JP5321140B2 - Gaze guidance device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a line-of-sight guidance device.

  Conventionally, a pair of optical stimulation elements that translate substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle including the driver's head are presented in the driver's peripheral visual field, and the position of the object of attention is determined by the translational movement of the optical stimulation elements. In addition, attention guidance devices that guide a line of sight in a direction have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-331040 A

  Here, a driver with a low driving skill of a vehicle tends to have a steering operation more uneven than a driver with a high driving skill when exiting from a curve, that is, at a corner rising portion, and the vehicle tends to fluctuate from side to side. However, in the conventional apparatus, although the line of sight is guided to the attention object, the variation in the steering operation cannot be eliminated. In other words, in order to eliminate the steering operation variation at the corner rise, it is important to guide the line of sight, but the timing of the line of sight guidance is not appropriate. Can not.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve such a conventional problem, and the object of the present invention is to guide the line of sight which can suppress variations in steering operation when exiting a curve, that is, at a corner rising portion. To provide an apparatus.

  The line-of-sight guidance device according to the present invention includes vehicle position detection means for detecting the position of the host vehicle, road shape detection means for detecting a road shape ahead of the host vehicle, and the vehicle position detection means when the host vehicle travels in a curve. From the vehicle position detected by the road shape detection means and the road shape detected by the road shape detection means, the route estimation means for estimating the travel route of the host vehicle, and the vehicle position on the travel route estimated by the route estimation means, Tangent calculation means for calculating a tangent toward the inside of the road detected by the road shape detection means, and a travel line detection means for detecting a travel direction of the vehicle on the travel route estimated by the route estimation means as a travel line; Angle calculation for calculating an angle formed between the tangent calculated by the tangent calculation means and the travel line detected by the travel line detection means. A reference point calculating means for calculating, as a reference point, a point where the amount of change in angle calculated by the angle calculating means is maximum, and based on the reference point calculated by the reference point calculating means, And a notification means for notifying the driver that the line of sight should be guided.

According to the present invention, the angle formed by the tangent line and the travel line is calculated, and the point where the amount of change in the angle is the maximum is set as the reference point, and notification that the line-of-sight guidance should be performed is performed based on the reference point. Here, human visual characteristics include a characteristic that reaches the target location by synchronizing the distance and angle from the current location to the target location. That is, the change in distance and the change in angle tend to be synchronized. When this is applied to a vehicle, the amount of line-of-sight movement from the vehicle position to the target location and the azimuth angle are synchronized. For this reason, it is desirable that the rate of change of the line-of-sight movement amount is maximized at the reference point where the angle between the tangent line and the travel line, that is, the amount of change in the azimuth angle is maximum, and the driver moves the line of sight. It can be said that this is the most suitable point (reference point). Therefore, by notifying the driver of the host vehicle that the line of sight should be guided based on the reference point, it is possible to suppress the variation in the steering operation when leaving the curve, that is, at the corner rising portion.

It is a block diagram which shows the gaze guidance apparatus of this embodiment. It is the schematic which shows an example of the stimulus presentation apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining a route estimation function, a tangent calculation function, a travel line detection function, and an angle calculation function. It is a figure explaining the principle of a gaze guidance. It is a figure which shows the angle calculated | required with the angle calculation function with respect to a vehicle position, (a) shows angle tau (X), (b) has shown angle change rate tau (X) / dt. It is a figure explaining the tangent calculation function and angle calculation function in case a vehicle drive | works a S-shaped curve. It is a flowchart which shows the detailed process of the gaze guidance apparatus which concerns on this embodiment, Comprising: The process at the time of alerting | reporting of a gaze guidance timing is shown. It is a flowchart which shows the detailed process of the gaze guidance apparatus which concerns on this embodiment, Comprising: Processes, such as calculation of a driving result, are shown. It is a block diagram which shows the gaze guidance apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the detailed process of the gaze guidance apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, Comprising: Processes, such as calculation of intrinsic reaction time, are shown.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a line-of-sight guidance device according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the line-of-sight guidance device 1 guides the driver's line of sight toward the inside of the road to return to an appropriate location during curve driving. That is, the driver visually recognizes the inside of the road when traveling on a curve and returns the line of sight to the front when exiting the curve. The line-of-sight guidance device 1 provides the driver with the timing for performing such an operation of returning the line of sight to the front.

  The line-of-sight guidance device 1 includes a navigation device 10, a line-of-sight guidance timing calculation device 20, and a stimulus presentation device (notification means) 30. The navigation device 10 is a device that guides a vehicle to a destination. The line-of-sight guidance timing calculation device 20 calculates the timing for guiding the driver's line of sight. The stimulus presentation device 30 performs notification to the driver of the own vehicle that the line of sight should be guided, that is, notification when returning the line of sight to the front.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the stimulus presentation device 30 illustrated in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the stimulus presentation device 30 includes a left lamp group 31 and a right lamp group 32 provided on both sides of the driver's seat (for example, the upper position of the door trim), and a control unit thereof. The lamp groups 31 and 32 are composed of a plurality of (six) lamps arranged in the vehicle longitudinal direction. The control unit sequentially turns on each lamp of the lamp groups 31 and 32 from the vehicle rear side to the front side. The controller gives a notice to the effect that the driver's vision is stimulated by this lighting and the line of sight should be guided. In particular, in the stimulus presentation device 30 illustrated in FIG. 2, the line-of-sight direction to be directed by the driver can be designated by the lighting speed of the lamp groups 31 and 32.

For example, when the lighting speeds of the lamp groups 31 and 32 are the same, the driver's line-of-sight direction can be guided to the front 100. Thereby, it is possible to perform notification when returning the line of sight to the front. Further, when turning the line of sight toward the right or left with respect to the front, such as when entering a curve, the following control is performed. That is, when the lighting speed of the left lamp group 31 is increased and the lighting speed of the right lamp group 32 is decreased, the driver's line-of-sight direction can be guided to the right side 101, and the lighting speed of the left lamp group 31 is decreased. When the lighting speed of the right lamp group 32 is increased, the driver's line-of-sight direction can be guided to the left side 102. The installation locations of the lamp groups 31 and 32 are not limited to the upper portion of the door trim, but may be the headlining front portion, the door trim surface portion, the sun visor surface portion, the instrument panel surface portion, and the front pillar surface portion. Furthermore, the stimulus presentation device 30 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 2, and may be one that notifies by auditory stimulation or one that notifies by tactile stimulation, or it may not be possible to designate a line-of-sight guidance location, Only notification that the line-of-sight guidance should be performed may be performed.

  Reference is again made to FIG. The navigation device 10 includes a vehicle position detection unit (vehicle position detection unit) 11 and a road information detection unit (road shape detection unit) 12. The vehicle position detection unit 11 detects the position of the host vehicle, receives a radio wave from a GPS satellite, and calculates and determines the position of the host vehicle according to the received radio wave. The vehicle position detection unit 11 may obtain the position of the own vehicle by autonomous navigation, or may obtain the position of the own vehicle by using a radio wave from a GPS satellite and autonomous navigation. . The road information detection unit 12 detects a road shape ahead of the host vehicle. The general navigation device 10 stores a road shape on a recording medium such as a DVD, or can receive information on the road shape around the host vehicle through communication. The road information detection unit 12 detects the road shape ahead of the host vehicle from such stored information and information obtained by communication.

  The line-of-sight guidance timing calculation device 20 includes a control start reference point calculation unit (route estimation unit, tangent calculation unit, travel line detection unit, angle calculation unit, reference point calculation unit) 21 and a line-of-sight guidance timing calculation unit 22. Yes. The control start reference point calculation unit 21 has five functions: a route estimation function, a tangent calculation function, a travel line detection function, an angle calculation function, and a reference point calculation function. These functions will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a route estimation function, a tangent calculation function, a travel line detection function, and an angle calculation function. FIG. 3 illustrates an example in which the vehicle travels in the order of a traveling path having a radius of curvature R, a traveling path having a relaxation curve for relaxing entry into the straight traveling path, and a straight traveling path. First, it is assumed that the vehicle is traveling along a curve having a radius of curvature R (see symbol a). At this time, the route estimation function estimates the travel route C of the host vehicle from the information on the vehicle position 201 detected by the vehicle position detection unit 11 and the information on the road shape detected by the road shape detection unit 12. . That is, the route estimation function estimates the travel route C based on the prediction that the host vehicle travels according to the road shape.

  Next, the tangent calculation function calculates the tangents 301 and 302 based on the information of the vehicle positions 201 and 202 on the travel route C estimated by the route estimation function and the road shape detected by the road shape detection unit 12. To do. At this time, the tangent calculation function calculates tangents 301 and 302 from the vehicle positions 201 and 202 toward the inside of the road.

  The travel line detection function detects the travel direction of the vehicle on the estimated travel route C as travel lines 401 and 402. The angle calculation function calculates angles 501 and 502 formed by the tangent lines 301 and 302 and the travel lines 401 and 402.

By the way, at the vehicle position 203, the curve travel on the travel path of the relaxation curve is approaching the final stage. In this case, the tangent calculation function determines that the tangent cannot be calculated from the information on the vehicle position 203 and the information on the road shape detected by the road shape detection unit 12. For this reason, the tangent calculation function temporarily connects the vehicle position 203 and a point P (a point on the travel route C) at a predetermined distance (for example, vehicle speed (m / s) × 1.2 m) on the front side of the vehicle position 203. The tangent 303 is calculated. The travel line detection function detects the travel direction at the vehicle position 203 as the travel line 403. Then, the angle calculation function calculates an angle 503 formed by the temporary tangent 303 and the travel line 403.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the principle of line-of-sight guidance. A description will be given by taking as an example a situation where a bat present at the initial position P1 reaches the target position P2. The bat is located at the initial position P1. For this reason, it seems that it is desirable to fly to the target position P2 on the straight line L1 connecting the positions P1 and P2. However, the bat does not fly on the straight line L1, but flies to the target position P2 so as to draw the curve C1.

  More specifically, the bat flies so as to reduce the distance while reducing the angle D formed by the straight lines L1 and L2, assuming a straight line L2 passing over the target position P2. In this way, the bat flies to the target position P2 so that the distance and the angle are synchronized. Then, regarding the flight as shown in FIG. 4, when the distance tau (Y) is set and the angle tau (X) is set, the relational expression tau (Y) = k × tau (X) is established.

  The above relational expression also applies to human perceptual characteristics when driving the vehicle. That is, the distance tau (Y) corresponds to the amount of movement of the line of sight of the person when driving the vehicle, and the angle tau (X) corresponds to the angles 501 and 502 described with reference to FIG. From such a theory, it is possible to obtain the optimum timing when the driver returns to the front from a state in which his / her line of sight is directed leftward or rightward with respect to the front during curve driving.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram showing angles obtained by the angle calculation function with respect to the vehicle position, where (a) shows the angle tau (X) and (b) shows the angle change rate tau (X) / dt. Yes. As shown in FIG. 5 (a), the angle tau (X) tends to decrease as the vehicle moves from a traveling path having a radius of curvature R to a straight path through a traveling path having a relaxation curve. The angle change rate tau (X) / dt is maximized on the travel path of the relaxation curve as shown in FIG. That is, in the traveling example shown in FIG. 3, the angle change rate tau (X) / dt becomes maximum at the vehicle position 202.

  Further, as described above, the line-of-sight movement amount tau (Y) is synchronized with the angle tau (X), and therefore when the angle change rate tau (X) / dt becomes maximum, the line-of-sight movement amount tau ( It is desirable that the rate of change of X) be maximized, and it is desirable for the driver to move the line of sight largely and return the line of sight to the front. Thus, from the above theory, the timing at which the driver returns the line of sight to the front can be obtained.

  FIG. 3 will be referred to again. The reference point calculation function calculates a point where the amount of change in angle calculated by the angle calculation function is the maximum as a reference point. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle position 202 is the reference point. This reference point is the timing at which the driver should return the line of sight to the front.

Reference is again made to FIG. The line-of-sight guidance timing calculation unit 22 calculates the line-of-sight guidance timing that can return the line of sight to the front when the driver should return the line of sight to the front. The stimulus presentation device 30 notifies the driver of the gaze guidance at the timing calculated by the gaze guidance timing calculation unit 22. More specifically, even when the stimulus presentation device 30 gives notification when the vehicle reaches the reference point (position 202 in FIG. 3), the operation of returning the line of sight to the front is performed past the reference point. It will be. Accordingly, the line-of-sight guidance timing calculation unit 22 is configured so that the notification by the stimulus presentation device 30 is executed before the vehicle reaches the reference point.
The notification timing of gaze guidance is calculated. Although the reaction speed varies depending on the person, the line-of-sight guidance timing calculation unit 22 performs the line-of-sight from a predetermined time (specifically 1.2 seconds) before the host vehicle reaches the reference point until the host vehicle reaches the reference point. The visual guidance notification timing is calculated so as to notify that guidance should be performed.

  Next, the processing of the control start reference point calculation unit 21 when the vehicle travels on the S-curve will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a tangent calculation function and an angle calculation function when the vehicle travels on an S-curve. As shown in FIG. 6, the S-shaped curve is composed of two continuous curves. The tangent calculation function and the angle calculation function are shown when the vehicle is traveling on the first curve (see vehicle position 204) and when the vehicle is traveling on the second curve (see vehicle position 206). The same process as described with reference to FIG.

However, when the vehicle exists at the position 205, a plurality of tangent lines 305a and 305b can be calculated. In this case, the tangent calculation function calculates a tangent 305b that goes to the inner side of the road closest to the vehicle position 205. In addition, the angle calculation function calculates an angle 504b formed by the tangent 305b to the inner side of the second closest road and the travel line 405. That is, in this case, the angle calculation function, and thus not to seek the angle 504a to the tangent 305a of the road inside close to the first and traveling line 405 do. Thereby, the gaze guidance device 1 is configured to perform more appropriate gaze guidance.

For example, a driver with high driving skill when traveling on an S-curve visually recognizes the inside of the first curve when entering the first curve. Then, the driver moves the line of sight from the inside of the first curve to the inside of the second curve when entering the second curve. Thus, a driver with high driving skill does not return his / her line of sight to the front when entering the second curve in the S-curve. Therefore, by calculating the angle 504b formed by the tangent 305b to the inner side of the second closest road and the travel line 405, the calculation of the angle also matches the visual tendency of those with high driving skills. Thus, it is possible to perform more appropriate gaze guidance.

  Reference is again made to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, in addition to the control start reference point calculation unit 21 and the line-of-sight guidance timing calculation unit 22, the line-of-sight guidance timing calculation unit 22 includes a driving result calculation unit (driving result calculation unit) 23, and a storage unit (memory). Means) 24 and a line-of-sight guidance timing search unit (timing search means) 25.

  The driving performance calculation unit 23 calculates driving performance according to the amount of left and right wobbling of the host vehicle. This driving performance calculation part 23 calculates | requires driving performance by making into a parameter | index the fluctuation | variation of steering speed. Specifically, the driving result calculation unit 23 calculates the interval between the reference point and the number m before and after the reference point from the reference point information calculated by the control start reference point calculation unit 21 and the vehicle position detection unit 11. The turning speed is calculated from the steering angle signal from the steering sensor or the like in this section. Then, the driving result calculation unit 23 determines that the driving result is better when the variation is smaller, using the standard deviation of the steering speed as an index.

  The storage unit 24 stores the driving performance in the past curve traveling and the timing when the notification indicating that the gaze guidance should be performed by the past stimulus presentation device 30 is associated with each other. The storage unit 24 stores an eye-gaze guidance timing of 0 seconds (that is, notification at a reference point) and a driving performance value 100 (a sufficiently large driving performance value) as initial values.

The line-of-sight guidance timing search unit 25 searches for the notification timing based on the driving performance stored in the storage unit 24. The line-of-sight guidance timing search unit 25 sets the line-of-sight guidance timing to 0 seconds when there is no curve running record. Thereafter, the line-of-sight guidance timing search unit 25 shifts the line-of-sight guidance timing from 0 seconds, for example, by 0.1 seconds for each curve travel (that is, reference point −0.1n (n is a positive integer) × vehicle speed ( m / s) is shifted so as to be notified), and while referring to the recorded driving performance value, the line-of-sight guidance timing at which the driving performance is maximized is searched.

  In this way, the line-of-sight guidance timing search unit 25 searches for the line-of-sight guidance timing at which the driving performance is maximized. Therefore, the line-of-sight guidance timing calculation unit 22 refers to the reference point information and the search result to bring the line of sight to the front or the like. The return timing is calculated and the stimulus presentation device 30 is notified.

  Next, detailed processing of the line-of-sight guidance device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing detailed processing of the line-of-sight guidance device 1 according to the present embodiment, and shows processing when notification of the line-of-sight guidance timing is performed. First, as shown in FIG. 7, the vehicle position detection unit 11 detects the position of the host vehicle during curve driving (S1). Next, the road information detection unit 12 detects information on the road shape on the front side of the vehicle position (S2). These pieces of information are transmitted to the line-of-sight guidance timing calculation device 20.

  Next, the control start reference point calculation unit 21 estimates the travel route C as shown in FIG. 3 by the route estimation function (S3). Thereafter, the tangent calculation function determines a plurality of vehicle positions on the travel route C as sample positions (S4). Then, the tangent calculation function determines whether or not the tangent can be calculated at the first sample position among the plurality of sample positions (S5).

  When it is determined that the tangent can be calculated (S5: YES), the tangent calculation function determines whether a plurality of tangents can be calculated (S6). When it is determined that a plurality of tangent lines cannot be calculated (S6: NO), a first angle calculation process is executed (S7). That is, the tangent calculation function calculates a tangent from the vehicle position toward the inside of the road, and the travel line detection function detects the travel direction of the vehicle at the sample position as a travel line. Next, the angle calculation function calculates an angle formed by the tangent line and the travel line. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S10.

On the other hand, when it is determined that a plurality of tangents can be calculated (S6: YES), a second angle calculation process is executed (S8). That is, the tangent calculation function calculates the tangent to the second closest road inside, and the travel line detection function detects the travel direction of the vehicle at the sample position as the travel line. Next, the angle calculation function calculates the angle formed by the tangent to the second closest road inside and the travel line. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S10.

  By the way, when it is determined in step S5 that the tangent cannot be calculated (S5: NO), a third angle calculation process is executed (S9). That is, the tangent calculation function calculates a temporary tangent line connecting a predetermined distance ahead of the vehicle position from the vehicle position, and the travel line detection function detects the travel direction of the vehicle at the sample position as a travel line. Next, the angle calculation function calculates an angle formed by the temporary tangent and the travel line. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S10.

  In step S10, the control start reference point calculation unit 21 determines whether or not the angles have been calculated at all sample positions (S10). If it is determined that the angles have not been calculated at all sample positions (S10: NO), the process proceeds to step S4. And the process of step S4-S9 is performed about the following sample position.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the angles have been calculated at all the sample positions (S10: YES), the reference point calculation function calculates the amount of change in the angle (S11) and uses the vehicle position corresponding to the maximum value of the change as a reference. Calculated as a point (S12). Next, the gaze guidance timing calculation unit 22 determines the gaze guidance timing (S13). At this time, the line-of-sight guidance timing calculation unit 22 determines the line-of-sight guidance timing so as to be notified before reaching the reference point for a predetermined time, or uses the search result from the line-of-sight guidance timing search unit 25 To determine the induction timing. Then, the stimulus presentation device 30 performs notification according to the calculation result by the line-of-sight guidance timing calculation unit 22.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing detailed processing of the line-of-sight guidance device 1 according to the present embodiment, and shows processing such as calculation of driving results. First, when the vehicle approaches a curve, the driving result calculation unit 23 calculates the reference point from the reference point information calculated by the control start reference point calculation unit 21 and the vehicle position information from the vehicle position detection unit 11. A section between several meters before and after is obtained, and this section is determined as a driving performance calculation section (S21).

  Then, the driving result calculation unit 23 inputs a steering steering angle signal from a steering sensor or the like (S22), and calculates the driving result using the standard deviation of the turning speed as an index (S23). Next, the storage unit 24 stores the driving result calculated in step S23 in association with the information on the timing when the visual line guidance is actually notified during the curve travel (S24).

  Thus, according to the line-of-sight guidance device 1 according to the present embodiment, the angle formed by the tangent and the travel line is calculated, and the point where the amount of change in the angle is the maximum is set as the reference point, based on the reference point. Informs that gaze guidance should be performed. Here, human visual characteristics include a characteristic that reaches the target location by synchronizing the distance and angle from the current location to the target location. That is, the change in distance and the change in angle tend to be synchronized. When this is applied to a vehicle, the amount of line-of-sight movement from the vehicle position to the target location and the azimuth angle are synchronized. For this reason, it is desirable that the rate of change of the line-of-sight movement amount is maximized at the reference point where the angle between the tangent line and the travel line, that is, the amount of change in the azimuth angle is maximum, and the driver moves the line of sight. It can be said that this is the most suitable point (reference point). Therefore, by notifying the driver of the host vehicle that the line of sight should be guided based on the reference point, it is possible to suppress the variation in the steering operation when leaving the curve, that is, at the corner rising portion.

  If the tangent cannot be calculated, a temporary tangent connecting the vehicle position and a predetermined distance point ahead of the vehicle position is calculated, and an angle formed by the temporary tangent and the travel line is calculated. Here, depending on the shape of the curve, the tangent cannot be calculated near the end of the curve, and the reference point may not be calculated. Therefore, by obtaining the provisional tangent, the reference point can be calculated in such a case, and the variation in the steering operation can be suppressed.

Further, when a plurality of tangents can be calculated, a tangent that goes to the second closest road inside from the position of the host vehicle is calculated, and an angle formed by the tangent to the second closest road inside and the travel line is calculated. Here, a plurality of tangents can be calculated in the case of an S-curve or the like with continuous curves. And those with high driving skills tend to visually recognize the inside of the next curve when leaving the first curve. For this reason, as for the calculation of the angle, it is possible to perform more appropriate line-of-sight guidance by matching the tendency of visual recognition with a high driving skill.

  In addition, a notification that the line-of-sight guidance should be performed from a predetermined time before the host vehicle reaches the reference point until the host vehicle reaches the reference point is issued. Actually, the driver can perform the steering operation simultaneously with changing the line of sight, and tends to perform the steering operation after changing the line of sight. For this reason, by performing the line-of-sight guidance before reaching the reference point, it is possible to actually perform the steering operation when the reference point is reached, and to suppress variations in the steering operation.

  Further, the driving result and the timing at which the notification that the line-of-sight guidance should be performed are stored in association with each other, and the notification timing is searched based on the stored driving result. For this reason, it is possible to search for an optimum timing at which the driver can perform the line-of-sight guidance at the reference point, and the variation in the steering operation can be further suppressed.

  Next, a second embodiment of the invention will be described. The line-of-sight guidance device 2 according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, but the configuration and the like are partially different. Only differences from the first embodiment will be described below.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating the line-of-sight guidance device 2 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the line-of-sight guidance device 2 according to the second embodiment newly includes an imaging device (imaging means) 40. In addition, the line-of-sight guidance timing calculation device 20 newly includes a face direction detection unit (face direction detection unit) 26 and an intrinsic reaction time calculation unit (inherent reaction time calculation unit) 27.

  The image pickup device 40 picks up an image of the driver's face. For example, the image pickup device 40 is provided on the top of the instrument panel, but is constituted by a CCD camera. The face orientation detection unit 26 detects the orientation of the driver's face imaged by the imaging device 40. The face direction detection unit 26 calculates the posture angle of the driver's head by various methods such as the degree of coincidence with the sample of the driver's face, and detects the face direction.

  The intrinsic reaction time calculation unit 27 calculates the intrinsic reaction time from when the change in the driver's face direction is detected by the face direction detection unit 26 until the steering operation is performed. Here, the inventors examined the relationship between the head yaw rate and the steering angle when the driver is driving in a curve, and obtained an experimental result that the head always moves ahead of the steering angle. That is, the driver performs a steering operation after moving the head. It was also found that the time from moving the head to performing the steering operation tends to decrease as the driving skill increases. The intrinsic reaction time calculation unit 27 calculates the intrinsic reaction time from the change in the driver's head (face orientation) until the steering operation is performed.

  Further, the line-of-sight guidance timing calculation unit 22 inputs information on the reference point calculated by the control start reference point calculation unit 21 and the intrinsic reaction time calculated by the intrinsic reaction time calculation unit 27, so that the vehicle becomes the reference point. The notification timing is calculated so that the gaze guidance is performed before the reaching intrinsic reaction time.

  In addition, about the process at the time of performing notification of a gaze guidance timing in 2nd Embodiment, it is the same as that of what was shown in FIG.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing detailed processing of the line-of-sight guidance device 2 according to the second embodiment, and shows processing such as calculation of intrinsic reaction time. As illustrated in FIG. 10, the face direction detection unit 26 detects the face direction from the driver's face image captured by the imaging device 40 (S <b> 31). Next, the face orientation detection unit 26 compares the face orientation detected in the previous step S21 with the face orientation detected in the current step S21, and determines whether or not the face orientation has changed. (S32).

  If it is determined that the face orientation has not changed (S32: NO), the process proceeds to step S31. On the other hand, when it is determined that the face orientation has changed (S32: YES), the intrinsic reaction time calculator 27 measures the intrinsic reaction time (S33). At this time, the intrinsic reaction time calculation unit 27 measures the time from when the face direction changes until the steering operation is confirmed by the steering angle signal, and this is used as the intrinsic reaction time.

  In addition, the intrinsic reaction time calculation unit 27 determines that the change in the face direction is not simply accompanied by a steering operation when a certain time (for example, a time of 2 seconds or more) has elapsed since the change in the face direction. Then, the process may move to step S31.

  And the intrinsic reaction time calculating part 27 will memorize | store this, if intrinsic reaction time is calculated (S34). Thereafter, the process shown in FIG. 10 ends.

  In this way, according to the line-of-sight guidance device 2 according to the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to suppress the variation in the steering operation when exiting the curve, that is, at the corner rising portion.

  Furthermore, according to the second embodiment, the intrinsic reaction time from the detection of the change in the driver's face direction to the steering operation is calculated, and the line of sight is obtained before the intrinsic reaction time when the host vehicle reaches the reference point. Announces that guidance should be given. Here, the driver tends to change the orientation of the face before performing the steering operation. In addition, the time from the steering operation to the change in face orientation is specific to the driver. Therefore, the intrinsic reaction time is calculated, and notification that the line of sight should be guided before the intrinsic reaction time when the host vehicle reaches the reference point is performed. As a result, the steering operation is performed at the reference point, and variations in the steering operation can be further suppressed.

  As described above, the present invention has been described based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the embodiments may be combined. It may be.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2 ... Line-of-sight guidance apparatus 10 ... Navigation apparatus 11 ... Vehicle position detection part (vehicle position detection means)
12 ... Road information detection part (road information detection means)
20 ... Gaze guidance timing calculation device 21 ... Control start reference point calculation unit (route estimation means, tangent calculation means, travel line detection means, angle calculation means, reference point calculation means)
22 ... Gaze guidance timing calculation unit 23 ... Driving result calculation unit (driving result calculation means)
24. Storage unit (storage means)
25 ... Gaze guidance timing search unit (timing search means)
26: Face orientation detection unit (face orientation detection means)
27 ... Inherent reaction time calculation unit (inherent reaction time calculation means)

Claims (6)

Vehicle position detecting means for detecting the position of the host vehicle;
Road shape detection means for detecting the road shape ahead of the host vehicle;
A route estimation unit for estimating a travel route of the host vehicle from the vehicle position detected by the vehicle position detection unit and the road shape detected by the road shape detection unit when the host vehicle travels in a curve;
Tangent calculating means for calculating a tangent toward the inside of the road detected by the road shape detecting means from the vehicle position in the travel route estimated by the route estimating means;
Travel line detection means for detecting the travel direction of the vehicle on the travel route estimated by the route estimation means as a travel line;
An angle calculating means for calculating an angle formed by the tangent calculated by the tangent calculating means and the travel line detected by the travel line detecting means;
Reference point calculation means for calculating, as a reference point, a point where the amount of change in angle calculated by the angle calculation means is maximum;
Based on the reference point calculated by the reference point calculation means, notification means for informing the driver of the host vehicle that the line of sight should be guided;
A line-of-sight guidance device comprising: When the tangent calculation unit cannot calculate the tangent, the tangent calculation unit calculates a temporary tangent that connects the vehicle position on the travel route estimated by the route estimation unit and a predetermined distance point on the vehicle position front side;
The line-of-sight guidance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the angle calculation unit calculates an angle formed by the temporary tangent calculated by the tangent calculation unit and the travel line detected by the travel line detection unit. . The route estimation means estimates the travel route of the host vehicle when traveling on an S-shaped curve composed of two continuous curves,
The tangent calculating means calculates a tangent toward the inside of the curve that is second closest from the position of the host vehicle when a plurality of tangents toward the inside of the curve can be calculated.
The angle calculating means includes a tangent to the inner curve second closest to the, according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that to calculate the traveling line and the angle formed, which is detected by the running line detecting means The line-of-sight guidance device according to any one of the above. The notification means performs notification that the line of sight should be guided from a predetermined time before the host vehicle reaches the reference point until the host vehicle reaches the reference point. Item 4. The line-of-sight guidance device according to any one of items 3 to 3. Driving performance calculation means for calculating driving performance according to the amount of left and right wobbling of the host vehicle;
Storage means for storing the driving result calculated by the driving result calculating means and the timing when the notification means that the gaze guidance should be performed is performed in association with each other;
Timing search means for searching for notification timing based on the driving results stored by the storage means;
The line-of-sight guidance device according to claim 4, further comprising: Imaging means for imaging the driver's face;
Face orientation detection means for detecting the orientation of the driver's face imaged by the imaging means;
Intrinsic reaction time calculation means for calculating an intrinsic reaction time from when a change in the direction of the driver's face is detected by the face orientation detection means to when a steering operation is performed, and
The line-of-sight guidance apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the notification unit performs notification that the line-of-sight guidance should be performed before the own reaction time when the host vehicle reaches the reference point.

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