Methods for assisting a driver in the operation of a vehicle, as well as driver assistance systems

Abstract

Method and driver assistance system for supporting a driver when driving a vehicle (12) along a route (10), in which the driver requests a relative time comparison to another vehicle (13, 14) on the route by means of a verbal utterance, in which the other vehicle is described by the driver using at least one identification feature, the verbal utterance is recognized and evaluated by means of a data processing unit, wherein route data is obtained from the at least one identification feature of the other vehicle, from data about a route profile of the route, from data about a position of the vehicle and / or the other vehicle on the route, from data of an optical sensor,a LIDAR sensor and / or a radar sensor of the vehicle for detecting an environment (15) of the vehicle and / or from data of a speed and / or acceleration sensor of the vehicle and / or the other vehicle, the other vehicle is identified by the data processing unit on the basis of at least one identification feature of the route data and in this case the relative time comparison as a time difference between the vehicle and the other vehicle is determined by the data processing unit based on the route data and the determined time difference is output to the driver in the vehicle.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for assisting a driver when a vehicle is driving along a route. The invention further relates to a driver assistance system for assisting a driver when a vehicle is driving along a route.

[0002] Driver assistance systems are generally known as state of the art. In everyday road traffic, these systems support the driver, for example, by making it safer to park, change lanes, and / or by acting as cruise control to maintain or adjust a speed.

[0003] Furthermore, driver assistance systems (especially lap counters) are available for performance-oriented drivers who want to track and improve their performance on a racetrack. These are electronic instruments usually found only in certain vehicle models, particularly sportier models or those designed for track use. They allow the number of laps completed on a racetrack to be counted and provide detailed information on lap times.

[0004] The lap counter measures and records the time the vehicle takes to complete one lap of the racetrack. This allows the driver to monitor and improve their performance. In addition to the total lap time, the lap counter can also record split times (known as sector times). This gives the driver detailed information about which sections of the track they are faster or slower in. If needed, the lap counter saves the data of the completed laps. This allows the driver to analyze and compare the data after the race.

[0005] However, operating and setting up the lap counter is often complex, especially for a driver who is highly focused and potentially driving very fast at the time of use. Navigating a menu structure, its associated settings, and potentially additional submenus requires attention while driving, which is very challenging. Furthermore, a certain learning curve is necessary before the driver becomes familiar with all the functions and possibilities of the lap counter. As a result, the functionality is rarely used, and in some cases, not used at all. This limited use is exacerbated by the lack of everyday practicality of the functionality: the lap counter is designed for use on the racetrack, which is why its functions are unusable and therefore superfluous in normal road traffic.

[0006] Against this background, the invention aims to provide solutions for achieving greater driving safety for drivers of vehicles at potentially higher speeds. In particular, it seeks to reduce accident risks and increase driving performance.

[0007] This problem is solved by a method having the features of claim 1 and by a driver assistance system having the features of claim 8. Further particularly advantageous embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the respective dependent claims.

[0008] It should be noted that the features listed individually in the claims can be combined with one another in any technically meaningful way (even across category boundaries, for example between method and apparatus) and demonstrate further embodiments of the invention. The description further characterizes and specifies the invention, particularly in conjunction with the figures.

[0009] It should also be noted that the conjunction “and / or” used herein, which stands between two features and links them together, is always to be interpreted in such a way that in a first embodiment of the object according to the invention only the first feature may be present, in a second embodiment only the second feature may be present, and in a third embodiment both the first and the second feature may be present.

[0010] The term "approximately" here indicates a tolerance range that a person skilled in the art in this field would consider customary. In particular, the term "approximately" is to be understood as a tolerance range of the related quantity of a maximum of + / -20%, preferably a maximum of + / -10%.

[0011] The invention relates to a method for assisting a driver when driving a vehicle along a route. The route can, in principle, be any route that the vehicle can travel. This includes, for example, public roads (within and outside of built-up areas), but also private roads, such as official racetracks, which in turn can comprise closed racetracks (i.e., circuits) and open racetracks (i.e., sections of track).

[0012] The method according to the invention provides that the driver requests a relative time comparison with another vehicle on the route by means of a verbal utterance (e.g., by means of a voice command), wherein the other vehicle is described by the driver in their verbal utterance using at least one identifying characteristic. The other vehicle is a different vehicle (foreign vehicle) driven by another driver and traveling on the same route as the (own) vehicle. Identifying characteristics of the foreign vehicle can be, for example, a location, a vehicle type or make, a (vehicle) color, a license plate number, a starting or race number (e.g., in an official race), or the name of a driver of the foreign vehicle (e.g., also in an official race), or similar.

[0013] For example, the driver can request the relative time measurement to any other vehicle (i.e., a third-party vehicle) that may be within sight of the vehicle and can be detected by a camera of the vehicle by means of the verbal utterance "What is my relative time to the yellow VW Beetle?", whereby the invention is not necessarily limited to a third-party vehicle within sight.

[0014] The driver's verbal utterance is recognized and evaluated by a data processing unit. In this process, the data processing unit acquires route data. For the purposes of the invention, "acquisition" can exclusively comprise receiving the route data, which may, for example, be compiled, prepared, and provided by another unit, or it can comprise compiling and / or processing various data by the data processing unit, which may, for example, be provided to it by vehicle sensors and / or other data sources.

[0015] In any case, the route data according to the invention are formed from at least one identification feature of the other vehicle, from data about a (geographical) route profile of the journey (e.g. trajectory of the journey from a navigation system), from data about a position of the vehicle and / or the other vehicle (e.g. GPS position) on the journey, from data of an optical sensor (e.g. camera), a LIDAR sensor and / or a radar sensor of the vehicle for detecting an environment of the vehicle and / or from data of a speed and / or acceleration sensor of the vehicle and / or the other vehicle.

[0016] It should be understood that the data listed above, which are not strictly necessary for determining the relative time comparison, may be included in the route data, but this is not mandatory. However, such optional data can simplify the relative time comparison process, so in some embodiments it may be advantageous to collect and add it to the route data.

[0017] Furthermore, according to the invention, the data processing unit identifies the other vehicle based on at least one identification feature of the route data, and in this case, i.e., when the other vehicle has been uniquely identified, the data processing unit determines the relative time comparison as a time difference between the vehicle and the other vehicle based on the route data. The determined time difference is then output to the driver in the vehicle.

[0018] The specified time difference between the vehicle and the other vehicle indicates the time that one of the vehicles, e.g., the (own) vehicle or the other vehicle, is expected to need to reach the current position of the other vehicle, i.e., the other vehicle or the (own) vehicle. The other vehicle can be traveling ahead of or behind the (own) vehicle.

[0019] The evaluation of the linguistic utterance, including the description of the foreign vehicle contained therein (i.e., at least one identifying characteristic), and / or the identification of the foreign vehicle in the track data is preferably carried out on the basis of a trained neural network with access to general vehicle data from a vehicle control unit (e.g., speed, acceleration, driver input, GPS (Global Positioning System), etc.), to so-called ADAS sensor data (i.e., optical sensor data, LIDAR sensor data, radar sensor data, etc.), and with access to a dedicated memory, such as a database for official racetracks, for the automatic determination of a start and end point of the track (position of a start and finish line), without, however, necessarily being limited to neural networks.

[0020] ADAS sensor data is data from sensors such as those used in ordinary Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and therefore already available in vehicles.

[0021] In contrast to a relative time comparison, where different data from the same moment, i.e., instantaneous values ​​of two different vehicles such as the vehicle and the other vehicle, are compared, a historical comparison compares data from different points in time, especially data from the same vehicle (e.g., lap times on an official race track, sector / section times on an official race track or on sections of a public road).

[0022] A key advantage of the invention is the minimization of driver distraction through reduced operating complexity. This ensures that the driver is less distracted while driving and can concentrate better on the road, resulting in greater driving safety, particularly at higher speeds (e.g., above 50 km / h). Consequently, accident risks are reduced, and the driver is given the opportunity to improve their driving performance.

[0023] Furthermore, relative time comparison allows for everyday use, especially outside of official racetracks. Determining the time difference to another vehicle (e.g., ahead or behind) is possible both on official racetracks and in general road traffic.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment, the information is output to the driver in the vehicle acoustically. The driver's attention can thus remain essentially entirely focused on the driving process.

[0025] In other advantageous embodiments, the recognition and evaluation of the spoken utterance, the retrieval of route data, the identification of the other vehicle, and the determination and output of the time difference are performed in a distributed manner by an in-vehicle data processing unit (e.g., vehicle control unit) and by an external data processing unit (e.g., the backend of a vehicle fleet) that is connected to the in-vehicle data processing unit via data transmission. That is, the data processing unit can consist of several different data processing units that can exchange data with each other. In distributed data processing, the data is processed and analyzed across several communicatively interconnected units.In contrast, with centralized data processing, all data operations take place on a single (high-performance) data processing facility.

[0026] Distributing data processing allows, for example, the computationally intensive recognition and implementation of the description of the other vehicle contained in the spoken utterance to be carried out in a computationally powerful backend (e.g., a vehicle fleet) using object or pattern recognition based on a trained neural network. Less computationally intensive processing steps, such as determining the time difference based on the available route data or outputting the time difference, can be performed by an in-vehicle control unit.

[0027] Furthermore, depending on the availability of access to the data forming the route data (e.g., sensor data), some of the route data can be obtained or provided by the vehicle's internal data processing unit, and other parts by the vehicle's external data processing unit. In other words, the compilation of the route data can also be distributed across several different data processing units that together form the data processing unit.

[0028] In another preferred embodiment, to determine the time difference, a first track boundary line running parallel to an instantaneous velocity vector of the other vehicle, a second track boundary line spaced apart from the first track boundary line and running parallel to it, the distance of which is dimensioned to be just large enough that the vehicle and the other vehicle are located between the first and second track boundary lines, and a comparison line running perpendicular to the first track boundary line are defined, wherein a distance between the vehicle and the other vehicle is determined as the sum of the shortest distances from the vehicle to the comparison line and from the other vehicle to the comparison line, and the time difference is determined based on the determined distance and the data from the speed and / or acceleration sensor of the vehicle and / or the other vehicle.

[0029] Unlike on a fixed, official race track, regular road traffic does not have predetermined track boundaries. Therefore, neither the trajectory of the vehicle nor that of another vehicle can be used for a precise measurement / prediction of the time difference. The present embodiment can be used independently of this. The instantaneously determined (temporary) first and second track boundary straights, including the comparison line, enable a time comparison or a comparison of time changes (e.g., "How long until reaching the other vehicle?") between the vehicle and the other vehicle without the need for detailed track knowledge (e.g., track layout) or specific knowledge of the trajectory of the (own) vehicle and that of the other vehicle.

[0030] In further advantageous embodiments, the driving route along which the assistance is to take place is limited by the driver using a starting point (e.g., start line) and an end point (e.g., finish line), each described in the spoken instructions. The data processing unit detects when the vehicle reaches the starting point and when it reaches the end point based on the route data and communicates this information to the driver in the vehicle, further increasing vehicle control safety. In addition, the automatic detection improves the accuracy of the timing and simplifies the process.

[0031] In further preferred embodiments, the output regarding the start / end point is acoustic.

[0032] As an alternative to the user describing the start and end points, a start and end point (or start and finish line) can be automatically determined by the data processing unit when driving on a regular race track based on the track data (e.g. GPS data of the vehicle in conjunction with pre-stored race track data), which represents a further reduction in the complexity of operation.

[0033] Further advantageous embodiments provide that the starting and ending points are described by the driver in terms of objects and / or functions. For example, an object-related description could be: "Start at the level of the red vehicle parked on the right-hand side of the road and end at the next town entrance." Function-related descriptions could be, for example, "Start is my current stopping position, end is when I reach this position again" or "Start when my speed next exceeds 10 km / h, and end when I have driven 5 km." The approach to or reaching of the starting point, as well as the reaching of the end point, are preferably communicated to the driver acoustically, e.g., in the form of an audible signal (distance beeper), a voice output, or similar.

[0034] It should be noted that in further embodiments, the method can implement not only relative time comparison (i.e. instantaneous comparison) but also lap time comparison (i.e. historical comparison) on a closed regular race track (i.e. circuit) and / or track time comparison (also historical comparison) on an open track section.

[0035] For example, a database of the data processing unit can store geographical data on official racetracks and, if applicable, their specific track layouts. Using GPS data from the vehicle (e.g., the vehicle navigation system), an official racetrack that the vehicle is approaching or already driving on can be automatically detected, thereby switching the system into a heightened alert mode. In this mode, track-relevant and vehicle-specific features, such as identifying characteristics of other vehicles, track participants, or racers, are detected in the background, and their lap times and track positions are continuously evaluated. This enables the rapid implementation of any verbal commands from the driver. This analysis also includes, for example, lettering or vehicle numbers that cannot be seen from every angle of the vehicle.If the driver wishes to initiate a relative time recording, in addition to the aforementioned identification features, he can also refer to, for example, the race / start number or the driver's name of the other vehicle, which, due to the increased attention mode, can be implemented or answered effectively even without a visual vehicle assignment available at the respective time.

[0036] The invention further relates to a driver assistance system for supporting a driver when driving a vehicle along a route (e.g., public roads or official racetracks). The driver assistance system includes a data processing unit. This unit is designed and configured to - to recognize and evaluate a verbal utterance by the driver requesting a relative time comparison to a foreign vehicle on the route, which is described by the driver using at least one identifying characteristic, - To obtain route data about the route, which includes at least one identifying feature of the other vehicle, data about the route's course, data about the position of the vehicle and / or the other vehicle on the route, data from an optical sensor, a LIDAR sensor and / or a radar sensor of the vehicle for detecting the vehicle's surroundings and / or data from a speed and / or acceleration sensor of the vehicle and / or the other vehicle, - to identify the foreign vehicle based on at least one identifying characteristic of the route data and - in this case, to determine the relative time comparison as a time difference between the vehicle and the other vehicle based on the route data and - to be handed out to the driver in the vehicle.

[0037] The driver can therefore request a relative time measurement to any other vehicle (i.e., a third-party vehicle) using voice commands. This vehicle is, for example, within sight and, in this case, can be detected by the vehicle's camera. If the data processing unit recognizes the driver's voice utterance or command (e.g., "What is my relative time to the yellow VW Beetle?") and the command is unambiguous, i.e., if, for example, object and pattern recognition is used to identify exactly one third-party vehicle with these identifying characteristics—in this example, vehicle make, model, and color—from the vehicle's optical sensor data (e.g., camera), then the computational data processing unit (e.g., computational backend and / or vehicle control unit) performs a third-party vehicle evaluation (e.g.,Distance, speed, velocity vector and acceleration (using LIDAR sensor data, radar sensor data and / or optical sensor data) with knowledge of the speed, direction of movement and acceleration of the (own) vehicle, in the sense of a progress or comparison measurement, the time to reach the current position of the other vehicle is output.

[0038] It is understood that, with regard to system-related definitions of terms as well as the effects and advantages of system-related features, full reference can be made to the disclosure of analogous definitions, effects, and advantages of the method according to the invention, and vice versa. A repetition of explanations of analogous features, their effects, and advantages can therefore be omitted in favor of a more concise description, without such omissions being to be interpreted as a limitation of any of the disclosed subject matter of the invention.

[0039] In an advantageous embodiment, the data processing unit comprises an in-vehicle data processing unit (e.g., vehicle control unit) and an external data processing unit (e.g., backend of a vehicle fleet) that is connected to the in-vehicle data processing unit in a data-transmitting manner. These are each designed and configured to perform the recognition and evaluation of the driver's speech, the retrieval of route data, the identification of the other vehicle, and the determination and output of the time difference in a distributed manner.

[0040] Furthermore, the data processing unit can be configured to automatically recognize a start and end point of the route (e.g., the start / finish line of a standard race track), either described by the driver or determined automatically, based on object and pattern recognition methods. This simplifies and increases the accuracy of timing measurements. The driver's description of the start and end points can be either object-related or function-related, allowing the assistance system to be flexibly adapted to various needs and situations. The assistance system informs the driver (preferably audibly) about approaching the start point and reaching the end point, providing additional steering safety and increased comfort. In addition, the assistance system can offer functions such as historical and current performance comparisons, significantly enhancing the system's everyday usability.These features make the system versatile.

[0041] Components of the driver assistance system (at least with the exception of any external data processing unit such as a fleet management backend) can generally be integrated into the vehicle's central infotainment system. The information can be displayed on a screen in the vehicle's dashboard or on a central vehicle screen, with the driver also receiving audible alerts as a preferred method of communication.

[0042] The invention offers a comprehensive and flexible solution for measuring and comparing driving performance, both on regular racetracks and in everyday life on public roads.

[0043] Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, which are not to be understood as limiting and are explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing. This drawing schematically shows: Fig. 1. a section of a public road to illustrate a method according to an embodiment of the invention; and Fig. 2 an enlarged section from Fig. 1 to explain certain procedural steps of the process in connection with Fig. 1 described procedure.

[0044] In the different figures, parts that are equivalent in function are always provided with the same reference symbols, so that they are usually only described once.

[0045] Fig. Figure 1 schematically depicts a section of a route 10 on a public road 11 to illustrate a method according to an embodiment of the invention. A vehicle 12 and two other vehicles 13 and 14 are shown on the depicted route 10. The method serves to assist a driver (not shown) of vehicle 12 during a journey along the route 10.

[0046] In a first step, the driver of vehicle 12 requests a relative time comparison with, for example, the other vehicle 13 on route 10 by means of a verbal utterance (e.g., a voice command). For this purpose, the driver describes the other vehicle 13 using at least one identifying characteristic. For example, the driver gives the command "What is my relative time to the yellow VW Beetle?"

[0047] The spoken utterance is recognized and evaluated by a data processing unit (not shown). This data processing unit can consist of an internal vehicle data processing device (e.g., vehicle control unit, not shown) and an external vehicle data processing device (e.g., fleet management backend, also not shown), but is not necessarily limited to such a division. For example, the data processing unit can be a single, high-performance vehicle control unit.

[0048] For the evaluation and implementation of the verbal utterance, the data processing unit retrieves current route data, which is derived from at least one identifying characteristic of the other vehicle 13 (e.g., vehicle make, type, and color), from data about the route 10, from data about the position of vehicle 12 and / or the other vehicle 13 on the route 10, from data from an optical sensor (e.g., camera, not shown), a LiDAR sensor, and / or a radar sensor (both not shown) of vehicle 12 for detecting the surroundings 15 of vehicle 12, and / or from data from a speed and / or acceleration sensor (not shown) of vehicle 12 and / or the other vehicle 13. It is understood that vehicle data relating to the other vehicle 13, such as its speed, direction of travel, acceleration, etc., are not included., via a wireless data transmission interface (not shown) from the foreign vehicle 13 either directly to the vehicle 12 or its vehicle control unit or indirectly via an external vehicle data processing unit (e.g. backend) not shown to the vehicle 12 or its data processing unit in the form of route data.

[0049] In the example presented here, a camera (not shown) of vehicle 12 can image the preceding vehicle 13, and the data processing unit can identify the vehicle 13 from the camera's optical sensor data using the described identification features. For this purpose, for example, well-known methods of object and pattern recognition based on neural networks can be applied.

[0050] Provided that the foreign vehicle 13 is uniquely identified, the data processing unit determines a time difference between the vehicle 12 and the foreign vehicle 13 (i.e., its current position) based on the route data and outputs this time difference to the driver in the vehicle 12, preferably acoustically, which does not necessarily preclude an additional output or display of the time difference, for example on a screen (not shown) in the vehicle 12.

[0051] Since the route data specifies the exact route of journey 10 in Fig. Since the following do not necessarily have to be included, in the exemplary embodiment of the method described here, a method independent of the specific route is implemented for an accurate determination of the time difference.

[0052] This will be discussed with reference to Fig. 2 described, which shows an enlarged section of Fig. Figure 1 shows. To determine the time difference without specific information on the route of journey 10 (see Figure 10). Fig. 1) A first track boundary line 17, running parallel to an instantaneous velocity vector 16 of the other vehicle 13, is determined. Furthermore, a second track boundary line 18, spaced apart from the first track boundary line 17 and running parallel to it, is determined, the distance of which is dimensioned such that the vehicle 12 and the other vehicle 13 are located between the first and second track boundary lines 17 and 18, as shown in Fig. 2 is shown. Furthermore, a comparison line 19 running perpendicular to the first track boundary line 17 is determined.

[0053] In the example shown, the comparison line 19 lies approximately at the level of the other vehicle 13, but is not necessarily limited to this. The comparison line 19 could, for example, be located at the level of vehicle 12 or at any point between vehicle 12 and the other vehicle 13.

[0054] In any case, the distance between vehicle 12 and the other vehicle 13 is determined as the sum of the shortest distances from vehicle 12 to the reference line 19 and from the other vehicle 13 to the reference line 19. In the representation of the Fig. 2. The distance of the foreign vehicle 13 to the comparison line 19 is zero, and in the present case the distance results in a simple way solely from the shortest distance of the vehicle 12 to the comparison line 19.

[0055] Based on the determined distance and the data from the speed and / or acceleration sensor of vehicle 12 (vehicle 12 exhibits in Fig. 2 an instantaneous velocity vector 20) and, if necessary, additionally based on the data of the speed and / or acceleration sensor of the other vehicle 13 (e.g. velocity vector 16), the expected time difference between the vehicle 12 and the other vehicle 13 is determined and output to the driver of the vehicle 12 (e.g. acoustically).

[0056] In Fig. 2. The other vehicle 13 is driving ahead of vehicle 12. It is of course conceivable that, for example, a relative time comparison to a other vehicle driving behind the (own) vehicle 12 could be made by using a rear-facing optical sensor (e.g., a camera). Fig. (2 not shown) is possible. Thus, the driver of vehicle 12 can be informed how quickly a pursuer is approaching. REFERENCE MARK LIST: 10 Driving distance 11 Public Road 12 vehicles 13 First foreign vehicle 14 Second foreign vehicle 15 surroundings 16 Velocity vector 17 First track boundary straight 18 Second track boundary straight 19 Comparison line 20 Velocity vector

Claims

[1] Method for assisting a driver during a journey of a vehicle (12) along a route (10), in which - the driver requests a relative time comparison to a foreign vehicle (13, 14) on the route (10) by means of a verbal utterance, in which the foreign vehicle (13, 14) is described by the driver using at least one identifying feature, - the linguistic utterance is recognized and evaluated by means of a data processing unit, - wherein route data is obtained from the data processing unit, which is formed from at least one identification feature of the foreign vehicle (13, 14), from data on a route profile of the journey (10), from data on a position of the vehicle (12) and / or the foreign vehicle (13, 14) on the journey (10), from data of an optical sensor, a LIDAR sensor and / or a radar sensor of the vehicle (12) for detecting an environment (15) of the vehicle (12) and / or from data of a speed and / or acceleration sensor of the vehicle (12) and / or the foreign vehicle (13, 14), - the foreign vehicle (13, 14) is identified by the data processing unit using at least one identification feature of the route data and - in this case, the relative time comparison is determined as a time difference between the vehicle (12) and the foreign vehicle (13, 14) based on the route data from the data processing unit and - the specified time difference is issued to the driver in the vehicle (12). [2] Method according to claim 1, wherein the output to the driver in the vehicle (12) is acoustic. [3] Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the recognition and evaluation of the linguistic utterance, the acquisition of the route data, the identification of the foreign vehicle (13, 14), the determination and output of the time difference are carried out in a distributed manner by an in-vehicle data processing unit and by an external vehicle data processing unit connected to the in-vehicle data processing unit in a data-transmitting manner. [4] A method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, for determining the time difference, a first track boundary line (17) running parallel to an instantaneous velocity vector (16) of the other vehicle (13), a second track boundary line (18) spaced apart from the first track boundary line (17) and running parallel to it, the distance of which is dimensioned to be just large enough that the vehicle (12) and the other vehicle (13) are located between the first and second track boundary lines (17, 18), and a comparison line (19) running perpendicular to the first track boundary line (17) are determined,wherein a distance between the vehicle (12) and the other vehicle (13) is determined as the sum of the shortest distances from the vehicle (12) to the reference line (19) and from the other vehicle (13) to the reference line (19), and the time difference is determined based on the determined distance and the data from the speed and / or acceleration sensor of the vehicle (12) and / or the other vehicle (13). [5] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the driving route (10) along which the assistance is to take place is limited by the driver by means of a start point and an end point, each of which is described in the verbal utterance, wherein the reaching of the start point and the reaching of the end point by the vehicle (12) is recognized by the data processing unit based on the route data and is output to the driver in the vehicle (12). [6] Method according to claim 5, wherein the starting point and the end point are described in an object-related and / or function-related manner. [7] Driver assistance system for supporting a driver during the journey of a vehicle (12) along a route (10), comprising a data processing unit which is equipped, - to recognize and evaluate a verbal utterance by the driver requesting a relative time comparison to a foreign vehicle (13, 14) on the route (10), which is described by the driver using at least one identifying feature, - to obtain route data about the route (10) which includes at least one identifying feature of the other vehicle, data about the route of the route (10), data about the position of the vehicle (12) and / or the other vehicle (13, 14) on the route (10), data from an optical sensor, a LIDAR sensor and / or a radar sensor of the vehicle (12) for detecting an environment (15) of the vehicle (12) and / or data from a speed and / or acceleration sensor of the vehicle (12) and / or the other vehicle (13, 14), - to identify the foreign vehicle (13, 14) using at least one identification feature of the route data and - in this case, to determine the relative time comparison as a time difference between the vehicle (12) and the foreign vehicle (13, 14) based on the route data and - to be given to the driver in the vehicle (12). [8] Driver assistance system in which the data processing unit comprises an in-vehicle data processing unit and an external vehicle data processing unit connected to the in-vehicle data processing unit in a data-transmitting manner, each of which is configured to perform the recognition and evaluation of the speech utterance, the acquisition of route data, the identification of the foreign vehicle, and the determination and output of the time difference in a distributed manner.

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