thing for safety in driving a car is to concentrate on driving, and it is very important to guide the driver to concentrate on driving. However, when the driver's arousal level is significantly reduced, the driver's mental and physical condition itself has been reduced. It is difficult to let Therefore, after the alarm sound is generated by the alarm sound generating means 107, the condition stimulus is presented by the conditioned stimulus presenting means 108 while presenting the same stimulus presented in a concentrated driving state. It is possible to guide the driving condition without giving a sense of incongruity.

Second Embodiment FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a basic configuration in a second embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 801 denotes driving state propriety determination means for determining whether or not the driver is in a state of being unsuitable for driving because of the driver's biological signal and driving operation information, and 808 is the driving state propriety determining unit. Conditioning stimulus presentation means for presenting a stimulus to the driver based on the determination result of the determination means 801.

  The driving state suitability determining means 801 is a nose skin temperature calculating means 802 that calculates a temperature difference between the skin temperature of the nose and the forehead from the biological signal, and a driving operation determining means 803 that calculates a disturbance amount of the driving operation from the driving operation amount. And tension / relaxation determination means 804 for determining the driver's tension or relaxation degree from the temperature difference of the skin temperature and the amount of disturbance of the driving operation, and the conditioning stimulus presentation means 808 provides the stimulation presentation for presenting the conditioning stimulus to the driver. A means 806 and a counter 805 for counting the number of times of presentation of the conditioning stimulus are included.

  The nasal skin temperature calculation means 802 inputs a thermo camera video signal as a biological signal, obtains the skin temperature of the nose and the forehead from the data of the input thermo camera video signal, and calculates the temperature difference between them from these skin temperatures. calculate. The driving operation determination means 803 inputs a steering angle sensor signal, an accelerator angle sensor signal, a brake pressure sensor signal, and a blinker signal as a driving operation amount, and extracts abnormal operation information such as a sudden brake from each input signal data, The driving operation is determined from the frequency of abnormal operation. In addition, the stimulus presentation unit 806 includes an airflow adjusting unit that adjusts the strength of the air speed of the air blown from the car air conditioner outlet, the temperature level, and the presence or absence of a scent.

  In such a configuration, when driving is not suitable for driving, the driver's tension is increased and the margin for driving operation is reduced, and the driver relaxes driving suitable for driving. It is assumed that the vehicle is concentrated in the driving, and the stimulation in the state where the driving is not suitable and the driving is suitable is the adjustment of the blown air flow from the car air conditioner outlet in the air flow adjusting means.

  In this embodiment, the skin temperature of the nose and the forehead is used to determine the driver's tension and relaxation degree. As shown in Patent Document 4, the human skin temperature is greatly affected by the stress state, while the trunk skin temperature is hardly affected. From this, the nasal skin temperature that is the peripheral part and the forehead skin temperature that is the trunk part are measured as the representative temperatures of the peripheral part and the trunk part, respectively, and the stress state of the driver is estimated by obtaining the temperature difference between them. be able to.

  Specifically, the temperature difference ΔT between the nose and forehead skin temperatures calculated by the nasal skin temperature calculating means 802 is increasing (a certain value α or more), and the driving operation determining means 803 performs the driving operation. If it is determined that there is no disturbance, it is determined that the user is driving relaxed. On the other hand, the temperature difference ΔT between the nose and forehead skin temperatures calculated by the nose skin temperature calculation means 802 is decreasing (below a certain value β), and the driving operation determination means 803 is disturbing the driving operation. If it is determined, it is determined that the degree of tension is high and the margin for driving operation is decreasing.

  That is, this embodiment pays attention to the state in which the driver's tension is continuously increasing, and determines that the driver is not driving when a continuous increase in the tension is detected, and is driving relaxed. By presenting the stimulus that has been presented when the driving suitability that is the state is detected, the nervous driver is guided to a state where the driver can relax and drive.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a means for presenting a stimulus to the driver. Reference numeral 901 denotes a handle, 902 denotes an air outlet of the car air conditioner, and 903 denotes an air flow blown from the air outlet of the car air conditioner. For example, it is possible to adjust the wind speed and temperature of the blown air flow blown from the air outlet of the car air conditioner, and further the presence or absence of a scent added to the air flow, and by presenting these stimuli in a state different from that during normal operation, This gives the driver a different stimulus than during normal driving.

  Next, the operation of the driver activation induction device according to the present embodiment, that is, the driver activation induction method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in S1001, infrared face image data captured by a thermo camera as a biological signal is input to the nasal skin temperature calculation means 802, and a steering rudder angle sensor signal, an accelerator opening sensor signal, a brake pressure signal, and a driving operation amount are input. A blinker signal is input to the driving operation determination means 803.

  In step S1002, the forehead skin temperature and the nasal skin temperature are obtained from the infrared face image data input by the nasal skin temperature calculation means 802, and a temperature difference ΔT between the two is calculated. If the temperature difference ΔT is greater than or equal to a certain threshold value α, it is determined that the temperature is in a relaxed state, and the process proceeds to S1003.

  In step S1003, the driving operation determination unit 803 determines whether the driving operation is normal. For the determination of driving operation, for example, it is detected from the input driving operation amount signal whether or not steering wheel wobbling, sudden steering, sudden braking, sudden acceleration has been performed, and these abnormal operations are not detected Suppose that the driving operation is not disturbed. On the other hand, when the amount of displacement within a certain time is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value, it is determined that the driving operation is disturbed from the input driving operation amount signal. In this case, since the steering angle displacement extraction by the steering angle sensor signal when the winker signal is detected is a lane change, it is not determined that the driving operation is disturbed.

  If it is determined in S1003 that the driving operation is not disturbed, that is, it is normal, it is determined that the driver is driving relaxed, the process proceeds to S1004, the counter 805 is incremented by one, the process proceeds to S1005, and the stimulus presentation means 806 Give a stimulus. On the other hand, if it is determined that the driving operation is disturbed, the process is terminated without doing anything.

  Next, in S1002, when the temperature difference ΔT between the forehead skin temperature and the nasal skin temperature is equal to or less than α, the process proceeds to S1006, and it is determined whether or not this is equal to or less than another threshold value β. If it is determined in S1006 that the temperature difference ΔT is equal to or less than β, it is determined that a stress state is present. Note that the two threshold values have a relationship of α> β.

  Next, in S1007, the driving operation is determined using the same determination criteria as in S1003. Here, when it is determined that the driving operation is disturbed, it is determined that the degree of tension for driving is increased. However, when changing lanes, it is a major factor that increases the degree of tension for the driver, so if the blinker signal is output and the temperature difference ΔT is less than or equal to β, it is determined that the degree of tension for driving is increasing. . If it is determined that the degree of tension with respect to driving has increased, the process proceeds to the count value check of the counter 805 in S1008.

  Conditioning in the present embodiment is performed by performing a paired presentation of a relaxed driving state, which is a driving suitable state, and a stimulus presentation for a certain period of time. In addition, if this stimulus is not established as a conditioning stimulus, even if the same stimulus is presented when the degree of tension with respect to driving, which is a driving failure state, increases, there is no effect. For this reason, the stimulus presentation by the stimulus presentation unit 806 to be performed when the degree of tension increases is not performed until the cumulative time of stimulus presentation in the relaxed state reaches a certain fixed time.

  For example, if it takes about one hour to establish as a conditioning stimulus, when this stimulus presentation processing is performed at 1 Hz, the number of stimulus presentations is 3600 times (60 minutes corresponding to the cumulative one hour (60 Until the stimulus presentation of (minute × 60 seconds = 3600 seconds) is completed, the stimulus presentation in S1005 is not performed even in the state of driving failure, and when it is determined that the count number of the counter 805 exceeds 3600, Proceeding to S1005, the stimulus presentation unit 806 presents the stimulus to the driver, and the process ends.

  In the present embodiment, when the driver's tension level is high and the margin for driving operation is reduced, the alarm by means such as an alarm sound further increases the tension level and has an adverse effect. Therefore, the driver's tension is reduced by giving the stimulus presentation that is conditioned when driving in a relaxed state, which is suitable for driving. And has the effect of being able to drive calmly.

Third Embodiment FIG. 7 shows a basic configuration of a third embodiment of the present invention. 401 is a state suitable for guiding the driving state of the driver from the biological signal of the driver, the driving operation signal, and the vehicle behavior signal to the driving failure in the state not suitable for driving and the driving state suitable for driving. A driving state suitability determining unit 408 that determines suitability for guidance is a conditioning stimulus presentation unit that presents a stimulus to the driver based on the result of the driving state suitability determining unit 401.

  The driving state propriety determination unit 401 is a tension determination unit 402 that determines the driver's temporary tension from the biological signal and the driving operation amount, and the driver's side-viewing operation from the biological signal, the driving operation amount, and the vehicle behavior information. The side action determining means 404 for judging is provided, and the conditioning stimulus presentation means 408 is provided with a counter 403 for counting the output of the tension degree judgment means 402 and a stimulus presentation means 405 for presenting the conditioning stimulus to the driver.

  To the tension determination means 402, a camera video signal is input as a biological signal, and a steering angle sensor signal and a brake pressure sensor signal are input as driving operation amounts. Aside-view motion determination means 404 receives a camera video signal as a biological signal, a steering angle sensor signal and a winker signal as driving operation amounts, an inter-vehicle radar signal as vehicle behavior information, and a count value of counter 403 Has been entered.

  The tension level determination unit 402 calculates the pupil diameter change from the face image data of the input camera video signal, and detects the degree of tension from the calculated pupil diameter change. The relationship between the degree of tension and the change in pupil diameter is disclosed in Patent Document 3, and the pupil diameter of a driver who feels surprise or anxiety (fear) varies depending on the degree of interest of the object. It is known that the diameter changes drastically.

  The look-ahead movement determination means 404 extracts the driver's line of sight from the face image data photographed by the camera, detects the presence or absence of the look-ahead movement from the direction and movement of the line of sight, and if a look-ahead movement is detected, The final look-ahead movement is determined in consideration of the disturbance amount obtained from the input steering angle sensor signal and the blinker signal, and vehicle conditions such as abnormal approach with the front vehicle obtained from the inter-vehicle radar signal.

  The stimulus presenting means 405 presents the driver with a stimulus when the driving state suitability determining means 401 detects a sideward movement that is not suitable for driving or a state after being temporarily in tension that is suitable for guidance. Is what you do. In addition, the presentation of the stimulus by the stimulus presentation unit 405 is to give a vibration stimulus to the driver by, for example, embedding a vibrating body in a sheet and vibrating the vibrating body. The counter 403 is a counter that counts the number of vibration stimuli presented to the driver during temporary tension.

  In such a configuration, when the driver is not suitable for driving, the driver is looking aside and the attention is distracted, which is opposite to the driving failure and is guided from the driving failure state to a state suitable for driving. The state suitable for driving is the state immediately after the driver's tension is temporarily increased, and the stimulus in the state of driving failure and induction is the vibration of the vibration presenting means. Conditioning stimuli in a state immediately after the degree has temporarily increased can be presented.

  In other words, this embodiment pays attention to the driver's side-by-side movement and rejects driving when the side-by-side movement is detected.For example, the driver's consciousness about driving after a sudden interruption or sudden stop of another vehicle is taken. By making the rising state suitable for guidance and presenting a stimulus conditioned at the time of guidance at the time of driving failure, it is guided to a state of increasing concentration on driving that is suitable for driving.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a stimulus presentation unit in which a vibrating body is embedded in a driver sheet. Reference numeral 501 denotes a driver sheet for the driver, and reference numeral 502 denotes a vibration element that generates vibrations. A plurality of driver sheets are arranged on the back surface and the bottom surface of the driver sheet 501. Reference numeral 503 denotes a back surface vibration body made up of a collection of vibration elements arranged on the back surface portion, and reference numeral 504 denotes a bottom surface vibration body made up of a collection of vibration elements arranged on the bottom surface portion. In the stimulus presentation, only one of the back vibrating body 501 and the bottom vibrating body 502 may be vibrated, or both may be vibrated simultaneously.

  Next, the operation of the driver activation induction device according to the present embodiment, that is, the driver activation induction method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. First, in S601 of FIG. 9, the face image data photographed by the camera, the steering rudder angle data signal, and the brake pressure sensor signal are input to the tension determination means 402, and the face image data photographed by the camera, the steering rudder angle data signal, A blinker signal and an inter-vehicle radar signal are input to the aside look determination means 404.

  Next, proceeding to S602, the tension level determination means 402 determines whether the current state is a tension state or not. That is, it is determined whether or not the previous flag state is 1 indicating a tension state or 0 indicating a non-tension state. If the flag is 0, that is, if it is not a tension state, the process proceeds to S603, and the degree of tension is determined. For example, the pupil diameter change is extracted from the captured face image data, the pupil diameter change amount per unit time is calculated, and if the pupil diameter change amount is equal to or greater than a certain threshold, the tension is temporarily increased. If the pupil diameter change amount is less than a certain threshold value, it is determined that it is not in a tension state.

  Next, when it is determined in S603 that it is in a tension state, it is determined in S604 and S605 whether or not the increase in the tension is temporary due to a sudden driving operation. That is, in S604, it is determined whether there is a sudden steering operation from the steering angle sensor signal, and in S605, it is determined whether there is a sudden braking operation from the brake pressure sensor signal. For example, when these driving operation amounts within a unit time exceed a certain value, it is determined that the state is a temporary tension state accompanied by a sudden driving operation, and the flag is set to 1 in S606 and the processing is ended. . On the other hand, if a sudden steering operation or a sudden braking operation is not seen, the process ends.

  If it is determined in S602 that the flag is 1, processing for detecting a point in time when the state returns to a normal state after falling into a temporary tension state is entered. First, in S607, the same process as S603 is performed, and it is determined whether or not the tension state has returned to the normal state. For example, the pupil diameter change per unit time is calculated, and when the pupil diameter change amount is equal to or less than a certain threshold value, it is determined that the normal state has been returned. On the other hand, if the pupil diameter change amount is greater than or equal to a certain threshold value, it is determined that the tension is still continuing, and the process ends.

  Next, when it is determined in S607 that the pupil diameter change has returned to the normal state, the process proceeds to S608 and the counter 403 is incremented by one. In step S609, the stimulus presentation unit 405 presents a stimulus to the driver. In step S610, the flag is reset to 0 and the process ends.

  Conditioning in the present embodiment is performed by guiding a state in which the degree of concentration with respect to driving temporarily increases and performing a pair presentation of the present state and the vibration stimulus a plurality of times. Note that the effect cannot be obtained even if the driver presents the same vibration stimulus when the driver is looking aside unless the vibration stimulus is established as a conditioning stimulus. Therefore, the vibration stimulus presentation is not performed during the look-ahead operation until the vibration stimulus presentation under the condition suitable for guidance reaches a certain number of times, and the number of stimulation presentations is counted.

  Next, in S701 of FIG. 10, it is determined whether or not the count value in the counter 403 exceeds a certain value (in this case, 10). The count value of the counter 403 is used to determine whether or not the condition is established between the state after the tension is temporarily increased for the driver and the presentation of the conditioning stimulus. That is, if the count value does not exceed a certain value, it is determined that the condition is not satisfied, and at this stage, the stimulus presentation means 405 does not present the stimulus to the driver.

  Next, when it is determined in S701 that the count value exceeds a certain value, in S702, the face image data photographed by the camera as the biological signal, the brake pressure sensor signal and the steering angle sensor signal as the driving operation signal. Is input to the tension determination means 402, a camera video signal is input as a biological signal, a steering angle sensor signal and a winker signal are input as a driving operation signal, and an inter-vehicle radar signal is input as vehicle behavior information to the armpit movement determination means 404.

  In step S <b> 703, the look-ahead operation determination unit 404 determines the look-ahead operation from the face image data of the input camera video signal. For example, line-of-sight direction data is extracted from face image data, and if it is determined that the driver's line-of-sight direction is not facing forward, it is determined in step S704 whether or not a blinker signal has been issued. When the winker signal is output, it is determined that the driver's line-of-sight direction is not facing forward because it is an action for confirming the mirror or performing a blind look, and is not looking aside.

  Next, when the winker signal is not issued in S704, the process proceeds to S705, and it is determined whether or not the look-aside operation hinders the driving action. For example, in S705, the inter-vehicle distance from the vehicle ahead is measured by the inter-vehicle radar signal, and when approaching a certain distance or more, it is determined that the driving action is hindered, and the process proceeds to S707, and the stimulus presentation means 405 presents the driver with the stimulus. I do.

  Next, if it is determined in S705 that the inter-vehicle distance is secured over a certain distance, the process proceeds to S706, where it is determined whether or not the vehicle is wobbling from the steering angle sensor signal. Proceeding to S707, it is determined that the vehicle is not driven, and the stimulus presentation unit 405 presents the stimulus to the driver.

  In addition, during driving, it may happen that the eyes are shifted from the front for a moment by checking mirrors and meters, car navigation operations, and the like. Therefore, the stimulus presentation unit 405 presents the stimulus only when the driving action is hindered due to the deviation of the line-of-sight direction from the front.

  As described above, the state in which the driver is looking aside is not the driver's mental and physical state itself being lowered, but the driver's temporary behavior has caused him to fall into a driver state unsuitable for driving. For example, when the driver's tension has temporarily increased, such as when another vehicle suddenly cuts in and closes, the driver's awareness of `` I have to drive tightly '' has increased, By presenting the stimulus received immediately after such a driver's tension has temporarily increased in a state of looking aside, the driver's awareness of driving can be raised and guided to a state suitable for driving An effect is obtained.

It is a block diagram which shows the basic composition of the driver activation induction | guidance | derivation apparatus in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the stimulus presentation means in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of the detection of the driving | running state of a driver, and a stimulus presentation in 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the basic composition of the driver activation induction | guidance | derivation apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the stimulus presentation means in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of the detection of the driving | running state of a driver, and a stimulus presentation in 2nd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the basic composition of the driver activation induction | guidance | derivation apparatus in 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the stimulus presentation means in 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of the detection of the driving | running state of a driver, and a stimulus presentation in 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of a driver | operator's look-aside movement determination and stimulus presentation in 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Driving state suitability determination means 102 ... Arousal degree calculation means 103 ... Driving operation determination means 104 ... Concentration degree determination means 105 ... Counter 106 ... Stimulus presentation means 107 ... Alarm sound generation means 108 ... Conditioning stimulus presentation means 201 ... Meter section 202 ... Tachometer 203 ... Speedometer 204 ... Fuel gauge 205 ... Engine thermometer 401 ... Operating state suitability judging means 402 ... Tension degree judging means 403 ... Counter 404 ... Aside look judging means 405 ... Stimulus presenting means 408 ... Conditional stimulus presenting means 501 ... Driver sheet 502 ... Vibrating element 503 ... Back vibrator 504 ... Bottom vibrator 801 ... Driving state suitability judging means 802 ... Nose skin temperature calculating means 803 ... Driving operation judging means 804 ... Tension / relaxation judging means 805 ... Counter 806 ... Stimulation Presentation means 808 ... Conditioning stimulus presentation Means 901 ... handle 902 ... outlet 903 ... blowing airflow

Claims (15)

Driving state propriety determination means for determining whether or not the driving state of the driver is not suitable for driving, and driving suitability for a state suitable for driving from the biological signal and driving operation amount during driving,
A driver activation guidance device comprising a stimulus presentation means for presenting a stimulus to the driver and a conditioning stimulus presentation means having a counter for counting the cumulative presentation time of the stimulus,
The driver presents the stimulus by the conditioning stimulus presenting means at the time of the driving suitable expression, and presents the stimulus to the driver at the time of the driving failure after the stimulus is presented for a certain time. Activation induction device.   The driving state suitability determining means includes an arousal degree calculating means for calculating a degree of awakening indicating the degree of awakening of the driver from the biological signal, and a driving operation for calculating a disturbance amount indicating the degree of disturbance of the driving operation from the driving operation amount. The driver activation guidance device according to claim 1, further comprising: a determination unit; and a concentration level determination unit that calculates a concentration level indicating a level of concentration of the driver with respect to driving based on the arousal level and the amount of disturbance. .   The camera image signal is input as the biological signal to the arousal level calculation means, and the steering angle sensor signal, the accelerator angle sensor signal, the brake pressure sensor signal, and the blinker signal are input to the driving operation determination means as the driving operation amount. The driver activation induction device according to claim 2, wherein   3. The driver activation inducing device according to claim 2, wherein the stimulus presenting means includes backlight display changing means capable of selecting a plurality of expressions having different brightness or color in the backlight display of the meter.   An alarm sound generating means, and from the biological signal input by the arousal level calculating means, it is determined whether or not the driver is dozing. If the driver is determined to be dozing, an alarm is generated by the alarm sound generating means. 3. The driver activation inducing device according to claim 2, wherein after the sound is generated, the stimulus is presented to the driver by the conditioning stimulus presenting means.   The driving state suitability determining means includes a nose skin temperature calculating means for calculating a skin temperature difference between the nose and forehead from the skin temperature of the nose and forehead from the biological signal, and a driving operation from the driving operation amount. A driving operation determination unit that calculates a disturbance amount indicating a degree of disturbance of the vehicle, and a tension / relaxation determination unit that determines the degree of tension or relaxation of the driver from the temperature difference and the amount of disturbance. The driver activation induction device according to claim 1.   A thermo camera video signal is input to the nasal skin temperature calculation means as the biological signal, and the steering angle sensor signal, the accelerator angle sensor signal, the brake pressure sensor signal, and the blinker signal are used as the driving operation amount as the driving amount. The driver activation guidance device according to claim 6, wherein the driver activation guidance device is input to an operation determination unit.   7. The driver activation according to claim 6, wherein the stimulus presenting means comprises airflow adjusting means for adjusting the strength of the air velocity from the air outlet of the car air conditioner, the temperature level, or the presence or absence of a scent. Guidance device. Based on the biological signal and the amount of driving operation during driving, the driver's driving state is determined whether driving is not appropriate for driving and whether driving is appropriate for driving in a state suitable for driving. Means for determining whether or not the driving state is suitable;
A driver activation inducing device comprising a stimulus presenting means for presenting a stimulus to the driver and a conditioning stimulus presenting means having a counter for counting the number of times the stimulus is presented,
The driver presenting the stimulus by the conditioning stimulus presenting means at the time of the induction suitable expression, and presenting the stimulus to the driver at the time of the driving failure after the stimulus is presented a predetermined number of times Activation induction device.   The driving state suitability determining means includes a tension degree determining means for determining a temporary tension degree of the driver from the biological signal and the driving operation amount, and the driver's information from the biological signal, the driving operation amount and vehicle behavior information. The driver activation inducing device according to claim 9, further comprising a side-by-side movement determination unit that determines a side-by-side movement.   The camera image signal as the biological signal is input to the tension determination unit, and the steering angle sensor signal and the brake pressure sensor signal are input to the tension determination unit as the driving operation amount. The driver activation induction device according to 10, wherein Count the output signal from the tension determination means with a counter,
The count value of the counter and the camera video signal are input to the aside look determination unit, the steering angle sensor signal and the blinker signal are input to the aside look determination unit, and an inter-vehicle radar signal is used as the vehicle behavior information. The driver activation inducing device according to claim 10, wherein the driver activation inducing device is input to an operation determination unit.   11. The driver activation inducing device according to claim 10, wherein the stimulus presenting means includes vibration presenting means for presenting vibrations of a vibrator embedded in a driver sheet to the driver. The driving state suitability determining means determines whether the driving state of the driver is not suitable for driving from the biological signal at the time of driving and the amount of driving operation, and driving suitability for the state suitable for driving,
A driver activation inducing method that presents a stimulus to the driver with a stimulus presenting means included in a conditioned stimulus presenting means, and counts a cumulative presentation time of the stimulus with a counter,
The conditioning stimulus presenting means presents the stimulus to the driver at the time of the driving suitable expression, and the stimulus is presented to the driver at the time of the driving failure after the stimulation is presented for a certain time. Driver activation induction method. The driving state suitability determining means is suitable for guiding the driving state of the driver not suitable for driving and the driving state suitable for driving from the biological signal and driving operation amount during driving. Judging suitability for guidance,
A driver activation inducing method that presents a stimulus to the driver with a stimulus presenting means included in a conditioned stimulus presenting means, and counts the number of times the stimulus is presented with a counter,
The conditioning stimulus presenting means presents the stimulus to the driver at the time of the induction suitable expression, and the stimulus is presented to the driver at the time of the driving failure after the stimulation is presented a predetermined number of times. Driver activation induction method.

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