Driver assistance apparatus
A driver assistance apparatus includes an environment recognition unit, a travel state detection unit, a driver assistance control unit, and a driving skill estimation unit. The driver assistance control unit makes a driver assistance control based on an output of the environment recognition unit regarding the environment and an output of the travel state detection unit regarding travel state. The driver assistance control includes assisting a driver in driving in one or both of entering a curved road and traveling along the curved road. The driver assistance control unit changes contents of the driver assistance control, in accordance with the driving skill of the driver estimated by the driving skill estimation unit. The driving skill estimation unit makes the estimation of the driving skill at least once in each driving cycle of the vehicle.
1 . A driver assistance apparatus comprising:
an environment recognition unit configured to recognize an environment around a vehicle;
a travel state detection unit configured to detect a travel state of the vehicle;
a driving skill estimation unit configured to perform estimation of driving skill of a driver, based on variations in driving behavior derived from driving data of the driver, and to classify the estimated driving skill into one of predefined driving skill levels;
a driver assistance control unit configured to:
select a mode of a driver assistance control in accordance with the classified driving skill level of the driver estimated by the driving skill estimation unit; and
perform the selected mode of the driver assistance control based on an output of the environment recognition unit regarding the environment and an output of the travel state detection unit regarding the travel state, the driver assistance control including assisting the driver in one or both of entering a curved road and traveling along the curved road,
wherein the driving skill estimation unit is further configured to perform the estimation of the driving skill at least once in each driving cycle of the vehicle, and
wherein the driving skill estimation unit is configured to estimate the driving skill based on at least one of:
a variance of a gaze position in a vertical direction of the vehicle;
a standard deviation of the gaze position;
a frequency of vertical movement of gaze of the driver; and
an average value of an amount of the vertical movement of the gaze.
2 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the driving skill estimation unit is configured to, during one driving cycle of the vehicle, sequentially repeat the estimation of the driving skill at predetermined intervals.
3 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a gaze direction detection unit configured to detect a gaze direction of the driver; and
a yaw angle detection unit configured to detect a yaw angle of the vehicle with respect to a lane on which the vehicle travels,
wherein the driving behavior of the driver includes a history of the gaze direction of the driver detected by the gaze direction detection unit and a history of the yaw angle of the vehicle with respect to a direction of extension of the lane in one or both of entering the curved road and traveling along the curved road.
4 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising a vehicle performance detection unit configured to detect performance of the vehicle,
wherein the driver assistance control unit is configured to select the mode of the driver assistance control, in accordance with a change in the performance of the vehicle detected by the vehicle performance detection unit in addition to the classified driving skill level of the driver estimated by the driving skill estimation unit, and
wherein the vehicle performance detection unit is configured to detect the performance of the vehicle at least once in each driving cycle of the vehicle.
5 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein detecting the performance of the vehicle by the vehicle performance detection unit includes detecting one or more of a characteristic of a tire of the vehicle, a characteristic of a suspension device of the vehicle, a total weight of the vehicle, and weight distribution of the vehicle.
6 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising an occupant state determination unit configured to detect one or more driver states,
wherein the driver assistance control unit is configured to select the mode of the driver assistance control, in accordance with the detected one or more driver states in addition to the classified driving skill level of the driver estimated by the driving skill estimation unit, and
the occupant state determination unit is configured to detect the one or more driver states at least once in each driving cycle of the vehicle.
7 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein detecting the one or more driver states by the occupant state determination unit includes one or more of a consciousness state of the driver, an emotional state of the driver, and a health state of the driver.
8 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein
in the driving cycle, which is defined as a period of time from turning on of a main power supply of the vehicle to turning off of the main power supply,
the driving skill estimation unit is configured to repeatedly estimate the driving skill at predetermined intervals, and
the driver assistance control unit is configured to reflect, in the driver assistance control, changes in the driving skill during the driving cycle resulting from changes in a physical condition of the driver.
9 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a gaze direction detection unit configured to detect a gaze direction of the driver; and
a yaw angle detection unit configured to detect a yaw angle of the vehicle with respect to a lane on which the vehicle travels,
wherein the driving behavior of the driver includes a history of the gaze direction of the driver detected by the gaze direction detection unit and a history of the yaw angle of the vehicle with respect to a direction of extension of the lane in one or both of entering the curved road and traveling along the curved road.
10 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a vehicle performance detection unit configured to detect performance of the vehicle,
wherein the driver assistance control unit is configured to select the mode of the driver assistance control, in accordance with a change in the performance of the vehicle detected by the vehicle performance detection unit in addition to the classified driving skill level of the driver estimated by the driving skill estimation unit, and
wherein the vehicle performance detection unit is configured to detect the performance of the vehicle at least once in each driving cycle of the vehicle.
11 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein detecting the performance of the vehicle by the vehicle performance detection unit includes detecting one or more of a characteristic of a tire of the vehicle, a characteristic of a suspension device of the vehicle, a total weight of the vehicle, and weight distribution of the vehicle.
12 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an occupant state determination unit configured to detect one or more driver states,
wherein the driver assistance control unit is configured to select the mode of the driver assistance control, in accordance with the detected one or more driver states in addition to the classified driving skill level of the driver estimated by the driving skill estimation unit, and
the occupant state determination unit is configured to detect the one or more driver states at least once in each driving cycle of the vehicle.
13 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein detecting the one or more driver states by the occupant state determination unit includes one or more of a consciousness state of the driver, an emotional state of the driver, and a health state of the driver.
14 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the driving cycle is defined as a period from ignition-on to ignition-off of the vehicle.
15 . The driver assistance apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
in the driving cycle, which is defined as a period of time from turning on of a main power supply of the vehicle to turning off of the main power supply,
the driving skill estimation unit is configured to repeatedly estimate the driving skill at predetermined intervals, and
the driver assistance control unit is configured to reflect, in the driver assistance control, changes in the driving skill during the driving cycle resulting from changes in a physical condition of the driver.
16 . A driver assistance apparatus comprising circuitry configured to:
recognize environment around a vehicle;
detect a travel state of the vehicle;
perform estimation of driving skill of a driver, based on variations in driving behavior derived from driving data of the driver, and to classify the estimated driving skill into one of predefined driving skill levels;
select a mode of a driver assistance control in accordance with the classified driving skill level of the driver; and
perform the selected mode of driver assistance control based on the environment around the vehicle and the travel state of the vehicle, the driver assistance control including assisting the driver in driving in one or both of entering a curved road and traveling along the curved road,
wherein the circuitry is further configured to perform the estimation of the driving skill at least once in each driving cycle of the vehicle
wherein the circuitry is further configured to estimate the driving skill based on at least one of:
a variance of a gaze position in a vertical direction of the vehicle;
a standard deviation of the gaze position;
a frequency of vertical movement of gaze of the driver; and
an average value of an amount of the vertical movement of the gaze.