IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,576,860
Granted Patent B2
US 12,576,860 · App. 18/711,818 · Granted Mar 17, 2026

Method for guiding a motor vehicle in an at least partially automated manner, and motor vehicle

Inventors: Christina Böhmer (Kösching, DE); Florian Schwensfeier (Oberhausen an der Donau, DE)
Assignee: AUDI AG
B60W50/0098B60W30/182B60W40/08B60W50/082G06V20/597G06V40/174B60W2040/0818B60W2040/0872B60W2420/403B60W2420/54B60W2540/21B60W2540/221B60W2540/225B60W2540/229
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,576,860
App. No.
18/711,818
Granted
Mar 17, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Method for guiding a motor vehicle in an at least partially automated manner, wherein the parameter value of at least one parameter of the at least partially automated guidance depends on occupant information relating to a vehicle occupant, wherein the item of occupant information is determined on the basis of sensor data from at least one interior sensor at least partially representing the vehicle occupant of the motor vehicle and/or from at least one temperature sensor recording a body temperature of the vehicle occupant and/or a temperature of the interior.

Claims (28)

1 . A method for at least partial autonomous control of a motor vehicle, the method comprising:

determining an item of occupant information associated with a vehicle occupant,

wherein the item of occupant information is determined based on sensor data from an interior sensor which at least partially images the vehicle occupant,

wherein at least one temperature sensor senses a body temperature of the vehicle occupant and a temperature of an interior of the motor vehicle, and

wherein the at least one temperature sensor extracts the item of occupant information by sensing the temperature of the interior of the motor vehicle after a temporal delay associated with a change of the body temperature of the vehicle occupant; and

controlling, using the at least partially autonomous control, the motor vehicle based on a parameter value of at least one parameter, the parameter value depending on the item of occupant information.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the item of occupant information describes an emotional state that is selected based on the sensor data, the emotional state being one of a plurality of possible emotional states of the vehicle occupant.

3 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the item of occupant information further depends upon a sound of a voice input captured by a microphone in the interior of the motor vehicle and/or upon a sensed pulse and/or upon a determined degree of attentiveness and/or a degree of fatigue of the vehicle occupant and/or upon a driving route selected by the vehicle occupant.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the determining the item of occupant information is further based on at least one variable determined from the sensor data, wherein the at least one variable comprises:

a viewing direction,

a pupil size,

a degree of opening of an eyelid of the vehicle occupant, and/or

a time curve of the least one determined variable.

5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least partial autonomous control is adjusted such that, on a specified driving route, maximum occurring lateral accelerations and/or time curves of the lateral acceleration and/or portions of the specified driving route in which a longitudinal acceleration exceeding a limit value occurs and/or maximum occurring longitudinal accelerations and/or time curves of the longitudinal acceleration and/or trajectories used when driving through at least one curve of the specified driving route and/or minimum distances maintained from other road users and/or time curves of the vehicle speed that result for at least two values of the item of occupant information are different from one another.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of driving modes are specified, said plurality of driving modes specifying different parameter values for the at least one parameter of the at least partially automated control or for at least one of the parameters of the at least partially automated control, wherein one of the plurality of driving modes is selected based on the item of occupant information.

7 . The method according to claim 6 , wherein during the partially automated control of the motor vehicle according to the selected driving mode, the item of occupant information is determined again, wherein, subsequently, in order to modify the selected driving mode, the at least one parameter of the at least partially automated control or at least one of the parameters of the at least partially automated control is set based on the item of occupant information to a parameter value which differs from the parameter value specified by the driving mode.

8 . The method according to claim 6 , wherein at least one of the plurality of driving modes is specified by repeating the determination of the parameter value of the at least one parameter for the at least partially automated driving operation several times in the motor vehicle and/or in at least one other motor vehicle, whereupon, for each repetition, a reference data set describing at least one determined parameter value is provided, wherein reference data sets are collected and similar reference data sets are grouped, whereupon, for each of the groups of the reference data sets which reach a specified size, a common parameter value is specified for the at least one parameter of the at least partially automated control, in order to define one of the driving modes.

9 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein an additional parameter of a route determination and/or of a lighting device and/or of a sound device and/or of an entertainment device and/or of a temperature control device and/or of a scenting device and/or of a massage device and/or of a voice control system of the motor vehicle is specified based on the item of occupant information.

10 . A motor vehicle comprising:

at least one interior sensor and/or at least one temperature sensor; and

a control device,

wherein the control device at least partially automates control of the motor vehicle based on a parameter value of at least one parameter, and

wherein the control device is configured to:

determine an item of occupant information associated with a vehicle occupant,

wherein the parameter value depends on the item of occupant information,

wherein the item of occupant information is determined based on sensor data from an interior sensor which at least partially images the vehicle occupant,

wherein at least one temperature sensor senses a body temperature of the vehicle occupant, and/or a temperature of an interior of the motor vehicle, and

wherein the at least one temperature sensor extracts the item of occupant information by sensing the temperature of the interior of the motor vehicle after a temporal delay associated with a change of the body temperature of the vehicle occupant.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded May 21, 2024
From: BÖHMER, CHRISTINA; SCHWENSFEIER, FLORIAN
To: AUDI AG
Reel/Frame 067474/0609 →
Priority Claims (1)
DE 10 2021 131 040.7 · Nov 26, 2021 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20250018957A1 · Jan 16, 2025
References Cited (76)
US 7431120B2 · Pollehn · 2008 [cited by examiner]
US 8448739B2 · Kolich · 2013 [cited by examiner]
US 10004873B1 · Hur · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 10226982B2 · Alger · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 10287021B2 · Fantuzzi · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 10814701B2 · Starke · 2020 [cited by examiner]
US 10828959B2 · Duan · 2020 [cited by examiner]
US 10867218B2 · Gallagher · 2020 [cited by examiner]
US 10913539B2 · Fantuzzi · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 10922567B2 · Mahmoud · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 11279208B2 · Iliffe-Moon · 2022 [cited by examiner]
US 11282321B2 · Stark · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11414012B2 · Ishiko · 2022 [cited by examiner]
US 11436694B2 · Yeung · 2022 [cited by examiner]
US 11453414B2 · Bader · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 11527081B2 · Balch · 2022 [cited by examiner]
US 11648817B2 · Günzel · 2023 [cited by examiner]
US 11702103B2 · Boulanger · 2023 [cited by examiner]
US 11731486B2 · Feldman · 2023 [cited by examiner]
US 11760169B2 · Varughese · 2023 [cited by examiner]
US 11794554B2 · Scheer · 2023 [cited by examiner]
US 11828210B2 · Varughese · 2023 [cited by examiner]
US 11875609B2 · Woo · 2024 [cited by examiner]
US 12017506B2 · Varughese · 2024 [cited by examiner]
US 12083253B2 · Duvert · 2024 [cited by examiner]
US 20070041865A1 · Ayoub · 2007 [cited by examiner]
US 20100010956A1 · Bell · 2010 [cited by examiner]
US 20110046846A1 · Prokhorov · 2011 [cited by examiner]
US 20150019024A1 · Sabripour · 2015 [cited by examiner]
US 20150032266A1 · Weast · 2015 [cited by examiner]
US 20150098860A1 · Aldereguia · 2015 [cited by examiner]
US 20160046294A1 · Lee · 2016 [cited by examiner]
US 20160152117A1 · Backman · 2016 [cited by examiner]
US 20160185354A1 · Lisseman · 2016 [cited by examiner]
US 20160188987A1 · Lisseman · 2016 [cited by examiner]
US 20160191859A1 · Lisseman · 2016 [cited by examiner]
US 20160320081A1 · Nikovski · 2016 [cited by examiner]
US 20170028987A1 · Yamada · 2017 [cited by examiner]
US 20170282912A1 · Chan · 2017 [cited by examiner]
US 20170334451A1 · Asakura · 2017 [cited by examiner]
US 20170345429A1 · Hardee · 2017 [cited by examiner]
US 20180335776A1 · Theis · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20190016344A1 · Ehmann · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 20190197330A1 · Mahmoud · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 20190310097A1 · Makita · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 20190391581A1 · Vardaro · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 20200039468A1 · Narumi · 2020 [cited by examiner]
US 20200208867A1 · Emoto · 2020 [cited by examiner]
US 20200218271A1 · Krystek · 2020 [cited by examiner]
US 20200224914A1 · Emoto · 2020 [cited by examiner]
US 20200242421A1 · Sobhany · 2020 [cited by examiner]
US 20200393430A1 · Onda · 2020 [cited by examiner]
US 20210039471A1 · Nakashima · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 20210188049A1 · Etienne · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 20210188051A1 · Macneille · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 20210221399A1 · Goto · 2021 [cited by applicant]
US 20210240277A1 · Iliffe-Moon · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 20210283988A1 · De Pelsemaeker · 2021 [cited by examiner]
US 20220009308A1 · Neveu · 2022 [cited by examiner]
US 20220024309A1 · Seo · 2022 [cited by examiner]
US 20220089087A1 · Ishiko · 2022 [cited by examiner]
US 20220176968A1 · Brooks · 2022 [cited by examiner]
US 20250042417A1 · Brockwell · 2025 [cited by examiner]
DE 102015200775A1 · 2016 [cited by applicant]
DE 102017008863A1 · 2018 [cited by applicant]
DE 102017209438A1 · 2018 [cited by applicant]
DE 102017211931A1 · 2019 [cited by applicant]
DE 102019201695A1 · 2019 [cited by applicant]
DE 102018209672A1 · 2019 [cited by applicant]
DE 102019200597A1 · 2020 [cited by applicant]
DE 102019202230A1 · 2020 [cited by applicant]
DE 102019204201A1 · 2020 [cited by applicant]
DE 102020110496A1 · 2021 [cited by applicant]
WO WO2016005289A1 · 2016 [cited by applicant]
International Preliminary Report on Patentability directed to related International Application No. PCT/EP2022/079383, with English-language translation attached, mailed May 2, 2024; 16 pages. [cited by applicant]
International Search Report of the International Searching Authority directed to related International Patent Application No. PCT/EP2022/079383, mailed Jan. 26, 2023, with attached English-language translation; 6 pages. [cited by applicant]