DE102021108656A1 - Vehicle security system - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for operating a safety system of a vehicle with the following steps: - Detection of physiological parameters of the vehicle driver by the safety system, - Determination of the medical history of the vehicle driver in relation to functions of the safety system, - Detection of a critical physiological situation of the vehicle driver as a function of the detected physiological parameters and / or the medical history, one or more autonomous reactions of the safety system to reduce the effects of the critical physiological situation on driving safety and implementation of the one or more autonomous reactions by the safety system.

Description

The invention relates to a method for operating a safety system of a vehicle, in particular executing an autonomous reaction of the safety system to support a vehicle driver in the event of a medical incident, the autonomous reaction taking place appropriately as a function of the vehicle driver's medical history.

State of the art

the DE 10 2012 200 189 A1 discloses a method for operating a vehicle, the state of health of the driver being checked in particular when the vehicle is started. When a predefined state of health is recognized, a safety program for operating the vehicle is started. This prevents a driver in poor health from operating the vehicle or an accident from occurring. To avoid the accident, a safety program is started when the poor state of health is recognized in order to operate the vehicle in at least one partial function. A mobile device is used in the vehicle that provides a comparative value for the driver's state of health.

the DE 10 2011 120 510 relates to a route determination for a vehicle, an emergency destination being selected as a function of a determined health-related emergency situation of a vehicle occupant and a route to there being determined and output or a current route being adapted. Signals from mobile medical systems are received via a communication device. These are movable devices, usually portable by the patient, which are used to record and optionally evaluate physiological parameters, in particular vital parameters that describe the basic functions of a human body. Examples of mobile medical systems are blood pressure cuffs for long-term blood pressure measurement, portable EKG devices for long-term EKG monitoring, pulse oximeters, implanted insulin pumps, heart or brain pacemakers, other electrical implants e.g. B. defibrillators or prostheses.

the DE 102 20 782 A1 relates to an emergency system for motor vehicles in which the driver's inability to drive is recognized by means of a driver monitoring system. If it is recognized that the vehicle is not able to drive, the vehicle is decelerated in a controlled manner in combination with a driver assistance system, taking the traffic environment into account. There is an automatic detection of the various forms of inability to drive, for example by detecting a characteristic malfunction after a microsleep, by measuring the body tension of the driver or the force with which the driver is holding the steering wheel, by visual monitoring to detect changes in the Posture as well as automatic recording of other biometric data or parameters, such as blood pressure, pulse or breathing rate.

Presentation and advantages of the invention

The proportion of older parts of the population in road traffic is steadily increasing. This also increases the proportion of vehicle drivers who have multiple illnesses or physical mobility restrictions. For their medical treatment, implanted or portable medical products, so-called wearables, are often used, which monitor or support the state of health. The proportion of intelligent medical prostheses is also increasing. These medical devices record the vital functions, support the human body in its functionality and can recognize critical situations.

Such critical situations or critical health conditions or (partial) failures of the medical devices can seriously impair the ability to drive the vehicle. However, these impairments can only affect certain functions when driving the vehicle or only for a short time or temporarily. Based on the acquisition of the current vital parameters alone, it is sometimes difficult to determine an appropriate autonomous reaction for the individual situation, since a generalized driver model is assumed. There is therefore a need to recognize limitations in the ability to drive a vehicle and to implement appropriate (partially) autonomous reactions of a vehicle, taking into account the degree of impairment of the driver and the degree of the ability to drive the vehicle that is still available.

The object of the invention is therefore to improve the state of the art with regard to the feasibility of the appropriate reaction of the security system.

The object is achieved by a method in accordance with the measures of independent claim 1. Advantageous refinements of the invention are the subject matter of the subclaims.

The invention relates to a method for operating a safety system of a vehicle. Safety systems for vehicles are known in principle. They serve to improve the safety of the vehicle and its occupants by intervening in the vehicle control. Such Safety systems can be designed in the form of driver assistance systems which, depending on information about the surroundings, vehicle status data and driver status data, intervene in the lateral and / or longitudinal vehicle guidance as well as short-term and long-term maneuver planning. Such interventions are referred to as autonomous reactions, whereby the formulation autonomous is not limited to the common definition of autonomous vehicles based on the degree of autonomy. Interventions by subsystems such as steering, cruise control and navigation systems as well as the changing of parameters when interpreting driver data, such as the driver's condition or driver's wishes, are also regarded as autonomous reactions. Driver data can be driver observation data that are recorded, for example, by interior monitoring means, such as cameras. These include the driver's posture, the seating position, the current movement patterns, the breathing activity, but also skin properties such as skin color and surface temperature.

In the first step of the method according to the invention, physiological parameters of the vehicle driver are recorded by the safety system. This is done by means of portable or implanted measuring devices assigned to the driver of the vehicle, the measuring devices being blood pressure cuffs, pulse oximeters, cochlear implants, implanted insulin pumps, blood glucose meters, cardiac or brain pacemakers, implanted defibrillators or prostheses. The measured physiological parameters, such as blood pressure, pulse, EKG (EKG - electrocardiogram, recording the electrical activities of all heart muscle fibers) and EEG curves (EEG - electroencephalography, recording the electrical activities of the brain) are processed into medical parameters, such as blood pressure or Pulse, transmitted to the security system. This can be done wirelessly via a radio interface. Physiological parameters can also relate to the operating status of a medical product itself. A partial or complete malfunction of an insulin pump, a cardiac pacemaker or a prosthesis can also be recorded as a physiological parameter of the vehicle driver.

In the next step of the method according to the invention, the medical history of the vehicle driver is determined in relation to functions of the safety system.

The determination is made by calling up the medical history, for example in the form of an electronic medical record, from a remote data storage device by means of remote data transmission through the security system itself or using mobile devices such as smartphones, as well as by means of near-field communication in medical facilities using a medical product capable of storing data which may also include the above-mentioned measuring devices or so-called wearables. Remote memories, that is memories that are arranged outside or external to the vehicle, can include databases, file hosts or computer networks that can be accessed via the Internet.

The medical history reflects the physical condition of the vehicle driver and, in addition to age, also includes previous illnesses, current medical treatments or other restrictions, such as the presence of prostheses, and can be created and updated by a medical staff, preferably a doctor. Temporary impairments, such as those that occur with heavy medication or narcotic measures as part of an invasive intervention in the human body, or long-term, gradually increasing impairments, such as dwindling eyesight or the ability to react, can also be recorded in the medical history. The medical history is created individually for the respective vehicle driver. No automatic correlation between age and dwindling physical abilities should be shown.

The medical history is processed or prepared in relation to functions of the safety system or in relation to perception and operating tasks of the vehicle driver for driving the vehicle. This can be done by classifying possible impairments of perception and operation depending on the medical history, i.e. depending on the physical condition.

The medical history can also be determined by means of a classification of the medical history according to the temporal relevance in relation to the functions of the safety system. The duration of a critical physiological situation can thereby be taken into account. Persistent or prolonged symptoms can also worsen the critical condition of the vehicle driver. A short-term end of the critical physiological situation can also be predicted on the basis of the medical history or a point in time or period of time for the critical situation, for example due to short, medium or long-term impairing medical treatment methods, can be specified.

The processing or operationalization of the medical history is preferably carried out in the form of an individual driver model classified restrictions of the vehicle functions, caused by the respective medical pre-load. The individual driver model, like the medical history, can be stored in a medical product assigned to the vehicle driver and / or a mobile terminal assigned to the vehicle driver can be called up from a remote memory. The individual driver model can also be stored in the vehicle, for example in a data memory of an electronic control unit, preferably in a control device assigned to the safety system. There it can be called up or updated from a remote memory via a communication interface assigned to the security system. The individual driver model can also be partially or completely stored in the remote memory and can be temporarily called up by the security system via the communication interface in order to carry out the method.

The individual driver model can also include the ability of the vehicle driver to drive the vehicle when the critical physiological situation occurs. In this way, the degree of functionality of a prosthesis can be included as well as the remaining operating ability of the vehicle driver in the event of partial loss of his motor skills. In addition, the individual driver model can be learned or trained with regard to the cognitive resilience, the ability to react, the behavioral patterns and / or the moods of the vehicle driver. This is done using known methods of machine learning or methods of so-called artificial intelligence. Advantageously, the driver model can thus be adapted particularly precisely to the respective vehicle driver over a longer period of time and enables better, individually appropriate reactions of the safety system.

In the next step of the method according to the invention, a critical physiological situation of the vehicle driver is recognized as a function of the recorded physiological parameters and / or the medical history, insofar as a critical physiological situation is present. A critical physiological situation is a medical incident, a short-term or illness-related change in the physical condition or a physiological reaction of the vehicle driver that affects the ability to drive the vehicle. This can be a coughing or sneezing fit or serious health hazards such as a heart attack. The critical situation is preferably recognized as a function of the recorded physiological parameters and the medical history. The safety system is designed to use medical parameters, typical behavioral patterns of the vehicle driver or functional disorders of medical products, preferably classified individually for each driver, to evaluate an influence or effect on the ability to drive the vehicle and thus on vehicle safety.

In the next step of the method according to the invention, one or more autonomous reactions of the safety system are determined in order to reduce the effects of the critical physiological situation on driving safety. The safety system accordingly determines measures within the scope of its functional scope, i.e. the available interventions in the lateral and / or longitudinal vehicle guidance or the short-term and long-term maneuver planning in order to mitigate, compensate or avoid the critical physiological situation of the vehicle driver. These autonomous reactions can be determined in parallel to an already activated safety system, for example by switching on a lane departure warning system to an already active cruise control system. B. Increase the following distance, or by overriding an already activated safety system. As already mentioned, the autonomous reaction can also take place as a change in parameter sets for evaluation algorithms for the driver and / or vehicle condition detection, so that the sensitivity of individual detection or interpretation means, e.g. B. the setting of specific parameters of a face recognition of an interior surveillance camera, is increased in a targeted and needs-based manner.

Finally, the last step of the method according to the invention is the implementation of the one or more autonomous reactions by the safety system. Actuators for driving the vehicle are actuated or controlled, i.e. the automatic execution of planned driving maneuvers, the changing of operating characteristics of operating elements for the vehicle control or the specification of specific parameters when interpreting or evaluating recording means for recording the physiological parameters of the vehicle driver or the driver Vehicle environment.

The method preferably runs repeatedly, particularly preferably regularly at short time intervals, for example several times per second.

Embodiment

Further features, possible applications and advantages of the invention emerge from the following description of exemplary embodiments of the invention with reference to the schematically illustrated drawing.

1 shows a possible structure of the security system according to the invention. The existing architecture in the vehicle is expanded to include an individual, medical driver model. The architecture in the vehicle describes the functional capabilities of the vehicle (car capabilities).

In the vehicle there is a vehicle condition detection, an environment detection and an environment processing (States, Dynamics, Environment). This processes vehicle status data recorded in the vehicle, such as vehicle speed or direction-related vehicle accelerations, and environmental information recorded in the vehicle, such as the relative position of the vehicle in the surroundings and to surrounding objects. Environment data that is recorded by sensors outside the vehicle and transmitted to the vehicle can also be used for environment processing. Objects recorded by infrastructure elements with their status data, such as speed, position in the environment and direction of travel, for example, can be transferred to the vehicle via V21 communication (V21 - Vehicle to Infrastructure). An environment model can be derived from this environment data, on the basis of which (partially) autonomous vehicle systems, such as cruise control, lane keeping systems, overtaking assistants or navigation systems, derive decisions regarding an intervention in the vehicle dynamics or route guidance.

A generalized human capability model is also implemented in the vehicle. This evaluates the state of the driver, for example in terms of attention, responsiveness or ability to operate the vehicle functions, and relates these to the surrounding data. At the same time, the state of the driver, derived from the recorded driver data, can also flow into the environment processing, for example if a particular reaction of the driver indicates an occurrence in a certain section of the environment.

The driver data, that is to say the physiological parameters of the vehicle driver, can be recorded by means of optical monitoring devices for monitoring the interior of the vehicle. Cameras detect in the area of visible light or in the non-visible area, e.g. B. in the infrared range, the direction of view and posture of the driver and the presence of hands on the steering wheel, etc. The driver data can also include vital functions of the driver, such as pulse, blood pressure, body temperature or breathing activity. These are detected by detection means arranged in the vehicle, for example in the driver's seat or on the steering wheel, or directly on or in the driver, for example pulse sensors, prostheses or cardiac pacemakers.

Autonomous reactions of the vehicle can be derived from both the environment data and the driver data. These are implemented by the autonomous vehicle systems, also called driver assistance systems or vehicle safety systems. For example, the distance to a vehicle traveling ahead can be kept at a predetermined value by braking. Or a warning regarding the drowsiness of the driver is issued. Since the reactions are based on a general driver model, they can be individually ineffective, e.g. B. take place too late, or lead to non-acceptance of the autonomous reactions, z. B. if this happens too early, too often or too intensely. In addition to warning the driver, interventions in the lateral or longitudinal vehicle dynamics, such as braking or steering interventions to keep a distance or to keep lane, can also take place. These can also represent complex maneuvers in which the vehicle is brought into a safe state autonomously, including lane changes and stopping at the roadside, which are planned and carried out autonomously taking into account the vehicle condition as well as surrounding and rearward traffic objects.

According to the invention, the general driver model is expanded by means of an individual driver model via a capabilities interface (Standardized Capability Interface). The individual driver model (human model / digital twin) receives individual medical data from the vehicle driver. These include both currently available vital parameters, such as cardiac or respiratory activities, as well as data on medical history, such as disease diagnoses or treatments carried out. The individual driver data can be imported from an electronic health record of the vehicle driver or obtained from medical products assigned to the driver, such as a portable heart rate monitor or an implanted pacemaker. They are included in the individual driver model as an individual driver condition assessment (Diagnostic, Assessment, Results).

Together with the technical capabilities of medical products (capabilities technical subsystems) assigned to the driver, such as cardiac pacemakers, prostheses and the like, the driver status assessment is included in the individual driver capabilities model (Individual Human Capability Model). There, a data fusion takes place in order to define the skills of the vehicle driver in relation to the operation of the vehicle and, in the case of currently existing critical physiological situations, an appropriate reaction of the vehicle safety system, which takes into account the general driver model and the functional capabilities of the vehicle can be determined, selected and implemented.

The medical history on the basis of its potential effects if medically relevant symptoms occur or on the basis of possible failures of medical products with regard to the operability, the ability to record the surrounding and driving situation, the temporal relevance and / or with regard to the intensity of operator inputs individually or in Combination can be classified.

The operability can represent the physical ability to operate individual operating elements such as the steering wheel, accelerator, brake or clutch pedals, gear shift elements, direction indicators or elements for activating driver assistance functions and can be classified function-specifically and gradually restricted or not available. The operability is the ability to implement planned maneuvers.

The ability to record the surrounding and driving situation relates to the driver's state of alertness and may include the state of wakefulness or consciousness, a restricted field of perception or a restricted ability to make decisions with regard to maneuver planning ability. A classification with regard to the impairment of the skills of the vehicle driver in relation to the operation of the vehicle can be classified on the basis of the reaction time, from gradually delayed to no longer on time. The medical history can correct the general driver model in such a way that actually harmless symptoms are exacerbated in the predicted impairment. A recognized fatigue of the vehicle driver, which according to the general driver model would only trigger a warning, can be corrected to a complete impairment in the case of a corresponding previous illness and thus lead to the maximum takeover of the driving functions by the vehicle safety system.

The temporal relevance can be classified as a short-term impairment, such as coughing or sneezing, or, depending on previous illnesses, for example in the case of chronic lung diseases, as persistent. A temporal relevance can also represent a period of impairment that is temporarily present for an individually defined period of time due to treatments such as medication or anesthesia.

The intensity of operator inputs can be classified based on the degree of failure of support products, such as prostheses, as well as the remaining serviceability available after failure. In this way, individual characteristics that interpret the driver's wishes can be individually adapted.

In this way, an individual and vehicle-independent driver model can advantageously be created so that an individually better adapted reaction of the vehicle safety system can take place. The individual driver model can be used in any suitable vehicle due to the reference to the individual. This also enables the design and, if necessary, the training of the individual driver model in advance of the vehicle driver's activity. The present invention is therefore not only commercially applicable for development companies and medical research institutes, but also for the steadily growing after-sales area of mobility providers and vehicle manufacturers.

The particularly advantageous safety gain in terms of appropriate reactions of the vehicle safety systems and the transferability of the individual driver model can also be used synergistically by operators or operators of commercial vehicle fleets, such as municipal transport companies or vehicle rental companies.

In the following, practical configurations of the idea according to the invention are outlined on the basis of different medical previous histories.

Vehicle drivers with a blood sugar disorder can be monitored individually using transcutaneous blood sugar measuring devices. A general implementation of such a measurement in a general driver model is also not economical with regard to the individually necessary measuring devices. These measuring devices are communicatively, preferably wirelessly, connected to a wearable, such as a bracelet, or a digital mobile device, such as a smartphone. This enables the measured values to be recorded and forwarded directly to the vehicle, as this is connected in terms of data via the intermediate device or directly to the measuring device. Personalized warning levels can be derived from the individual measured values. When the individual warning levels are reached, an intervention cascade comes into effect, which can begin when there is a note about the consumption of suitable food (alert level 1) and via a warning of possible loss of consciousness (alert level 2) to a (partial) loss of the ability to drive a vehicle (alert level 3). No blood sugar values are then exchanged via the interface, which may require different individual measures, but rather escalation levels and / or escalation measures preferably classified by a doctor. The function-specific classification of the impairment may result in less attention, Loss of operating intensity or operating force of the vehicle driver or the (partial) loss of sensory, cognitive and motor skills, which can be compensated individually by the vehicle safety system. Operating characteristics of the operating elements can be adapted, target distances can be increased due to reduced responsiveness and / or the vehicle speed can be limited to a maximum value. At the highest alarm level, the vehicle is brought into a safe state in connection with an automatic emergency call or autonomous maneuvering to an emergency service, whereby the driver data can be transmitted in advance to the emergency service or the ambulance.

Vehicle drivers with an increased risk of stroke due to high blood pressure or existing heart disease can be assigned to an individual risk level determined by the doctor. Portable EKG devices that detect cardiac fibrillation or blood pressure monitors can be used to diagnose an increased acute risk of stroke in combination with face detection from an indoor camera that detects a drop in facial color or paralysis of the facial muscles. The alarm levels specified by the doctor can be blood pressure levels. If a warning threshold is exceeded, face recognition can be activated or sensitized with regard to possible color differences in the skin. If a drop in color is then detected, an emergency call can also be triggered independently of the further course of the blood pressure values, and / or a route to a rescue center or to a rendezvous point with an ambulance can be specified for the navigation system.

Respiratory diseases such as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), asthma, fibrosis of the airways or the lungs can be caused by symptoms that would not be critical in a healthy person. A driver-specific parameter set for the interpretation of the recorded physiological parameters of the vehicle driver, for example the face recognition of an interior camera, can be created from these clinical pictures and expressed in parameter classes or driver-specific movement patterns. Furthermore, time parameters can be adapted to support the driving safety system. If a vehicle driver without previous illnesses has a coughing or sneezing fit, for example, the vehicle safety system can be terminated after returning to the uncritical state, i.e. after the end of the seizure, supporting functions such as stabilizing the lane, keeping the speed constant or the distance to the surrounding traffic. In the case of vehicle drivers with previous illnesses, these measures can be extended in time to prevent the effects of further secondary attacks.

In the case of vehicle drivers suffering from some form of epilepsy, the brain activities can be monitored using cochlear implants, for example. The brain activities observed before an epileptic seizure differ only in parameters between different patients. The patterns of brain activity are highly individual. Here, too, with the help of medical experts, patterns and corresponding criticality classes in brain waves or individual parameter sets of typical brain activities can be determined and stored in the individual driver model.

Vehicle drivers who suffer from an increased risk of heart attacks or cardiac arrhythmias can be monitored for ventricular or atrial fibrillation, tachycardiac arrhythmias, drop in heart rate, atrioventricular dysfunction or a standstill in electrical and mechanical cardiac activity using portable EKG devices. This can be supported by portable blood pressure monitors and pulse oximeters. These individual symptoms are subject to different causes and can require different measures, from adapting the detection criteria when interpreting the recorded driver data to the autonomous reaction of the vehicle safety system. In the event of atrial fibrillation, a warning can be issued to the driver and the driver's state of consciousness can be monitored or tested in a targeted manner. In the case of a tachycardiac arrhythmia, on the other hand, there is a high probability that the driver of the vehicle is already unconscious. Then the vehicle can be brought into a safer state and an emergency call can be made.

Since many clinical pictures have an influence on the various possibilities for impairing the ability to drive the vehicle, the functional classification of the impairment is particularly advantageous. In this way, symptoms that are unclear or, in the case of individual clinical pictures, contradicting symptoms can be interpreted depending on the history of their occurrence and countered with appropriate reactions. Cumulative effects of individual effects of the medical history that are not critical in themselves, such as old age and the presence of clinical pictures, can also be taken into account.

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent literature cited

• DE 102012200189 A1 [0002]
• DE 102011120510 [0003]
• DE 10220782 A1 [0004]

Claims (16)

Method for operating a safety system of a vehicle with the following steps: - Acquisition of physiological parameters of the vehicle driver by the safety system, - Determination of the vehicle driver's medical history in relation to the functions of the safety system, - Recognition of a critical physiological situation of the vehicle driver as a function of the recorded physiological parameters and / or the medical history, - Determination of one or more autonomous reactions of the safety system to reduce the effects of the critical physiological situation on driving safety and - Implementation of the one or more autonomous reactions by the safety system. Procedure according to Claim 1 wherein the acquisition of physiological parameters of the vehicle driver comprises the acquisition of vital functions of the vehicle driver, the operating status of a medical product assigned to the vehicle driver and / or the acquisition of driver data. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the functions of the safety system include operator inputs from the vehicle driver and / or actuator activation options for implementing the vehicle guidance by the vehicle driver. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the autonomous reactions comprise the actuation of actuators for lateral and / or longitudinal vehicle guidance. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the autonomous reactions include changing operating characteristics. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the autonomous reactions comprise the specification of specific parameters for the interpretation of the recording means for recording the physiological parameters of the vehicle driver. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the effect of the critical physiological situation on driving safety is stored in a general driver model. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the autonomous response is maintained as a function of the medical history. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the autonomous reaction is the activation of a navigation target, the navigation target being a rescue center or a rendezvous point with rescue workers. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the ascertaining of the medical history in relation to functions of the safety system comprises an individual driver model with classified restrictions on the abilities to carry out these functions. Procedure according to Claim 10 , wherein the individual driver model is stored in a medical product assigned to the vehicle driver and / or is retrieved from a remote memory via a mobile terminal assigned to the vehicle driver. Method according to one of the Claims 10 or 11 , wherein the individual driver model is stored in the vehicle and is called up from a remote memory via a mobile terminal assigned to the vehicle driver and / or a communication interface assigned to the safety system. Method according to one of the Claims 10 until 12th , wherein the individual driver model comprises the remaining ability of the vehicle driver to drive the vehicle when the critical physiological situation occurs. Method according to one of the Claims 10 until 13th , whereby the individual driver model is trained with regard to the cognitive resilience, the ability to react, the behavioral patterns and / or the moods of the vehicle driver. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the ascertaining of the medical history comprises a classification of the medical history according to the temporal relevance in relation to the functions of the safety system. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the recording of the driver's physiological parameters takes place by means of portable or implanted measuring devices, the measuring devices being blood pressure cuffs, EKG measuring devices, pulse oximeters, cochlear implants, implanted insulin pumps, cardiac or brain pacemakers, implanted defibrillators or prostheses .

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