Robotic vehicle control

1. A vehicle, comprising:

a detection system configured to acquire data regarding operation of the vehicle;

a robotic driving device configured to provide robotic control of the vehicle; and

a control system configured to:

determine that the robotic driving device is activated, such that the vehicle is in a robotic driving mode;

receive a request by a prospective operator of the vehicle to deactivate the robotic driving device to initiate a manual driving mode;

evaluate a driving command from the prospective operator during robotic driving mode subsequent to the request and relative to a pre-approved driving command, the driving command configured to control movement of the vehicle;

determine whether the prospective operator is impaired based on the evaluation and the driving command; and

selectively deactivate the robotic driving device based on the impairment determination.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to deactivate the robotic driving device based on the determination that the prospective operator is not impaired.

3. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the detection system is configured to acquire the data in response to reception of the request.

4. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to make the impairment determination in response to reception of the request.

5. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the data includes a state characteristic of the prospective operator.

6. The vehicle of claim 5 , wherein the state characteristic includes an indication of at least one of a cognitive response ability, a heart rate, a tremor, a blood alcohol level, a blood flow level, a pupil dilation level, a vision acuity level, and a presence of an impairing drug.

7. The vehicle of claim 5 , wherein the state characteristic includes at an indication of at least one of eyeglasses, contact lenses, a hearing aid, and a presence of an impairment antagonist drug.

8. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the driving command includes at least one of a verbal command and a physical command, wherein the physical command includes an indication of at least one of:

a rate, a frequency, and a force of depression and release in at least one of a brake pedal, an accelerator pedal, and a clutch pedal; and

a frequency of turning the steering wheel.

9. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the data includes surroundings data.

10. The vehicle of claim 9 , wherein the surroundings data includes at least one of an indication of a temperature, a time of day, an ambient light level, a road surface condition, a precipitation level, a fog level, a radiation level, a carbon monoxide level, and a harmful toxin level.

11. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to store the data for a plurality of prospective operators of the vehicle.

12. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to determine impairment based on a preset deviation from the average data levels for each prospective operator of a plurality of prospective operators.

13. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the control system is configured to determine impairment based on a preset deviation from pre-approved data levels.

14. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the robotic driving device is configured to drive the vehicle.

15. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the robotic driving device is configured to drive the vehicle along a predetermined path.

16. The vehicle of claim 15 , wherein the predetermined path is provided by the prospective operator.

17. The vehicle of claim 15 , wherein the predetermined path is provided by the control system.

18. The vehicle of claim 15 , wherein the predetermined path is a path provided by the prospective operator while the vehicle was in manual driving mode.

19. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the robotic driving device is configured to override operator control of the vehicle.

20. An apparatus for detecting and responding to a potential impairment of an operator of a vehicle, comprising:

a detection system configured to acquire data regarding the operator;

a robotic driving device configured to provide robotic operation of the vehicle;

an evaluator configured to receive an operator command from the operator to evaluate the operator for an impairment during robotic operation of the vehicle, the operator command including a frequency of a depression and a release of an accelerator pedal; and

a control system configured to selectively deactivate the robotic driving device based on signals received from the evaluator.

21. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the control system is configured to deactivate the robotic driving device based on signals received from the evaluator.

22. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the evaluation includes comparing effects of the operator command to effects of commands received from the robotic driving device.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein the control system preferentially uses commands from the robotic driving device when the difference between the effects exceeds a threshold.

24. The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein the control system preferentially uses commands from the operator when the difference between the effects is less than a threshold.

25. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the control system uses a weighted combination of commands from the operator and commands from the robotic driving device.

26. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the evaluator is configured to evaluate the operator of the vehicle during an evaluation period to determine whether the operator is impaired.

27. The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the evaluator is configured to override the operator command from the operator during a constrained operation period.

28. An apparatus for detecting and responding to an emergency situation in a vehicle, comprising:

a detection system configured to acquire data regarding operation of a vehicle;

a robotic driving device configured to provide robotic operation of the vehicle; and

a control system configured to:

determine whether an emergency situation exists based on the data and based on the determination;

selectively activate the robotic driving device to direct the vehicle to an emergency response location selected based on the emergency situation; and

evaluate a driving command from an operator of the vehicle for impairment during robotic operation of the vehicle, the driving command including a frequency of a depression and a release of an accelerator pedal; and

in response to an impaired determination, maintain robotic operation of the vehicle.

29. The apparatus of claim 28 , wherein the control system is further configured to prevent deactivation of the robotic driving device during the direction to the emergency response location.

30. The apparatus of claim 28 , wherein the control system is configured to include parameters indicative of various emergency situations.

31. The apparatus of claim 28 , wherein the control system is configured to initiate an emergency response protocol.

32. The apparatus of claim 31 , wherein initiating the emergency response protocol includes activating the robotic driving device to override control of the vehicle by an operator.