WO2023119763A1 - Driver state estimation device - Google Patents

Abstract

A driver state estimation device (2) comprises: a thinking estimation unit (22) that estimates the degree of thinking by a driver on the basis of driver information, that is, information indicating outward physical characteristics of the driver and/or a state inside the body of the driver; and a thinking estimation value retaining unit (23) that retains change information, that is, information indicating changes in the degree of thinking over a certain period in the past. Additionally, the thinking estimation unit (22) estimates, from the degree of thinking on the basis of the change information, the degree to which the driver is thinking about driving and the degree to which the driver is thinking about things other than driving.

Description

Driver state estimation device

The present disclosure relates to a driver's state estimation device.

In Patent Document 1, microsaccade information including changes in line-of-sight angle when a microsaccade occurs is acquired, the state of a person to be monitored is estimated based on the microsaccade information, and the state of the driver is estimated. An attentiveness estimation system is disclosed that alerts in the event of an inattentive state.

In addition, in Patent Document 2, the number of TPs in the reference section is counted with a section of 3 minutes in which the vehicle is stable after entering the expressway as the reference section, and the normal state and the careless state are calculated based on the number of TPs. is set, and if the number of TPs in the past 3 minutes is smaller than the threshold, the driver's state is determined to be inattentive and an inattentive state determination device is disclosed.

JP 2015-116376 A JP 2013-192759 A

In Patent Document 1, if the estimated state of the monitored person is in a state of lack of attention, the monitored person may be thinking about driving. Also, in Patent Document 2, if the subject is in a careless state, the subject may be thinking about driving.

However, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, even if the driver is thinking about driving, there are cases where a warning is given to the monitored person and the driver who is the test subject. Therefore, there is a problem that the driver's feeling of anxiety and discomfort is increased.

Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a driver's state estimation device capable of suppressing an increase in driver's anxiety and discomfort.

A driver state estimating device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is based on driver information, which is information indicating physical characteristics of the driver's appearance and/or the internal body state of the driver. and an idea estimation value holding unit that holds transition information that is information indicating the transition of the degree of the thought during a predetermined period in the past, wherein the thought estimation unit is based on the transition information and estimating the degree of thinking about driving and the degree of thinking other than driving in the driver from the degree of thinking.

According to the driver state estimation device of the present disclosure, it is possible to suppress an increase in driver anxiety and discomfort.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the degree of thoughts related to driving and the degree of thoughts other than driving included in the thoughts of the driver. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the driver's state estimation device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a graph showing the relationship between the standard deviation of the line-of-sight angle and the degree of thinking of the driver. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing specific numerical values of the standard deviation of the line-of-sight angle and the degree of thinking. FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the standard deviation of the line-of-sight angle and the degree of thinking. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the degree of thoughtfulness of the driver over the past three days. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing operations when the driver's state estimation device according to Embodiment 1 calculates a reference value. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing processing operations when the driver's state estimation device according to Embodiment 1 determines whether or not to output a warning signal. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a driver's state estimation device according to Embodiment 2. As shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing operation when the driver's state estimation device according to Embodiment 2 calculates the reference value. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a driver's state estimation device according to the third embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing processing operations when the driver's state estimation device according to the third embodiment determines whether or not to output a warning signal. FIG. 13 is a correlation diagram showing the amount of change in the reference value when the driving environment is road conditions in the third embodiment. FIG. 14 is a correlation diagram showing the amount of change in the reference value when the driving environment is the current weather according to the third embodiment. FIG. 15 is a correlation diagram showing the amount of change in the reference value when the driving environment is time in the third embodiment. FIG. 16 is a correlation diagram showing the amount of change in the reference value when the driving environment is automatic driving in the third embodiment. FIG. 17 is a time-dependent change diagram of the degree of thinking when the reference value is low according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 18 is a time-dependent change diagram of the degree of thinking when the reference value is high in the fourth embodiment.

A driver state estimating device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is based on driver information, which is information indicating physical characteristics of the driver's appearance and/or the internal body state of the driver. and an idea estimation value holding unit that holds transition information that is information indicating the transition of the degree of the thought during a predetermined period in the past, wherein the thought estimation unit is based on the transition information and estimating the degree of thinking about driving and the degree of thinking other than driving in the driver from the degree of thinking.

According to this, based on the transition information, the degree of thinking about driving and the degree of thinking about things other than driving can be estimated from the degree of thinking of the driver. For example, when the degree of thinking about driving is large, it is possible not to output a warning to the driver.

Therefore, with this driver's state estimation device, it is possible to suppress an increase in driver's anxiety and discomfort. As a result, the driver can drive the vehicle with peace of mind.

In particular, a warning can be output to the driver when the degree of thinking other than driving is large. In this way, it is possible to determine whether or not to issue a warning to the driver, and to ensure safety when the driver drives the vehicle.

In the driver state estimation device according to an aspect of the present disclosure, the thinking estimation unit calculates a reference value based on the transition information, and determines whether the degree of thinking is in the range from 0 to the reference value. and the range in which the degree of thinking is greater than the reference value is estimated to be the degree of thinking other than driving.

According to this, since the reference value is calculated based on the transition information, it is possible to estimate the degree of thoughts related to driving and the degree of thoughts other than driving. If this is used to determine whether or not to issue a warning to the driver, it is possible to prevent an excessive warning from being issued. can.

In the driver state estimation device according to the aspect of the present disclosure, the thought estimating unit determines a threshold that is greater than the reference value by a predetermined value, and if the degree of thoughts other than driving exceeds the threshold, a warning signal to output

According to this, when the degree of thoughts other than driving exceeds a threshold, a warning signal is output, so it is possible to warn the driver. As a result, the driver realizes that he/she has been driving the vehicle in a careless state, and thus tries to concentrate on driving the vehicle. As a result, the driver's state estimation device can improve the safety of the vehicle driven by the driver.

In addition, even if the degree of thinking is high, if the degree of thinking other than driving is less than the threshold value, that is, if the degree of thinking about driving is high, the driver is not warned. Increase can be suppressed more.

In the driver state estimation device according to an aspect of the present disclosure, the thinking estimating unit estimates the degree of thinking other than driving by subtracting the reference value from the degree of thinking, and estimates the degree of thinking other than driving. If the degree of thought exceeds a predetermined threshold, output a warning signal.

Even in this case, the same effects as described above are achieved.

In the driver state estimation device according to an aspect of the present disclosure, the driver information includes line-of-sight angle, line-of-sight dwell time, gaze area, posture, pupil diameter, pulse, heartbeat, and skin electrode, which are obtained from the driver information acquisition unit. At least one of activity, blood hemoglobin concentration, and electroencephalogram, and the thought estimating unit calculates the line-of-sight angle, the line-of-sight dwell time, the gaze area, the posture, the pupil diameter, the pulse, the heartbeat, The level of thought is estimated based on variations in at least one of the electrodermal activity, the blood hemoglobin concentration, and the electroencephalogram over a past predetermined period.

According to this, equipment such as a camera sensor for detecting pupils, a steering grip sensor, a sensor for detecting the contact of the driver's torso with the seat cover, and a hemoglobin measuring device, which are pre-installed in the vehicle, can be used. , the driver information can be easily obtained.

Also, based on changes in at least one of the driver's line-of-sight angle, line-of-sight dwell time, gaze area, posture, pupil diameter, pulse, heartbeat, electrodermal activity, blood hemoglobin concentration, and electroencephalogram, during the past predetermined period , the degree of thinking is estimated, so that the accuracy of estimation can be further improved.

In the driver state estimation device according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the driver information acquisition unit outputs the personal identification information of the driver together with the driver information, and the thought estimation unit outputs the personal identification information Based on the transition information corresponding to , the degree of thinking about driving and the degree of thinking other than driving of the driver are estimated from the degree of thinking held by the thought estimated value holding unit.

According to this, since the thought estimated value holding unit holds the degree of thought for each driver, even when a plurality of drivers individually drive the same vehicle, the degree of thought related to driving according to the driver can be determined. The degree of thinking other than driving can be automatically estimated. Therefore, it is possible to estimate the degree of thinking about driving and the degree of thinking about things other than driving according to the driver. As a result, it is possible to further suppress an increase in each driver's sense of anxiety and discomfort.

A driver state estimation device according to an aspect of the present disclosure further includes a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires predetermined driving information that is information indicating that the driver has performed predetermined driving, and holds the thought estimated value. The unit retains the transition information when the predetermined driving information is not obtained from the vehicle information obtaining unit, and does not retain the transition information when the predetermined driving information is obtained from the vehicle information obtaining unit.

According to this, it is possible to maintain high-precision transition information by not storing, as transition information, an outlier, such as a brake reaction time of a predetermined time or longer, as predetermined driving information. Therefore, it is possible to accurately estimate the degree of thinking about driving and the degree of thinking other than driving. As a result, it is possible to further suppress an increase in each driver's sense of anxiety and discomfort.

A driver state estimation device according to an aspect of the present disclosure further includes a driving environment acquisition unit that acquires a driving environment of a vehicle driven by the driver, wherein the thought estimation unit acquires the driving environment from the driving environment acquisition unit. is obtained, and the reference value is adjusted such that if the obtained driving environment is simple, the reference value is decreased, and if the obtained driving environment is complicated, the reference value is increased.

For example, if the driving environment becomes simpler, the driver tends to think less about driving, and if the driving environment becomes more complex, the driver tends to think more about driving. Accordingly, in the present disclosure, the reference value can be raised or lowered according to the driving environment, so that the degree of thinking about driving and the degree of thinking about things other than driving can be estimated with higher accuracy. Therefore, even if the driving environment becomes simpler, the reference value is lowered, so that it is possible to suppress the problem that the warning is not output to the driver. Moreover, since the reference value is raised even if the driving environment becomes complicated, it is possible to prevent an excessive warning from being output to the driver.

In the driver's state estimation device according to an aspect of the present disclosure, the driving environment is at least one of road conditions that are conditions of the road on which the vehicle travels, current weather, time, and automatic driving state of the vehicle. is.

According to this, the reference value can be adjusted multilaterally according to at least one of the driving environment such as the road conditions, the current weather, the time of day, and the state of automatic driving. An alarm can be issued.

In the driver's state estimation device according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the predetermined value increases as the reference value decreases, and decreases as the reference value increases.

According to this, when the reference value is low, there is a tendency to concentrate on driving, so increasing the predetermined value reduces the possibility of false alarms. In addition, when the reference value is high, there is a tendency to think about things other than driving.

In the driver's state estimation device according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the threshold increases as the reference value decreases, and decreases as the reference value increases.

According to this, when the reference value is low, there is a tendency to concentrate on driving, so increasing the threshold reduces the possibility of false alarms. In addition, when the reference value is high, there is a tendency for people to think about things other than driving.

In the driver state estimation device according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the thought estimation unit outputs the degree of thought to the display unit over time.

According to this, it is possible to inform the driver of the current degree of thinking in real time, so it is possible to raise the driver's awareness of driving.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

It should be noted that the embodiments described below are all comprehensive or specific examples. Numerical values, shapes, components, arrangement positions and connection forms of components, steps, order of steps, and the like shown in the following embodiments are examples, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Further, among the constituent elements in the following embodiments, constituent elements not described in independent claims will be described as optional constituent elements.

In addition, each figure is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily strictly illustrated. Therefore, for example, scales and the like do not necessarily match in each drawing. Moreover, in each figure, the same code|symbol is attached|subjected about the substantially same structure, and the overlapping description is abbreviate|omitted or simplified.

(Embodiment 1)
<Overview>
When the driver is driving the vehicle, the driver may have some thoughts. Although there are various thoughts of the driver, they can be divided into thoughts related to driving and thoughts other than driving. The driver's thoughts, thoughts about driving, and thoughts other than driving are shown in degrees as shown in FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the degree of thoughts related to driving and the degree of thoughts other than driving included in the thoughts of the driver. In FIG. 1, the degree of thinking about driving is indicated by hatching with oblique lines, and the degree of thinking about things other than driving is indicated by hatching with diagonal grids.

As shown in FIG. 1, the case where the driver thinks about driving is, for example, the case where the driver drives the vehicle while paying attention. When the driver drives the vehicle carefully, for example, when the road is narrow, when the structure of the road is complicated, or when there are many obstacles such as people and equipment around the road. In other words, in a driving environment in which it is difficult for the driver to drive the vehicle, the driver drives the vehicle with caution.

　When the driver thinks about things other than driving, for example, when the driver can drive the vehicle without paying attention. When the driver can drive the vehicle without paying attention, for example, when the road is wide, when the structure of the road is simple, and when there are no obstacles such as people and equipment around the road. That is, in a driving environment in which it is easy for the driver to drive the vehicle, the driver drives the vehicle with a reduced degree of attention (thinking) regarding driving.

Also, in the case of driver A, driver A is a normal driver, and when driving a vehicle, the degree of thinking about driving and the degree of thinking about things other than driving are, for example, the same.

In the case of driver B, driver B is a good driver, and when driving a vehicle, the degree of thoughts other than driving tends to be greater than the degree of thoughts related to driving. In this case, the driver B is thinking about something other than driving and can be said to be in a careless state.

In the case of Driver C, since Driver C is not good at driving, the degree of thinking about driving tends to be greater than the degree of thinking about things other than driving. In this case, it can be said that the driver C is in a state of concentrating on driving, although the degree of thinking as a driver increases as a result.

In this way, the degree of thinking about driving varies depending on the driver's driving proficiency.

The driver state estimation device of the present embodiment estimates the degree of thoughts related to driving and the degree of thoughts other than driving from the degree of thoughts due to driving.

<Configuration and function>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the driver's state estimation device 2 according to Embodiment 1. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the driver's state estimation device 2 is a system that is used in a moving object such as the vehicle 1 and can estimate the degree of thinking of the driver who drives the vehicle 1 .

The driver's state estimation device 2 includes a driver information acquisition unit 10, a thought estimation unit 22, and a thought estimated value storage unit 23.

[Driver Information Acquisition Unit 10]
The driver information acquisition unit 10 acquires driver information and personal identification information.

Specifically, the driver information acquisition unit 10 has a sensor 11, an image analysis unit 12, and an estimated index calculation unit 13. The sensor 11 is a camera sensor capable of capturing an image of the driver per unit time. Although FIG. 2 exemplifies the case where the sensor 11 is a camera sensor, it is not limited to a camera sensor. The sensor 11 outputs the captured image of the driver to the image analysis unit 12 . The image analysis unit 12 analyzes the acquired image of the driver and extracts driver information such as the line-of-sight angle of the driver from the image for each unit time. The image analysis unit 12 outputs the extracted driver information to the estimated index calculation unit 13 . The estimated index calculator 13 calculates the average value and standard deviation of the driver information. The estimated index calculator 13 outputs the calculated result to the idea estimator 22 . That is, the driver information acquisition unit 10 outputs the personal identification information of the driver to the thought estimation unit 22 together with the driver information.

Here, the driver information is information indicating the external physical characteristics of the driver and/or the state of the driver's internal body. Specifically, the driver information includes the line-of-sight angle, line-of-sight retention time, gaze area, posture, pupil diameter, pulse, heart rate, electrodermal activity, blood hemoglobin concentration, and electroencephalogram obtained from the driver information acquisition unit 10. including at least one of

For example, when the driver information acquisition unit 10 acquires at least one of the line-of-sight angle, the line-of-sight retention time, the gaze region, and the pupil diameter, the driver information acquisition unit 10 captures the driver's eyes. includes camera sensors, etc., capable of

Further, when the driver information acquiring unit 10 acquires the posture of the driver, the driver information acquiring unit 10 uses a camera sensor capable of capturing an image of the driver and the contact of the driver's torso with the seat cover. It includes a sensor or the like that detects the

Further, when the driver information acquisition unit 10 acquires at least one of the driver's pulse and heartbeat, the driver information acquisition unit 10 includes a grip sensor that detects the driver's grip on the steering wheel, and It includes a sensor or the like that detects contact of the driver's torso with the seat cover.

Further, when the driver information acquisition unit 10 acquires the driver's electrodermal activity, the driver information acquisition unit 10 includes an electrodermal activity sensor or the like that detects the driver's skin resistance, skin impedance, or skin potential. there is

In addition, when the driver information acquisition unit 10 acquires the hemoglobin concentration in the driver's blood, the driver information acquisition unit 10 includes a hemoglobin measuring device or the like that detects the hemoglobin concentration in the driver's blood.

Also, when the driver information acquisition unit 10 acquires the brain waves of the driver, the driver information acquisition unit 10 includes an electroencephalograph or the like that detects the brain waves of the driver.

Furthermore, the driver information may include at least one of the number of times the driver speaks, the movement of the face and head, the number of breaths, the body temperature, and the driving operation.

In addition, personal identification information is information that can identify the driver. For example, the driver information acquisition unit 10 may identify the driver by capturing physical features of the driver using a camera sensor or the like. Further, the driver information acquisition unit 10 may identify the driver by acquiring information that can identify the driver from a terminal device possessed by the driver.

[Thought estimation unit 22]
The thought estimation unit 22 estimates the degree of thought of the driver. Specifically, the thoughts estimating unit 22 acquires driver information from the driver information acquiring unit 10, and based on the acquired driver information, thinks of the driver while the driver is driving the vehicle 1. Estimate the degree of Specifically, the thought estimating unit 22 determines the past predetermined values of at least one of line-of-sight angle, line-of-sight dwell time, gaze area, posture, pupil diameter, pulse, heart rate, electrodermal activity, blood hemoglobin concentration, and electroencephalogram. Estimate the degree of thought based on the variation of the period. In addition, the degree of thoughts of the driver includes the degree of thoughts related to driving and the degree of thoughts other than driving.

Here, the past predetermined period is, for example, several minutes, several hours, and several days. The predetermined period of time in the past may be, for example, one minute, one hour, or one day. Although the past predetermined period was exemplified as one minute, one hour, or one day, these are only examples, and the past predetermined period is not limited to one minute, one hour, or one day.

Further, the thought estimation unit 22 acquires the personal identification information from the driver information acquisition unit 10, and estimates the degree of thoughts corresponding to the driver indicated by the personal identification information based on the acquired driver information. .

First, I will give an example of when the degree of thinking increases.

For example, with regard to eye movement, when the degree of thinking increases, the frequency of microsaccades increases, the pupil diameter increases, the gaze fixation is concentrated in a narrow range and the duration increases, and the gaze movement increases. Decrease in size, decrease in speed of gaze movement, decrease in relative gaze fluctuation toward face, decrease in angle of convergence, decrease in number of blinks, decrease in blink speed, increase in trajectory variance of gliding eye movements is the case.

In addition, regarding the heart rate, when the degree of thinking increases, the heart rate increases and the RRI (RR Interval) variation decreases (heart rate variability decreases).

Also, regarding electrodermal activity, when the degree of thinking increases, it is when the skin conductance increases.

Also, regarding the hemoglobin concentration in the blood, the case where the degree of thinking increases is the case where the hemoglobin concentration increases.

In addition, regarding brain waves, when the degree of thinking increases, the amplitude of brain waves decreases, the power spectrum ratio of θ waves and α waves increases, and α waves decrease.

In addition, when the degree of thinking increases, the interval between utterances by the driver increases when the driver is talking, the movement of the driver's face decreases, and the position of the driver's head increases. The amount of change decreases, the driver's breathing becomes shallower, the breathing becomes faster, the temperature under the nose of the driver decreases, the change in the steering angle of the vehicle 1 being driven becomes smaller, and the speed at which the vehicle 1 is driven increases. This is the case when there is a downward trend.

Next, the method for estimating the degree of thinking will be explained using FIG.

In general, it is known that the driver's line of sight tends to stagnate when there are many things to think about. The retention of the line of sight is defined by the degree of change in the angle of the line of sight. As the degree of consideration, the standard deviation of the line-of-sight angle, the difference between the maximum and the minimum line-of-sight angle, the average speed of line-of-sight angle transition, or the ratio of the line-of-sight angle speed within a certain range can be used. Here, the line-of-sight angle is the angle of the line-of-sight of the driver with respect to the direction of travel of the vehicle 1 with reference to the direction of the line of sight of the driver.

For example, when calculating the degree of thoughtfulness using the standard deviation of the line-of-sight angle in the past predetermined period, the degree of thoughtfulness of the current driver can be calculated by the following formula (1).

It should be noted that the current degree of thoughtfulness of the driver is regarded as 1 when it exceeds 1, and is regarded as 0 when it is less than 0. The maximum standard deviation (stddev_max) of the line-of-sight angle is 0.1, and the minimum standard deviation (stddev_min) of the line-of-sight angle is 0.02.

For example, if the past predetermined period is one minute, the line-of-sight angle may be sampled every second to obtain the standard deviation from 60 line-of-sight angles. If the past predetermined period is 1 minute and 60 frames are captured in 1 second, the standard deviation may be obtained from 3600 line-of-sight angles in 1 minute.

The standard deviation of the line-of-sight angle is shown in Fig. 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the standard deviation of the line-of-sight angle, the degree of thinking of the driver, and the degree of stagnation of the line of sight.

As shown in Fig. 3, it can be seen that the standard deviation of the line-of-sight angle decreases as the degree of thinking of the driver increases. Also, if the degree of the driver's thoughts is large, the line of sight stays, that is, the line of sight hardly moves.

On the other hand, it can be seen that if the driver's degree of thinking is small, the standard deviation of the line-of-sight angle will be large. Also, if the degree of thinking of the driver is small, the line of sight does not stay, that is, the line of sight moves actively.

Next, the degree of thinking when the standard deviation of the line-of-sight angle is 0.02 to 0.1 is illustrated.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing specific numerical values of the standard deviation of the line-of-sight angle and the degree of thinking. FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the standard deviation of the line-of-sight angle and the degree of thinking. FIG. 5 is a diagram based on the numerical values of FIG. The standard deviation of the viewing angles in FIGS. 4 and 5 ranges from 0.02 to 0.1.

This makes it possible to calculate the degree of thoughtfulness of the current driver.

Return to the description of Figure 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the thought estimating unit 22 associates the degree of thinking with the driver indicated in the personal identification information and outputs it to the thought estimated value holding unit 23 . As a result, the thought estimated value holding unit 23 can hold the degree of thought associated with the driver indicated in the personal identification information.

In addition, the thought estimation unit 22 outputs the degree of thought during the past predetermined period to the thought estimated value holding unit 23 . Therefore, the thought estimating unit 22 has a function of measuring time, and by using the function, the thought estimated value holding unit 23 holds the degree of thinking during a predetermined period in the past. A function that measures time is, for example, Real Time Clock.

In addition, the thought estimating unit 22, based on the transition information corresponding to the personal identification information, which is the transition information held in the thought estimated value holding unit 23, determines the degree of the driver's thinking about driving from the degree of thinking. and the degree of thoughts other than driving. Here, the transition information is information indicating the transition of the degree of thinking during a predetermined period in the past.

Specifically, the thought estimation unit 22 calculates the reference value based on the transition information. The reference value is calculated, for example, as shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the degree of thoughtfulness of the driver over the past three days. Note that FIG. 6 illustrates the degree of thinking for the past three days, but this is only an example, and the degree of thinking is not limited to the past three days.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the reference value is calculated based on transition information held in the thought estimated value holding unit 23, that is, the degree of thought during a predetermined period in the past. For example, the reference value is calculated by setting a predetermined percentile value as the reference value from the minimum value when the degree of thinking of the driver is rearranged in ascending order. The predetermined percentile value is specifically the 5th percentile value. The predetermined percentile value may be several percentile values and is not limited to the 5th percentile value.

As a result, the thought estimation unit 22 estimates that the range of the degree of thought from 0 to the reference value is the degree of thought related to driving. Further, the thinking estimation unit 22 estimates a range in which the degree of thinking is greater than the reference value as the degree of thinking other than driving. In other words, the thinking estimation unit 22 estimates the degree of thinking other than driving by subtracting the reference value from the degree of thinking.

Also, the reference value is calculated for each driver by the thought estimation unit 22 . Therefore, the thoughts estimating unit 22 can estimate the degree of thoughts, the degree of thoughts about driving, and the degree of thoughts other than driving for each driver.

In addition, based on the estimated degree of thinking of the driver, the thinking estimating unit 22 generates transition information, which is information indicating the transition of the degree of thinking of the driver during a predetermined period in the past, and stores the transition information in the thought estimated value holding unit 23. Update the persisted transition information.

In addition, the thought estimation unit 22 outputs a warning signal to the presentation device 30 when the estimated degree of thoughts other than driving exceeds the threshold. Here, the presentation device 30 is, for example, a sound device such as a speaker, a display device for displaying characters, images, or the like, a lighting device for lighting or blinking light, or the like. This makes it possible to issue a warning to the driver who is thinking a lot about things other than driving. In other words, even if the number of thoughts about driving exceeds the threshold, it is possible not to issue a warning to the driver who thinks a lot about driving.

Here, the threshold may be a predetermined value. Also, the threshold value may be determined as a value that is greater than the reference value by a predetermined value.

[Thought estimated value holding unit 23]
The thought estimated value holding unit 23 holds transition information, which is information indicating the transition of the degree of thinking of the driver during a predetermined period in the past. In addition, the thought estimated value holding unit 23 holds the driver indicated by the personal identification information and the transition information in a state of being associated with each other.

In addition, the thought estimated value holding unit 23 can update the transition information generated by the thought estimation unit 22 in the past predetermined period to new transition information.

The thought estimated value holding unit 23 includes, for example, primary storage devices such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory). In addition, the thought estimated value holding unit 23 may include a secondary storage device such as an SSD (Solid State Drive) and a tertiary storage device such as an SD card.

<Processing operation>
Processing operations of the driver's state estimation device 2 according to the present embodiment will be described below. Specifically, a processing operation for calculating a reference value in the driver state estimation device 2 and a processing operation for calculating the degree of thoughts other than driving and determining whether to output a warning signal will be described.

[Operation example 1]
First, the processing operation for calculating the reference value in the driver's state estimation device 2 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing operations when the driver's state estimation device 2 according to Embodiment 1 calculates the reference value.

As shown in FIG. 7, the driver information acquisition unit 10 acquires driver information and personal identification information (S11). The driver information acquisition unit 10 outputs the acquired driver information and personal identification information to the thought estimation unit 22 .

Next, the thought estimating unit 22 determines whether or not a predetermined period of time has elapsed since acquisition of driver information was started, that is, determines whether or not driver information for a predetermined period of time in the past has been acquired ( S12). The past predetermined period of step S12 is, for example, about several minutes.

When the thought estimating unit 22 determines that the predetermined period has not elapsed since the acquisition of the driver information started (NO in S12), the driver's state estimating device 2 returns the processing operation to step S11.

On the other hand, when the thought estimating unit 22 determines that a predetermined period of time has elapsed since acquisition of the driver information started (YES in S12), the thought estimating unit 22 determines whether the driver is a driver based on the driver information for the predetermined period. (S13). The thought estimation unit 22 associates the estimated degree of thinking of the driver with the driver indicated by the personal identification information, and outputs the degree of thought and the personal identification information to the thought estimated value holding unit 23 .

Next, the thought estimated value holding unit 23 acquires the degree of thought and the personal identification information, and holds the degree of thought and the personal identification information in a state in which the degree of thought and the personal identification information are linked (S14 ). As a result, the degree of thinking and personal identification information for each driver are stored in the thought estimated value holding unit 23 .

Next, the thought estimation unit 22 determines whether or not the degree of thought is held in the thought estimated value holding unit 23 for the past predetermined period (S15). The past predetermined period of step S15 is, for example, several days.

When the thought estimation unit 22 determines that the degree of thought has not been held in the thought estimated value holding unit 23 for the past predetermined period (NO in S15), the driver state estimation device 2 performs a processing operation in step S11. return.

On the other hand, when thinking estimation unit 22 determines that the degree of thought has been held in thought estimated value holding unit 23 for the past predetermined period (YES in S15), thought estimated value holding unit 23 stores It is saved as transition information that is information indicating the transition of the degree of thinking in .

Next, the thought estimation unit 22 calculates a reference value based on the transition information, and updates the reference value held by the thought estimated value holding unit 23 to the new calculated reference value (S16). Note that the update frequency of the reference value may be performed each time the degree of thinking is calculated, or may be performed every predetermined time or every predetermined number of days.

Then, the driver's state estimation device 2 ends the processing operations of the flowchart in FIG.

[Operation example 2]
Next, a processing operation when determining whether or not to output a warning signal by calculating the degree of thoughts other than driving will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing processing operations when the driver's state estimation device 2 according to Embodiment 1 determines whether or not to output a warning signal.

As shown in FIG. 8, the driver information acquisition unit 10 acquires driver information and personal identification information (S21). The driver information acquisition unit 10 outputs the acquired driver information and personal identification information to the thought estimation unit 22 .

Next, the thought estimating unit 22 determines whether or not a predetermined period of time has elapsed since acquisition of the driver information was started (S22). The past predetermined period of step S22 is, for example, about several minutes.

When the thought estimating unit 22 determines that the predetermined period has not elapsed since the acquisition of the driver information started (NO in S22), the driver state estimating device 2 returns the processing operation to step S21.

On the other hand, when the thought estimating unit 22 determines that a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the acquisition of the driver information was started (YES in S22), the thought estimating unit 22 determines whether the driver based on the driver information for the predetermined period. (S23). The thought estimation unit 22 associates the estimated degree of thinking of the driver with the driver indicated by the personal identification information, and outputs the degree of thought and the personal identification information to the thought estimated value holding unit 23 .

Next, the thought estimating unit 22 estimates the degree of the driver's thinking about driving and the degree of thinking other than driving from the degree of thinking based on the transition information held in the thought estimated value holding unit 23. (S24). Specifically, since it can be said that the driver is thinking about driving in the range of the degree of thinking from 0 to the reference value, the thinking estimating unit 22 regards this range as the degree of thinking about driving. presume. In addition, since it can be said that the driver is thinking about something other than driving in the range where the degree of thinking is greater than the reference value, the thinking estimating unit 22 estimates that it is the degree of thinking other than driving. In other words, the thought estimation unit 22 estimates the degree of thoughts other than driving by subtracting the reference value from the degree of thoughts.

Next, the thought estimation unit 22 determines whether or not the estimated degree of thoughts other than driving exceeds a threshold (S25).

When the thought estimation unit 22 determines that the estimated degree of thoughts other than driving exceeds the threshold (YES in S25), the thought estimation unit 22 outputs a warning signal to the presentation device 30 (S26). Accordingly, the presentation device 30 presents a warning to the driver indicating that he or she is thinking about things other than driving. As a result, the driver notices that he or she is thinking about things other than driving, so that the driver can concentrate on driving. Then, the driver's state estimation device 2 ends the processing operation of the flowchart in FIG.

On the other hand, when the thought estimation unit 22 determines that the estimated degree of thoughts other than driving does not exceed the threshold (NO in S25), the driver state estimation device does not output a warning signal to the presentation device 30. 2 ends the processing operation of the flowchart in FIG.

<Effect>
Next, the effects of the driver's state estimation device 2 according to this embodiment will be described.

As described above, the driver state estimating device 2 of the present embodiment is based on the driver information, which is information indicating the physical features of the driver's appearance and/or the state of the driver's internal body. An idea estimation unit 22 for estimating the degree of thought, and an idea estimated value holding unit 23 for holding transition information, which is information indicating the transition of the degree of thought during a predetermined period in the past. Based on the transition information, the thoughts estimating unit 22 estimates the degree of the driver's thoughts about driving and the degree of thoughts other than driving from the degree of thoughts.

According to this, based on the transition information, the degree of thinking about driving and the degree of thinking about things other than driving can be estimated from the degree of thinking of the driver. For example, when the degree of thinking about driving is large, it is possible not to output a warning to the driver.

Therefore, the driver's state estimation device 2 can suppress an increase in the driver's anxiety and discomfort. As a result, the driver can drive the vehicle 1 with peace of mind.

In particular, a warning can be output to the driver when the degree of thinking other than driving is large. In this way, the information can be used to determine whether or not to issue a warning to the driver, and the safety of the driver driving the vehicle 1 can be ensured.

In the driver state estimation device 2 according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the thinking estimator 22 calculates the reference value based on the transition information, and the degree of thinking about driving ranges from 0 to the reference value. It is estimated that there is, and the range in which the degree of thinking is greater than the reference value is estimated to be the degree of thinking other than driving.

According to this, since the reference value is calculated based on the transition information, it is possible to estimate the degree of thoughts related to driving and the degree of thoughts other than driving. If this is used to determine whether or not to issue a warning to the driver, it is possible to prevent an excessive warning from being issued. can.

In the driver state estimation device 2 according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the thinking estimating unit 22 determines a threshold that is greater than the reference value by a predetermined value, and outputs a warning signal when the degree of thinking other than driving exceeds the threshold. do.

According to this, when the degree of thoughts other than driving exceeds a threshold, a warning signal is output, so it is possible to warn the driver. As a result, the driver realizes that he/she has been driving the vehicle 1 in a careless state, and thus tries to concentrate on driving the vehicle 1.例文帳に追加As a result, the driver's state estimation device 2 can improve the safety of the vehicle 1 driven by the driver.

In addition, even if the degree of thinking is high, if the degree of thinking other than driving is less than the threshold value, that is, if the degree of thinking about driving is high, the driver is not warned. Increase can be suppressed more.

In the driver state estimation device 2 according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the thoughts estimating unit 22 estimates the degree of thoughts other than driving by subtracting a reference value from the degree of thoughts, and estimates the degree of thoughts other than driving. exceeds a predetermined threshold, output a warning signal.

Even in this case, the same effects as described above are achieved.

In the driver state estimation device 2 according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the driver information includes the line-of-sight angle, line-of-sight retention time, gaze area, posture, pupil diameter, pulse, heart rate, skin At least one of electrical activity, hemoglobin concentration in blood, and electroencephalograms is included, and thought estimating unit 22 calculates gaze angle, gaze retention time, gaze area, posture, pupil diameter, pulse, heart rate, electrodermal activity, blood estimating the degree of thinking based on changes in at least one of hemoglobin concentration and electroencephalogram in the past predetermined period of time.

According to this, equipment such as a camera sensor for detecting pupils, a steering grip sensor, a sensor for detecting contact of the driver's torso with the seat cover, a hemoglobin measuring device, etc., which are pre-installed in the vehicle 1, are used. Thus, driver information can be easily obtained.

Also, based on changes in at least one of the driver's line-of-sight angle, line-of-sight dwell time, gaze area, posture, pupil diameter, pulse, heartbeat, electrodermal activity, blood hemoglobin concentration, and electroencephalogram, during the past predetermined period , the degree of thinking is estimated, so that the accuracy of estimation can be further improved.

In the driver state estimation device 2 according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the driver information acquisition unit 10 outputs the personal identification information of the driver together with the driver information. Then, based on the transition information corresponding to the personal identification information, the thought estimating unit 22 determines the degree of the driver's thinking about driving and the degree of thinking other than driving from the degree of thought held by the thought estimated value holding unit 23. to estimate

According to this, since the thought estimated value holding unit 23 holds the degree of thoughts of each driver, even when a plurality of drivers individually drive the same vehicle 1, the thoughts related to driving can be changed according to the driver. The degree and the degree of thoughts other than driving can be automatically estimated. Therefore, it is possible to estimate the degree of thinking about driving and the degree of thinking about things other than driving according to the driver. As a result, it is possible to further suppress an increase in each driver's sense of anxiety and discomfort.

(Embodiment 2)
As shown in FIG. 9, the present embodiment is different from the driver's state estimating device of the first embodiment in that the driver's state estimating device 2a further includes a vehicle information acquisition unit 24. FIG. Other configurations in this embodiment are the same as those in Embodiment 1 unless otherwise specified, and the same configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description of the configuration is omitted. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a driver's state estimation device 2a according to the second embodiment.

<Configuration and function>
Driver state estimation device 2 a further includes vehicle information acquisition section 24 in addition to driver information acquisition section 10 , thought estimation section 22 , and thought estimated value storage section 23 .

The vehicle information acquisition unit 24 of the present embodiment acquires predetermined driving information of the vehicle 1 driven by the driver. The vehicle information acquisition unit 24 outputs the acquired predetermined driving information to the thought estimation unit 22 .

Predetermined driving information is information indicating that a predetermined driving has been performed by the driver. Here, the predetermined driving is dangerous driving unlike normal driving. For example, the predetermined driving includes driving such as sudden braking, sudden steering, meandering driving, and braking operation in which the brake reaction time is longer than a predetermined time.

If the predetermined driving is sudden braking, the vehicle information acquisition unit 24 includes, for example, a brake sensor capable of detecting sudden braking. Further, if the predetermined driving is a sharp turn and meandering driving, the vehicle information acquisition unit 24 may include, for example, a steering angle sensor of the steering wheel that can detect the sharp turning and meandering driving. In addition, in the case of a brake operation or the like in which the brake reaction time is equal to or longer than a predetermined time for a predetermined driving, the vehicle information acquisition unit 24 may include, for example, a brake sensor capable of detecting the brake reaction time. The brake reaction time is the period from when the TTC (Time to Collision) becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value until the driver steps on the brake. TTC is the time until the preceding vehicle collides with the own vehicle when the vehicle continues to run at the current relative speed between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle without depressing the brake. TTC is calculated by dividing the distance between the own vehicle and the preceding vehicle by the relative speed between the preceding vehicle and the own vehicle.

The thought estimated value holding unit 23 of the present embodiment holds the degree of thought when the predetermined driving information is not acquired from the vehicle information acquisition unit 24 . On the other hand, when the predetermined driving information is acquired from the vehicle information acquiring unit 24, that is, when the predetermined driving is performed, the thinking estimated value holding unit 23 does not hold the degree of thinking corresponding to the predetermined driving information. The predetermined driving information is used to determine whether or not to sample the degree of thinking about driving. Therefore, if the predetermined driving information is an outlier, the thought estimated value holding unit 23 does not store the sampling data.

Here, the degree of thinking corresponding to the predetermined driving information is the degree of thinking estimated based on the driver information corresponding to the predetermined driving information. Further, the driver information corresponding to the predetermined driving information is the driver information during the period when the predetermined driving is being performed.

Therefore, the thought estimation unit 22 no longer calculates the reference value from the degree of thought estimated based on the driver information corresponding to the predetermined driving information.

<Processing operation>
Processing operations of the driver's state estimation device 2a according to the present embodiment will be described below. Specifically, a processing operation for calculating the reference value in the driver's state estimation device 2a will be described. In FIG. 10, the same processing as in FIG. 7 is given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing processing operations when the driver's state estimation device 2a according to Embodiment 2 calculates the reference value.

As shown in FIG. 10, the driver information acquisition unit 10 acquires driver information and personal identification information (S11). The driver information acquisition unit 10 outputs the acquired driver information and personal identification information to the thought estimation unit 22 .

Next, the thought estimating unit 22 determines whether or not a predetermined period of time has elapsed since acquisition of the driver information was started (S12).

When the thought estimating unit 22 determines that the predetermined period has not elapsed since the acquisition of the driver information started (NO in S12), the driver state estimation device 2a returns the processing operation to step S11.

On the other hand, when the thought estimating unit 22 determines that a predetermined period of time has elapsed since acquisition of the driver information was started (YES in S12), the thought estimating unit 22 drives based on the driver information for the predetermined period of time. The degree of thinking in the person is estimated (S13).

Next, the thought estimation unit 22 determines whether or not the predetermined driving information has been acquired (S13a).

When the thought estimation unit 22 determines that the vehicle information acquisition unit 24 outputs the predetermined driving information and that the thought estimation unit 22 acquires the predetermined driving information (YES in S13a), the driver state estimation device 2a , the process proceeds to step S15.

On the other hand, if the thinking estimating unit 22 determines that the predetermined driving information has not been acquired (NO in S13a), the thinking estimating unit 22 calculates the estimated degree of thinking of the driver as the driving indicated by the personal identification information. The degree of thinking and the personal identification information are output to the thought estimated value holding unit 23 in association with the person. As a result, the thought estimated value holding unit 23 acquires the degree of thought and the personal identification information, and holds the degree of thought and the personal identification information in a linked state (S14). Then, the thought estimated value holding unit 23 stores the degree of thought and personal identification information for each driver.

The thought estimation unit 22 determines whether or not the degree of thought is held in the thought estimated value holding unit 23 for the past predetermined period (S15).

When the thought estimation unit 22 determines that the degree of thought is not held in the thought estimated value holding unit 23 for the past predetermined period (NO in S15), the driver state estimation device 2a performs the processing operation in step S11. return.

On the other hand, when thinking estimation unit 22 determines that the degree of thought has been held in thought estimated value holding unit 23 for the past predetermined period (YES in S15), thought estimated value holding unit 23 stores It is saved as transition information that is information indicating the transition of the degree of thinking in .

Next, the thought estimation unit 22 calculates a reference value based on the transition information, and updates the reference value held by the thought estimated value holding unit 23 to the new calculated reference value (S16).

Then, the driver's state estimation device 2a ends the processing operations of the flowchart in FIG.

<Effect>
Next, the effects of the driver's state estimation device 2a according to the present embodiment will be described.

As described above, the driver's state estimation device 2a of the present embodiment further includes the vehicle information acquisition unit 24 that acquires predetermined driving information, which is information indicating that the driver has performed predetermined driving. The thought estimated value holding unit 23 holds transition information when predetermined driving information is not obtained from the vehicle information obtaining unit 24, and does not retain transition information when predetermined driving information is obtained from the vehicle information obtaining unit 24.

According to this, it is possible to maintain high-precision transition information by not storing, as transition information, an outlier, such as a brake reaction time of a predetermined time or longer, as predetermined driving information. Therefore, it is possible to accurately estimate the degree of thinking about driving and the degree of thinking other than driving. As a result, it is possible to further suppress an increase in each driver's sense of anxiety and discomfort.

(Embodiment 3)
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the driver's state estimation device 2b is different from the driver's state estimation device according to the first embodiment and the like in that the driver's state estimation device 2b further includes a driving environment acquisition unit 25. FIG. Other configurations in this embodiment are the same as those in Embodiment 1 and the like unless otherwise specified, and the same configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description of the configuration is omitted. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a driver's state estimation device 2b according to the third embodiment.

<Configuration and function>
Driver state estimation device 2 b further includes driving environment acquisition section 25 in addition to driver information acquisition section 10 , thought estimation section 22 , and thought estimated value storage section 23 .

The driving environment acquisition unit 25 acquires the driving environment of the vehicle 1. The driving environment includes at least one of road conditions, current weather, time of day, and autonomous driving status. Although these operating environments are described in the present embodiment, other operating environments may be included. In the following description, the case where the driving environment is road conditions will be mainly explained, and then the case where the driving environment is the current weather, the time of day, and the state of automatic driving will be explained in order.

The driving environment acquisition unit 25 is, for example, a camera sensor mounted on the vehicle 1, and can image the surroundings of the vehicle 1 traveling on the road as the driving environment. The driving environment acquisition unit 25 outputs the acquired driving environment (here, road conditions) to the thought estimation unit 22 . Here, the road condition is the condition of the road on which the vehicle 1 driven by the driver travels. For example, the road conditions are the intersections and junctions displayed on the display device of the vehicle 1, the degree of proximity to other vehicles around the own vehicle, and the like. The driving environment acquisition unit 25 also acquires whether the current road is an expressway or a general road from a navigation system (not shown) mounted on the vehicle 1 as road conditions.

The thought estimation unit 22 adjusts the reference value according to the driving environment acquired from the driving environment acquisition unit 25. Specifically, the thought estimating unit 22 acquires the driving environment (road conditions) from the driving environment acquiring unit 25, and sets the reference value so that if the acquired driving environment (road condition) is simple, the reference value is lowered. adjust. A case where the road conditions are simple means, for example, a case where the vehicle 1 driven by the driver is traveling on a highway or a straight road, and there are no other vehicles around the own vehicle. etc.

In addition, the thought estimation unit 22 acquires the driving environment (road conditions) from the driving environment acquisition unit 25, and adjusts the reference value so as to raise the reference value if the acquired driving environment (road condition) is complicated. For example, when the road conditions are complicated, the vehicle 1 driven by the driver is traveling on a general road, traveling on a curved road, or when a plurality of other vehicles are present around the own vehicle. For example, when

In addition, if the driving environment (road conditions) acquired from the driving environment acquiring unit 25 is neither simple nor complex, the thought estimating unit 22 does not adjust the reference value. When the road conditions are neither simple nor complicated, for example, the vehicle 1 driven by the driver is traveling on both an expressway and a general road such as an interchange, traveling on a gently curved road, This is the case, for example, when only one other vehicle exists around the own vehicle.

In this way, the thoughts estimation unit 22 estimates the degree of thoughts other than driving based on the adjusted reference value.

<Processing operation>
The processing operation of the driver's state estimation device 2b in this embodiment will be described below. Specifically, a processing operation when determining whether or not to output a warning signal by calculating the degree of thoughts other than driving will be described.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing processing operations when the driver's state estimation device 2b according to Embodiment 3 determines whether or not to output a warning signal.

As shown in FIG. 12, the driver information acquisition unit 10 acquires driver information and personal identification information (S21). The driver information acquisition unit 10 outputs the acquired driver information and personal identification information to the thought estimation unit 22 .

Next, the thought estimating unit 22 determines whether or not a predetermined period of time has elapsed since acquisition of the driver information was started (S22).

When the thought estimating unit 22 determines that the predetermined period has not elapsed since the acquisition of the driver information started (NO in S22), the driver state estimating device 2b returns the processing operation to step S21.

On the other hand, when the thought estimating unit 22 determines that a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the acquisition of the driver information was started (YES in S22), the thought estimating unit 22 determines whether the driver based on the driver information for the predetermined period. (S23). The thought estimation unit 22 associates the estimated degree of thinking of the driver with the driver indicated by the personal identification information, and outputs the degree of thought and the personal identification information to the thought estimated value holding unit 23 .

Next, the driving environment acquisition unit 25 acquires the driving environment (road conditions) around the running vehicle 1 (S23a). The driving environment acquisition unit 25 outputs the acquired driving environment (road conditions) to the thought estimation unit 22 .

Next, the thought estimation unit 22 acquires the driving environment (road conditions) from the driving environment acquisition unit 25, and determines whether the acquired driving environment (road conditions) is simple (S23b).

When the consideration estimation unit 22 determines that the acquired driving environment (road conditions) is simple (YES in S23b), the consideration estimation unit 22 reduces the reference value (S23c). Then, the driver's state estimation device 2b advances the process to step S24.

On the other hand, when thinking estimating unit 22 determines that the acquired driving environment (road conditions) is not simple (NO in S23b), thinking estimating unit 22 determines whether the acquired driving environment (road conditions) is complicated. (S23d).

When the consideration estimation unit 22 determines that the acquired driving environment (road conditions) is complicated (YES in S23d), the consideration estimation unit 22 raises the reference value (S23e). Then, the driver's state estimation device 2b advances the process to step S24.

On the other hand, if the thought estimating unit 22 determines that the acquired driving environment (road conditions) is not complicated (NO in S23c), the acquired driving environment (road conditions) is neither simple nor complicated. returns the reference value to the original value (S23f), and advances the process to step S24.

Next, the thought estimating unit 22 estimates the degree of the driver's thinking about driving and the degree of thinking other than driving from the degree of thinking based on the transition information held in the thought estimated value holding unit 23. (S24). Specifically, since it can be said that the driver is thinking about driving in the range of the degree of thinking from 0 to the reference value, the thinking estimating unit 22 regards this range as the degree of thinking about driving. presume. In addition, since it can be said that the driver is thinking about something other than driving in the range where the degree of thinking is greater than the reference value, the thinking estimating unit 22 estimates that it is the degree of thinking other than driving. In other words, the thinking estimation unit 22 estimates the degree of thinking other than driving by subtracting the reference value from the degree of thinking.

Next, the driving environment acquisition unit 25 acquires the driving environment (road conditions) around the running vehicle 1 (S24a). The driving environment acquisition unit 25 outputs the acquired driving environment (road conditions) to the thought estimation unit 22 .

Next, the thought estimation unit 22 acquires the driving environment (road conditions) from the driving environment acquisition unit 25, and determines whether the acquired driving environment (road conditions) is simple (S24b).

When the thought estimation unit 22 determines that the acquired driving environment (road conditions) is simple (YES in S24b), the thought estimation unit 22 lowers the threshold (S24c). Then, the driver's state estimation device 2b advances the process to step S25.

On the other hand, when thinking estimating unit 22 determines that the acquired driving environment (road conditions) is not simple (NO in S24b), thinking estimating unit 22 determines whether the acquired driving environment (road conditions) is complicated. (S24d).

When the thought estimation unit 22 determines that the acquired driving environment (road conditions) is complicated (YES in S24d), the thought estimation unit 22 raises the threshold (S24e). Then, the driver's state estimation device 2b advances the process to step S25.

On the other hand, if the thought estimating unit 22 determines that the acquired driving environment (road conditions) is not complicated (NO in S24d), the acquired driving environment (road conditions) is neither simple nor complicated, so the thinking estimating unit 22 returns the threshold to the original value (S24f), and advances the process to step S25.

Next, the thought estimation unit 22 determines whether or not the estimated degree of thoughts other than driving exceeds a threshold (S25).

When the thought estimation unit 22 determines that the estimated degree of thoughts other than driving exceeds the threshold (YES in S25), the thought estimation unit 22 outputs a warning signal to the presentation device 30. Accordingly, the presentation device 30 presents a warning to the driver indicating that he or she is thinking about things other than driving. As a result, the driver notices that he or she is thinking about things other than driving, so that the driver can concentrate on driving. Then, the driver's state estimation device 2b ends the processing operation of the flowchart in FIG.

On the other hand, when the thought estimation unit 22 determines that the estimated degree of thoughts other than driving does not exceed the threshold (NO in S25), the driver state estimation device does not output a warning signal to the presentation device 30. 2b ends the processing operation of the flowchart in FIG.

Note that steps S23a to S23f or steps S24a to S24f in FIG. 12 may be omitted from the processing operations of the flowchart in FIG. That is, one of the processing operations of steps S23a to S23f and steps S24a to S24f is not essential.

Here, FIG. 13 shows a specific example of the amount of change in the reference value when the reference value is raised, lowered, or returned to the original value depending on the road conditions as the driving environment. FIG. 13 is a correlation diagram showing the amount of change in the reference value when the driving environment is road conditions in the third embodiment. In FIG. 13, the road condition is defined as the expressway ratio (%), which is the ratio of the period of traveling on the expressway to the period required to travel the entire route. Alternatively, the road condition may be defined as the ratio (%) of expressways, which is the ratio of the distance traveled on expressways to the distance required to travel all routes. In other words, in FIG. 12, the reference value is simply adjusted depending on whether the current road is an expressway, a general road, or whether it straddles both at an interchange, etc., but in the example of FIG. The percentage of expressways in all routes is defined as the road condition, and the reference value is changed according to the percentage.

The percentage of expressways is based on the route search results of the navigation system installed in vehicle 1. From FIG. 13, according to the ratio of expressways, in the case of a route that does not use expressways (the ratio of expressways is 0%), the road conditions are complicated, so the reference value is the maximum value of the change width +0. 01 (pulled up). On the other hand, in the case of a route consisting only of expressways (the ratio of expressways being 100%), the road conditions are simple, so the reference value is reduced by -0.01, which is the minimum change width. When the ratio of expressways is greater than 0% and less than 100%, the adjustment value of the reference value is determined according to the ratio as shown in FIG. For example, if the ratio of expressways is 10%, +0.008 to the reference value, if the ratio of expressways is 20%, +0.006 to the reference value, and if the ratio of expressways is 30%, +0.004 with respect to the reference value, and +0.002 with respect to the reference value when the ratio of expressways is 40% (raised). Also, when the percentage of expressways is 50%, the road conditions are neither complicated nor simple, so the reference value is not changed (since the amount of change in the reference value is 0, it is returned to the original value). Also, if the ratio of expressways is 60%, -0.002 against the reference value, if the ratio of expressways is 70%, -0.004 against the reference value, and if the ratio of expressways is 80% -0.006 to the reference value in the case where the ratio of expressways is 90%, -0.008 to the reference value (reduced). In addition, in the case of expressway ratios not shown in FIG. 13, the amount of change in the reference value of ratios close to the numerical values shown in FIG. 13 may be used.

The reason why the maximum value of the change width of the reference value is ±0.01 is as follows.

In the present embodiment, the driving environment is at least one of the road conditions on which the vehicle 1 travels, the current weather, the time of day, and the automatic driving state of the vehicle 1. It becomes the structure which changes a value. In this case, for example, if the maximum value of the change width of the reference value is set to ±0.1, the maximum change width of the reference value is ±0.4 because there are four types of driving environments. On the other hand, since the degree of thinking is a numerical value from 0 to 1, the reference value is also within the range from 0 to 1. As described above, the reference value is set as a predetermined percentile value from the minimum value when the degree of thinking of the driver based on the standard deviation of the line-of-sight angle is rearranged in ascending order. If there is a variation width of ±0.4, there is a possibility that the obtained reference value will change to an extent that cannot be ignored, and the accuracy of the reference value will be reduced. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the maximum value of the change width (adjustment width) of the reference value is determined to be ±0.01, that is, within ±1% of the numerical range from 0 to 1 that the reference value can take.

FIG. 13 is an example, and as explained with reference to FIG. 12, when only three types of road conditions are currently defined: an expressway, a general road, and an interchange that straddles both, the expressway The change width may be set to −0.01 in the case of a normal road, +0.01 in the case of a general road, and 0 in the case of crossing both.

Next, FIG. 14 shows a specific example of the amount of change in the reference value for the current weather as the driving environment. FIG. 14 is a correlation diagram showing the amount of change in the reference value when the driving environment is the current weather according to the third embodiment. From FIG. 14, the amount of change in the reference value is changed according to the current amount of precipitation (mm/h). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 14, when the rainfall amount is 20 (mm/h) or more, the driver pays attention to driving, and the degree of thinking about driving increases. The reference value is the maximum +0.01. In addition, when there is almost no rain, such as when the amount of precipitation is 0 or more and less than 2 (mm/h), or when it is not raining at all, the degree of attention to driving compared to when it is raining (the degree of thinking about driving) ) decreases, so the reference value is the minimum -0.01. Then, in the case of an intermediate amount of precipitation, the reference value is adjusted with a change range as shown in FIG. 14 according to the amount of precipitation. For example, if the precipitation is 18 or more and less than 20 (mm/h), +0.008 with respect to the reference value, if the precipitation is 16 or more and less than 18 (mm/h), +0.006 with respect to the reference value, If the precipitation is 14 or more and 16 (mm/h), +0.004 to the standard value, if the precipitation is 12 or more and less than 14 (mm/h), +0.002 to the standard value (raise be done). Moreover, when the amount of precipitation is 10 or more and less than 12 (mm/h), the reference value is not changed. In addition, if the amount of precipitation is 8 or more and less than 10 (mm/h), -0.002 to the reference value, and if the amount of precipitation is 6 or more to less than 8 (mm/h), -0.0 to the reference value. 004, -0.006 against the reference value if the precipitation is 4 or more and less than 6 (mm/h), -0.00 against the reference value if the precipitation is 2 or more and less than 4 (mm/h) 008 (pulled down).

The current amount of precipitation is obtained, for example, from the weather forecast and/or meteorological satellite information at the current location based on the location information of the navigation system. If the vehicle 1 is equipped with a rain sensor, the amount of precipitation may be estimated based on the output of the sensor, or the amount of precipitation may be corrected based on weather forecast and/or weather satellite information.

In addition, in the case of snowfall or dense fog, the driver pays more attention to driving, and the degree of thinking about driving in the driver increases. You may

Next, FIG. 15 shows a specific example of the amount of change in the reference value with respect to time as the driving environment. FIG. 15 is a correlation diagram showing the amount of change in the reference value when the driving environment is time in the third embodiment. From FIG. 15, the amount of change in the reference value is changed according to the time before or after the time of sunrise and the time of sunset. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 15, at night (25 minutes or more before sunrise or 25 minutes or more after sunset), the degree of attention to driving increases, so the degree of thinking about driving increases, the reference value is the maximum +0.01. In the daytime (25 minutes or more after sunrise or 25 minutes or more before sunset), the degree of attention to driving is lower than at night, so the minimum reference value is -0.01. At the intermediate times between these times, as shown in FIG. 15, the change width of the reference value is changed approximately every five minutes. For example, 20 to 25 minutes before sunrise and 20 to 25 minutes after sunset +0.008 to the reference value, 15 to 20 minutes before sunrise and sunset +0.006 to the reference value if 15 minutes or more and less than 20 minutes after the time of , and the reference value if 10 minutes or more and less than 15 minutes before sunrise and 10 minutes or more and less than 15 minutes after sunset +0.004 to the reference value, and 5 minutes or more and less than 10 minutes before the sunrise time and 5 minutes or more and less than 10 minutes after the sunset time are increased by +0.002 to the reference value. Also, if the time is less than 5 minutes before or after the time of sunrise or sunset, the reference value is not changed. In addition, -0.002 against the reference value if 5 minutes or more and less than 10 minutes after sunrise and 5 minutes or more and less than 10 minutes before sunset, and 10 minutes or more and less than 15 minutes after sunrise -0.004 against the reference value if 10 minutes or more and less than 15 minutes before sunset, and if it is 15 minutes or more and less than 20 minutes after sunrise and 15 minutes or more and less than 20 minutes before sunset -0.006 to the reference value, and -0.008 to the reference value in the case of 20 minutes or more and less than 25 minutes after the sunrise time and 20 minutes or more and less than 25 minutes before the sunset time (reduced ).

The time of sunrise and the time of sunset are obtained from the current position and date information based on the position information of the navigation system, for example. If the vehicle 1 is equipped with a solar radiation sensor, the range of change in the reference value may be changed according to the output from the solar radiation sensor, or the sunrise time and sunset time obtained from the positional information and date information. may be corrected. As for the time, the range of change in the reference value is adjusted 25 minutes before and after the time of sunrise and sunset, but is not limited to this. When the height changes differently, it may be shorter in winter than 25 minutes before and after the time of sunrise or sunset, and may be longer in summer than 25 minutes before and after the time of sunrise or sunset.

If the weather is cloudy, the reference values in Fig. 15 may be used as they are. However, when the weather is rainy, the driver pays more attention to driving, and the degree of thinking about driving in the driver increases. The change width of the reference value in FIG. 14 may be added to the width.

Also, if the weather is fine, a specified value may be added to the standard value depending on the combination with the time of day. Specifically, in the early morning hours and the evening hours when the weather is fine, the sun is close to the horizon, and the driver may feel dazzled by the sun's light. On the other hand, in a time zone other than the early morning time zone and the evening time zone when the weather is fine, such as the daytime time zone, the driver is less likely to feel dazzled by the sunlight. Therefore, when the weather is fine, a specified value (for example, 0.01) may be added to the change range of the reference value in FIG. In the time period of , the change width of the reference value in FIG. 15 may be used as it is. In addition, since the early morning time zone and the evening time zone change depending on the season, if the weather is fine, depending on the combination of the time and season, the above stipulations for the variation range of the reference value in FIG. values can be added.

Next, FIG. 16 shows a specific example of the amount of change in the reference value for the automatic driving state as the driving environment. FIG. 16 is a correlation diagram showing the amount of change in the reference value when the driving environment is automatic driving in the third embodiment. From FIG. 16, the amount of change in the reference value is changed according to the automatic driving level. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 16, when the automatic driving level is low such as 0 or 1, little or no automatic driving is performed, and the degree of attention to driving increases, so the degree of thinking about driving increases, the reference value is the maximum +0.01. In addition, when the automatic driving level is completely automatic driving, such as level 5, the degree of paying attention to driving decreases, so the minimum reference value is -0.01. At an automatic driving level intermediate between them, as shown in FIG. 16, the change width of the reference value is changed according to the automatic driving level. For example, when the automatic driving level is 2, the reference value is increased by +0.005. Also, when the automatic driving level is 3, the reference value is not changed. When the automatic driving level is 4, the reference value is reduced by -0.005.

When the automatic driving level is 5, completely automatic driving is performed, but it cannot be said that the driver does not think about driving at all at that time. It is adjusted with the minimum width of change (-0.01).

Four specific examples of the driving environment have been described above, but it is also possible to define other driving environments and adjust the range of change in the reference value in the same manner as described above.

Also, the width of change of the reference value in the four driving environments is fixed at ±0.01, but this may be changed according to the driving environment. For example, for the current weather and time when the driver is more susceptible to changes in the driving environment compared to road conditions and autonomous driving conditions, weighting may be performed by doubling the variation range of the reference value to ±0.02. .

<Effect>
Next, the effects of the driver's state estimation device 2b according to the present embodiment will be described.

As described above, the driver's state estimation device 2b of the present embodiment further includes the driving environment acquisition unit 25 that acquires the driving environment of the vehicle 1 driven by the driver. Then, the thought estimating unit 22 acquires the driving environment from the driving environment acquiring unit 25, and if the acquired driving environment is simple, the reference value is lowered, and if the acquired driving environment is complicated, the reference value is raised. Adjust the reference value.

For example, if the driving environment becomes simpler, the driver tends to think less about driving, and if the driving environment becomes more complex, the driver tends to think more about driving. Accordingly, in the present disclosure, the reference value can be raised or lowered according to the driving environment, so that the degree of thinking about driving and the degree of thinking about things other than driving can be estimated with higher accuracy. Therefore, even if the driving environment becomes simpler, the reference value is lowered, so that it is possible to suppress the problem that the warning is not output to the driver. Moreover, since the reference value is raised even if the driving environment becomes complicated, it is possible to prevent an excessive warning from being output to the driver.

In the driver state estimation device 2b according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the driving environment is at least one of the road conditions that are the conditions of the road on which the vehicle 1 travels, the current weather, the time, and the automatic driving state of the vehicle 1. is.

According to this, the reference value can be adjusted multilaterally according to at least one of the driving environment such as the road conditions, the current weather, the time of day, and the state of automatic driving. An alarm can be issued.

(Embodiment 4)
In the present embodiment, the driver's state estimation device has the same configuration as the driver's state estimation device 2 described in Embodiment 1, so the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. . That is, the feature of the present embodiment is that the thought estimation unit 22 determines the predetermined value and the threshold according to the reference value. This will be described in detail below.

<Processing operation>
FIG. 17 is a time-dependent change diagram of the degree of thinking when the reference value is low according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 18 is a time-dependent change diagram of the degree of thinking when the reference value is high in the fourth embodiment.

First, in FIG. 17, the horizontal axis indicates the time after the driver started driving, and the vertical axis indicates the degree of thinking obtained from the formula (1). For example, when the degree of thinking changes as shown in FIG. 17, it is assumed that the predetermined percentile value (5th percentile value) from the minimum value when the degree of thinking is rearranged in ascending order is 0.2. This 0.2 is a reference value. When the consideration estimating unit 22 determines a threshold that is greater than this reference value by a predetermined value, for example, if the consideration estimating unit 22 sets the predetermined value to 0.2, the threshold is set to 0.4 as shown in FIG. Become.

Next, refer to FIG. The vertical and horizontal axes in FIG. 18 have the same meanings as in FIG. Also in FIG. 18, it is assumed that the result of obtaining the reference value in the same manner as in FIG. 17 is 0.6. Thought estimating unit 22 determines a threshold larger than this reference value by a predetermined value. Here, this reference value (0.6) is different from FIG. Since it is a higher value, the thought estimation part 22 sets a predetermined value small. Specifically, the thought estimation unit 22 sets the predetermined value to 0.1. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 18, the threshold is 0.7.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the thought estimating unit 22 sets the predetermined value to be larger as the reference value is lower and smaller as the reference value is higher. The reason for this is as follows.

As described in formula (1), the current driver's degree of thinking is based on the standard deviation of the line-of-sight angle, and both show an inverse correlation as shown in FIG. Therefore, in general, a low standard value of the degree of thinking as shown in FIG. 17 indicates a large standard deviation of the line-of-sight angle, which means that the line-of-sight moves well. Therefore, drivers tend to concentrate on driving. On the other hand, a high standard value of the degree of thinking as shown in FIG. 18 indicates that the standard deviation of the line-of-sight angle is small, and the line-of-sight does not move much. Therefore, drivers tend to have many thoughts other than driving.

From these things, when the reference value is low, there is a tendency to concentrate on driving. 0.4. Therefore, the threshold is set to be significantly higher than the reference value. This reduces the possibility of false alarms. On the other hand, when the reference value is high, there is a tendency to think about things other than driving, so the predetermined value is made smaller than the reference value (0.1, which is about 0.17 times the reference value in the example of FIG. 18). , the threshold becomes 0.7. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 18, the threshold is set slightly higher than the reference value compared to the example of FIG. As a result, the possibility that the warning will not be issued is reduced, and the warning can be issued at an early timing.

For the above reasons, the thought estimation unit 22 sets the predetermined value to be larger as the reference value is lower and smaller as the reference value is higher.

Here, a case has been described where the thoughts estimating unit 22 determines a threshold value that is greater than the reference value by a predetermined value. may be applied when determining a threshold for the degree of In this case, since the reference value is 0.2 in the example of FIG. 17, the threshold may be set to 0.2 with respect to the degree of thought after subtracting the reference value. This numerical value of 0.2 corresponds to the predetermined value in FIG. Also, in the example of FIG. 18, the reference value is 0.6, so the threshold may be set to 0.1 with respect to the degree of thought after subtracting the reference value. This numerical value of 0.1 corresponds to the predetermined value in FIG. In summary, the threshold is determined so that the lower the reference value, the larger the threshold, and the higher the reference value, the smaller the threshold.

<Effect>
Next, the effects of the driver's state estimation device 2 according to this embodiment will be described.

As described above, in the driver's state estimation device 2 of the present embodiment, the predetermined value increases as the reference value decreases, and decreases as the reference value increases.

According to this, when the reference value is low, there is a tendency to concentrate on driving, so increasing the predetermined value reduces the possibility of false alarms. In addition, when the reference value is high, there is a tendency to think about things other than driving.

In the driver's state estimation device 2 according to one aspect of the present disclosure, the threshold increases as the reference value decreases, and decreases as the reference value increases.

According to this, when the reference value is low, there is a tendency to concentrate on driving, so increasing the threshold reduces the possibility of false alarms. In addition, when the reference value is high, there is a tendency to think about things other than driving.

(Embodiment 5)
In the present embodiment, the driver's state estimation device has the same configuration as the driver's state estimation device 2 described in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment. omitted. In other words, the feature of the present embodiment is that thought estimating section 22 outputs the degree of thought to the display section over time. This will be described in detail below.

<Configuration and function>
In the present embodiment, in contrast to the configuration of FIG. 2, thought estimating section 22 is electrically connected to a display section (not shown) mounted on vehicle 1 . The thought estimation unit 22 has a configuration for outputting the estimated degree of thought to the display unit. The display unit is, for example, a liquid crystal screen of a navigation system or the like.

<Processing operation>
After estimating the degree of thinking of the driver in step S13 of FIG. 7, the thought estimating section 22 outputs the result to the display section. The display unit displays graphs as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18 each time the degree of thought is output from the thought estimation unit 22 . The display unit is not limited to the configuration for displaying the graphs shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, and may be configured to display, for example, the degree of current thinking as a numerical value on the screen. Further, the thought estimation unit 22 may also include a configuration for outputting the reference value and the threshold value to the display unit, and may display the reference value and the threshold value together on the screen.

<Effect>
Next, the effects of the driver's state estimation device 2 according to this embodiment will be described.

As described above, in the driver state estimation device 2 of the present embodiment, the thinking estimation unit 22 outputs the degree of thinking to the display unit over time.

According to this, it is possible to inform the driver of the current degree of thinking in real time, so it is possible to raise the driver's awareness of driving.

(Other modifications, etc.)
Although the present disclosure has been described above based on Embodiments 1 to 5, the present disclosure is not limited to these Embodiments 1 to 5 and the like.

For example, the driver state estimating devices according to the first to fifth embodiments exemplify the cases in which the driver information acquiring unit is provided in FIGS. It does not have to be provided with an acquisition unit. In other words, the driver information acquisition unit does not have to be included in the component of the driver state estimation device.

In addition, the thought estimating unit, the driver information acquiring unit, and the like included in the driver state estimating devices according to the first to fifth embodiments are typically realized as an LSI, which is an integrated circuit. These may be made into one chip individually, or may be made into one chip so as to include part or all of them.

In addition, circuit integration is not limited to LSIs, and may be realized with dedicated circuits or general-purpose processors. An FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can be programmed after the LSI is manufactured, or a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connections and settings of the circuit cells inside the LSI may be used.

In each of the first to fifth embodiments described above, the components such as the driver's state estimation device may be configured with dedicated hardware, or may be realized by executing a software program suitable for the components. . The components may be implemented by a program execution unit such as a CPU or processor reading and executing a software program recorded in a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory.

In addition, the numbers used above are all examples for specifically explaining the present disclosure, and each of Embodiments 1 to 5 is not limited to the numbers shown.

Also, the division of functional blocks in the block diagram is an example, and a plurality of functional blocks can be realized as one functional block, one functional block can be divided into a plurality of functional blocks, and some functions can be moved to other functional blocks. may Moreover, single hardware or software may process the functions of a plurality of functional blocks having similar functions in parallel or in a time-sharing manner.

Also, the order in which each step in the flowchart is executed is for illustrative purposes in order to specifically describe the present disclosure, and orders other than the above may be used. Also, some of the above steps may be executed concurrently (in parallel) with other steps.

The characteristics of the driver's state estimating device described based on the first to fifth embodiments are described below.
<Technology 1>
a thought estimating unit for estimating the degree of thoughts of the driver based on driver information, which is information indicating physical features of the driver's appearance and/or the state of the driver's internal body;
a thinking estimated value holding unit that holds transition information that is information indicating the transition of the degree of thinking during a predetermined period in the past,
The thought estimating unit estimates the degree of thoughts related to driving and the degree of thoughts other than driving of the driver from the degree of thoughts based on the transition information.
Driver state estimation device.
<Technology 2>
The thought estimation unit
calculating a reference value based on the transition information;
estimating the range of the degree of thinking from 0 to the reference value as the degree of thinking about driving;
Estimating a range in which the degree of thinking is greater than the reference value as the degree of thinking other than driving;
The driver state estimation device according to technique 1.
<Technology 3>
The thought estimation unit
determining a threshold value that is greater than the reference value by a predetermined value;
outputting a warning signal when the degree of thoughts other than driving exceeds the threshold;
The driver state estimation device according to technique 2.
<Technology 4>
The predetermined value increases as the reference value decreases, and decreases as the reference value increases.
The driver state estimation device according to technique 3.
<Technology 5>
The thought estimation unit
Estimate the degree of thinking other than the driving by subtracting the reference value from the degree of thinking,
outputting a warning signal if the estimated degree of non-driving thoughts exceeds a predetermined threshold;
The driver state estimation device according to technique 2.
<Technology 6>
The threshold increases as the reference value decreases, and decreases as the reference value increases.
The driver state estimation device according to technique 5.
<Technology 7>
The driver information includes at least one of the line-of-sight angle, line-of-sight retention time, gaze area, posture, pupil diameter, pulse, heartbeat, electrodermal activity, blood hemoglobin concentration, and electroencephalogram obtained from the driver information acquisition unit. including
The thought estimating unit selects at least the line-of-sight angle, the line-of-sight dwell time, the gaze area, the posture, the pupil diameter, the pulse, the heartbeat, the electrodermal activity, the blood hemoglobin concentration, and the electroencephalogram. estimating the degree of thought based on a past period of variation in one;
The driver state estimation device according to any one of Techniques 1 to 6.
<Technology 8>
The driver information acquisition unit outputs personal identification information of the driver together with the driver information,
Based on the transition information corresponding to the personal identification information, the thought estimating unit determines the degree of thoughts related to driving and the degree of thoughts other than driving of the driver from the degree of thoughts held by the thought estimated value holding unit. Estimate the degree and
The driver state estimation device according to Technique 7.
<Technology 9>
further comprising a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires predetermined driving information that is information indicating that the driver has performed predetermined driving,
The thinking estimated value holding unit holds the degree of thinking when the predetermined driving information is not acquired from the vehicle information acquiring unit, and the predetermined driving information when the predetermined driving information is acquired from the vehicle information acquiring unit. does not retain the degree of thought corresponding to
The driver state estimation device according to any one of Techniques 1 to 8.
<Technology 10>
further comprising a driving environment acquisition unit that acquires the driving environment of the vehicle driven by the driver;
The thought estimating unit acquires the driving environment from the driving environment acquiring unit, and if the acquired driving environment is simple, lowers the reference value, and if the acquired driving environment is complicated, raises the reference value. Adjust the reference value so that
The driver state estimation device according to any one of Techniques 2 to 8.
<Technology 11>
The driving environment is at least one of road conditions, which are conditions of the road on which the vehicle travels, current weather, time, and an automatic driving state of the vehicle.
The driver state estimation device according to technique 10.
<Technology 12>
The thought estimation unit outputs the degree of thought to the display unit over time,
The driver state estimation device according to any one of Techniques 1 to 11.

In addition, forms obtained by applying various modifications that a person skilled in the art can think of to Embodiments 1 to 5, and arbitrarily combining the components and functions in Embodiments 1 to 5 within the scope of the present disclosure Implementations are also included in the disclosure.

The present disclosure can be used for vehicles, for example.

1 vehicle 2, 2a, 2b driver state estimation device 22 thought estimation unit 23 thought estimated value storage unit 24 vehicle information acquisition unit 25 driving environment acquisition unit

Claims (12)

1. a thought estimating unit for estimating the degree of thoughts of the driver based on driver information, which is information indicating physical features of the driver's appearance and/or the state of the driver's internal body;
   a thinking estimated value holding unit that holds transition information that is information indicating the transition of the degree of thinking during a predetermined period in the past,
   The thought estimating unit estimates the degree of thoughts related to driving and the degree of thoughts other than driving of the driver from the degree of thoughts based on the transition information.
   Driver state estimation device.
2. The thought estimation unit
   calculating a reference value based on the transition information;
   estimating the range of the degree of thinking from 0 to the reference value as the degree of thinking about driving;
   Estimating a range in which the degree of thinking is greater than the reference value as the degree of thinking other than driving;
   The driver's state estimation device according to claim 1.
3. The thought estimation unit
   determining a threshold value that is greater than the reference value by a predetermined value;
   outputting a warning signal when the degree of thoughts other than driving exceeds the threshold;
   The driver's state estimation device according to claim 2.
4. The thought estimation unit
   Estimate the degree of thinking other than the driving by subtracting the reference value from the degree of thinking,
   outputting a warning signal if the estimated degree of non-driving thoughts exceeds a predetermined threshold;
   The driver's state estimation device according to claim 2.
5. The driver information includes at least one of the line-of-sight angle, line-of-sight retention time, gaze area, posture, pupil diameter, pulse, heartbeat, electrodermal activity, blood hemoglobin concentration, and electroencephalogram obtained from the driver information acquisition unit. including
   The thought estimating unit selects at least the line-of-sight angle, the line-of-sight dwell time, the gaze area, the posture, the pupil diameter, the pulse, the heartbeat, the electrodermal activity, the blood hemoglobin concentration, and the electroencephalogram. estimating the degree of thought based on a past period of variation in one;
   The driver's state estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
6. The driver information acquisition unit outputs personal identification information of the driver together with the driver information,
   Based on the transition information corresponding to the personal identification information, the thought estimating unit determines the degree of thoughts related to driving and the degree of thoughts other than driving of the driver from the degree of thoughts held by the thought estimated value holding unit. Estimate the degree and
   The driver's state estimating device according to claim 5.
7. further comprising a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires predetermined driving information that is information indicating that the driver has performed predetermined driving,
   The thinking estimated value holding unit holds the degree of thinking when the predetermined driving information is not acquired from the vehicle information acquiring unit, and the predetermined driving information when the predetermined driving information is acquired from the vehicle information acquiring unit. does not retain the degree of thought corresponding to
   A driver's state estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
8. further comprising a driving environment acquisition unit that acquires the driving environment of the vehicle driven by the driver;
   The thought estimating unit acquires the driving environment from the driving environment acquiring unit, and if the acquired driving environment is simple, lowers the reference value, and if the acquired driving environment is complicated, raises the reference value. Adjust the reference value so that
   The driver's state estimation device according to any one of claims 2 to 4.
9. The driving environment is at least one of road conditions, which are conditions of the road on which the vehicle travels, current weather, time, and an automatic driving state of the vehicle.
   The driver's state estimation device according to claim 8.
10. The predetermined value increases as the reference value decreases, and decreases as the reference value increases.
    The driver's state estimating device according to claim 3.
11. The threshold increases as the reference value decreases, and decreases as the reference value increases.
    The driver's state estimation device according to claim 4.
12. The thought estimation unit outputs the degree of thought to the display unit over time,
    The driver's state estimation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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