Driver monitoring device, driver monitoring method, and program

Abstract

To provide a driver monitoring device capable of recognizing the degree of danger of a driving situation in which a driver is placed while suppressing power consumption.SOLUTION: The driver monitoring device 2 includes a biological information recognition unit 11 that recognizes biological information on the driver of the moving body 100, a driving behavior recognition unit 12 that recognizes the driving behavior of the driver during driving, a driving risk recognition unit 16 that recognizes a driving risk indicating the degree of risk of movement of the moving body 100 driven by the driver by a predetermined recognition method based on at least one of the biological information on the driver and the driving behavior of the driver while the driver is driving the moving body 100, and a driving risk recognition method switching unit 17 that switches the recognition method used by the driving risk recognition unit 16 to recognize the driving risk at the next recognition timing according to the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit 16.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a driver monitoring device, a driver monitoring method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, efforts to provide access to sustainable transport systems that take into consideration vulnerable transport participants have become more active. To achieve this, we are focusing on research and development into preventive safety technologies to further improve road safety and convenience. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that calculates the driver's drowsiness risk based on information obtained from the vehicle driver, calculates the monotonous driving risk based on information on the route the vehicle is traveling, and estimates the time at which the driver's future drowsiness level will exceed a predetermined threshold based on the drowsiness risk and monotonous driving risk. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-61480 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In preventive safety technology, it is effective to recognize the degree of danger of the driving situation in which a driver of a mobile vehicle is in and take necessary measures, but there is a demand for reducing the power consumption associated with recognizing the degree of danger. Therefore, an object of the present application is to recognize the degree of danger of the driving situation in which a driver is in while reducing power consumption. To solve the above problems, the present invention aims to recognize the degree of danger in the driving situation a driver is in while reducing power consumption, thereby further improving traffic safety and contributing to the development of a sustainable transportation system. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A first aspect for achieving the above object is a driver monitoring device comprising: a biometric information recognition unit that recognizes the biometric information of a driver of a mobile body; a driving behavior recognition unit that recognizes the driving behavior of the driver while driving the mobile body; a driving risk recognition unit that recognizes, using a predetermined recognition method, a driving risk that indicates the degree of risk of the movement of the mobile body due to the driver's driving, based on at least one of the driver's biometric information recognized by the biometric information recognition unit and the driver's driving behavior recognized by the driving behavior recognition unit while the driver is driving the mobile body; and a driving risk recognition method switching unit that switches the recognition method to be used by the driving risk recognition unit when recognizing the driving risk at the next recognition timing, depending on the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit.

[0006] In the above-mentioned driver monitoring device, the driving risk recognition unit recognizes pre-driving risk, which is the driving risk before the driver starts driving the mobile body, based on the driver's biometric information recognized by the biometric information recognition unit before the driver starts driving the mobile body, and the driving risk recognition method switching unit may be configured to switch the recognition method based on the pre-driving risk.

[0007] In the above-mentioned driver monitoring device, the driving risk recognition method switching unit may be configured to switch the recognition method to a first recognition method that recognizes the driving risk based on the driver's biometric information without using the driver's driving behavior when the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit is less than or equal to a first judgment value, and to switch the recognition method to a second recognition method that recognizes the driving risk based on the driver's driving behavior and biometric information when the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit is greater than the first judgment value.

[0008] The above-mentioned driver monitoring device may be configured to include a driving risk notification unit that outputs a predetermined notification from an output device used by the driver when the driving risk recognition unit recognizes a driving risk greater than a first notification threshold.

[0009] The above-mentioned driver monitoring device may be configured to include a mobile body position recognition unit that recognizes the position of the mobile body and a movement history recognition unit that recognizes the past movement history of the mobile body, and the driving risk recognition unit may recognize the driving risk as being below the first judgment value, and to increase the frequency of recognizing the driving risk when the mobile body position recognition unit recognizes that the mobile body is approaching a target position where the movement history recognition unit has recognized that the mobile body has previously exhibited a predetermined unstable behavior.

[0010] The above-mentioned driver monitoring device may be equipped with a mobile body position recognition unit that recognizes the position of the mobile body, and a movement history recognition unit that recognizes the past movement history of the mobile body, and the driving risk recognition method switching unit may be configured to switch the recognition method to the second recognition method when the driving risk recognition unit recognizes the driving risk as being less than the first judgment value and the mobile body position recognition unit recognizes that the mobile body is approaching a target position where the movement history recognition unit recognized that the mobile body had previously exhibited a predetermined unstable behavior.

[0011] In the above-mentioned driver monitoring device, the driving risk recognition method switching unit may be configured, when the driving risk recognition unit recognizes the driving risk as equal to or greater than a second judgment value greater than the first judgment value, to switch the recognition method to a third recognition method in which the driving risk is recognized based on the driver's biometric information and driving behavior, and the frequency at which the driver's biometric information is recognized by the biometric information recognition unit and the frequency at which the driver's driving behavior is recognized by the driving behavior recognition unit are higher than those of the second recognition method.

[0012] The driver monitoring device may be configured to include a surrounding situation recognition unit that recognizes the surrounding situation of the moving body based on the detection results of an external environment detection sensor provided on the moving body, and the third recognition method may be configured to recognize the driving risk based on the surrounding situation of the moving body recognized by the surrounding situation recognition unit.

[0013] In the above-mentioned driver monitoring device, the driving risk notification unit may be configured to output the specified notification from the output device more frequently when the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit is equal to or greater than a second notification threshold that is greater than the first notification threshold than when the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit is less than the second notification threshold.

[0014] In the above-mentioned driver monitoring device, the driving risk notification unit may be configured to output the specified notification from the output device provided in the moving body when the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit is equal to or greater than a second notification threshold that is greater than the first notification threshold.

[0015] A second aspect for achieving the above object is a driver monitoring method executed by a computer, the driver monitoring method including: a biometric information recognition step for recognizing biometric information of a driver of a mobile body; a driving behavior recognition step for recognizing the driving behavior of the driver while driving the mobile body; a driving risk recognition step for recognizing, by a predetermined recognition method, a driving risk indicating the degree of risk of the movement of the mobile body due to the driver's driving, based on at least one of the driver's biometric information recognized by the biometric information recognition step and the driver's driving behavior recognized by the driving behavior recognition step while the driver is driving the mobile body; and a driving risk recognition method switching step for switching the recognition method to be used by the driving risk recognition step when recognizing the driving risk at the next recognition timing, depending on the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition step.

[0016] A third aspect for achieving the above object is a program that causes a computer to function as a biometric information recognition unit that recognizes the biometric information of a driver of a mobile body, a driving behavior recognition unit that recognizes the driving behavior of the driver while driving the mobile body, a driving risk recognition unit that recognizes, using a predetermined recognition method, a driving risk that indicates the degree of risk of the movement of the mobile body due to the driver's driving based on at least one of the driver's biometric information recognized by the biometric information recognition unit and the driver's driving behavior recognized by the driving behavior recognition unit while the driver is driving the mobile body, and a driving risk recognition method switching unit that switches the recognition method to be used by the driving risk recognition unit when recognizing the driving risk at the next recognition timing, depending on the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] According to the driver monitoring device, the driver monitoring method, and the program, the degree of danger of the driving situation in which the driver is placed can be recognized while suppressing power consumption. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a manner in which a driver monitoring device is used. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the driver monitoring device. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the correspondence between lifestyle habit data, driving-related abilities, and driving diagnostic indices for coaching. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the process for calculating the predicted risk score. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the concept of predicted risk scores. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] [1. How to use the driver monitoring device] With reference to Fig. 1, a description will be given of how the driver monitoring device 2 of this embodiment is used. The driver monitoring device 2 is configured as a function of a communication terminal 1 used by a driver D of a vehicle 100. The communication terminal 1 is a smartphone, a mobile phone, a tablet terminal, or the like. The communication terminal 1 is attached to a terminal holder 150 provided in the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 corresponds to the moving body of the present disclosure. The moving body of the present disclosure may be an aircraft, a ship, or the like other than a vehicle.

[0020] The vehicle 100 is equipped with an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 110 that controls the operation of the vehicle 100, a communication unit 120, a navigation device 121, a front camera 130 that takes images in front of the vehicle 100, a driver monitor camera 131 that takes images of the driver D, a display 132, speakers 133a and 133b, an acceleration sensor 134, etc. The ECU 110 communicates with the communication terminal 1 via the communication unit 120. The vehicle 100 is equipped with a steering wheel 140, an accelerator pedal 141, a brake pedal 142, etc. as driving operation units.

[0021] The driver monitoring device 2 recognizes the operation (driving behavior) of the steering wheel 140, accelerator pedal 141, and brake pedal 142 by the driver D by receiving operation information through communication with the ECU 110 or by detection information from an acceleration sensor built into the communication terminal 1. The driver monitoring device 2 also acquires biometric information (heart rate, etc.) of the driver D measured by a wearable device worn by the driver D through communication with the wearable device.

[0022] Then, based on the driving behavior and biological information of the driver D, the driver monitoring device 2 calculates a predicted risk score indicating the degree of risk for the movement of the vehicle 100 driven by the driver D from a predetermined point in time when the driving behavior and biological information are recognized. The value of the predicted risk score becomes larger as the degree of risk increases. Furthermore, the driver monitoring device 2 supports the movement of the vehicle 100 driven by the driver D by giving advice to the driver D according to the level of the predicted risk score.

[0023] [2. Configuration of driver monitoring device] The configuration of the driver monitoring device 2 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. The communication terminal 1 having the functions of the driver monitoring device 2 includes a control unit 3 having a processor 10 and a memory 20, a communication unit 30, a camera 31, an acceleration sensor 32, a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) sensor 33, a display 34, a speaker 35, and a microphone 36.

[0024] The communication unit 30 performs short-range wireless communication using specifications such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) and UWB (Ultra Wide Band) between the vehicle 100 (more specifically, the ECU 110 mounted on the vehicle 100) and a wearable device 160 (such as a smart watch, wearable smart underwear, or a sensing device attached to the body or skin) worn by the driver D. The communication unit 30 also communicates with a traffic information server 210, a vehicle management server 211, and the like via the communication network 200.

[0025] The camera 31 captures an image of the driver D with the communication terminal 1 attached to the terminal holder 150 (see FIG. 1). The acceleration sensor 32 detects, for example, six axes (acceleration in each of the longitudinal, lateral, and vertical directions, and angular velocity about each axis). The GNSS sensor 33 detects the position of the communication terminal 1. With the communication terminal 1 attached to the terminal holder 150, the position detected by the GNSS sensor 33 becomes the current position of the vehicle 100. The display 34 is a touch panel, and the driver D instructs the use and stopping of functions of the driver monitoring device 2 by touching the display 34.

[0026] The memory 20 stores an application program 21 of the driver monitoring device 2 and movement history data 22. The movement history data 22 stores information on the movement history of the vehicle 100 (such as the travel route of the vehicle 100 and points where the vehicle 100 exhibited unstable behavior) based on the position of the vehicle 100 detected by the GNSS sensor 33.

[0027] By reading and executing program 21, processor 10 functions as a biometric information recognition unit 11, a driving behavior recognition unit 12, a moving object position recognition unit 13, a movement history recognition unit 14, a surrounding situation recognition unit 15, a driving risk recognition unit 16, a driving risk recognition method switching unit 17, and a driving risk notification unit 18.

[0028] The processing executed by the biometric information recognition unit 11 corresponds to the biometric information recognition step in the driver monitoring method of the present disclosure, the processing executed by the driving behavior recognition unit 12 corresponds to the driving behavior recognition step in the driver monitoring method of the present disclosure, the processing executed by the driving risk recognition unit 16 corresponds to the driving risk recognition step in the driver monitoring method of the present disclosure, and the processing executed by the driving risk recognition method switching unit 17 corresponds to the driving risk recognition method switching step in the driver monitoring method of the present disclosure.

[0029] The biological information recognition unit 11 recognizes the biological information of the driver D by communicating with the wearable device 160 and acquiring measurement information Bid relating to the physical activity of the driver D measured by the wearable device 160. The biological information includes heart rate, sleep time, sleep quality (REM sleep, non-REM sleep, sleep depth), exercise status (number of steps, exercise time, etc.), etc.

[0030] The driving behavior recognition unit 12 recognizes the driving behavior of the driver D by acquiring measurement information Dri related to the driving behavior of the driver D measured in the vehicle 100 through communication with the vehicle 100. The measurement information Dri includes the operation speed of the accelerator pedal 141 detected by the accelerator pedal sensor, the operation speed of the brake pedal 142 detected by the brake pedal sensor, the operation speed of the steering wheel detected by the steering sensor, and left / right sway of the vehicle 100 detected by the yaw rate sensor. The driving behavior recognition unit 12 recognizes driving behavior such as sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, and abrupt steering based on the measurement information Dri.

[0031] The mobile object position recognition unit 13 recognizes the position (current position) of the vehicle 100 based on the position detection signal of the GNSS sensor 33. The movement history recognition unit 14 recognizes the movement history of the vehicle 100 by referring to the movement history data 22. The surrounding situation recognition unit 15 recognizes the surrounding situation of the vehicle 100 by acquiring surrounding information of the vehicle 100 recognized by the vehicle 100 through communication with the vehicle 100. The surrounding information includes the positions of objects (pedestrians, other vehicles, etc.) present in front of the vehicle 100 recognized from images captured by the front camera 130 of the vehicle 100, the positions of other vehicles recognized through vehicle-to-vehicle communication between the vehicle 100 and other vehicles around the vehicle 100, and the like. Traffic information may be acquired through communication with a navigation device 121 provided in the vehicle 100.

[0032] The driving risk recognition unit 16 recognizes driving risks that indicate the degree of risk of moving the vehicle 100 while being driven by the driver D. The driving risk recognition unit 16 recognizes pre-driving risks, which are driving risks before the driver D starts driving the vehicle 100, based on pre-driving biometric information, which is biometric information recognized by the biometric information recognition unit 11 before the driver D starts driving the vehicle 100.

[0033] 3, the driving risk recognition unit 16 acquires the daily lifestyle habit data (sleep, exercise, stress) of the driver D shown in A1 from the pre-driving biological information of the driver D as factors that affect the driving-related abilities (planning, perception, attention, judgment, operation) shown in A2, and recognizes the pre-driving risks based on the lifestyle habit data. Furthermore, as lifestyle habit data, voice data of the driver D acquired by a dialogue app executed by the wearable device 160 or the communication terminal 1 may be used as a voice marker to recognize the pre-driving risks of the driver D from the results of voice analysis.

[0034] Regarding A2's driving abilities, for example, planning is evaluated by questionnaire analysis values, perception is evaluated by the error from the standard, attention is evaluated by reaction speed, judgment is evaluated by the accuracy rate, and operation is evaluated by the time it takes to complete a task. Regarding A1's daily lifestyle data, sleep includes sleep duration and sleep quality (REM sleep, non-REM sleep), exercise includes the number of steps and exercise duration, and stress includes heart rate variability. The evaluation of driving abilities is used as a driving diagnostic index for coaching to be notified to driver D, as shown in A3.

[0035] The driving risk recognition unit 16 recognizes that the pre-driving risk is high in the following cases, for example. Pre-driving state 1: When it is estimated that driver D's stress level is high based on fluctuations in his / her heart rate. Pre-driving condition 2: When driver D's sleep time is shorter than the past average. Pre-driving state 3: Driver D's exercise time is shorter than the past average.

[0036] The driving risk recognition unit 16 recognizes the driving risk of the driver D who is driving the vehicle 100 by the following first recognition method or second recognition method. First recognition method: The driving risk recognition unit 16 calculates the driving risk based on the pre-driving risk of the driver D and the heart rate of the driver D while driving recognized by the biometric information recognition unit 11 using the following formula (1). Dr1(t)=α1·Hr(t)+γ1·PDr (1) where Dr1(t): driving risk according to the first recognition method at the measurement time t, Hr(t): heart rate of driver D at the measurement time t, Hr: pre-driving risk, α1, γ1: adjustment coefficients. In the first recognition method, driving risk is calculated without using information on driving behavior, so communication between the vehicle 100 and the communication terminal 1 is not required, and the power consumption required to calculate driving risk can be reduced compared to the second recognition method described below.

[0037] Second recognition method: The driving risk recognition unit 16 calculates the driving risk using the following formula (2) based on the pre-driving risk of the driver D, the heart rate of the driver D while driving recognized by the biometric information recognition unit 11, and the level of the driving behavior of the driver D while driving (level value according to the speed of the exercise behavior) recognized by the driving behavior recognition unit 12. Dr2(t)=α2·Hr(t)+β·Da(t)+γ2·PDr (2) where Dr2(t): driving risk according to the second recognition method at measurement time t, Hr(t): heart rate of driver D at measurement time t, Da(t): level of driving behavior of driver D at measurement time t, Hr: pre-driving risk, α2, β, γ2: adjustment coefficients.

[0038] Here, the driving risk calculation by the driving risk recognition unit 16 may be performed by applying various commonly used statistical models. For example, the driving risk may be calculated by applying statistical processing using a multiple logistic model or the like.

[0039] The driving risk recognition method switching unit 17 switches the driving risk recognition method to be used by the driving risk recognition unit 16 at the next recognition time, depending on the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit 16. The driving risk notification unit 18 notifies the driver D of driving advice when the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit 16 is equal to or greater than a notification threshold.

[0040] [3. Driving risk recognition processing] The procedure of the driving risk recognition process executed by the driver monitoring device 2 will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

[0041] 4, the driving risk recognition unit 16 repeatedly executes the process of recognizing pre-driving risks based on the biometric information recognized by the biometric information recognition unit 11 before the driver D starts driving the vehicle 100 in step S1, as described above, until it recognizes in step S2 that the driver D has started driving the vehicle 100. The driving risk recognition unit 16 recognizes that the driver D has started driving the vehicle 100 by communicating with the vehicle 100.

[0042] In the following step S3, the driving risk recognition method switching unit 17 selects the above-mentioned first recognition method or second recognition method as the initial recognition method for the driving risk. The driving risk recognition method switching unit 17 may determine whether to select the first recognition method or the second recognition method as the initial recognition method depending on the level of pre-driving risk. Alternatively, either the first recognition method or the second recognition method may be fixed as the initial recognition method.

[0043] In the next step S4, the driving risk recognition method switching unit 17 proceeds to step S20 if the selected recognition method is the first recognition method, and proceeds to step S5 if the selected recognition method is the second recognition method.

[0044] In step S20, the biometric information recognition unit 11 acquires heart rate measurement information Bid through communication with the wearable device 160 and recognizes the heart rate of the driver D. In the following step S21, the driving risk recognition unit 16 calculates the driving risk of the driver D while driving using the first recognition method based on the pre-driving risk and heart rate of the driver D using the above formula (1), and proceeds to step S8 in Figure 5.

[0045] Furthermore, in step S5, the biometric information recognition unit 11 acquires heart rate measurement information Bid through communication with the wearable device 160, and recognizes the heart rate of driver D. In the following step S6, the driving behavior recognition unit 12 acquires measurement information Dri of driver D's driving behavior through communication with the vehicle 100, and recognizes the driving behavior of driver D. In the next step S7, the driving risk recognition unit 16 calculates the driving risk during driving using the above formula (2) based on driver D's pre-driving risk, heart rate, and driving behavior using the second recognition method.

[0046] Next, in step S8 of Figure 5, the driving risk recognition method switching unit 17 determines whether the driving risk of driver D calculated by the driving risk recognition unit 16 is equal to or less than the first judgment value. If the driving risk is equal to or less than the first judgment value, the driving risk recognition method switching unit 17 proceeds to step S9, and if the driving risk is greater than the first judgment value, the driving risk recognition method switching unit 17 proceeds to step S30.

[0047] In step S30, the driving risk recognition method switching unit 17 switches the driving risk recognition method to the second recognition method (selects the second recognition method), and proceeds to step S11. Also, in step S9, the driving risk recognition method switching unit 17 determines whether the vehicle 100 is approaching a target point where it has previously exhibited unstable behavior, based on the position of the vehicle 100 recognized by the moving object position recognition unit 13, the movement history of the vehicle 100 recognized by the movement history recognition unit 14, and the map information included in the traffic information Trd acquired from the traffic information server 210.

[0048] Then, the driving risk recognition method switching unit 17 proceeds to step S30 when the vehicle 100 approaches the target point, and proceeds to step S10 when the vehicle 100 has not approached the target point. In step S10, the driving risk recognition method switching unit 17 switches the driving risk recognition method to the first recognition method (selects the first recognition method), and proceeds to step S11.

[0049] In step S11, the driving risk notification unit 18 determines whether the driving risk calculated by the driving risk recognition unit 16 is greater than the first notification threshold. If the driving risk is greater than the first notification threshold, the driving risk notification unit 18 proceeds to step S40, and if the driving risk is equal to or less than the first notification threshold, the driving risk notification unit 18 proceeds to step S12.

[0050] In step S40, the driving risk notification unit 18 communicates with the vehicle 100 to display driving advice on the display 132 of the vehicle 100 and to output the driving advice as audio from the speakers 133a, 133b of the vehicle 100, and then proceeds to step S12. In step S12, the driving risk notification unit 18 determines whether the driver D has finished driving the vehicle 100, and if the driver D is continuing to drive the vehicle 100, proceeds to step S4 in Fig. 4, and if the driver D has finished driving the vehicle 100, proceeds to step S13, and ends the driving risk recognition process.

[0051] 4. Other Embodiments In the above embodiment, the biometric information recognition unit 11 recognized the heart rate as the biometric information of the driver D. In another embodiment, the biometric information of the driver D may be the blood pressure, body temperature, etc. of the driver D detected by a vital sensor provided in the wearable device 160. Note that the biometric information recognition unit 11 may recognize the biometric information of the driver D by acquiring detection information such as the heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, etc. detected by a vital sensor provided in the communication terminal 1 or the vehicle 100.

[0052] In the above embodiment, the driving risk recognition unit 16 recognized the pre-driving risk of the driver D and calculated the driving risk of the driver D while driving using the pre-driving risk according to the above formulas (1) and (2). In another embodiment, the driving risk of the driver D while driving may be calculated without using the pre-driving risk.

[0053] Furthermore, the driving risk recognition unit 16 may calculate the driving risk of the driver D while driving by reflecting the surrounding conditions of the vehicle 100 recognized by the surrounding condition recognition unit 15. In this case, the driving risk recognition unit 16 makes a correction so that the driving risk is increased when, for example, there is heavy traffic or the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle in front is short.

[0054] In the above embodiment, the mobile object location recognition unit 13 and the movement history recognition unit 14 are provided, and the driving risk recognition method switching unit 17 switches the driving risk recognition method to the second recognition method in step S9 of Fig. 5 when the vehicle 100 approaches a target point where the vehicle 100 has previously exhibited unstable behavior. In another embodiment, the mobile object location recognition unit 13 and the movement history recognition unit 14 may be omitted, and the process of switching to the second recognition method may not be performed when the vehicle 100 approaches the target point. Furthermore, the driving risk recognition unit 16 may increase the frequency of recognizing driving risks when the vehicle 100 approaches the target point.

[0055] In the above embodiment, the driving risk recognition method switching unit 17 switched the method of recognizing the driving risk of driver D between the first recognition method and the second recognition method. In another embodiment, when the driving risk recognition unit 16 recognizes a driving risk equal to or greater than a second judgment value greater than the first judgment value, the method of recognizing the driving risk may be switched to a third recognition method in which the driving risk is recognized based on the biometric information and driving behavior of driver D, and the frequency at which the biometric information recognition unit 11 recognizes the biometric information of driver D and the frequency at which the driving behavior recognition unit 12 recognizes the driving behavior of driver D are increased compared to the second recognition method.

[0056] In the above embodiment, the driving risk notification unit 18 outputs driving advice from the display 132 and speakers 133a, 133b provided in the vehicle 100 when the driving risk is greater than the first notification threshold by processing steps S11 and S12 in Fig. 5. In another embodiment, the driving advice may be output more frequently when the driving risk is greater than or equal to a second notification threshold that is greater than the first notification threshold than when the driving risk is less than or equal to the second notification threshold.

[0057] In addition, when the driving risk is greater than the second notification threshold, driving advice may be output from the display 132 and speakers 133a, 133b provided on the vehicle 100, and when the driving risk is less than the second notification threshold, driving advice may be output from the display 34 and speaker 35 of the communication terminal 1.

[0058] In the above embodiment, the driver monitoring device 2 is configured as a function of the communication terminal 1. In another embodiment, the driver monitoring device of the present disclosure may be configured as a function of an in-vehicle device such as the ECU 110 provided in the vehicle 100, or as a dedicated in-vehicle device. In this case, the in-vehicle device receives measurement information Bid of biological information through communication with the wearable device 160 worn by the driver D, and recognizes the biological information.

[0059] The driver monitoring device of the present disclosure may also be configured as a function of a server such as the vehicle management server 211. In this case, the server receives measurement information Bid of biological information through communication with the wearable device 160 worn by the driver D (directly or via the communication terminal 1 or the vehicle 100), and recognizes the biological information.

[0060] 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the driver monitoring device 2 divided by main processing content to facilitate understanding of the present invention, but the configuration of the driver monitoring device 2 may be divided by other divisions. Furthermore, the processing of each component may be executed by one hardware unit or multiple hardware units. Furthermore, the processing of each component shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 may be executed by one program or multiple programs.

[0061] 5. Configurations supported by the above embodiments The above embodiment is a specific example of the following configuration.

[0062] (Configuration 1) A driver monitoring device comprising: a biometric information recognition unit that recognizes the biometric information of a driver of a mobile body; a driving behavior recognition unit that recognizes the driving behavior of the driver while driving the mobile body; a driving risk recognition unit that recognizes, using a predetermined recognition method, a driving risk that indicates the degree of risk of the movement of the mobile body due to the driver's driving, based on at least one of the driver's biometric information recognized by the biometric information recognition unit and the driver's driving behavior recognized by the driving behavior recognition unit while the driver is driving the mobile body; and a driving risk recognition method switching unit that switches the recognition method to be used by the driving risk recognition unit when recognizing the driving risk at the next recognition timing, depending on the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit. According to the driver monitoring device of configuration 1, by switching the recognition method used to recognize driving risk depending on the driving risk, it is possible to reduce the power consumption used to recognize the biometric information or driving behavior used in the recognition method and recognize the driving risk, which is the degree of danger of the driving situation in which the driver is placed.

[0063] (Configuration 2) The driving risk recognition unit recognizes pre-driving risks, which are the driving risks before the driver starts driving the mobile body, based on the driver's biometric information recognized by the biometric information recognition unit before the driver starts driving the mobile body, and the driving risk recognition method switching unit switches the recognition method based on the pre-driving risks. A driver monitoring device as described in Configuration 1. According to the driver monitoring device of configuration 2, by switching the recognition method based on the pre-driving risk, it is possible to switch the recognition method in a way that reflects the health condition of the driver at the start of driving.

[0064] (Configuration 3) A driver monitoring device described in configuration 1 or configuration 2, wherein the driving risk recognition method switching unit switches the recognition method to a first recognition method that recognizes the driving risk based on the driver's biometric information without using the driver's driving behavior when the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit is less than or equal to a first judgment value, and when the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit is greater than the first judgment value, switches the recognition method to a second recognition method that recognizes the driving risk based on the driver's driving behavior and biometric information. According to the driver monitoring device of configuration 3, when the driving risk is equal to or less than the first judgment value, the next driving risk is recognized without the driving behavior recognition unit recognizing the driving behavior, thereby eliminating the need for power consumption (power consumption required for communication, calculation processing, etc.) when the driving behavior recognition unit recognizes the driving behavior, and enabling the driving risk to be recognized.

[0065] (Configuration 4) A driver monitoring device described in any one of configurations 1 to 3, which is provided with a driving risk notification unit that outputs a predetermined notification from an output device used by the driver when the driving risk recognition unit recognizes a driving risk that is greater than a first notification threshold. According to the driver monitoring device of configuration 4, when the driving risk becomes greater than the first notification threshold, a predetermined notification is made, thereby urging the driver to take action in response to the increased driving risk.

[0066] (Configuration 5) A driver monitoring device as described in Configuration 3, comprising a mobile body position recognition unit that recognizes the position of the mobile body, and a movement history recognition unit that recognizes the past movement history of the mobile body, wherein the driving risk recognition unit recognizes the driving risk as being below the first judgment value, and increases the frequency of recognizing the driving risk when the mobile body position recognition unit recognizes that the mobile body is approaching a target position where the movement history recognition unit has recognized that the mobile body has previously exhibited a predetermined unstable behavior. According to the driver monitoring device described in configuration 3, when a moving vehicle approaches a target location where the driver has previously performed abrupt operations that have led to unstable behavior of the moving vehicle, and it is estimated that the driver's stress will increase, the frequency of recognizing driving risks can be increased, thereby making it possible to quickly recognize changes in driving risks in response to an increase in the driver's stress.

[0067] (Configuration 6) A driver monitoring device as described in Configuration 3, comprising a mobile body position recognition unit that recognizes the position of the mobile body, and a movement history recognition unit that recognizes the past movement history of the mobile body, wherein the driving risk recognition method switching unit switches the recognition method to the second recognition method when the driving risk recognition unit recognizes that the driving risk is below the first judgment value and the mobile body position recognition unit recognizes that the mobile body is approaching a target position where the movement history recognition unit recognized that the mobile body had previously exhibited a predetermined unstable behavior. According to the driver monitoring device of configuration 6, when a moving body approaches a target location where the driver has previously performed a sudden maneuver that has caused the moving body to behave unstable, and it is estimated that the driver's stress will increase, the method of recognizing driving risks can be switched to the second recognition method, thereby making it possible to accurately recognize changes in driving risks in response to an increase in the driver's stress.

[0068] (Configuration 7) The driving risk recognition method switching unit, when the driving risk recognition unit recognizes the driving risk as equal to or greater than a second judgment value greater than the first judgment value, switches the recognition method to a third recognition method in which the driving risk is recognized based on the driver's biometric information and driving behavior, and the frequency at which the biometric information recognition unit recognizes the driver's biometric information and the frequency at which the driving behavior recognition unit recognizes the driver's driving behavior are higher than those of the second recognition method. According to the driver monitoring device of configuration 7, when the driving risk reaches the second judgment or higher, by switching to the third recognition method, which increases the frequency of recognizing biometric information and driving behavior, it is possible to quickly recognize changes in driving risk in situations where the driving risk has increased.

[0069] (Configuration 8) A driver monitoring device as described in Configuration 7, which includes a surrounding situation recognition unit that recognizes the surrounding situation of the moving body based on the detection results of an external detection sensor provided on the moving body, and the third recognition method recognizes the driving risk based on the surrounding situation of the moving body recognized by the surrounding situation recognition unit. According to the driver monitoring device of configuration 8, the accuracy of recognizing driving risks can be improved by using the surrounding conditions of the moving object detected by the external sensor.

[0070] (Configuration 9) A driver monitoring device as described in Configuration 4, wherein the driving risk notification unit outputs the specified notification from the output device more frequently when the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit is equal to or greater than a second notification threshold that is greater than the first notification threshold, than when the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit is less than the second notification threshold. According to the driver monitoring device of configuration 9, when the driving risk increases to or above the second notification threshold, the effectiveness of the notification to the driver can be improved by increasing the frequency at which a predetermined notification is output from the output device.

[0071] (Configuration 10) A driver monitoring device described in configuration 4 or configuration 9, wherein the driving risk notification unit sends a predetermined notification to a communication device outside the mobile body when the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit is equal to or greater than a second notification threshold that is greater than the first notification threshold. According to the driver monitoring device of configuration 10, when the driving risk increases to or above the second notification threshold, a predetermined notification can be sent to an external communication device (a communication terminal used by the driver's family, etc., a server system that supports the use of the mobile object, a communication device used by other mobile objects in the vicinity of the mobile object, etc.) to request support for the driver.

[0072] (Configuration 11) A driver monitoring method executed by a computer, comprising: a biometric information recognition step of recognizing biometric information of a driver of a mobile body; a driving behavior recognition step of recognizing the driving behavior of the driver while driving the mobile body; a driving risk recognition step of recognizing, using a predetermined recognition method, a driving risk indicating the degree of risk of the movement of the mobile body due to the driver's driving, based on at least one of the driver's biometric information recognized by the biometric information recognition step and the driver's driving behavior recognized by the driving behavior recognition step while the driver is driving the mobile body; and a driving risk recognition method switching step of switching the recognition method to be used by the driving risk recognition step when recognizing the driving risk at the next recognition timing, depending on the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition step. By executing the driver monitoring method of configuration 11 by a computer, the same effects as those of the driver monitoring method of configuration 1 can be obtained.

[0073] (Configuration 12) A program that causes a computer to function as a biometric information recognition unit that recognizes the biometric information of a driver of a mobile body, a driving behavior recognition unit that recognizes the driving behavior of the driver while driving the mobile body, a driving risk recognition unit that recognizes, using a predetermined recognition method, a driving risk that indicates the degree of risk of the movement of the mobile body due to the driver's driving based on at least one of the driver's biometric information recognized by the biometric information recognition unit and the driver's driving behavior recognized by the driving behavior recognition unit while the driver is driving the mobile body, and a driving risk recognition method switching unit that switches the recognition method to be used by the driving risk recognition unit when recognizing the driving risk at the next recognition timing, depending on the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit. The configuration of the driver monitoring device of configuration 1 can be realized by executing the program of configuration 12 by a computer. [Explanation of symbols]

[0074] 1...communication terminal, 2...driver monitoring device, 10...processor, 11...biometric information recognition unit, 12...driving behavior recognition unit, 13...mobile object position recognition unit, 14...movement history recognition unit, 15...surrounding situation recognition unit, 16...driving risk recognition unit, 17...driving risk recognition method switching unit, 18...driving risk notification unit, 20...memory, 21...program, 22...movement history data, 30...communication unit, 31...camera, 32...acceleration sensor, 33...GNSS sensor, 34...display, 35...speaker, 100...vehicle, 110...ECU, 120...communication unit, 121...navigation device, 130...front camera, 131...driver monitor camera, 132...display, 133a, 133b...speakers, 150...terminal holder, 160...wearable device, 200...communication network, 210...traffic information server, 211...vehicle management server, D...driver

Claims

1. a biometric information recognition unit that recognizes biometric information of a driver of the mobile body; a driving behavior recognition unit that recognizes driving behavior of the driver while driving the moving object; a driving risk recognition unit that recognizes, by a predetermined recognition method, a driving risk indicating a degree of risk of movement of the moving body due to driving by the driver, based on at least one of the driver's biometric information recognized by the biometric information recognition unit and the driver's driving behavior recognized by the driving behavior recognition unit when the driver is driving the moving body; A driving risk recognition method switching unit that switches the recognition method used by the driving risk recognition unit to recognize the driving risk at the next recognition timing according to the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit; A driver monitoring device comprising:

2. the driving risk recognition unit recognizes a pre-driving risk, which is a driving risk before the driver starts driving the mobile body, based on the driver's biometric information recognized by the biometric information recognition unit before the driver starts driving the mobile body; The driving risk recognition method switching unit switches the recognition method based on the pre-driving risk. The driver monitoring device according to claim 1 .

3. The driving risk recognition method switching unit When the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit is equal to or less than a first judgment value, the recognition method is switched to a first recognition method that recognizes the driving risk based on biometric information of the driver without using the driving behavior of the driver; When the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit is greater than the first determination value, the first recognition method is switched to a second recognition method that recognizes the driving risk based on the driving behavior and biological information of the driver. The driver monitoring device according to claim 1 .

4. a driving risk notification unit that outputs a predetermined notification from an output device used by the driver when the driving risk recognition unit recognizes the driving risk that is greater than a first notification threshold; The driver monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. a mobile object position recognition unit that recognizes the position of the mobile object; a movement history recognition unit that recognizes the past movement history of the moving object, The driving risk recognition unit recognizes the driving risk equal to or less than the first judgment value, and when the moving body position recognition unit recognizes that the moving body is approaching a target position where the movement history recognition unit recognizes that the moving body has previously exhibited a predetermined unstable behavior, the driving risk recognition unit increases the frequency of recognizing the driving risk. The driver monitoring device according to claim 3.

6. a mobile object position recognition unit that recognizes the position of the mobile object; a movement history recognition unit that recognizes the past movement history of the moving object, The driving risk recognition method switching unit switches the recognition method to the second recognition method when the driving risk recognition unit recognizes that the driving risk is equal to or less than the first judgment value and the moving body position recognition unit recognizes that the moving body is approaching a target position where the movement history recognition unit recognizes that the moving body has previously exhibited a predetermined unstable behavior. The driver monitoring device according to claim 3.

7. When the driving risk recognition unit recognizes the driving risk equal to or greater than a second determination value greater than the first determination value, the driving risk recognition method switching unit switches the recognition method to a third recognition method that recognizes the driving risk based on the driver's biometric information and driving behavior, and increases the frequency at which the biometric information recognition unit recognizes the driver's biometric information and the frequency at which the driving behavior recognition unit recognizes the driver's driving behavior, compared to the second recognition method. The driver monitoring device according to claim 3.

8. a surrounding situation recognition unit that recognizes a surrounding situation of the moving body based on a detection result by an external environment detection sensor provided in the moving body; The third recognition method recognizes the driving risk based on a surrounding situation of the moving object recognized by the surrounding situation recognition unit. The driver monitoring device according to claim 7.

9. When the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit is equal to or greater than a second notification threshold that is greater than the first notification threshold, the driving risk notification unit outputs the predetermined notification from the output device at a higher frequency than when the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit is less than the second notification threshold.

5. A driver monitoring device according to claim 4.

10. The driving risk notification unit outputs the predetermined notification from the output device provided in the moving body when the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit is equal to or greater than a second notification threshold that is greater than the first notification threshold.

5. A driver monitoring device according to claim 4.

11. 1. A computer-implemented driver monitoring method, comprising: a biometric information recognition step of recognizing biometric information of a driver of the mobile body; a driving behavior recognition step of recognizing a driving behavior of the driver while driving the moving object; a driving risk recognition step of recognizing, by a predetermined recognition method, a driving risk indicating a degree of risk of movement of the moving body due to driving by the driver, based on at least one of the driver's biometric information recognized by the biometric information recognition step and the driver's driving behavior recognized by the driving behavior recognition step while the driver is driving the moving body; A driving risk recognition method switching step in which the driving risk recognition step switches the recognition method used when recognizing the driving risk at the next recognition timing according to the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition step; A driver monitoring method comprising:

12. Computer, a biometric information recognition unit that recognizes biometric information of a driver of the mobile body; a driving behavior recognition unit that recognizes driving behavior of the driver while driving the moving object; a driving risk recognition unit that recognizes, by a predetermined recognition method, a driving risk indicating a degree of risk of movement of the moving body due to driving by the driver, based on at least one of the driver's biometric information recognized by the biometric information recognition unit and the driver's driving behavior recognized by the driving behavior recognition unit when the driver is driving the moving body; A driving risk recognition method switching unit that switches the recognition method used by the driving risk recognition unit to recognize the driving risk at the next recognition timing according to the driving risk recognized by the driving risk recognition unit; A program that makes it work.

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