DRIVER ASSISTANCE APPARATUS, METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAME, AND DRIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEM

1 . A driver assistance apparatus comprising:

an image acquisition device configured to acquire lane information of a road on which a vehicle travels;

a controller comprising at least one processor configured to process the lane information and to receive state information of the vehicle from at least one sensor provided in the vehicle, and further configured to:

determine a radius of curvature of a portion of the road ahead of the vehicle based on the lane information;

determine whether steering control of the vehicle is unsafe on the portion of the road ahead of the vehicle based on the radius of curvature of the road and the state information; and

cause an output device provided in the vehicle to output a warning message prior to reaching the portion of the road ahead of the vehicle when steering control is determined to be unsafe.

2 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller determines whether autonomous steering control of the vehicle is unsafe on the portion of the road ahead of the vehicle based on the radius of curvature of the road and the state information, and controls the output device to output the warning message prior to reaching the portion of the road ahead of the vehicle when autonomous steering control is determined to be unsafe.

3 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller controls the output device to output the warning message when the radius of curvature is smaller than a predetermined value.

4 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

acquire driving speed of the vehicle from the at least one sensor provided in the vehicle,

calculate lateral acceleration of the vehicle based on the driving speed of the vehicle and the radius of curvature, and

control the output device to output the warning message when the lateral acceleration of the vehicle exceeds a predetermined value.

5 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller calculates a required steering torque value based on the lane information and the state information, and

controls the output device to output the warning message when the required steering torque value exceeds a predetermined value.

6 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller determines whether the vehicle departs from a lane based on the lane information of the road, and

controls the output device to output the warning message when the controller determines that the vehicle departs from the lane.

7 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller determines whether a driver holds a steering wheel based on the state information, and

controls the output device to output the warning message based on whether the driver holds the steering wheel.

8 . A method of controlling a driver assistance apparatus, comprising:

acquiring lane information of a road on which a vehicle travels;

receiving state information of the vehicle based on at least one sensor provided in the vehicle;

determining a radius of curvature of a portion of the road ahead of the vehicle based on the lane information; and

causing output of a warning message through an output device provided in the vehicle prior to reaching the portion of the road ahead of the vehicle in response to determining that steering control of the vehicle is unsafe on the portion of the road ahead of the vehicle based on the radius of curvature of the road and the state information.

9 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the warning message is output prior to reaching the portion of the road ahead of the vehicle in response to determining that autonomous steering control of the vehicle is unsafe on the portion of the road ahead of the vehicle.

10 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the outputting of the warning message through the output device provided in the vehicle comprises controlling the output device to output the warning message when the radius of curvature is smaller than a predetermined value.

11 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the outputting of the warning message through the output device provided in the vehicle comprises:

acquiring driving speed of the vehicle from the at least one sensor provided in the vehicle,

calculating lateral acceleration of the vehicle based on the driving speed of the vehicle and the radius of curvature, and

controlling the output device to output the warning message when the lateral acceleration of the vehicle exceeds a predetermined value.

12 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the outputting of the warning message through the output device provided in the vehicle comprises:

calculating a required steering torque value based on the lane information and the state information, and

controlling the output device to output the warning message when the required steering torque value exceeds a predetermined value.

13 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the outputting of the warning message through the output device provided in the vehicle comprises:

determining whether the vehicle departs from a lane, based on the lane information of the road, and

controlling the output device to output the warning message when it is determined that the vehicle departs from the lane.

14 . The method according to claim 8 , wherein the outputting of the warning message through the output device provided in the vehicle comprises:

determining whether a driver holds a steering wheel, based on the state information; and

controlling the output device to output the warning message based on whether the driver holds the steering wheel.

15 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the method of claim 8 .

16 . A driver assistance system comprising:

one or more sensors mounted to a vehicle and having a field of view in front of the vehicle; and

a controller comprising at least one processor communicatively coupled to the one or more sensors and to an in-vehicle sensor and configured to:

monitor a curvature of a lane in which the vehicle travels based on sensing data received from the one or more sensors;

determine whether a driver's hand is on a steering wheel based on sensing data from the in-vehicle sensor; and

cause an output device to issue a driver alert based on the curvature of the lane exceeding a threshold when the driver's hand is determined not to be on the steering wheel.

17 . The driver assistance system of claim 16 , wherein the controller is configured to cause the output device to issue the driver alert based on the curvature of the lane exceeding a threshold when the driver's hand is determined not to be on the steering wheel and the vehicle is under autonomous driving control.

18 . The driver assistance system of claim 16 , wherein the controller is configured to cause the output device to issue the driver alert based on the curvature of the lane exceeding a threshold when the driver's hand is determined not to be on the steering wheel and the vehicle is under driver steering control.

19 . The driver assistance system of claim 16 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

detect a speed of the vehicle;

determine a required steering torque for the vehicle based on the detected speed and monitored curvature of the lane; and

cause the output device to issue the driver alert based on the required steering torque exceeding a threshold when the driver's hand is determined not to be on the steering wheel.

20 . The driver assistance system of claim 16 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

detect a speed of the vehicle;

determine a lateral acceleration of the vehicle based on the detected speed and monitored curvature of the lane; and

cause the output device to issue the driver alert based on the determined lateral acceleration exceeding a threshold when the driver's hand is determined not to be on the steering wheel.

21 . The driver assistance system of claim 16 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

monitor a position of the vehicle in the lane having the monitored curvature; and

cause the output device to issue the driver alert based on the monitored position of the vehicle in the lane when the driver's hand is determined not to be on the steering wheel.

22 . The driver assistance system of claim 16 , wherein the controller is configured to cause the output device to issue the driver alert prior to reaching a portion of the lane ahead of the vehicle having the curvature exceeding the threshold when the driver's hand is determined not to be on the steering wheel.

23 . A vehicle comprising:

the driver assistance system of claim 16 ; and

a driver alert output device communicatively coupled to the driver assistance system and configured to issue a driver alert under control of the driver assistance system.

24 . A method for providing a driver alert in a vehicle comprising:

monitoring a curvature of a lane in which the vehicle travels;

determining whether a driver's hand is on a steering wheel of the vehicle; and

causing an output device to issue the driver alert based on the curvature of the lane exceeding a threshold when the driver's hand is determined not to be on the steering wheel.

25 . The method of claim 24 , further comprising:

detecting a speed of the vehicle;

determining a required steering torque for the vehicle based on the detected speed and monitored curvature of the lane; and

causing the output device to issue the driver alert based on the required steering torque exceeding a threshold when the driver's hand is determined not to be on the steering wheel.

26 . The method of claim 24 , further comprising:

detecting a speed of the vehicle;

determining a lateral acceleration of the vehicle based on the detected speed and monitored curvature of the lane; and

causing the output device to issue the driver alert based on the determined lateral acceleration exceeding a threshold when the driver's hand is determined not to be on the steering wheel.

27 . The method of claim 24 , further comprising:

monitoring a position of the vehicle in the lane having the monitored curvature; and causing the output device to issue the driver alert based on the monitored position of the vehicle in the lane when the driver's hand is determined not to be on the steering wheel.

28 . The method of claim 24 , wherein the output device is caused to issue the driver alert prior to reaching a portion of the lane ahead of the vehicle having the curvature exceeding the threshold when the driver's hand is determined not to be on the steering wheel.

29 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform the method of claim 24 .