Monitoring device

Abstract

To provide a monitoring device that does not determine inattentive driving even when a driver is viewing an entering position of another vehicle in a roundabout.SOLUTION: A monitoring device includes a first determination section for determining whether a driver is inattentively driving using predetermined determination references based on information representing a direction of the driver's face, a second determination section for determining whether a present position of an own vehicle is within a roundabout based on map information, and a change section for changing the determination references so as to prevent determination that the driver is inattentively driving with respect to an action of the driver turning the face toward a direction of an entering position of another vehicle to the roundabout when the second determination section determines that the present position of the own vehicle is within the roundabout.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to monitoring devices. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a monitoring device is installed in a vehicle to monitor the driver's state, for example, to monitor whether the driver is looking away from the road.

[0003] If the driver is facing a direction that is at a predetermined angle or more horizontally with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle, the monitoring device determines that the driver is looking aside and issues a warning.

[0004] When a vehicle is traveling at an intersection or the like and passing an entry point where another vehicle is entering, the driver looks in the direction of the entry point. This is a safety confirmation action, and since being notified of a warning for such an action is bothersome to the driver, the criteria for determining inattentive driving have been relaxed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0005] For example, if it is determined that the driver is looking aside when the total amount of time the driver spends looking aside during a predetermined determination time exceeds a reference time, the reference time may be lengthened to relax the determination criteria. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-226666 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] A vehicle may travel through a roundabout (a circular intersection). A roundabout has a ring road and multiple entry positions where other vehicles can enter the ring road. When a vehicle is traveling through a roundabout, the driver checks whether other vehicles are entering from the entry positions.

[0008] In roundabouts, the approach point often appears on the ring road, so even if the criteria are relaxed, the total inattentive time may exceed the reference time. If the inattentive time exceeds the reference time, a warning is issued to the driver.

[0009] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a monitoring device that does not determine that a driver is looking away from a roundabout even if the driver is looking at the approach position of another vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] (1) According to one embodiment, a monitoring device is provided, comprising: a first determination unit that determines whether the driver is looking aside using predetermined determination criteria based on information indicating the direction of the driver's face; a second determination unit that determines whether the current position of the vehicle is within a roundabout based on map information; and a change unit that, when the second determination unit determines that the current position of the vehicle is within a roundabout, changes the determination criteria so that the driver is not determined to be looking aside when the driver's face is facing in the direction of the entry position of another vehicle into the roundabout.

[0011] (2) In the monitoring device of (1), it is preferable that the second judgment unit determines that the current position of the vehicle is located within a roundabout based on map information and determines that the vehicle has completed entering the roundabout, and then determines that the current position of the vehicle is within the roundabout.

[0012] (3) In the monitoring device of (1) or (2), it is preferable that the second judgment unit judges that the vehicle's entry into the roundabout has been completed when the steering angle of the steering wheel of the vehicle changes from a steering angle in a first direction for entering the roundabout to zero and becomes a steering angle in a second direction opposite to the first direction, or when the yaw rate of the vehicle changes from a yaw rate in the first direction to a yaw rate in the second direction.

[0013] (4) In the monitoring device of (1) to (3), it is preferable to have a third judgment unit that judges whether or not an operation has been performed on the turn signal operation unit, which indicates a change in the direction of travel of the vehicle to exit the roundabout, at the exit position where the vehicle exits the roundabout, and the change unit changes the judgment criteria to the initial value before the change when the third judgment unit judges that an operation has been performed on the turn signal operation unit.

[0014] (5) In the monitoring device of (1) to (4), when the second determination unit determines that the current position of the vehicle is within a roundabout, it is preferable that the change unit change the determination criteria to relax the criteria for when the driver's face is facing in the direction of the curve of the road on which the vehicle is traveling. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] The monitoring device according to the present disclosure does not determine that a driver is looking away from another vehicle in a roundabout, even if the driver is looking at the approach position of another vehicle, so that a warning is not issued to the driver. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B illustrate an outline of the operation of the monitoring device of this embodiment, where 1A is a diagram showing a vehicle in a roundabout, and 1B is a diagram showing the interior of the vehicle. [Figure 2] 1 is a hardware configuration diagram of a vehicle in which a monitoring device according to an embodiment of the present invention is implemented. [Figure 3] 10 is an example of an operational flowchart relating to a change process of a monitoring device according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] 10 is an example of an operational flowchart relating to a determination process of the monitoring device of the present embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 is an example of an operational flowchart relating to Modification 1 of the monitoring device of the present embodiment. [Figure 6] 10 is an example of an operational flowchart relating to Modification 2 of the monitoring device of the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] 1(A) and 1(B) illustrate an overview of the operation of the monitoring device of this embodiment. Fig. 1(A) is a diagram showing a vehicle 10 in a roundabout, and Fig. 1(B) is a diagram showing the interior of a vehicle cabin 30.

[0018] As shown in Fig. 1(A), a vehicle 10 has an automatic control device 11 and a monitoring device 12. The automatic control device 11 has an automatic driving mode (for example, a driving mode of levels 3 to 5) in which the automatic control device 11 mainly drives the vehicle 10, and a manual driving mode (for example, a driving mode of levels 0 to 2) in which a driver 40 mainly drives the vehicle 10. The vehicle 10 may be an automatically driven vehicle.

[0019] In the manual driving mode, the automatic control device 11 controls the operation of the vehicle 10 based on the operation of the driver 40. The driver 40 is seated in the driver's seat 31 in the vehicle interior 30 so as to be able to operate a steering wheel 32, a brake pedal 33, and an accelerator pedal 34.

[0020] The monitoring device 12 monitors whether the driver 40 is looking aside based on a monitoring image of the driver 40 acquired by the monitoring camera 3.

[0021] Vehicle 10 is traveling in a roundabout (circular intersection) 50. Roundabout 50 has a ring road 501. Ring road 501 has a ring shape. Vehicle 10 is traveling on ring road 501. Four roads 51 to 54 are connected to ring road 501. Roundabout 50 has ring road 501, four entry positions 51a to 54a where other vehicles can enter ring road 501, and four exit positions 51b to 54b where vehicle 10 can exit the ring road.

[0022] Road 51 has lanes 511 and 512. The junction of lane 511 and ring road 501 forms entry position 51a. The junction of lane 512 and ring road 501 forms exit position 51b. Road 52 has lanes 521 and 522. The junction of lane 521 and ring road 501 forms entry position 52a. The junction of lane 522 and ring road 501 forms exit position 52b. Road 53 has lanes 531 and 532. The junction of lane 531 and ring road 501 forms entry position 53a. The junction of lane 532 and ring road 501 forms exit position 53b. Road 54 has lanes 541 and 542. The junction of lane 541 and ring road 501 forms entry position 54a, and the junction of lane 542 and ring road 501 forms exit position 54b.

[0023] The vehicle 10 travels while turning on the ring road 501. The entry positions 51a to 54a and the exit positions 51b to 54b are located on the opposite side of the vehicle 10 from the direction in which the vehicle 10 is turning.

[0024] 1(A), the vehicle 10 is traveling just before the entry position 51a. The vehicle 60 is about to enter the ring road 501 from the entry position 51a.

[0025] To check for safety, driver 40 turns his head toward approach position 51a. Since approach position 51a is located on the opposite side of the direction in which vehicle 10 is turning, driver 40 turns his head significantly to the left with respect to the traveling direction of vehicle 10.

[0026] When the monitoring device 12 monitors the driver 40 in this state using the initial value of the determination condition, it determines that the driver 40 is looking aside.

[0027] However, since the driver 40 faces the approach position 51a to check for safety, the warning issued by the monitoring device 12 may be bothersome to the driver 40.

[0028] Therefore, when the monitoring device 12 determines that the current position of the vehicle 10 is within the roundabout 50, it changes the determination criteria so that the driver 40 is not determined to be looking away when the driver 40 turns his / her face in the direction of the entry positions 51a to 54a of other vehicles into the roundabout 50.

[0029] The monitoring device 12 uses the changed criteria to determine whether the driver 40 is looking aside. As a result, even if the driver 40 turns his / her head toward the entry position 51a to check for safety, the monitoring device 12 does not determine that the driver 40 is looking aside, and therefore, a warning is not issued to the driver 40.

[0030] As described above, the monitoring device 12 of this embodiment does not determine that the driver 40 is looking away from the roundabout 50 even if he or she is looking at the approach position of another vehicle, so a warning is not issued to the driver 40.

[0031] 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a vehicle 10 in which a monitoring device 12 of this embodiment is implemented. The vehicle 10 includes a monitoring camera 3, a turn signal operation unit 4, an angular velocity sensor 5, a user interface (UI) 7, a positioning information receiver 8, a navigation device 9, an automatic control device 11, the monitoring device 12, a steering wheel 32, a brake pedal 33, an accelerator pedal 34, etc. The vehicle 10 may further include a distance measurement sensor such as a LiDAR sensor.

[0032] The surveillance camera 3, the turn signal operating unit 4, the angular velocity sensor 5, the UI 7, the positioning information receiver 8, the navigation device 9, the automatic control device 11, the monitoring device 12, the steering wheel 32, the brake pedal 33, and the accelerator pedal 34 are communicatively connected via an in-vehicle network 13 that complies with a standard such as a controller area network.

[0033] The surveillance camera 3 is disposed in the passenger compartment 30 so as to be able to acquire surveillance images including the face of the driver 40 who drives the vehicle 10. The surveillance camera 3 is disposed, for example, on the dashboard. The surveillance camera 3 is an example of an image acquisition unit. The surveillance camera 3 acquires surveillance images showing the vicinity of the driver's seat 31 at surveillance image acquisition times that have, for example, a predetermined cycle. The surveillance images show the face of the driver 40 seated in the driver's seat 31.

[0034] The surveillance camera 3 has a two-dimensional detector consisting of an array of photoelectric conversion elements, such as CCD or C-MOS, that are sensitive to infrared light, and an imaging optical system that forms an image of the area to be captured on the two-dimensional detector. Every time the surveillance camera 3 captures a surveillance image, it outputs the surveillance image and the image capture time to the automatic control device 11 via the in-vehicle network 13. The surveillance image is used by the monitoring device 12 to detect the orientation of the driver 40's face.

[0035] The turn signal operation unit 4 is disposed on the steering column. The turn signal operation unit 4 inputs the lane change direction of the vehicle 10. The driver 40 operates the turn signal operation unit 4 upward or downward to instruct the vehicle 10 to change its direction of travel. The turn signal operation unit 4 outputs a turn signal operation signal indicating a change in the direction of travel of the vehicle 10 to the automatic control device 11, the monitoring device 12, etc. via the in-vehicle network 13. The turn signal operation signal is an example of operation information indicating the driver's 40 operation of the turn signal operation unit 4. The monitoring device 12 stores the turn signal operation signal together with the time when the turn signal operation signal was input.

[0036] The angular velocity sensor 5 detects the yaw rate of the vehicle 10 and outputs the yaw rate and the time when the yaw rate was acquired to the automatic control device 11, the monitoring device 12, etc. via the in-vehicle network 13. As the angular velocity sensor 5, for example, a gyroscope or the like can be used.

[0037] The steering wheel 32 generates a steering signal according to the steering angle by the driver 40 and outputs it to the automatic control device 11 via the in-vehicle network 13. The monitoring device 12 stores the steering signal together with the time when the steering signal was input.

[0038] The accelerator pedal 34 generates an accelerator signal according to the accelerator opening by the driver, and outputs the signal to the automatic control device 11 via the in-vehicle network 13 .

[0039] The brake pedal 33 generates a brake signal according to the amount of braking applied by the driver, and outputs the signal to the automatic control device 11 via the in-vehicle network 13 .

[0040] The UI 7 is an example of a notification unit. The UI 7 is controlled by the automatic control device 11 and the monitoring device 12 to notify the driver 40 of information related to the vehicle 10. The UI 7 has a display device 7a such as a liquid crystal display or a touch panel to display information. The UI 7 may also have an audio output device (not shown) to notify the driver 40 of the information. The UI 7 also has, for example, a touch panel or operation buttons as an input device for inputting operation information from the driver 40 to the vehicle 10. The UI 7 outputs the input information to the automatic control device 11, the monitoring device 12, etc. via the in-vehicle network 13.

[0041] The positioning information receiver 8 outputs positioning information that indicates the current position of the vehicle 10. For example, the positioning information receiver 8 can be a GNSS receiver. Every time the positioning information receiver 8 acquires positioning information at a predetermined reception cycle, it outputs the positioning information and the time at which the positioning information was acquired to the navigation device 9, the monitoring device 12, etc.

[0042] The navigation device 9 generates a navigation route from the current position of the vehicle 10 to the destination position based on the navigation map information, the destination position of the vehicle 10 input from the UI 7, and the positioning information indicating the current position of the vehicle 10 input from the positioning information receiver 8. The navigation route includes information on the positions of right turns, left turns, merging points, branching points, etc. The navigation route also includes information on intersections such as roundabouts. The navigation device 9 generates a new navigation route for the vehicle 10 when a new destination position is set or when the current position of the vehicle 10 deviates from the navigation route. Every time the navigation device 9 generates a navigation route, it outputs map information of a predetermined range including the navigation route and the current position of the vehicle 10 to the automatic control device 11, the monitoring device 12, etc. via the in-vehicle network 13.

[0043] The monitoring device 12 executes control processing, detection processing, determination processing, and change processing. To this end, the monitoring device 12 includes a communication interface (IF) 21, a memory 22, and a processor 23. The communication interface 21, the memory 22, and the processor 23 are connected via a signal line 24. The communication interface 21 includes an interface circuit for connecting the monitoring device 12 to the in-vehicle network 13.

[0044] The memory 22 is an example of a storage unit and includes, for example, a volatile semiconductor memory and a non-volatile semiconductor memory. The memory 22 stores computer programs and various data for applications used in information processing executed by the processor 23.

[0045] All or part of the functions of the monitoring device 12 are functional modules implemented by, for example, a computer program running on the processor 23. The processor 23 includes a control unit 231, a detection unit 232, a determination unit 233, and a change unit 234. The determination unit 233 is an example of a first determination unit, a second determination unit, and a third determination unit. Alternatively, the functional modules included in the processor 23 may be dedicated arithmetic circuits provided in the processor 23. The processor 23 includes one or more central processing units (CPUs) and their peripheral circuits. The processor 23 may further include other arithmetic circuits such as a logic operation unit, a numerical operation unit, or a graphics processing unit.

[0046] The automatic control device 11 and the monitoring device 12 are, for example, electronic control units (ECUs). In Fig. 2, the automatic control device 11 and the monitoring device 12 are illustrated as separate devices (for example, electronic control units (ECUs)), but these devices may be configured as a single device.

[0047] The control unit 231 controls the operation of the vehicle 10. The control unit 231 detects objects and their types (for example, vehicles) around the vehicle 10 based on the detection results of sensors such as cameras (not shown). The control unit 231 controls the operation of the vehicle 10 based on the detection results.

[0048] The control unit 231 has an automatic driving mode in which the vehicle 10 is driven automatically, and a manual driving mode in which the operation of the vehicle 10 is controlled based on the operation of the driver 40. In the automatic driving mode, the control unit 231 mainly drives the vehicle 10. In the automatic driving mode, the control unit 231 controls operations such as steering, driving, and braking based on the current position of the vehicle 10, map information, and detection results of sensors (not shown) such as cameras mounted on the vehicle 10.

[0049] In addition, in the manual driving mode, the control unit 231 controls the operation of the vehicle 10, such as steering, driving, and braking, based on the operation of the driver 40. In the manual driving mode, the driver 40 takes the lead in driving the vehicle 10. In the manual driving mode, the control unit 231 controls the operation of the vehicle 10 based on the operation of at least one of the steering wheel 32, the brake pedal 33, and the accelerator pedal 34 by the driver 40.

[0050] FIG. 3 is an example of an operational flowchart relating to the change process of the monitoring device 12 of this embodiment. In the change process, the criteria for determining whether the driver 40 is looking aside are changed. The monitoring device 12 executes the change process according to the operational flowchart shown in FIG. 3 at a change time having a predetermined cycle. The cycle of the change time can be, for example, 0.1 to 1 second. The monitoring device 12 executes the change process whether the automatic control device 11 is in automatic driving mode or manual driving mode.

[0051] First, the determination unit 233 determines whether the determination criterion for determining whether the driver is looking aside is the initial value (step S101). This determination criterion will be described later.

[0052] If the determination criterion is the initial value (step S101-Yes), the determination unit 233 acquires the current position of the vehicle 10 (step S102). The determination unit 233 receives the current position of the vehicle 10 sent from the positioning information receiver 8 via the in-vehicle network 13.

[0053] Next, the determination unit 233 determines whether or not the current position of the vehicle 10 is within a roundabout based on the map information (step S103). The determination unit 233 refers to map information of a predetermined range including the current position of the vehicle 10 input from the navigation device 9, and determines whether or not the current position of the vehicle 10 is within a roundabout.

[0054] If the current position of vehicle 10 is within the roundabout (step S103-Yes), the change unit 234 changes the judgment criteria so that the driver is not judged to be looking away when the driver's face is facing in the direction of the entry position of another vehicle into the roundabout (step S104), and ends the series of processes.

[0055] The change unit 234 acquires the direction in which the exit position is located relative to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 within the roundabout based on the map information. The determination criterion is changed so that it is not determined that the driver 40 is looking aside when the driver 40 faces in the direction in which the exit position is located relative to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10.

[0056] Whether or not the driver 40 is looking aside is determined based on the horizontal angle of the face direction of the driver 40. If the face direction of the driver 40 is at or above a reference angle for a reference time or longer, it is determined that the driver 40 is looking aside.

[0057] The direction of the face of the driver 40 is represented by the horizontal angle between the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 and the direction in which the face of the driver 40 is facing. For example, assuming that the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 is 0 degrees, the direction of the face of the driver 40 facing to the right is represented by an angle between 0 degrees and 180 degrees, and the direction of the face of the driver 40 facing to the left is represented by an angle between 0 degrees and -180 degrees.

[0058] In the case of driving on the left side of the road, the initial judgment criteria are that the reference angle is 30 degrees or more to the right or 40 degrees to the left of the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 (-40 degrees, with the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 being 0 degrees). The reference time is a total of 10 seconds within the judgment time of 30 seconds.

[0059] The change unit 234 changes the reference angle and / or the reference time for the determination criteria. In the example shown in Fig. 1(A), the entry positions 51a to 54a are located on the left side of the traveling direction of the vehicle 10. Therefore, the change unit 234 may change the reference angle from -40 degrees to -90 degrees. As a result, even if the face of the driver 40 faces the direction of the entry positions 51a to 54a, it will almost never be determined that the driver is looking aside.

[0060] The change unit 234 may also change the reference angle from −40 degrees to −180 degrees. In this case, the inattentive area is not set in the range on the left side of the traveling direction of the vehicle 10.

[0061] Furthermore, the change unit 234 may change the reference time from 10 seconds to 20 seconds. Furthermore, the change unit 234 may change the reference time to the same time as the determination time of 30 seconds. This will almost completely eliminate the possibility of driver 40 being judged as looking aside even if his / her face faces the direction of entry positions 51a to 54a.

[0062] On the other hand, if the current position of the vehicle 10 is not within the roundabout (step S103-No), the change unit 234 sets the determination criterion to the initial value (step S105), and ends the series of processes.

[0063] If the determination criteria are not the initial values ​​(step S101-No), the series of processes ends. Since the determination criteria have already been changed, no new change process is necessary.

[0064] FIG. 4 is an example of an operational flowchart relating to the determination process of the monitoring device 12 of this embodiment. The monitoring device 12 executes the process of determining whether the driver 40 is looking inattentively according to the operational flowchart shown in FIG. 4 at a determination time having a predetermined cycle, using the determination criteria changed or set by the above-mentioned change process. The cycle of the determination time can be set appropriately depending on the determination time required to determine whether the driver 40 is looking inattentively. The cycle of the determination time can be set to, for example, 30 to 60 seconds. The monitoring device 12 executes the determination process regardless of whether the automatic control device 11 is in automatic driving mode or manual driving mode.

[0065] First, the detection unit 232 detects the facial orientation of the driver 40 (step S201). The detection unit 232 inputs the monitoring image into a classifier trained to detect specific facial features such as the corners of the eyes, the inner corners of the eyes, and the corners of the mouth, thereby identifying the positions of the specific features included in the monitoring image. The detection unit 232 then compares the positions of the specific features detected from the monitoring image with a standard 3D model of a face. The detection unit 232 then detects the facial orientation angle in the 3D model when the position of each feature best matches the position of the feature detected from the monitoring image as the facial orientation angle in the monitoring image. The monitoring image is an example of information representing the facial orientation of the driver 40.

[0066] The classifier can be, for example, a convolutional deep neural network (DNN) with multiple layers connected in series from the input side to the output side. The DNN, which has previously trained on face images containing specific facial features as training data, operates as a classifier to identify the positions of the specific facial features.

[0067] The direction of the face of driver 40 is represented by the horizontal angle between the traveling direction of vehicle 10 and the direction in which driver 40 is facing. For example, assuming that the traveling direction of vehicle 10 is 0 degrees, the direction of the face of driver 40 facing left is represented by an angle of 0 degrees to -180 degrees, and the direction of the face of driver 40 facing right is represented by an angle of 0 degrees to 180 degrees.

[0068] The detection unit 232 determines the position of the pupil center and the position of the eyeball center based on the positions of the outer corner and inner corner of the eye, and estimates the direction connecting the positions of the eyeball center and the pupil center as the gaze direction of the driver 40. The detection unit 232 may determine the facial orientation of the driver 40 based on the gaze direction of the driver 40.

[0069] Next, the determination unit 233 determines whether the driver 40 is looking aside or not (step S202) using the determination criterion changed or set by the change unit 234. The determination unit 233 determines that the driver 40 is looking aside when the direction of the driver 40's face is at or above a reference angle for a reference time or longer.

[0070] If the driver 40 is looking aside (step S202-Yes), the control unit 231 notifies the driver 40 of a warning via the UI 7 (step S203), and ends the series of processes. For example, the control unit 231 displays a warning on the display device 7a via the UI 7 and outputs a loud warning sound. This causes the monitoring device 12 to urge the driver 40 to increase the degree of involvement in driving.

[0071] On the other hand, if the driver 40 is not looking aside (step S202-No), the series of processes ends.

[0072] 1(A), entry positions 51a to 54a frequently appear when vehicle 10 is traveling on ring road 501. For example, when vehicle 10 approaches entry position 51a, driver 40 turns his head toward entry position 51a and determines whether vehicle 60 is about to enter ring road 501 from entry position 51a.

[0073] In the monitoring device 12, the criterion for determination is changed so that the driver 40 is not determined to be looking aside when the driver 40 turns his / her face in the direction of the approach position of another vehicle into the roundabout 50, so that the driver 40 is not actually determined to be looking aside.

[0074] As described above in detail, the monitoring device of this embodiment does not determine that a driver is looking away from another vehicle in a roundabout, even if the driver is looking at the approach position of another vehicle, so a warning is not issued to the driver.

[0075] Prior art has also proposed relaxing the criteria for determining whether a vehicle is looking inattentive when the vehicle is traveling through an intersection. However, in the prior art, the vehicle travels through the intersection at a speed of, for example, 20 km / h or less. Therefore, the criteria for determining whether the vehicle is looking inattentive are relaxed when the vehicle is traveling at a relatively slow speed. On the other hand, in a roundabout, the vehicle may travel at the speed limit (20 km / h or more). The monitoring device of this embodiment proposes relaxing the criteria for determining whether the vehicle is looking inattentive even when the vehicle is traveling at a relatively high speed.

[0076] Next, a first modification and a second modification of the monitoring device 12 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0077] Fig. 5 is an example of an operational flowchart relating to Modification 1 of the monitoring device change process of the embodiment described above. In this modification, the process of step S304 is added to the operational flowchart of the change process shown in Fig. 3 described above. The processes of steps S301 to S303, S305, and S306 are the same as steps S101 to S105 described above.

[0078] If the current position of the vehicle 10 is within the roundabout (step S303-Yes), the determination unit 233 determines whether or not the vehicle 10 has completed entering the roundabout (step S304).

[0079] Specifically, the determination unit 233 acquires the steering angle based on the steering signal input from the steering wheel 32. When the steering angle of the steering wheel 32 of the vehicle 10 changes from the steering angle in a first direction for entering the roundabout to zero and becomes a steering angle in a second direction opposite to the first direction, the determination unit 233 determines that the operation of the vehicle 10 to enter the roundabout has been completed.

[0080] It is preferable that the determination unit 233 determines whether or not the vehicle 10 has completed entering the roundabout based on the steering signal for a predetermined determination period that includes the time before and after the time when it is determined that the current position of the vehicle 10 is within the roundabout. The determination period can be, for example, 3 to 5 seconds.

[0081] 1(A), the vehicle 10 turns left from the road 52 and enters the roundabout 50. The vehicle 10 turns left at the entry position 52a and enters the ring road 501 from the lane 521 of the road 52.

[0082] At the entry position 52a, the driver 40 steers the steering wheel 32 to the left to enter the ring road 501 from the road 52. Because the ring road 501 curves clockwise within the roundabout 50, the driver 40 steers the steering wheel 32 so that the steering angle changes from a leftward steering angle to a rightward steering angle.

[0083] The determination unit 233 determines that the vehicle 10 has completed entering the roundabout 50 when the steering angle of the steering wheel 32 changes from a steering angle to the left to zero and becomes a steering angle to the right, opposite to the left.

[0084] In addition, the determination unit 233 may determine that the vehicle 10 has completed entering the roundabout when the yaw rate of the vehicle 10 input from the angular velocity sensor 5 changes from a yaw rate in a first direction for entering the roundabout to zero and to a yaw rate in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

[0085] It is preferable that the determination unit 233 determines whether or not the vehicle 10 has completed entering the roundabout based on the yaw rate during a predetermined determination period before and after the time when it is determined that the current position of the vehicle 10 is within the roundabout. The determination period can be, for example, 3 to 5 seconds.

[0086] In the example shown in FIG. 1(A), the determination unit 233 determines that the vehicle 10 has completed entering the roundabout 50 when the yaw rate of the vehicle 10 input from the angular velocity sensor 5 changes from a leftward yaw rate for entering the roundabout 50 to zero and changes to a rightward yaw rate.

[0087] If the vehicle 10 has completed entering the roundabout (step S304-Yes), the change unit 234 changes the determination criterion (step S305) and ends the series of processes.

[0088] On the other hand, if the vehicle 10 has not completed entering the roundabout (step S304-No), the change unit 234 sets the determination criterion to the initial value (step S306), and ends the series of processes.

[0089] According to the present modified example described above in detail, the monitoring device can change the judgment criteria after the vehicle has completely entered the roundabout. When the vehicle enters the roundabout, it is accompanied by an action of turning left or right. The monitoring device monitors the driver using the initial value of the judgment criteria when the vehicle turns left or right. As described above, when the vehicle turns left or right, the vehicle travels slowly (for example, at a speed of 20 km / h or less), so the monitoring device may not monitor the driver's inattentiveness.

[0090] FIG. 6 is an example of an operational flowchart relating to Modification 2 of the monitoring device 12 of this embodiment. In this modification, when the vehicle 10 exits the roundabout, the monitoring device 12 changes the criteria for determining inattentive driving to an initial value. The monitoring device 12 executes the change process according to the operational flowchart shown in FIG. 6 at a change time having a predetermined cycle. The cycle of the change time can be, for example, 0.1 to 1 second. The monitoring device 12 executes the change process even when the automatic control device 11 is in manual driving mode.

[0091] First, the determination unit 233 acquires the current position of the vehicle 10 (step S401). The determination unit 233 receives the current position of the vehicle 10 sent from the positioning information receiver 8 via the in-vehicle network 13.

[0092] Next, the determination unit 233 determines whether or not the current position of the vehicle 10 is at the exit position of the roundabout based on the map information (step S402). The determination unit 233 refers to map information of a predetermined range including the current position of the vehicle 10 input from the navigation device 9, and determines whether or not the current position of the vehicle 10 is at the exit position of the roundabout.

[0093] If the current position of the vehicle 10 is within a predetermined reference distance from the junction of the ring road and the road connecting to the ring road, the determination unit 233 determines that the current position of the vehicle 10 is at the exit position of the roundabout. The reference distance can be, for example, 10 m to 15 m.

[0094] If the current position of the vehicle 10 is at the exit position (step S402-Yes), the judgment unit 233 judges whether an operation has been performed on the turn signal operation unit 4, which indicates a change in the direction of travel of the vehicle 10 to exit the roundabout (step S403).

[0095] 1(A), when the driver 40 exits the roundabout 50, the driver 40 turns the vehicle 10 left at the exit positions 51b to 54b to exit onto the roads 51 to 54. The driver 40 operates the blinker operation unit 4 to indicate that the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 will change to the left.

[0096] If the turn signal operation signal indicates that the vehicle 10 is to change its direction of travel to the left, the judgment unit 233 determines that an operation has been performed on the turn signal operation unit 4, indicating a change in the direction of travel of the vehicle 10 to exit the roundabout.

[0097] If an operation is performed on the turn signal operation unit 4 indicating a change in the direction of travel of the vehicle 10 to exit the roundabout (step S403-Yes), the change unit 234 changes the judgment criterion to the initial value before the change (step S404) and terminates the series of processes.

[0098] 1(A), after the driver 40 operates the blinker operation unit 4, the vehicle 10 turns left at the exit positions 51b to 54b and exits the ring road 501. When the vehicle 10 is turning left, the monitoring device monitors the driver 40 using the initial value of the determination criterion.

[0099] On the other hand, if the current position of the vehicle 10 is not the exit position (step S402-No), or if an operation to the turn signal operation unit 4 indicating a change in the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 to exit the roundabout has not been performed (step S403-No), the series of processes ends. In step S403, even if an operation to the turn signal operation unit 4 has not been input, the determination unit 233 determines that an operation to the turn signal operation unit 4 indicating a change in the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 to exit the roundabout has not been performed.

[0100] According to the present modified example described above, when a vehicle is turning left or right to exit a roundabout, the driver can be monitored using the initial value of the judgment criterion. As described above, when a vehicle is turning left or right, the vehicle travels slowly (for example, at a speed of 20 km / h or less), so the monitoring device may not monitor whether the driver is looking away.

[0101] In the present disclosure, the monitoring device of the above-described embodiment can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited to those embodiments, but extends to the inventions set forth in the claims and their equivalents.

[0102] For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the determination unit determines that the current position of the host vehicle is within a roundabout, the change unit may change the determination criterion to relax the determination criterion for the driver's face facing the direction of a curve on the road on which the host vehicle is traveling. In the example shown in FIG. 1A, the change unit may change the reference angle from 30 degrees to 90 degrees. This makes it possible to prevent the driver from being determined to be looking aside when facing the vehicle's traveling direction while traveling within a roundabout.

[0103] In the above-described embodiment, the process of determining the direction of the driver's face is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. In the above-described embodiment, the process of determining whether the driver is looking aside is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. [Explanation of symbols]

[0104] 3. Surveillance cameras 4. Turn signal operation section 5 Angular rate sensor 7 User Interface (UI) 7a Display device 8 Positioning information receiver 9 Navigation devices 10 vehicles 11 Automatic control devices 12 Monitoring equipment 21 Communication Interface 22 Memory 23 processors 231 Control Unit 232 Detector 233 Judgment section 234 Changes 13 In-vehicle network 30 Cabin 31 Driver's seat 32 Steering wheel 33 Brake pedal 34 Accelerator pedal

Claims

1. a first determination unit that determines whether the driver is looking aside using a predetermined determination criterion based on information indicating the direction of the driver's face; a second determination unit that determines whether or not the current position of the vehicle is within a roundabout based on map information; a change unit that changes the determination criterion when the second determination unit determines that the current position of the host vehicle is within a roundabout so that the driver is not determined to be looking aside when the driver turns his / her face in the direction of an approach position of another vehicle into the roundabout; and A monitoring device comprising:

2. 2. The monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the second determination unit determines that the current position of the vehicle is within a roundabout when it determines that the current position of the vehicle is within a roundabout based on map information and that the vehicle has completed entering the roundabout.

3. 3. The monitoring device according to claim 2, wherein the second determination unit determines that the entry operation of the host vehicle into the roundabout has been completed when the steering angle of the steering wheel of the host vehicle changes from a steering angle in a first direction for entering the roundabout to zero and becomes a steering angle in a second direction opposite to the first direction, or when the yaw rate of the host vehicle changes from a yaw rate in the first direction to a yaw rate in the second direction.

4. a third determination unit that determines whether or not an operation has been performed on a turn signal operation unit that indicates a change in the traveling direction of the host vehicle to exit the roundabout at an exit position where the host vehicle exits the roundabout, The monitoring device according to claim 1 , wherein the change unit changes the determination criterion to an initial value before the change when the third determination unit determines that the operation on the blinker operation unit has been performed.

5. 2. The monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein, when the second determination unit determines that the current position of the vehicle is within a roundabout, the change unit changes the determination criterion to relax it when the driver's face is facing in a direction in which the road on which the vehicle is traveling is curved.

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