Method and product for alerting or refocusing an inattentive driver

Abstract

The present disclosure generally relates to driver and vehicle docking. A method or product for alerting or refocusing a human driver who is inattentive to a driving task is disclosed. The method includes providing a human driver monitoring system and a human driver shaking system for a vehicle. The method includes using the human driver monitoring system to monitor for signs of inattention of the human driver to the task of driving the vehicle. The method further includes using the human driver shaking system to shake the human driver.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 62 / 928,117, filed on October 30, 2019. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of driver and vehicle interfacing. Background Art

[0004] Vehicles typically include a steering system that includes a steering interface that a human driver can use to steer the vehicle. Even in autonomous vehicles, driving situations may arise that a human driver may be better suited to operate.

[0005] Overview of Illustrative Variants

[0006] A number of illustrative variations may include methods or products for alerting or refocusing a human driver who is distracted from a driving task.

[0007] Other illustrative variations within the scope of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided below.It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while disclosing variations of the invention, are intended for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Selected examples of variations within the scope of the invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which:

[0009] Figure 1 An illustrative variation is depicted in which a flow chart generally depicts how a human driver monitoring system may detect and address inattentiveness of a human driver based on a number of example conditions;

[0010] Figure 2 An illustrative variation is depicted in which the vehicle's posture is altered to alert and refocus an inattentive human driver;

[0011] Figure 3 An illustrative variation is depicted in which the vehicle begins a slalom maneuver in order to alert and refocus an inattentive human driver. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] The following description of the variations is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the scope of the invention, its application, or uses.

[0013] In a number of illustrative variations, a vehicle for cargo or passengers may be driven forward by automotive power derived from an electric motor that converts a stored energy source into a driving force for the vehicle, such as, but not limited to, an internal combustion engine, a battery-powered engine, a fuel cell-powered engine, or any other known electric motor for providing automotive driving power for a passenger or cargo vehicle. The driving force generated by the conversion of the stored energy by the electric motor may be transferred from the electric motor to a driving medium along which the vehicle will travel, such as, but not limited to, a large area of ​​land, a road, a waterway, an airway, or any other medium along which a known vehicle can travel through space. The transfer of driving force from the electric motor to the driving medium may occur via any component of the driven automotive vehicle that moves, such as, but not limited to: wheels, treads, casters, rollers, propellers, gas thrusters, liquid thrusters, or ion drive thrusters, or any other known component of the driven automotive vehicle that moves.

[0014] As used herein, "wheels" or "wheels" may refer to conventional wheel and tire arrangements even when modified by a descriptive adjective (such as, but not limited to, in descriptions of "steerable wheels," "steerable wheels," "wheels," or "driven wheels"), but may also refer to any modifications to conventional wheel and tire arrangements, such as, but not limited to, frameless magnetically levitated tires, spherical tires, or any other known component of automotive locomotion, such as, but not limited to, treads, casters, rollers, propellers, or gas thrusters, liquid thrusters, or ion-drive thrusters.

[0015] As used herein, "road" may refer to conventional driving surface roads (such as, but not limited to, concrete or asphalt roads), even when modified by a descriptive adjective, but may also refer to any driving surface or medium along or through which a vehicle for cargo or passengers may travel, such as, but not limited to, water, ice, snow, dirt, mud, air or other gases, or general space.

[0016] In several illustrative variations, the phrase "driving a vehicle" or "driving the vehicle" may refer to the task of competently operating the vehicle in any manner that may affect the vehicle's travel, including but not limited to: steering the vehicle via a steering interface; accelerating the vehicle via any available system (such as but not limited to a throttle); decelerating the vehicle via any available system (such as but not limited to a braking system or a transmission); causing the vehicle to change driving modes via any available interface for changing driving modes, such as but not limited to changing a performance target or limit or an emissions target or limit for the vehicle; changing the vehicle's posture via any interface that can be used to change the vehicle's posture, through an active suspension system (if present), if present.

[0017] In a number of illustrative variations, the vehicle may have a steering system that allows a human driver to change the direction of the vehicle, or to divert the direction from a path in which the vehicle may be traveling. The vehicle's steering system may also be autonomous in that the vehicle may steer itself to a predetermined position that has been communicated to it without assistance or interference from the driver. The vehicle may also include an obstacle avoidance system that allows the vehicle to sense objects in its path and avoid them.

[0018] In a number of illustrative variations, the vehicle may be equipped with a steering interface that may include a rocker, trackball, slider, throttle, button, toggle switch, joystick, touch screen, mouse, or any other known component of user input. In cases where human driver input is via interaction of the human driver with a steering interface that does not produce an apparent opportunity for force feedback (such as, but not limited to, variations involving a mouse or touch screen as the primary component of human driver input), the automated steering system may indicate resistance to the human driver input via visual cues (such as, but not limited to, flashing or animation on a display), audio cues (such as, but not limited to, ticks, beeps, or indicative voice recordings, generated voices, or live voices), or tactile cues (such as, but not limited to, screen vibrations), or any other cues that may indicate to the human driver how the human driver input (which may occur simultaneously with autonomous input) is opposed to, coordinated with, integrated with, or handled by the steering system.

[0019] In a number of illustrative variations, the vehicle may be equipped with a number of systems that may be programmed with or in communication with any number of logic modules arranged to autonomously address a number of control areas within the range of vehicle maneuvering and travel, including but not limited to vehicle acceleration, vehicle braking, autonomous path planning, performance capability monitoring and management, and an autonomous maneuvering system for at least lateral control of the vehicle. The logic of the modules for the autonomous maneuvering system may account for human driver assistance or intervention in the maneuvering or driving of the vehicle.

[0020] In a number of illustrative variations, the vehicle may be equipped with a number of systems that may be programmed with or communicate with any number of logic modules that monitor the status of a human driver or passenger of the vehicle. Such systems or logic modules may monitor biometric data, such as but not limited to heat signatures or heart rate, posture data (such as but not limited to slumping of shoulders or arching of back), movement data (such as but not limited to movement of eyes, stillness of mouth, or movement of feet), emission data (such as but not limited to sound or gas emissions), component interaction data (such as but not limited to brightness of touch or grip strength), or gesture data. Any data that may be used to determine the attentiveness of a human driver may be collected by such a system and processed by such a module using appropriate sensors, systems, or cameras, such as but not limited to gas composition sensors, any kind of touch or pressure sensors, sound sensors or microphones, infrared cameras, ultrasonic systems, or radar systems. Importantly, any image collected by the camera can be image analyzed to determine things such as, but not limited to, stillness of the mouth, movement of the eyes, drooping of the shoulders, movement of the feet, arching of the back, or gestures of the driver.

[0021] In a number of illustrative variations, the vehicle's systems or components or any combination thereof may be operated according to logical modules by software or machine logic. In this case, any number of modules may be combined together or broken down into smaller modules.

[0022] In a number of illustrative variations, a human driver monitoring system may detect that a human driver has become inattentive to the task of driving the vehicle due to becoming drowsy or distracted or otherwise, and determines that it is appropriate to jolt the human driver back to a state of concentration. In some such cases, such jolt to the driver may be effected by changing the acceleration of the vehicle in a lateral or longitudinal direction. In some cases, such jolt may also be achieved by rapidly changing the position or orientation of the human driver's seat, or in any other manner that may alert the human driver and refocus the driver.

[0023] In a number of illustrative variations, the vehicle may be equipped with an autonomous steering system that may autonomously control lateral movement of the vehicle via systems such as, but not limited to, a steering system, an engine control system, a braking system, a transmission system, or any other vehicle system. In some such cases, a human driver monitoring system may detect that the human driver has become inattentive to the task of driving the vehicle and may begin to spin the vehicle within the driving lane in order to generate lateral forces on the human driver, thereby alerting and refocusing the human driver who has been determined to be inattentive to the task of driving the vehicle.

[0024] In a plurality of illustrative variations, the vehicle may be equipped with an active suspension system capable of actively changing the vehicle's posture, and the human driver monitoring system may actively change the vehicle's posture via the active suspension system. In some such cases, the human driver monitoring system may detect that the human driver has become negligent in the task of driving the vehicle, and change the vehicle's posture via the active suspension system, so as to warn the human driver who has been determined by the human driver monitoring system to be negligent in the task of driving the vehicle and to refocus his attention. In some such cases, the vehicle's autonomous handling system may account for and mitigate any changes to the handling that may be caused by the posture change, even when the human driver who has been warned and refocused takes on the task of driving the vehicle again. As a non-limiting example, if the change in the vehicle's posture made by the human driver monitoring system is a drop in the front and rear driver-side suspension (relatively lower than the suspension on the front and rear passenger sides), this may cause a sense of falling to the human driver, but may also cause the vehicle to turn left or right (veer) due to the suspension difference. In such a case, the autonomous steering system may account for any such steering and steer the vehicle so that it maintains its bearing prior to the attitude change. In addition, if the human driver reassumes the task of driving the vehicle via interaction with at least one steering interface before the human driver monitoring system remediates the suspension difference, the autonomous steering system may assist the human driver in steering the vehicle by adaptively maintaining a straight bearing for the original or center position of the steering interface. As a non-limiting example, in a case where the at least one steering interface through which the human driver reassumes the task of driving is a hand wheel, the autonomous driving system may assist the human driver during the described attitude change warning process by ensuring that the vehicle is traveling on a straight bearing whenever the hand wheel is centered.

[0025] In a number of illustrative variations, a vehicle may be equipped with a braking system constructed and arranged to brake at least one steerable wheel or at least one driven wheel of the vehicle. In some such cases, a human driver monitoring system may detect that a human driver has become inattentive to the task of driving the vehicle and may brake at least one steerable wheel or driven wheel to change the acceleration of the vehicle in order to warn and refocus the human driver who has been determined to be inattentive to the task of driving the vehicle. In some such cases, the wheels may be driven wheels and steerable wheels and may be braked by the braking system.

[0026] In a number of illustrative variations, a vehicle may be equipped with a transmission constructed and arranged to change a gear ratio of an engine shaft to a drive shaft, thereby changing the revolutions per minute of at least one driven wheel, in order to warn and refocus a human driver who has been determined by a human driver monitoring system to be inattentive to the task of driving the vehicle. In some such cases, the human driver monitoring system may detect that the human driver has become inattentive to the task of driving the vehicle, and may utilize the transmission to shift gears in a manner that affects the revolutions per minute of at least one driven wheel, in order to warn and refocus the human driver who has been determined to be inattentive to the task of driving the vehicle.

[0027] In a number of illustrative variations, a human driver monitoring system may detect that a human driver has become distracted from the task of driving the vehicle and may communicate this to any number of systems or modules of the vehicle. A module associated with engine control may cause the engine to adjust the amount of torque delivered to at least one driven wheel, thereby affecting the acceleration of the driven wheel, so as to produce a jolt in the human driver, thereby alerting and refocusing the human driver who has been determined to be distracted from the task of driving the vehicle.

[0028] In a number of illustrative variations, the vehicle may also be equipped with an autonomous driving system, which may include an autonomous steering system, as well as any other system that may be related to the movement of the vehicle in any direction, such as, but not limited to, signaling systems, autonomous path planning and following systems, cruise systems, blind spot management systems, legal compliance systems, suspension systems, collision avoidance systems, etc. In some such cases, the human driver monitoring system may detect that the human driver has become inattentive to the task of driving the vehicle, and any system including the autonomous driving system may be utilized in a manner suitable for alerting and refocusing the human driver who has been determined to be inattentive to the task of driving the vehicle.

[0029] In a number of illustrative variations, any changes made to warn and refocus the human driver may be followed by a warning sequence, such as, but not limited to, an audible alarm, such as, but not limited to, a chiming noise that may increase in loudness as it is played in the vehicle cabin. In some cases, changes made to warn and refocus the human driver may be followed by vibration of one or more vehicle components, such as, but not limited to, a seat or a control interface. Such vibration or buzzing may also increase in intensity as it occurs. Any such prior warning sequence may also continue or occur simultaneously with changes intended to warn and refocus the inattentive human driver.

[0030] In a number of illustrative variations, any number of methods described in the present disclosure may be utilized to warn an attentive human driver to assume the task of driving the vehicle, regardless of the fact that the vehicle has not been determined by the human driver monitoring system to be inattentive to the task of driving the vehicle. In some such cases, this may occur because the vehicle has used any number of vehicle modules, systems, components, cameras, or sensors to determine that the vehicle requires a human pilot to navigate an upcoming portion of the vehicle's path for reasons such as, but not limited to, detection of a particularly complex or difficult portion of road to be navigated by the vehicle's autonomous driving system (such as, but not limited to, a roundabout or an exit ramp), detection of inclement weather, or any other atmospheric condition that may adversely affect the function of a vehicle module, system, component, camera, or sensor (such as, but not limited to, smoke, water, snow, ice, electromagnetic interference, or any other condition known to adversely affect the function of a vehicle module, system, component, camera, or sensor). In some cases, due to a system failure that would occur regardless of driving conditions but still adversely affect the functionality of a vehicle module, system, component, camera, or sensor, any number of the methods already described in this disclosure may be utilized to notify an attentive driver to assume the task of driving the vehicle, regardless of the fact that the vehicle has not yet been determined by a human driver monitoring system to be negligent in the task of driving the vehicle.

[0031] In a number of illustrative variations, the vehicle may be equipped with any number of sensors or cameras configured to detect changes in the stability or safety of the vehicle's travel. Such sensors or cameras may be used as part of a system or module for ensuring vehicle stability or safety with respect to the vehicle's travel. In some such cases, changes made to warn and refocus the human driver may be avoided, minimized, or mitigated if such changes are determined by such a system to be likely to result in instability of the vehicle, or a reduction in the safety of the vehicle's travel.

[0032] Reference now Figure 1, a flowchart describing the logical flow of a method for warning or refocusing a neglected human driver is shown. At least one of the processes shown can be run simultaneously with each other. In the first process 101 of loop 103, at least one sensor or camera is used to collect data related to the concentration of the human driver on the driving task. In the second process 102 within loop 103, a human driver monitoring system (not shown) analyzes data related to the concentration of the human driver on the driving task. When loop 103 is continuously running, condition 104 is continuously checked to determine whether the human driver (not shown) has become negligent in the driving task. If condition 104 is resolved to be negative, loop 103 can simply continue to run. If condition 104 is answered to be positive, process 105 can collect and analyze data about the environment in which the vehicle (not shown) is driving. This data collection and analysis can occur by actively polling an environmental sensor (not shown) for the vehicle, or by accessing data that has been available via a memory or storage system for such data or via an electronic bus for such data. Depending on the analysis of the environmental data according to process 105, at least one appropriate action for alerting and refocusing the human driver is selected and initiated in process 106. Potential appropriate actions for alerting and refocusing the human driver in process 106 may include, but are not limited to, initiating a spin maneuver for the vehicle, applying vehicle brakes for any amount of time, accelerating the vehicle for any amount of time, changing a gear ratio via the vehicle transmission, changing the vehicle's posture, changing the position of the human driver's seat, or any other action that might conceivably alert and refocus the human driver.

[0033] Reference now Figure 2 In an illustrative variation of the invention, in a first step 201, a human driver monitoring system may include at least one camera or sensor 202, and may determine that a driver 203 has become inattentive to the task of driving a vehicle 204. In a second step 205, in response to determining that the human driver 203 has become inattentive, the human driver monitoring system may, by itself or via any appropriate vehicle system, lower the vehicle active suspension 206 on at least one side of the vehicle 204, and may also raise the active suspension 206 on the opposite side of the vehicle 204. This may create a feeling of falling or jumping in the driver 203 in an attempt to warn the driver 203 and refocus his attention. The active suspension 206 manipulation may occur and reset repeatedly on the same side of the vehicle 204, or oscillate between opposite sides of the vehicle 204, until in step 207, the human driver monitoring system including the camera or sensor 202 determines that the driver 203 has been warned and refocused and focused on the driving task.

[0034] Reference now Figure 3 , in a first step 301, a human driver monitoring system 310 may include at least one camera or sensor 306 and may determine that a human driver 307 has become inattentive to the task of driving a vehicle 308. In this illustrative variation, the camera or sensor 306 may be a microphone or a biometric sensor that has detected that the breathing of the human driver 307 has slowed, and the human driver monitoring system 310 has determined that the human driver 306 has fallen asleep. After the human driver monitoring system 310 makes this determination, in a second step 302, the human driver monitoring system may initiate a spin maneuver 309 within the driving lane 305 in an attempt to warn the human driver 307 and refocus his attention. It is noted that the spin maneuver 309 may be more gentle or more intense than the spin maneuver 209 depicted in this illustrative variation. In a third step 303, the human driver monitoring system 310 detects via the sensor or camera 306 that the human driver 307 has been warned and caused to refocus, and causes the vehicle to stop the spin mode 209 and start a straightening-out maneuver 311 within the driving lane 305. In a fourth step 304, the human driver monitoring system 310 may detect via the camera or sensor 306 that the human driver 307 has assumed the task of driving the vehicle 308, and cease all warnings and refocusing actions for the human driver 307.

[0035] The following description of variations is merely an illustration of components, elements, actions, products and methods that are considered to be within the scope of the invention, and is by no means intended to limit such scope by specifically disclosed or unexplanatory content. The components, elements, actions, products and methods described herein may be combined and rearranged as described herein, and are still considered to be within the scope of the invention.

[0036] Variation 1 may include a method comprising: providing a human driver monitoring system and a human driver shaking system for a vehicle; using the human driver monitoring system to monitor for signs of inattention of a human driver from a task of driving the vehicle; and shaking the human driver.

[0037] Variation 2 may include the method of any of Variations 1 or 3-14 wherein shaking the vehicle driver is performed after generating a warning signal within a vehicle cabin.

[0038] Variation 3 may include any of the methods of Variations 2 or 4-14 wherein the warning signal is an audible alarm.

[0039] Variation 4 may include any of the methods of Variations 1-3 or 5-14 wherein the human driver monitoring system comprises at least a camera.

[0040] Variation 5 may include any of the methods of Variations 1-4 or 6-14 wherein the camera is an infrared camera.

[0041] Variation 6 may include the method of any of Variations 1-5 or 7-14 wherein the human driver monitoring system comprises at least a pressure sensor embedded in a vehicle component, a vehicle interior element, or a vehicle trim element.

[0042] Variation 7 may include the method of any of Variations 1-6 or 8-14 wherein the vehicle further comprises an active suspension system, and wherein using the human driver to shake the system to shake the human driver comprises using the active suspension to change a posture of the vehicle.

[0043] Variation 8 may include the method of any of Variations 1-7 or 9-14 wherein the vehicle is in motion and the motion of the vehicle includes a longitudinal vehicle acceleration component and a lateral vehicle acceleration component.

[0044] Variation 9 may include the method of any of Variations 1-8 or 10-14 wherein using the human driver vibration system to vibration the human driver comprises: varying a longitudinal vehicle acceleration component.

[0045] Variation 10 may include the method of any of Variations 1-9 or 11-14 wherein using the human driver vibration system to vibration the human driver comprises: varying a lateral vehicle acceleration component.

[0046] Variation 11 may include the method of any of Variations 1-10 or 12-14 wherein using the human driver monitoring system to monitor the human driver for signs of inattention from a task of driving the vehicle comprises detecting that the human driver has closed his or her eyes.

[0047] Variation 12 may include the method of any of Variations 1-11 or 13-14 wherein using the human driver monitoring system to monitor the human driver for signs of inattention to a task of driving a vehicle comprises detecting that the human driver has slowed his or her breathing.

[0048] Variation 13 may include the method of any of Variations 1-12 or 14 wherein using the human driver monitoring system to monitor the human driver for signs of inattention from a task of driving the vehicle comprises detecting that the human driver has averted his or her gaze.

[0049] Variation 14 may include the method of any of Variations 1-13 wherein using the human driver monitoring system to monitor the human driver for signs of inattention to a task of driving the vehicle comprises detecting that the human driver has dropped his shoulders.

[0050] Variant 15 may include a product comprising: a human driver monitoring system for use in a vehicle, which is constructed and arranged to monitor a human driver and determine whether the human driver is neglecting the task of driving the vehicle, and is further constructed and arranged to communicate with at least one vehicle system, and to affect a change in acceleration of at least one steerable wheel or at least one driven wheel based at least on the detection of whether the human driver is neglecting the task of driving the vehicle via communication with at least one other vehicle system.

[0051] Variant 16 may include the product of variant 15, wherein changing the acceleration of the at least one steerable wheel or the at least one driven wheel via communication with at least one other vehicle system includes: communicating to affect a change in the acceleration of the steerable wheel in a lateral direction by signaling a vehicle steering system to steer the at least one steerable wheel in a lateral direction relative to a straight-ahead guide.

[0052] Variant 17 may include the product of variant 15, wherein changing the acceleration of the at least one steerable wheel or the at least one driven wheel via communication with at least one other vehicle system includes: communicating to affect a change in the acceleration of the driven wheel by signaling a vehicle engine system to increase the amount of torque provided to the driven wheel by the vehicle motor.

[0053] Variant 18 may include the product of variant 15 wherein the human driver monitoring system is further constructed and arranged to communicate with a driving friction estimation system, wherein the driving surface friction estimation system is constructed and arranged to estimate the driving surface friction of at least one of the at least one driven wheel or the steerable wheel, and wherein the human driver monitoring system is constructed and arranged to: based at least on a determination of whether the human driver is negligent in the task of driving the vehicle and the friction estimate of at least one of the at least one steerable wheel or the at least one driven wheel, affect a change in the acceleration of the at least one steerable wheel or the at least one driven wheel via communication with at least one other vehicle system.

[0054] Variant 19 may include the product of variant 15, wherein the human driver monitoring system is further constructed and arranged to communicate with at least one vehicle system or module for detecting an adverse driving environment, and wherein the human driver monitoring system is constructed and arranged to: affect a change in acceleration of the at least one steerable wheel or the at least one driven wheel based at least on detection of the adverse driving environment via communication with at least one other vehicle system, regardless of whether the human driver is determined by the human driver monitoring system to be negligent in the driving task.

[0055] Variant 20 may include a method comprising: providing at least one driven wheel and a steerable wheel, a human driver monitoring system, a driving surface friction estimation system, and a braking system, wherein the at least one driven wheel and the steerable wheel are constructed and arranged to be driven by torque provided by a vehicle motor and also steered by a steering system, and the braking system is constructed and arranged to brake at least one of the at least one driven wheel or the steerable wheel; using the human driver monitoring system to detect that the human driver has become inattentive to the task of driving the vehicle; using the driving surface friction estimation system to estimate the driving surface friction of at least one of the at least one driven wheel or the steerable wheel; and changing the acceleration of the at least one driven wheel or the steerable wheel based at least on the detection of the human driver's inattention and the friction estimation of at least one of the at least one driven wheel or the steerable wheel.

[0056] The foregoing description of selected variations within the scope of the present invention is merely illustrative in nature, and thus variations or modifications thereof should not be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for alerting a human driver who is distracted from a driving task or for causing him to refocus his attention, comprising: providing a human driver monitoring system and a human driver shaking system for a vehicle; monitoring the human driver using a human driver monitoring system and determining whether the human driver is inattentive to the task of driving the vehicle; as well as based on a determination of whether the human driver is inattentive to the task of driving the vehicle, shaking the human driver using a human driver shaking system, wherein the human driver monitoring system is further constructed and arranged to communicate with a driving surface friction estimation system, wherein the driving surface friction estimation system is constructed and arranged to estimate driving surface friction of at least one of at least one driven wheel or at least one steerable wheel of the vehicle, and Wherein using the human driver jolting system to jolt the human driver is based at least on a determination of a friction estimate of at least one of the at least one steerable wheel or the at least one driven wheel. 2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein using the human driver to shake the system to shake the human driver is performed after generating a warning signal in a vehicle cabin. The method of claim 2 , wherein the warning signal is an audible alarm. The method of claim 1 , wherein the human driver monitoring system comprises at least a camera. The method of claim 4 , wherein the camera is an infrared camera.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the human driver monitoring system comprises at least a pressure sensor embedded in a vehicle component, a vehicle interior element, or a vehicle trim element.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle further comprises an active suspension system, and wherein using the human driver shaking system to shake the human driver comprises: The active suspension is used to change the posture of the vehicle.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the vehicle includes an autonomous system constructed and arranged to mitigate any changes to handling caused by the change in posture.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is in motion and the motion of the vehicle includes a longitudinal vehicle acceleration component and a lateral vehicle acceleration component.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein using a human driver shaking system to shake the human driver comprises: Changes the longitudinal vehicle acceleration component.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein using a human driver shaking system to shake the human driver comprises: Change the lateral vehicle acceleration component.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein using a human driver monitoring system to monitor the human driver for signs of inattention to the task of driving the vehicle comprises: Detecting that the human driver has closed his eyes.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein using a human driver monitoring system to monitor the human driver for signs of inattention to the task of driving the vehicle comprises: Detecting that the human driver has slowed his breathing.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein using a human driver monitoring system to monitor the human driver for signs of inattention to the task of driving the vehicle comprises: Detecting that the human driver has shifted his or her gaze.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein using a human driver monitoring system to monitor the human driver for signs of inattention to the task of driving the vehicle comprises: Detecting that the human driver has dropped his shoulders.

16. A product for alerting a human driver who is distracted from a driving task or for causing him to refocus his attention, comprising: A human driver monitoring system for use in a vehicle, constructed and arranged to monitor a human driver and determine whether the human driver is inattentive to the task of driving the vehicle, and further constructed and arranged to communicate with at least one vehicle system and, based at least on the detection of whether the human driver is inattentive to the task of driving the vehicle, via communication with at least one other vehicle system, affect a change in the acceleration of at least one steerable wheel or at least one driven wheel of the vehicle, wherein the human driver monitoring system is further constructed and arranged to communicate with a driving surface friction estimation system, wherein the driving surface friction estimation system is constructed and arranged to estimate driving surface friction of at least one of the at least one driven wheel or the at least one steerable wheel, and The human driver monitoring system is constructed and arranged to: affect a change in the acceleration of at least one steerable wheel or at least one driven wheel via communication with at least one other vehicle system based at least on a determination of whether the human driver is neglecting the task of driving the vehicle and an estimate of the friction of at least one of the at least one steerable wheel or the at least one driven wheel.

17. The product of claim 16, wherein affecting a change in acceleration of the at least one steerable wheel or the at least one driven wheel via communication with at least one other vehicle system comprises: Communication is performed to affect a change in acceleration of the steerable wheel in a lateral direction by signaling a vehicle steering system to steer the at least one steerable wheel in the lateral direction relative to straight ahead guidance.

18. The product of claim 16, wherein affecting a change in acceleration of the at least one steerable wheel or the at least one driven wheel via communication with at least one other vehicle system comprises: Communication is performed to effect a change in acceleration of the driven wheels by signaling a vehicle engine system to increase the amount of torque provided to the driven wheels by the vehicle electric motor.

19. The product of claim 16, wherein the human driver monitoring system is further constructed and arranged to communicate with at least one vehicle system or module for detecting an adverse driving environment, and wherein the human driver monitoring system is constructed and arranged to: affect a change in acceleration of the at least one steerable wheel or the at least one driven wheel based at least on the detection of the adverse driving environment via communication with at least one other vehicle system, regardless of whether the human driver is determined by the human driver monitoring system to be negligent in the driving task.

20. A method for alerting or refocusing a human driver who is distracted from a driving task, comprising: providing at least one driven wheel and a steerable wheel, a human driver monitoring system, a driving surface friction estimation system, and a braking system, the at least one driven wheel and the steerable wheel being constructed and arranged to be driven by torque provided by a vehicle motor and also steered by the steering system, the braking system being constructed and arranged to brake at least one of the at least one driven wheel or the steerable wheel; Using a human driver monitoring system to detect when a human driver has become inattentive to the task of driving the vehicle; estimating a driving surface friction of at least one of the at least one driven wheel or the steerable wheel using a driving surface friction estimation system; as well as An acceleration of the at least one driven or steerable wheel is varied based at least on the detection of inattention by the human driver and an estimate of friction of at least one of the at least one driven or steerable wheel.

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