System and method for providing driver assisting function

Abstract

To provide a vehicle system that prevents a driver from performing a certain dangerous driving operation.SOLUTION: A vehicle system of a vehicle may include one or more processors which are configured to: receive sensor data from one or more sensors associated with the vehicle; determine whether a driver of the vehicle is touching a steering wheel of the vehicle based on the sensor data; perform a sharing control of a side of the vehicle when the one or more processors determine that the driver of the vehicle is touching the steering wheel; and perform an exchanging control of the side of the vehicle when the one or more processors determine that the driver of the vehicle is not touching the steering wheel.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE INVENTION This disclosure relates to vehicle control systems, and more particularly to systems and methods for providing driver assistance features. [Background technology]

[0002] Modern vehicles often have driver assistance features such as lane keeping assist and adaptive cruise control. These features typically require the driver to activate them by pressing an appropriate button on the steering wheel or instrument panel. Therefore, it may be confusing for the driver how to activate a particular driver assistance feature or which safety features are activated. As a result, the driver may think that a particular driver assistance feature is activated when it is not, or may not realize that a driver assistance feature is activated. Therefore, there is a need for an improved vehicle control system. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In an embodiment, a vehicle system of a vehicle may include one or more processors configured to receive sensor data from one or more sensors associated with the vehicle, determine based on the sensor data whether a driver of the vehicle is touching a steering wheel of the vehicle, provide shared control of a side of the vehicle when determining that the driver of the vehicle is touching the steering wheel, and provide swapped control of a side of the vehicle when determining that the driver of the vehicle is not touching the steering wheel.

[0004] In another embodiment, a vehicle system of a vehicle may include one or more processors configured to receive sensor data from one or more sensors associated with the vehicle, determine based on the sensor data whether a driver of the vehicle is touching an accelerator pedal or a brake pedal, perform shared longitudinal control of the vehicle when determining that the driver of the vehicle is touching the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal, and perform interchange longitudinal control of the vehicle when determining that the driver of the vehicle is not touching the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal.

[0005] In another embodiment, a method may include receiving sensor data from one or more sensors associated with a vehicle; determining, based on the sensor data, whether a driver of the vehicle is touching a steering wheel of the vehicle; providing shared control of a side of the vehicle upon determining that the driver of the vehicle is touching the steering wheel; and providing swapped control of a side of the vehicle upon determining that the driver of the vehicle is not touching the steering wheel. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative and exemplary in nature and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. The following detailed description of illustrative embodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, in which like structure is designated with like reference numerals and in which:

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 schematically depicts a system for providing vehicle assistance according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic depiction of a vehicle system according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary vehicle interior according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein. [Figure 4]FIG. 4 schematically depicts a memory module of the vehicle system of FIG. 2 according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart of a method that may be performed by the vehicle system of FIG. 2 according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Embodiments disclosed herein include methods and systems for providing driving assistance. When a human rides a horse, the human may exert some level of control over the horse's behavior. However, even when the human rider commands the horse to go off a cliff, the horse does not go off a cliff. Similarly, embodiments disclosed herein provide a digital equivalent or artificial intelligence (AI) horse for a vehicle. That is, driving assistance is provided in a vehicle to assist the driver and prevent the driver from engaging in certain dangerous driving behaviors.

[0009] Modern vehicles can offer numerous driver assistance features, such as lane keeping assist (LKA), lane tracing assist (LTA), adaptive cruise control (ACC), forward collision-avoidance assist (FCA), and the like. These features enable the vehicle to drive semi-autonomously and provide certain driving assistance without intervention by a human driver. In some examples, driver assistance features operate in a shared control mode, where the human driver and the vehicle system share control of the vehicle. In shared control, some driving operations are controlled by the human driver and some driving operations are controlled autonomously by the vehicle system. In other examples, driver assistance features operate in a switched control mode, where either the human driver or the vehicle system controls the vehicle at any given time. In a switched control system, when the human driver is in control of the vehicle, the vehicle system is not performing any autonomous driving functions.

[0010] Driving functions typically consist of lateral control (e.g., control of the vehicle's steering wheel) and longitudinal control (e.g., control of the vehicle's accelerator and brake pedals). In embodiments disclosed herein, in shared control, certain driving assistance functions may operate while the human driver also operates the vehicle. That is, while the driver operates the steering wheel and accelerator or brake pedal, the vehicle system may provide a limited amount of control to assist the driver (e.g., LKA or FCA). If the driver removes their hands from the steering wheel, the vehicle system may switch to lateral exchange control of the vehicle and perform lateral control without any input from the driver. Similarly, if the driver removes their feet from the accelerator and brake pedals, the vehicle may switch to longitudinal exchange control of the vehicle and perform longitudinal control without any input from the driver. If the driver places their hands back on the steering wheel or their feet back on the accelerator or brake pedals, the vehicle system may switch back to shared control again. Thus, the vehicle system may implement various driver assistance features without the driver having to press any buttons or otherwise turn the features on or off.

[0011] Referring now to the figures, Figure 1 schematically depicts a system for providing driver assistance as disclosed herein. In the example of Figure 1, the system 100 includes an ego vehicle 102 driving along a road 104. In the example of Figure 1, two other vehicles 106, 108 also drive along the road 104. However, in other examples, any number of other vehicles may drive along the road 104.

[0012] 1, the ego vehicle 102 may perform certain driving assistance functions as disclosed herein, i.e., the ego vehicle 102 may perform certain driving functions autonomously as either shared control or switched control, as described in more detail below.

[0013] Figure 2 depicts an exemplary vehicle system 200 that may be included in the ego-vehicle 102 of Figure 1. In the example of Figure 2, the vehicle system 200 includes one or more processors 202, a communication path 204, one or more memory modules 206, a satellite antenna 208, one or more vehicle sensors 210, and a data storage component 212, the details of which are described in the following paragraphs.

[0014] Each of the one or more processors 202 may be any device capable of executing machine-readable executable instructions. Accordingly, each of the one or more processors 202 may be a controller, an integrated circuit, a microchip, a computer, or any other computing device. The one or more processors 202 are connected to a communication path 204 that provides signal interconnection between various modules of the vehicle system 200. Accordingly, the communication path 204 may communicatively connect any number of processors 202 to each other, enabling the modules connected to the communication path 204 to operate in a distributed computing environment. Specifically, each module may operate as a node that can send and / or receive data. As used herein, the term "communicatively connected" means that the connected components are capable of exchanging data signals with each other, such as, for example, electrical signals over conductive media, electromagnetic signals over air, optical signals over optical waveguides, and the like.

[0015] Thus, communication path 204 may be formed of any medium capable of transmitting a signal, such as, for example, a conductive wire, a conductive trace, an optical waveguide, or the like. In some embodiments, communication path 204 may facilitate the transmission of wireless signals, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, near field communication (NFC), and the like. Furthermore, communication path 204 may be formed of a combination of media capable of transmitting a signal. In one embodiment, communication path 204 comprises a combination of conductive traces, conductive wires, connectors, and buses that cooperate to enable the transmission of electrical data signals to components such as processors, memories, sensors, input devices, output devices, and communication devices. Thus, communication path 204 may comprise, for example, a vehicle bus, such as a LIN bus, a CAN bus, a VAN bus, and the like. Furthermore, it should be noted that the term “signal” refers to a waveform (e.g., an electrical waveform, an optical waveform, a magnetic waveform, a mechanical waveform, or an electromagnetic waveform), such as DC, AC, a sine wave, a triangular wave, a square wave, a vibration, and the like, capable of traveling through a medium.

[0016] Vehicle system 200 includes one or more memory modules 206 coupled to communication path 204. The one or more memory modules 206 may comprise RAM, ROM, flash memory, a hard drive, or any device capable of storing machine-readable executable instructions such that the machine-readable executable instructions can be accessed by one or more processors 202. The machine-readable executable instructions may comprise logic or algorithms written in any programming language of any generation (e.g., 1GL, 2GL, 3GL, 4GL, or 5GL), such as a machine language that can be executed directly by a processor, or logic or algorithms written in assembly language, object-oriented programming (OOP), scripting language, microcode, or the like, that can be compiled or assembled into machine-readable executable instructions and stored in one or more memory modules 206. Alternatively, the machine-readable executable instructions may be written in a hardware description language (HDL), such as logic implemented via a field programmable gate array (FPGA) configuration or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or equivalent. Thus, the methods described herein may be implemented in any conventional computer programming language, as pre-programmed hardware elements, or as a combination of hardware and software components.

[0017] 2 , vehicle system 200 includes a satellite antenna 208 connected to communication path 204 such that communication path 204 communicatively connects satellite antenna 208 to other modules of vehicle system 200. Satellite antenna 208 is configured to receive signals from Global Positioning System satellites. Specifically, in one embodiment, satellite antenna 208 includes one or more conductive elements that interact with electromagnetic signals transmitted by Global Positioning System satellites. The received signals are converted into data signals indicative of a location (e.g., latitude and longitude) relative to satellite antenna 208 and, consequently, the vehicle including vehicle system 200.

[0018] The vehicle system 200 includes one or more vehicle sensors 210. Each of the one or more vehicle sensors 210 is connected to the communication path 204 and communicatively connected to the one or more processors 202. The one or more vehicle sensors 210 may include, but are not limited to, a LiDAR sensor, a RADAR sensor, an optical sensor (e.g., a camera, a laser sensor), a proximity sensor, a location sensor (e.g., a GPS module), and the like. The vehicle sensors 210 may collect data that may be used to perform autonomous driving functions.

[0019] In addition, the vehicle sensors 210 may also include steering wheel sensors 300, 302 and a pedal sensor 304, as shown in Figure 3. In an embodiment, the steering wheel sensors 300, 302 may determine whether the driver's hands are on a steering wheel 306 of the host vehicle 102, and the pedal sensor 304 may determine whether the driver's feet are on an accelerator pedal 308 or a brake pedal 310.

[0020] In one example, the steering wheel sensors 300 and 302 comprise capacitance sensors that determine whether the driver's hands are in contact with the steering wheel sensors 300, 302 and then the steering wheel 306. In other examples, the steering wheel sensors 300, 302 may comprise other types of sensors that determine whether the driver's hands are in contact with the steering wheel 306. In the example shown, two capacitance sensors 300, 302 are shown at locations on the steering wheel 306 that the driver may touch while holding the steering wheel 306. However, in other examples, any number of capacitance sensors may be present at any location on the steering wheel 306. In some examples, the entire steering wheel 306 may be equipped with capacitance sensors to determine whether the driver is touching the steering wheel 306. In the example shown, the steering wheel sensors 300, 302 may be attached to the exterior of the steering wheel 306. In other examples, the steering wheel sensors 300, 302 may be located inside the steering wheel 306.

[0021] In some examples, the vehicle sensors 210 may include a torque sensor that measures the torque at the steering wheel 306. When the driver is not touching the steering wheel 306, there is no torque at the steering wheel 306. Thus, the torque sensor may determine that the driver is touching the steering wheel 306 when the torque at the steering wheel 306 is greater than a predetermined amount. In some examples, the vehicle sensors 210 may include a camera that captures images of the steering wheel 306 and performs image analysis to determine whether the driver is touching the steering wheel 306.

[0022] Although the embodiments described herein refer to a steering wheel 306 and steering wheel sensors 300 and 302, in other examples, the vehicle system 200 may include other devices for providing side control of the host vehicle 102. For example, the vehicle system 200 may include a joystick or other side control element for providing side control of the host vehicle 102. In these examples, the steering wheel sensors 300, 302 may be replaced with a sensor that determines whether the driver of the host vehicle 102 is touching a side control element of the vehicle system 200.

[0023] The pedal sensor 304 may determine whether the driver's foot is touching the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310. In the example shown, the pedal sensor 304 comprises a camera mounted on or embedded in the driver's side door or side panel of the host vehicle 102, which captures images of the accelerator pedal 308 and the brake pedal 310. In the example shown, the pedal sensor 304 performs image analysis based on the images so captured to determine whether the driver's foot is touching the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310. In other examples, other types of sensors may be used to determine whether the driver's foot is touching the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310. For example, the pedal sensor 304 may comprise a contact or proximity sensor mounted on or embedded in the accelerator pedal 308 and / or the brake pedal 310.

[0024] Although the embodiments described herein refer to an accelerator pedal 308, a brake pedal 310, and a pedal sensor 304, in other examples, the vehicle system 200 may include other devices that provide longitudinal control of the vehicle. For example, the vehicle system 200 may include a throttle controller or a longitudinal control element. In these examples, the pedal sensor 304 may be replaced with a sensor that determines whether the driver of the host vehicle 102 is touching a longitudinal control element of the vehicle system 200.

[0025] 2, vehicle system 200 includes a data storage component 212. Data storage component 212 may store data used by various components of vehicle system 200. In addition, data storage component 212 may store data collected by vehicle sensors 210.

[0026] 4, a memory module 206 of the vehicle system 200 is shown schematically. The one or more memory modules 206 include a sensor data receiving module 400, a lateral control module 402, and a longitudinal control module 404. Each of the sensor data receiving module 400, the lateral control module 402, and the longitudinal control module 404 may be a program module in the form of an operating system, application program modules, and other program modules stored in the one or more memory modules 206. In some embodiments, the program modules may be stored on a remote storage device that may be in communication with the vehicle system 200. Such program modules may include, but are not limited to, routines, subroutines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and the like that perform particular tasks or execute particular data types, as described below.

[0027] The sensor data receiving module 400 may receive data from the vehicle sensors 210. In particular, the sensor data receiving module 400 may receive data from the steering wheel sensors 300, 302 and the pedal sensor 304. Based on the data received from the steering wheel sensors 300, 302 and the pedal sensor 304, the sensor data receiving module 400 may determine whether the driver of the host vehicle 102 is touching the steering wheel 306 and whether the driver is touching the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310.

[0028] In an embodiment, the sensor data reception module 400 may continuously receive data from the steering wheel sensors 300, 302 and the pedal sensor 304 (e.g., data may be received every second). Thus, the sensor data reception module 400 may determine, at multiple time steps, whether the driver of the host vehicle 102 is touching the steering wheel 306 or the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310. The lateral control module 402 and the longitudinal control module 404 may perform different types of vehicle control depending on whether the driver is touching the steering wheel 306 and whether the driver is touching the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310, as described in more detail below.

[0029] The lateral control module 402 may provide lateral control of the ego-vehicle 102 as disclosed herein. As used herein, lateral control refers to controlling the steering of the ego-vehicle 102, thereby controlling the lateral direction of the ego-vehicle 102. In an embodiment, the lateral control module 402 may provide shared lateral control of the ego-vehicle 102 while the driver is touching the steering wheel 306, and may provide swapped lateral control of the ego-vehicle 102 while the driver is not touching the steering wheel 306, as described in further detail below.

[0030] In the illustrated example, when the driver of the host vehicle 102 touches the steering wheel 306, the side control module 402 may provide shared side control of the host vehicle 102. That is, the vehicle system 200 may provide a limited amount of side control, while the driver of the host vehicle 102 also provides side control using the steering wheel 306. Notably, during shared side control, the driver is expected to exert primary control of the steering of the host vehicle 102, while the side control module 402 provides supplemental or assistive side control. For example, during shared side control, the side control module 402 may provide LKA. That is, during shared side control, the vehicle sensors 210 may monitor the lane lines of the lane in which the host vehicle 102 is driving, and if the host vehicle 102 is drifting too close to the lane lines or begins to veer into another lane, the side control module 402 may push the vehicle back toward the center of the lane to prevent the host vehicle 102 from unintentionally veer into another lane. In another example, during lateral shared control, the vehicle sensors 210 may detect that the lane in which the host vehicle 102 is driving is approaching a curve or turn, and if the driver does not turn the steering wheel an amount sufficient to navigate the curve or turn, the lateral control module 402 may turn the steering wheel an additional amount to ensure that the host vehicle 102 properly navigates the curve or turn.

[0031] However, while the side control module 402 is performing shared side control, there may be limits on the amount of side control exerted by the side control module 402 because the driver is expected to use the steering wheel 306 to exert a certain amount of side control such that side control is shared between the driver and the side control module 402. In one example, while performing shared side control, the side control module 402 may be limited to generating a maximum amount of centrifugal force (e.g., no more than 0.3 g). While performing exchange control, the side control module 402 may perform side control without such limits.

[0032] When the driver lets go of the steering wheel 306 and no longer has side control, the side control module 402 may take side swap control. That is, when the driver is not controlling the steering wheel, the side control module 402 may take full side control of the vehicle without any restrictions, as described above, until the driver resumes use of the steering wheel 306 and the side control module 402 returns to shared side control. In some examples, the side control module 402 may begin taking side swap control as soon as the driver lets go of the steering wheel 306. In other examples, the side control module 402 may begin taking side swap control after the driver lets go of the steering wheel 306 for more than a threshold amount of time (e.g., more than two seconds).

[0033] While performing side swap control, the vehicle sensors 210 may collect sensor data regarding the state of the host vehicle 102 and the surrounding environment, and the side control module 402 may use the sensor data to autonomously control the steering of the host vehicle 102. In some examples, the side control module 402 may return to shared side control after the driver touches the steering wheel 306. In other examples, the side control module 402 may return to shared side control only when the driver touches the steering wheel 306 for more than a threshold amount of time (e.g., more than 2 seconds).

[0034] While the lateral control module 402 controls the steering of the ego-vehicle 102 in the swapped control mode, the human driver may still exercise longitudinal control of the ego-vehicle 102 by using the accelerator pedal 308 and / or brake pedal 310. That is, the human driver may control the braking and acceleration of the ego-vehicle 102, while the lateral control module 402 autonomously controls the steering. However, as described below, it is also possible for the driver to cede both lateral and longitudinal control of the ego-vehicle 102 to the vehicle system 200.

[0035] The longitudinal control module 404 may provide longitudinal control of the ego-vehicle 102 as disclosed herein. As used herein, longitudinal control refers to controlling the braking and acceleration of the ego-vehicle 102, thereby controlling the longitudinal speed of the ego-vehicle 102. In an embodiment, the longitudinal control module 404 may provide shared longitudinal control of the ego-vehicle 102 while the driver is touching the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310, and may provide interchangeable longitudinal control of the ego-vehicle 102 while the driver is not touching the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310, as described in further detail below.

[0036] In the illustrated example, when the driver of the ego vehicle 102 touches the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310, the longitudinal control module 404 may exercise shared longitudinal control of the ego vehicle 102. That is, the vehicle system 200 may exercise a limited amount of longitudinal control, while the driver of the ego vehicle 102 also exercises longitudinal control using the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310. In particular, during shared longitudinal control, the driver is expected to exert primary control over the speed of the ego vehicle 102, while the longitudinal control module 404 provides supplemental or assistive longitudinal control. For example, during shared longitudinal control, the longitudinal control module 404 may exercise FCA. That is, during longitudinal shared control, the vehicle sensors 210 may monitor vehicles ahead of the ego-vehicle 102, and the longitudinal control module 404 may autonomously brake the ego-vehicle 102 to prevent a forward collision if the ego-vehicle gets too close to another vehicle. In other examples, the longitudinal control module 404 may perform other types of longitudinal shared control.

[0037] When the driver removes their feet from the accelerator pedal 308 and the brake pedal 310 and no longer has longitudinal control, the longitudinal control module 404 may assume longitudinal swap control. That is, when the driver is no longer controlling the speed of the host vehicle 102, the longitudinal control module 404 may assume full longitudinal control of the vehicle until the driver again presses the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310 and the longitudinal control module 404 returns to shared longitudinal control. In some examples, the longitudinal control module 404 may begin assuming longitudinal swap control as soon as the driver removes their feet from the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310. In other examples, the longitudinal control module 404 may begin assuming longitudinal swap control after the driver removes their feet from the accelerator pedal 308 and the brake pedal 310 for more than a threshold amount of time (e.g., more than two seconds).

[0038] In one example, while performing longitudinal exchange control, the longitudinal control module 404 may perform cruise control in which the speed of the host vehicle 102 is maintained at a constant speed. In another example, while performing longitudinal exchange control, the longitudinal control module 404 may perform adaptive cruise control in which the speed of the host vehicle 102 is maintained at a maximum speed and a minimum distance between the host vehicle 102 and a forward vehicle (e.g., vehicle 106 in FIG. 1 ) is maintained. In other examples, while performing longitudinal exchange control, the longitudinal control module 404 may perform other types of longitudinal control (e.g., slowing and / or stopping for traffic signs and traffic lights, adjusting for different speed limits, slowing down to navigate turns, and the like).

[0039] During longitudinal swap control, the vehicle sensors 210 may collect sensor data regarding the state of the host vehicle 102 and the surrounding environment, and the longitudinal control module 404 may use the sensor data to autonomously control the acceleration and braking of the host vehicle 102. In an embodiment, after the driver touches the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310, the longitudinal control module 404 may return to longitudinal shared control.

[0040] While the longitudinal control module 404 controls the speed of the ego-vehicle 102 in the swapped control mode, the human driver may still exercise lateral control of the ego-vehicle 102 by using the steering wheel 306. That is, the human driver may control the steering of the ego-vehicle 102, while the longitudinal control module 404 autonomously controls the speed. However, it is also possible for the driver to cede both longitudinal and lateral control of the ego-vehicle 102 to the vehicle system 200.

[0041] Figure 5 depicts a flowchart of an exemplary method that may be performed by the vehicle system 200 of Figure 2. At step 500, the sensor data receiving module 400 receives sensor data from the vehicle sensors 210. In particular, the sensor data receiving module 400 may receive data from the steering wheel sensors 300, 302 and the pedal sensor 304.

[0042] In step 502, the sensor data reception module 400 determines, based on the received sensor data, whether the driver of the host vehicle 102 is touching the steering wheel 306. In some examples, if the driver is not touching the steering wheel 306, the sensor data reception module 400 may determine whether the driver has not touched the steering wheel 306 for longer than a threshold amount of time. If the sensor data reception module 400 determines that the driver is touching the steering wheel 306 (YES in step 502), control proceeds to step 504. If the sensor data reception module 400 determines that the driver is not touching the steering wheel 306 (NO in step 502), control proceeds to step 506.

[0043] In step 504, when the driver of the host vehicle 102 is touching the steering wheel 306, the side control module 402 performs shared side control of the host vehicle 102. That is, both the side control module 402 and the driver of the host vehicle 102 perform side control of the host vehicle 102. In some examples, when performing shared side control, the side control module 402 may perform side control to avoid exceeding a predetermined amount of centrifugal force on the host vehicle 102.

[0044] In step 506, when the driver of the host vehicle 102 has not touched the steering wheel 306 for more than a predetermined amount of time, the side control module 402 performs side swap control of the host vehicle 102. That is, the side control module 402 performs side control of the host vehicle 102 without any driver input. In some examples, when performing side swap control, the side control module 402 may perform side control without any limitations on the amount of centrifugal force on the host vehicle 102. When the driver touches the steering wheel 306 again, the side control module 402 may return to performing shared side control.

[0045] In step 508, the sensor data receiving module 400 determines, based on the received sensor data, whether the driver of the host vehicle 102 is touching the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310. If the sensor data receiving module 400 determines that the driver of the host vehicle 102 is touching the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310 (YES in step 508), control proceeds to step 510. If the sensor data receiving module 400 determines that the driver of the host vehicle 102 is not touching the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310 (NO in step 508), control proceeds to step 512.

[0046] In step 510, when the driver of the host vehicle 102 touches the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310, the longitudinal control module 404 provides shared longitudinal control of the host vehicle 102. That is, both the longitudinal control module 404 and the driver of the host vehicle 102 provide longitudinal control of the host vehicle 102.

[0047] In step 512, when the driver of the host vehicle 102 is not touching the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310, the longitudinal control module 404 performs longitudinal swap control of the host vehicle 102. That is, the longitudinal control module 404 performs longitudinal control of the host vehicle 102 without any driver input. When the driver again touches the accelerator pedal 308 or the brake pedal 310, the longitudinal control module 404 may return to performing shared longitudinal control.

[0048] It should be understood that the embodiments described herein are directed to a vehicle system that provides driving assistance. When a human driver drives a vehicle, the vehicle system may provide shared control of the vehicle, thereby assisting the driver in driving operations. For example, the vehicle system may provide shared lateral control (e.g., LKA) and shared longitudinal control (e.g., FCA). A vehicle system that performs certain driving assistance functions while the driver is driving the vehicle may improve the overall driving performance of the vehicle.

[0049] When a vehicle driver removes their hands from the steering wheel, the vehicle system may automatically begin to perform lateral swap control of the vehicle until the driver touches the steering wheel again. Furthermore, when the driver removes their feet from the pedals, the vehicle system may automatically begin to perform longitudinal swap control of the vehicle until the driver touches the pedals again. This may allow the driver to easily enable or disable autonomous lateral control and autonomous longitudinal control of the vehicle without having to press any buttons. Furthermore, the driver may continue to perform lateral control while the vehicle system performs longitudinal control autonomously, or the driver may perform longitudinal control while the vehicle system performs lateral control. Therefore, the driver's driving experience and the overall driving performance of the vehicle may be improved.

[0050] In some examples, the vehicle system may prevent the driver from performing certain undesirable actions. This is similar to a human riding a horse and commanding the horse to jump off a cliff. The horse recognizes this is dangerous, so the horse refuses to jump off the cliff. Similarly, the vehicle system may prevent the driver from performing certain actions when driving manually.

[0051] It should be noted that the terms "substantially" and "about" may be used herein to express the degree of inherent uncertainty that may result from any quantitative comparison, value, measurement, or other representation. These terms are also used herein to express the degree to which a quantitative representation may vary from the stated basis without resulting in a change in the basic functionality of the subject matter at issue.

[0052] While particular embodiments have been shown and described herein, it should be understood that various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, although various aspects of the claimed subject matter are described herein, such aspects need not be utilized in combination. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to cover all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Claims

1. 1. A vehicle system for a vehicle comprising one or more processors, the one or more processors comprising: receiving sensor data from one or more sensors associated with the vehicle; determining whether a driver of the vehicle is touching a steering wheel of the vehicle based on the sensor data; upon determining that the driver of the vehicle is touching the steering wheel, providing shared control of a side of the vehicle; A vehicle system configured to provide lateral exchange control of the vehicle upon determining that the driver of the vehicle is not touching the steering wheel.

2. The vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors comprise one or more capacitance sensors that detect when the driver of the vehicle is touching the steering wheel.

3. The vehicle system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors measure torque associated with the steering wheel.

4. The one or more processors further include: By performing lane keeping assist, shared control is performed on the side of the vehicle, The vehicle system of claim 1 configured to provide lane tracing assistance to provide lateral exchange control of the vehicle.

5. The one or more processors further include: providing shared lateral control of the vehicle by providing lateral control such that centrifugal forces on the vehicle remain below a predetermined amount; The vehicle system of claim 1 configured to provide lateral exchange control of the vehicle by providing lateral control without limiting the centrifugal forces on the vehicle.

6. The one or more processors further include: determining, based on the sensor data, whether the driver has not touched the steering wheel for more than a predetermined amount of time; 10. The vehicle system of claim 1, configured to provide lateral exchange control of the vehicle upon determining that the driver has not touched the steering wheel for more than the predetermined amount of time.

7. The one or more processors further include: determining whether the driver is touching the steering wheel while performing a side swap control; The vehicle system of claim 1 , configured to provide shared lateral control when the driver decides to touch the steering wheel.

8. 1. A vehicle system for a vehicle comprising one or more processors, the one or more processors comprising: receiving sensor data from one or more sensors associated with the vehicle; determining whether a driver of the vehicle is touching an accelerator pedal or a brake pedal based on the sensor data; performing longitudinal shared control of the vehicle upon determining that the driver of the vehicle is touching the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal; A vehicle system configured to perform longitudinal rotation control of the vehicle upon determining that the driver of the vehicle is not touching the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal.

9. The vehicle system of claim 8 , wherein the one or more sensors comprise a camera that captures images of the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal.

10. The one or more processors further include: performing shared control of the vehicle in the longitudinal direction by performing forward collision avoidance assistance; 10. The vehicle system of claim 8, configured to provide longitudinal displacement control of the vehicle by providing adaptive cruise control.

11. The one or more processors further include: determining whether the driver touches the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal during longitudinal exchange control; The vehicle system of claim 8 , configured to provide longitudinal shared control when the driver decides to touch the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal.

12. receiving sensor data from one or more sensors associated with the vehicle; determining whether a driver of the vehicle is touching a steering wheel of the vehicle based on the sensor data; providing shared control of a side of the vehicle upon determining that the driver of the vehicle is touching the steering wheel; performing a side-swap control of the vehicle upon determining that the driver of the vehicle is not touching the steering wheel; A method comprising:

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the one or more sensors comprise one or more capacitance sensors that detect when the driver of the vehicle is touching the steering wheel.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the one or more sensors measure torque associated with the steering wheel.

15. performing shared control of the side of the vehicle by performing lane keeping assist; performing lane tracing assist to perform lateral control of the vehicle; The method of claim 12 further comprising:

16. providing shared lateral control of the vehicle by providing lateral control such that centrifugal forces on the vehicle remain below a predetermined amount; performing lateral control of the vehicle by performing lateral control without limiting the centrifugal force on the vehicle; The method of claim 12 further comprising:

17. determining, based on the sensor data, whether the driver has not touched the steering wheel for more than a predetermined amount of time; performing a side-swap control of the vehicle upon determining that the driver has not touched the steering wheel for more than the predetermined amount of time; The method of claim 12 further comprising:

18. determining whether the driver of the vehicle is touching an accelerator pedal or a brake pedal based on the sensor data; performing longitudinal shared control of the vehicle upon determining that the driver of the vehicle is touching the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal; performing longitudinal rotation control of the vehicle upon determining that the driver of the vehicle is not touching the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal; The method of claim 12 further comprising:

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the one or more sensors comprise a camera that captures images of the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal.

20. performing shared control of the vehicle in a longitudinal direction by performing forward collision avoidance assistance; performing longitudinal rotation control of the vehicle by performing adaptive cruise control; 20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

Images