JP7333254B2 - Occupant state determination method and occupant state determination device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an occupant condition determination method and an occupant condition determination device.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, there has been known an invention that performs vehicle control according to driver anxiety when switching driving modes (manual driving and automatic driving) (Patent Document 1). The invention described in Patent Document 1 determines whether or not the degree of anxiety of the driver exceeds a threshold, and switches the driving mode when it is determined that the threshold is not exceeded.

Patent No. 6287728

The invention described in Patent Document 1 determines the degree of anxiety of the driver using the detection result of the brain activity sensor. However, the invention described in Patent Document 1 needs to detect the activity of the entire brain, and brain activity sensors are arranged over the entire brain of the driver. Such an arrangement may increase the burden on the driver.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to provide an occupant state determination method and occupant state determination apparatus capable of determining the occupant state without detecting the activity of the entire brain. be.

An occupant state determination method according to an aspect of the present invention detects the left and right activity amounts of the occupant's prefrontal cortex, detects the driving state of the vehicle, and based on the left and right activity amounts of the occupant's prefrontal cortex and the driving state, Determine the condition of the occupants. The driving state includes a manual driving state in which the occupant performs at least two operations among operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration, and a state in which at least two operations among the operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration are performed automatically. Including automated driving conditions that take place in When the amount of activity in the right side of the prefrontal cortex is greater than a predetermined value and the driving state is the automatic driving state, the state of the occupant is that the occupant is conscious of the environment outside the vehicle, but the state of the vehicle is It is determined that the occupant's consciousness toward the elements necessary for driving among the elements in the external environment is lowered compared to the consciousness during the manual driving state.
An occupant state determination method according to another aspect of the present invention detects the left and right activity amounts of the occupant's prefrontal cortex, detects the driving state of the vehicle, and detects the left and right activity amounts of the occupant's prefrontal cortex and the driving state. to determine the condition of the occupant. The driving state includes a manual driving state in which the occupant performs at least two operations among operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration, and a state in which at least two operations among the operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration are performed automatically. Including automated driving conditions that take place in When the amount of activity in the left side of the prefrontal cortex is greater than a predetermined value and the driving state is the automatic driving state, it is determined that the occupant is not conscious of the environment outside the vehicle. do.
An occupant state determination device according to another aspect of the present invention includes sensors attached to the head of the occupant for detecting amounts of left and right activity of the occupant's prefrontal cortex, and the prefrontal cortex detected by the sensor. and a controller that acquires the amount of activity on the left and right of the. The controller detects the driving state of the vehicle and determines the occupant's state based on the amount of left and right activity of the prefrontal cortex and the driving state. The driving state includes a manual driving state in which the occupant performs at least two operations among operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration, and a state in which at least two operations among the operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration are performed automatically. Including automated driving conditions that take place in When the amount of activity in the right side of the prefrontal cortex is greater than a predetermined value and the driving state is the automatic driving state, the controller determines that the occupant is conscious of the environment outside the vehicle. , it is determined that the occupant's consciousness toward the elements necessary for driving among the elements in the environment outside the vehicle is lowered compared to the consciousness during the manual driving state.
An occupant state determination device according to another aspect of the present invention includes sensors attached to the head of the occupant for detecting amounts of left and right activity of the occupant's prefrontal cortex, and the prefrontal cortex detected by the sensor. and a controller that acquires the amount of activity on the left and right of the. The controller detects the driving state of the vehicle and determines the occupant's state based on the amount of left and right activity of the prefrontal cortex and the driving state. The driving state includes a manual driving state in which the occupant performs at least two operations among operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration, and a state in which at least two operations among the operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration are performed automatically. Including automated driving conditions that take place in When the amount of activity in the left side of the prefrontal cortex is greater than a predetermined value and the driving state is the automatic driving state, the controller determines the state of the occupant as the state in which the occupant is not conscious of the environment outside the vehicle. We judge that it is.

According to the present invention, it is possible to determine the passenger's condition without detecting the activity of the entire brain.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an occupant condition determination device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram explaining the prefrontal cortex. FIG. 3 is a top view of the prefrontal cortex. FIG. 4 shows activation of the right side of the prefrontal cortex. FIG. 5 shows activation of the left side of the prefrontal cortex. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the activation of the prefrontal cortex, the state of the occupant, and the driving state. FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating an operation example of the occupant condition determination device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating an operation example of the occupant condition determination device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

(Configuration example of occupant state determination device)
A configuration example of an occupant state determination device will be described with reference to FIG. The occupant state determination device is mounted on the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the occupant state determination device 1 includes a brain activity detector 10 , a brain activity database 11 , a controller 20 , a display 30 and a speaker 31 .

The brain activity detection unit 10 detects the amount of brain activity of an occupant (mainly a driver) riding in the vehicle. The brain activity detection unit 10 is, for example, a probe (sensor) attached to the head of the passenger. A probe attached to the occupant's head detects the amount of occupant brain activity.

The amount of cerebral activity means, for example, cerebral blood flow, electroencephalogram, and magnetoencephalography. The cerebral blood flow, electroencephalogram, and magnetoencephalography may be defined as the amount of brain activity alone or in combination as the amount of brain activity. Magnetoencephalography means the magnetic field produced by the electrical activity of the brain. In this embodiment, the amount of brain activity is described as the amount of blood flow in the brain, but it is not limited to this as described above. The probe uses weak near-infrared light to measure changes in blood flow in the brain. Such a measurement method is also called a near-infrared brain function measurement method. Details are described in the following document (https://unit.aist.go.jp/hiri/hi-neuro/fNIRS.html).

In this embodiment, the brain activity detector 10 detects the amount of activity in the prefrontal cortex among a plurality of brain regions. Details of the prefrontal cortex will be described later.

The brain activity database 11 is stored in a storage device (not shown). The brain activity database 11 cumulatively stores data on blood flow in the brain (prefrontal cortex) of each passenger. Specifically, the state of the occupant and the state of the vehicle are associated with the blood flow rate, and this correspondence data is cumulatively stored.

The controller 20 is a general-purpose microcomputer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), memory, and an input/output unit. A computer program is installed in the microcomputer to function as an operation prediction device. By executing the computer program, the microcomputer functions as a plurality of information processing circuits provided in the occupant condition determination device 1. FIG. Here, an example of realizing a plurality of information processing circuits provided in the occupant state determination device 1 by software is shown. It is also possible to construct a processing circuit. Also, a plurality of information processing circuits may be configured by individual hardware. The controller 20 includes a brain activity analysis section 21, a driving state detection section 22, an occupant state determination section 23, and a driving support control section 24 as a plurality of information processing circuits.

The brain activity analysis unit 21 analyzes the blood flow in the prefrontal cortex detected by the brain activity detection unit 10 . Specifically, the brain activity analysis unit 21 determines whether or not the blood flow in the prefrontal cortex is greater than a predetermined value. Based on this determination result, the brain activity analysis unit 21 determines activation of the prefrontal cortex. Activation of the prefrontal cortex means activation of the prefrontal cortex. When the blood flow rate in the prefrontal cortex is greater than a predetermined value, the brain activity analysis unit 21 determines that the prefrontal cortex is activated.

The driving state detection unit 22 detects whether the driving state of the vehicle is a manual driving state or an automatic driving state. It is assumed that the vehicle in this embodiment has an automatic driving function. In this embodiment, the manual driving state refers to a state in which the occupant is performing all of the operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration. In other words, the manual driving state means a state in which the driver is gripping and operating the steering wheel and operating the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal. Automatic operation level 0 corresponds to the manual operation state.

Note that the definition of the manual operation state is not limited to the above. The manual driving state may be defined as a state in which the occupant is performing at least two operations among operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration. In this case, among operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration, operations not performed by the passenger are automatically performed. In other words, the automatic driving level 1 may also be included in the manual driving state. In automatic braking at level 1 of automatic driving, the driver operates at least acceleration and steering, but the system automatically operates deceleration. Note that level 1 of automatic operation may not be included in the manual operation state.

In this embodiment, the automatic driving state refers to a state in which at least two operations among operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration are automatically performed, and the remaining operations are performed by the occupant. However, the definition of the automatic driving state is not limited to this. The automatic driving state may be defined as a state in which all operations among operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration are automatically performed. In other words, the automatic driving state in this embodiment corresponds to levels 2 to 4 of automatic driving. However, the automated driving state may be defined as not corresponding to level 2 of automated driving but only to levels 3 and 4. Level 5, which is called fully automatic driving, does not correspond to the automatic driving state in this embodiment. The reason is that there is little need to judge the state of the occupants in fully automated driving.

The occupant state determination unit 23 refers to the brain activity database 11 using the analysis result of the brain activity analysis unit 21 and the detection result of the driving state detection unit 22 to determine the occupant state.

The driving support control unit 24 performs driving support for reducing the driving burden on the passenger based on the determination result of the passenger state determination unit 23 . Alternatively, the driving assistance control unit 24 performs driving assistance for making the driving action more agile.

The display 30 is a device that is installed inside the vehicle and displays various types of information.

The speaker 31 is a device that is installed in the interior of the vehicle and outputs sound to convey various types of information to the occupants.

Next, the prefrontal cortex will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, the human brain is classified into frontal lobe 40, parietal lobe 41, occipital lobe 42, and temporal lobe 43. FIG. Note that the classification shown in FIG. 2 is a simplified classification of a part of the brain.

A region located in front of the frontal lobe 40 is called a prefrontal cortex 50 . That is, the prefrontal cortex 50 is part of the frontal lobe 40 . However, the prefrontal cortex itself is sometimes called the frontal lobe. The prefrontal cortex 50 receives input from the posterior association areas such as the temporal association area and the parietal association area, and collects information that has undergone high-order processing regarding many sensory stimuli. It also receives fiber connections from the limbic system, such as the thalamus, cingulate gyrus, hippocampus, and amygdala centered on the dorsomedial nucleus, the hypothalamus, and the mesencephalic reticular formation, providing information on motivation and arousal. There is also an input of

The human brain is divided into right brain and left brain. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the prefrontal cortex 50 is also classified into a prefrontal cortex 51 located in the right brain and a prefrontal cortex 52 located in the left brain. The brain activity detector 10 (probe) is attached to the surface of the skin corresponding to the prefrontal cortices 51 and 52 of the occupant and detects the amount of activity in the prefrontal cortices 51 and 52, respectively.

Psychological findings show that the left brain has positive emotions and the right brain has negative emotions.

(Occupant status)
Next, the relationship between the amount of activity (cerebral blood flow) in the prefrontal cortex 51 and 52, the driving state of the vehicle, and the state of the occupant will be described with reference to FIGS.

In order to verify the relationship between the cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex 51 and 52, the driving state of the vehicle, and the state of the occupants, the inventors conducted two tests, a dual task simulating automatic driving and a manual driving test. Ta. Two tests were performed with the following procedures. First, the brain activity detector 10 is attached to the surface of the skin corresponding to the prefrontal areas 51 and 52 of a plurality of subjects. Next, the cerebral blood flow in the initial state is detected for comparison. Initial state means the state before the two tests are performed.

In a dual-task test that simulated automated driving, monitoring of automated driving was simulated as monitoring of changes in numbers displayed in the center of the display. The change in the number was counted up one by one from 0 to 9, and the case of randomly counting up by two was detected as an abnormality. As a second task, which was performed at the same time as this monitoring task, during the monitoring of the autonomous driving, the animal's name was heard in order from the speaker to indicate that the consciousness was focused on different events unrelated to driving monitoring. A task (memory task) was performed to answer by pressing a button on the display whether or not it was included in the Supplement the memory task. In the memory task, the names of animals are played one after another from a loudspeaker. Specifically, they are dogs, cats, monkeys, tigers, lions, bears, and so on. Then, finally, the passenger is asked, "Was ○○ included?" In addition, the name of the animal included in ○○ is arbitrary. A crew member presses a YES button or a NO button in response to a question. A YES button and a NO button are virtual buttons displayed on the display.

Next, in manual driving, tests were conducted under two conditions, one in which the driver felt that driving was fun, and another in which the driver felt that driving was not fun.

Such tests were conducted to observe changes in cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex 51,52. In addition, a hearing was conducted with the occupants regarding their condition during manual operation. As a result, the following findings were obtained.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, when the cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex 51 (right side) is greater than a predetermined value and the driving state is a manual driving state, the driver feels that driving is not fun. It turns out that there is

That the cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex 51 (right side) is greater than a predetermined value means that the cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex 51 (right side) is activated (activated), as shown in FIG. Note that the predetermined value may be a value in the initial state or a predetermined value.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex 52 (left side) is greater than a predetermined value and the driving state is manual driving, the driver feels that driving is fun. It turns out that That the cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex 52 (left side) is greater than a predetermined value means that the cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex 52 (left side) is activated, as shown in FIG.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, when the cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex 51 (right side) is greater than a predetermined value and the driving state is automatic driving, the state of the occupant is the environment outside the vehicle. However, it was found that the awareness of the elements necessary for driving among the elements in the environment outside the vehicle is lower than that in the manual driving state.

The environment outside the vehicle will now be described. The environment outside the vehicle means the scene outside the vehicle seen by the occupants through the windshield, side windows and rear windows. Such scenes include both non-driving and drivable elements. Elements unnecessary for driving include, for example, the sky and clouds. The elements necessary for driving include, for example, preceding vehicles, pedestrians crossing the pedestrian crossing, traffic lights, road surface conditions (puddles, fallen objects), and the like. It should be noted that the environment outside the vehicle may also include the scenery reflected in the side mirrors and rearview mirrors.

Being aware of the environment outside the vehicle means that the occupant is looking at the sky and clouds, or the occupant is looking at the preceding vehicle, pedestrians, traffic lights, and road conditions.

The state in which the driver's awareness of the environment outside the vehicle is directed, but the awareness of the elements necessary for driving among the elements in the environment outside the vehicle is lower than in the manual driving state is defined as follows. means that This means that the occupants can see the sky, clouds, etc., which are unnecessary elements for driving, but hardly see the preceding vehicles, pedestrians, etc., which are necessary elements for driving.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex 52 (left side) is greater than a predetermined value and the driving state is the automatic driving state, the occupant is considered to be aware of the environment outside the vehicle. It turned out that it was not suitable.

A state in which the occupant is not conscious of the environment outside the vehicle means a state in which the occupant is not looking at the outside of the vehicle and is concentrating on the inside of the vehicle. The state in which the consciousness is concentrated inside the vehicle means that the passenger is reading a book or operating a smartphone.

(driving support)
Next, the driving assistance that is performed based on the determination result of the occupant state determination unit 23 will be described.

For example, although the occupants are conscious of the environment outside the vehicle, their awareness of the elements necessary for driving among the elements of the environment outside the vehicle is lower than in the manual driving state. Assume that it is determined that the In this case, the driving support control unit 24 calls the driver's attention so that the driver's awareness is directed to the elements necessary for driving. For example, the driving support control unit 24 causes the display 30 to display "Watch out for vehicles in front", "Watch out for pedestrians on the right front", and "Watch out for traffic lights as you are approaching an intersection". , and other information. Alternatively, the driving support control unit 24 may use the speaker 31 to convey the above caution to the passenger by voice. As a result, the occupant's awareness is directed to elements necessary for driving, which contributes to safe driving. It also enables a smooth transition from automatic to manual operation.

Also, it is assumed that it is determined that the occupant is not conscious of the environment outside the vehicle. In this case, the driving support control unit 24 calls the occupant's attention to the environment outside the vehicle. For example, the driving support control unit 24 displays information such as "Please look ahead" and "Please do not look away" on the display 30. FIG. Alternatively, the driving support control unit 24 may use the speaker 31 to convey the above caution to the passenger by voice. As a result, the occupant's awareness is directed to the environment outside the vehicle, which contributes to safe driving. It also enables a smooth transition from automatic to manual operation.

Also, it is assumed that it is determined that the occupant does not enjoy driving. In this case, the driving support control unit 24 lowers the level of responsiveness of predetermined devices mounted on the vehicle below a predetermined level, or raises the level of the driving support function of the vehicle above a predetermined level. The predetermined device is, for example, a steering wheel. By lowering the level of responsiveness of the steering wheel below a predetermined level, the occupant is able to pay less attention to the behavior of the steering wheel. This contributes to reducing the driving burden on the passenger. The driving support function of the vehicle is, for example, lane keep assist. By raising the level of the lane keep assist beyond a predetermined level, the passenger can keep the lane with less burden. That is, the driving burden on the passenger is reduced.

Also, it is assumed that it is determined that the occupant enjoys driving. In this case, the driving support control unit 24 raises the level of responsiveness of predetermined devices mounted on the vehicle above a predetermined level, or lowers the level of the driving support function of the vehicle below a predetermined level. The predetermined device is, for example, a steering wheel. By raising the responsiveness level of the steering wheel above a predetermined level, the vehicle responds quickly to the driver's operation, so that the driver can enjoy driving even more. The driving support function of the vehicle is, for example, lane keep assist. By lowering the level of lane keep assist below a predetermined level, the degree of intervention by the system is lowered, so that the occupant can enjoy driving even more.

Next, an operation example of the occupant condition determination device 1 will be described with reference to the flow charts of FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG.

In step S101, the brain activity detector 10 is attached to the surface of the skin corresponding to the prefrontal cortex 51, 52 of the occupant. The brain activity detection unit 10 detects the amount of activity in the prefrontal cortex 51, 52 (left and right of the prefrontal cortex) of the occupant. The detected amount of activity is output to brain activity analysis section 21 . The brain activity analysis unit 21 determines whether or not the acquired amount of activity is greater than a predetermined value. If the amount of activity in the prefrontal cortex 51 (right side) is higher than the predetermined value (YES in step S101), the process proceeds to step S103. On the other hand, if the amount of activity in the prefrontal cortex 51 (right side) is equal to or less than the predetermined value (NO in step S101), the process proceeds to step S109.

In step S103, the driving state detection unit 22 detects whether the driving state of the vehicle is a manual driving state or an automatic driving state. If the operating state is the automatic operating state (NO in step S103), the process proceeds to step S105. On the other hand, if the operating state is the manual operating state (YES in step S103), the process proceeds to step S107.

In step S<b>105 , the occupant state determination unit 23 refers to the brain activity database 11 using the analysis result of the brain activity analysis unit 21 and the detection result of the driving state detection unit 22 to determine the occupant state. In step S105, the amount of activity in the prefrontal cortex 51 (right side) is greater than a predetermined value, and the driving state is the automatic driving state. For this reason, the occupant state determination unit 23 refers to the brain activity database 11 and determines that the occupant's state is conscious of the environment outside the vehicle. It is judged that the consciousness of the driver is in a state of being lowered compared to the consciousness during manual operation. This decision is defined as decision 1 in the flow chart.

In step S107, the amount of activity in the prefrontal cortex 51 (right side) is greater than a predetermined value, and the driving state is the manual driving state. Therefore, the occupant state determination unit 23 refers to the brain activity database 11 and determines that the occupant does not enjoy driving. This decision is defined as decision 3 in the flowchart.

In step S109, if the amount of activity in the prefrontal cortex 52 (left side) is higher than the predetermined value (YES in step S109), the process proceeds to step S111. On the other hand, if the amount of activity in the prefrontal cortex 52 (left side) is less than or equal to the predetermined value (NO in step S109), the process returns to step S101.

In step S111, when the driving state is the automatic driving state (NO in step S111), the process proceeds to step S113. On the other hand, if the operating state is the manual operating state (YES in step S111), the process proceeds to step S115.

In step S113, the amount of activity in the prefrontal cortex 52 (left side) is greater than a predetermined value, and the driving state is the automatic driving state. Therefore, the occupant state determination unit 23 refers to the brain activity database 11 and determines that the occupant is not conscious of the environment outside the vehicle. This judgment is defined as judgment 2 in the flow chart.

In step S115, the amount of activity in the prefrontal cortex 52 (left side) is greater than a predetermined value, and the driving state is the manual driving state. Therefore, the occupant state determination unit 23 refers to the brain activity database 11 and determines that the occupant feels that driving is fun. This judgment is defined as judgment 4 in the flow chart.

The process proceeds to step S117, and the driving support control unit 24 performs control for reducing the driving burden on the occupant based on the determination result of the occupant state determination unit 23, and control for making the driving action more agile. to do If the determination result by the occupant state determination unit 23 is determination 1 (YES in step S117), the process proceeds to step S119, and the driving support control unit 24 uses the display 30 and the speaker 31 to determine whether the occupant's awareness is necessary for driving. Remind the occupant to face the element of interest.

On the other hand, if the determination result by the occupant state determination unit 23 is not determination 1 (NO in step S117), the process proceeds to step S121. If the judgment result by the occupant state judgment unit 23 is judgment 2 (YES in step S121), the process proceeds to step S123, and the driving support control unit 24 uses the display 30 and the speaker 31 to determine whether the occupant is outside the vehicle. Remind the occupant to face the environment.

If the determination result by the occupant state determination unit 23 is neither determination 1 nor determination 2 (NO in step S121), the process proceeds to step S125. If the result of determination by the occupant state determination unit 23 is determination 3 (YES in step S125), the process proceeds to step S127, and the driving support control unit 24 sets the responsiveness level of the predetermined equipment mounted on the vehicle to the predetermined level. or raise the level of the driving support function of the vehicle from a predetermined level.

If the judgment result by the occupant state judging section 23 is not Judgment 1, Judgment 2, or Judgment 3 (NO in step S125), the process proceeds to step S129. A case where the determination result by the passenger state determination unit 23 is not determination 1, determination 2, or determination 3 means a case where the determination result by the passenger state determination unit 23 is determination 4. In step S129, the driving support control unit 24 increases the level of responsiveness of predetermined devices mounted on the vehicle above a predetermined level, or lowers the level of the driving support function of the vehicle below a predetermined level.

(Effect)
As described above, according to the occupant state determination device 1 according to the present embodiment, the following effects are obtained.

The brain activity detector 10 detects the amount of activity in the left and right prefrontal cortex 50 of the occupant. The driving state detector 22 detects the driving state of the vehicle. The occupant state determination unit 23 determines the occupant state based on the left and right activity amounts of the prefrontal cortex 50 and the driving state. Thus, the occupant condition determination device 1 can appropriately determine the occupant condition without detecting the activity of the entire brain of the occupant.

In the present embodiment, the driving state includes a manual driving state in which the occupant performs at least two operations among operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration, and a state in which at least two operations among operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration are performed. Including automatic driving state that is performed automatically. When the amount of activity in the right side of the prefrontal cortex 50 is greater than a predetermined value and the driving state is automatic driving, the occupant state determination unit 23 determines that the occupant is conscious of the environment outside the vehicle. It is determined that the occupant's consciousness toward the elements necessary for driving among the elements in the environment outside the vehicle is lowered compared to the consciousness during the manual driving state. As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to appropriately determine the state of the occupant during automatic driving without detecting the activity of the entire brain of the occupant.

When the amount of activity in the left side of the prefrontal cortex 50 is greater than the predetermined value and the driving state is automatic driving, the occupant state determination unit 23 determines that the occupant is not conscious of the environment outside the vehicle. state. As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to appropriately determine the state of the occupant during automatic driving without detecting the activity of the entire brain of the occupant.

When the amount of activity in the right side of the prefrontal cortex 50 is greater than the predetermined value and the driving state is manual driving, the occupant state determination unit 23 determines that the occupant is in a state in which they feel that driving is not enjoyable. I judge. As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to appropriately determine the state of the passenger during manual driving without detecting the activity of the passenger's entire brain.

Further, when the amount of activity in the left side of the prefrontal cortex 50 is greater than a predetermined value and the driving state is manual driving, the occupant state determination unit 23 determines that the occupant is in a state in which he or she enjoys driving. to decide. As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to appropriately determine the state of the passenger during manual driving without detecting the activity of the passenger's entire brain.

As for the state of the occupants, their awareness is directed to the environment outside the vehicle, but the occupants' awareness of the elements necessary for driving among the elements in the environment outside the vehicle is lower than in the manual driving state. If it is determined that the vehicle is in a state where the vehicle is in a state where the vehicle is in a state where the vehicle is being driven, the driving support control unit 24 uses the display 30 and the speaker 31 to call the driver's attention so that the driver's awareness is directed to the factors necessary for driving. As a result, the occupant's awareness is directed to elements necessary for driving, which contributes to safe driving. It also enables a smooth transition from automatic to manual operation.

When it is determined that the occupant is not conscious of the environment outside the vehicle, the driving support control unit 24 uses the display 30 and the speaker 31 to change the occupant's awareness of the environment outside the vehicle. Remind the occupant to face the environment. As a result, the occupant's awareness is directed to the environment outside the vehicle, which contributes to safe driving. It also enables a smooth transition from automatic to manual operation.

In addition, when it is determined that the driver is in a state in which they feel that driving is not enjoyable, the driving support control unit 24 lowers the level of responsiveness of predetermined devices mounted on the vehicle below a predetermined level. Alternatively, the level of the driving support function of the vehicle is raised above a predetermined level. As a result, the occupants can reduce their attention to the behavior of the steering wheel, and can achieve lane keeping with less burden. This reduces the driving burden on the passenger.

Further, when it is determined that the occupant is in a state where they feel that driving is fun, the driving support control unit 24 raises the level of responsiveness of predetermined equipment mounted on the vehicle from a predetermined level, or , lowering the level of the driving support function of the vehicle below a predetermined level. As a result, the vehicle responds quickly to the driver's operation, so that the driver can enjoy driving even more. Alternatively, since the degree of intervention by the system is low, the occupant can enjoy driving even more.

Each function described in the above embodiments may be implemented by one or more processing circuits. Processing circuitry includes programmed processing devices, such as processing devices that include electrical circuitry. Processing circuitry also includes devices such as application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and circuit components arranged to perform the described functions.

While embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the discussion and drawings forming part of this disclosure should not be construed as limiting the invention. Various alternative embodiments, implementations and operational techniques will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.

The driving assistance for reducing the driving burden on the passenger is not limited to the above. For example, the driving support control unit 24 may set the vehicle body to a state in which it is difficult for the vehicle body to tilt toward the inside of the corner during cornering. Driving assistance for making the driving action more agile is not limited to the above. For example, the driving support control unit 24 assumes that the vehicle body tends to lean toward the inside of the corner when cornering. good. Details are described in the following document (https://response.jp/article/2009/10/18/131015.html).

1 occupant state determination device 10 brain activity detection unit 11 brain activity database 20 controller 21 brain activity analysis unit 22 driving state detection unit 23 occupant state determination unit 24 driving support control unit 30 display 31 speaker 40 frontal lobe 41 parietal lobe 42 occipital lobe 43 side Head lobe 50 Prefrontal cortex 51 Prefrontal cortex (right side)
52 Prefrontal cortex (left side)

Claims (10)

An occupant condition determination method using an occupant condition determination device for determining the condition of an occupant in a vehicle,
Detecting the left and right activity amounts of the prefrontal cortex of the occupant,
detecting a driving state of the vehicle;
determining the state of the occupant based on the amount of left and right activity of the prefrontal cortex and the driving state ;
The driving state includes a manual driving state in which the occupant performs at least two operations among operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration, and a state in which at least two operations among the operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration are performed automatically. Including the automatic driving state that takes place in
When the amount of activity in the right side of the prefrontal cortex is greater than a predetermined value and the driving state is the automatic driving state, the state of the occupant is that the occupant is conscious of the environment outside the vehicle, but the state of the vehicle is It is determined that the occupant's consciousness toward the elements necessary for driving among the elements in the external environment is lowered compared to the consciousness during the manual driving state.
An occupant state determination method characterized by: An occupant condition determination method using an occupant condition determination device for determining the condition of an occupant in a vehicle,
Detecting the left and right activity amounts of the prefrontal cortex of the occupant,
detecting a driving state of the vehicle;
determining the state of the occupant based on the amount of left and right activity of the prefrontal cortex and the driving state;
The driving state includes a manual driving state in which the occupant performs at least two operations among operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration, and a state in which at least two operations among the operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration are performed automatically. Including the automatic driving state that takes place in
When the amount of activity in the left side of the prefrontal cortex is greater than a predetermined value and the driving state is the automatic driving state, it is determined that the occupant is not conscious of the environment outside the vehicle. An occupant state determination method characterized by: When the amount of activity in the right side of the prefrontal cortex is greater than a predetermined value and the driving state is the manual driving state, it is determined that the occupant is not enjoying driving. 3. The occupant state determination method according to claim 1 or 2 . When the amount of activity in the left side of the prefrontal cortex is greater than a predetermined value and the driving state is the manual driving state, it is determined that the occupant is in a state where driving is enjoyable. The passenger state determination method according to claim 1 or 2 . 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: prompting the occupant's attention so that the occupant's awareness is directed to the factors necessary for driving. 3. The occupant state determination method according to claim 2 , wherein the occupant's attention is urged so that the occupant's consciousness is directed toward the environment outside the vehicle. 4. The occupant condition determination according to claim 3 , wherein the level of responsiveness of predetermined devices mounted on the vehicle is lowered below a predetermined level, or the level of a driving support function of the vehicle is raised above a predetermined level. Method. 5. The occupant condition determination according to claim 4 , wherein the level of responsiveness of predetermined equipment mounted on the vehicle is increased above a predetermined level, or the level of a driving support function of the vehicle is decreased below a predetermined level. Method. An occupant condition determination device for determining the condition of an occupant on board a vehicle,
a sensor attached to the occupant's head and detecting the left and right activity amounts of the occupant's prefrontal cortex, respectively;
a controller that acquires the amount of activity on the left and right sides of the prefrontal cortex detected by the sensor;
The controller is
detecting a driving state of the vehicle;
determining the state of the occupant based on the amount of left and right activity of the prefrontal cortex and the driving state ;
The driving state includes a manual driving state in which the occupant performs at least two operations among operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration, and a state in which at least two operations among the operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration are performed automatically. Including the automatic driving state that takes place in
When the amount of activity in the right side of the prefrontal cortex is greater than a predetermined value and the driving state is the automatic driving state, the controller determines that the occupant is conscious of the environment outside the vehicle. , it is determined that the occupant's consciousness toward the elements necessary for driving among the elements in the environment outside the vehicle is lowered compared to the consciousness during the manual driving state.
An occupant state determination device characterized by: An occupant condition determination device for determining the condition of an occupant on board a vehicle,
a sensor attached to the occupant's head and detecting the left and right activity amounts of the occupant's prefrontal cortex, respectively;
a controller that acquires the amount of activity on the left and right sides of the prefrontal cortex detected by the sensor;
The controller is
detecting a driving state of the vehicle;
determining the state of the occupant based on the amount of left and right activity of the prefrontal cortex and the driving state;
The driving state includes a manual driving state in which the occupant performs at least two operations among operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration, and a state in which at least two operations among the operations related to acceleration, steering, and deceleration are performed automatically. Including the automatic driving state that takes place in
When the amount of activity in the left side of the prefrontal cortex is greater than a predetermined value and the driving state is the automatic driving state, the controller determines the state of the occupant as the state in which the occupant is not conscious of the environment outside the vehicle. determine that
An occupant state determination device characterized by:

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