Environment-based function lock system for a vehicle
A computing device and methods for restricting driver interactions with vehicle functions based on a challenging driving environment are disclosed. One example method for restricting driver interactions with vehicle functions based on a challenging driving environment includes identifying a challenging driving environment based at least in part on information regarding a driving condition; and preventing a driver from accessing one or more vehicle functions based on the challenging driving environment exists. Example implementations include identifying a challenging driving environment based on information received from on-vehicle sensors and/or external communication links; identifying a driver's skill level; and selectively blocking vehicle functionality, selectively presenting information to a driver, and selecting available driver interactions based on the driving environment.
1. A computing device for a vehicle, comprising:
one or more processors for controlling the operations of the computing device; and
a memory for storing data and program instructions used by the one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to:
identify an attention factor associated with at least one vehicle function;
identify a challenging driving environment, the identification being: (1) based at least in part on information regarding a driving condition, and (2) with respect to the at least one vehicle function, based at least in part on the attention factor; and
selectively prevent a driver from accessing one or more vehicle functions based on the challenging driving environment.
2. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the driving condition is associated with at least one of: vehicle speed, vehicle direction, vehicle acceleration, vehicle altitude, vehicle location, environmental temperature, environmental barometric pressure, environmental weather conditions, traffic conditions, and road conditions.
3. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors receives the information regarding the driving condition from one or more sensors associated with the vehicle.
4. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors receives the information regarding the driving condition from a remote source in electronic communication with a communications interface associated with the vehicle.
5. The computing device of claim 4 , wherein the remote source is a remote server.
6. The computing device of claim 4 , wherein the remote source is another vehicle or a traffic infrastructure network.
7. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive information regarding the driver's skill level; and
wherein the identification of the challenging driving environment is based at least in part on the driver's skill level.
8. The computing device of claim 7 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
alert the driver regarding the challenging driving environment;
wherein the alert is based at least in part on the driver's skill level.
9. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:
alert the driver regarding the challenging driving environment.
10. A computer-implemented method for a vehicle, comprising:
identifying an attention factor associated with at least one vehicle function;
identifying a challenging driving environment, the identification being: (1) based at least in part on information regarding a driving condition, and (2) with respect to the at least one vehicle function, based at least in part on the attention factor; and
selectively preventing a driver from accessing one or more vehicle functions based on the challenging driving environment.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the driving condition is associated with at least one of: vehicle speed, vehicle direction, vehicle acceleration, vehicle altitude, vehicle location, environmental temperature, environmental barometric pressure, environmental weather conditions, traffic conditions, and road conditions.
12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the information regarding the driving condition is received from one or more sensors associated with the vehicle.
13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the information regarding the driving condition is received from a remote source via a communications interface associated with the vehicle.
14. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
receiving an indication of the driver's skill level;
wherein the identification of the challenging driving environment is based at least in part on the driver's skill level.
15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
alerting the driver regarding the challenging driving environment;
wherein the alert is based at least in part on the driver's skill level.
16. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
alerting the driver to the existence of the challenging driving environment.
17. A system, comprising:
one or more sensors associated with a vehicle; and
a computing device in communication with the one or more sensors, the computing device comprising one or more processors for controlling the operations of the computing device and a memory for storing data and program instructions used by the one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to:
identify an attention factor associated with at least one vehicle function;
identify a challenging driving environment, the identification being: (1) based at least in part on information received from the one or more sensors regarding a driving condition, and (2) with respect to the at least one vehicle function, based at least in part on the attention factor; and
selectively prevent a driver from accessing one or more vehicle functions based on the challenging driving environment.
18. The system according to claim 17 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute instructions stored in memory to:
alert the driver regarding the challenging driving environment by automatically switching an interactive display to a display screen related to the challenging driving environment.
19. The system according to claim 18 , wherein the challenging driving environment is a traffic condition, and the interactive display is switched to display navigation information.
20. The system according to claim 18 , wherein the challenging driving environment is a weather condition, and the interactive display is switched to display weather information.