Recommendation Systems

Abstract

To suggest whether or not drive assistance functions that are further appropriate for a driver need to be activated.SOLUTION: A recommendation system 1 suggests activation of drive assistance functions to a driver of a vehicle V. The recommendation system 1 includes: an operation detection unit 21 that detects an override operation by the driver; a scene acquisition unit 22 for acquiring an override scene when an override operation is detected; a function selection unit 25 that selects, based on the override scene, a drive assistance function corresponding to the override scene among drive assistance functions that have not been activated; and a suggestion unit 27 that suggests to the driver whether or not to activate the selected drive assistance function.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a recommendation system that suggests activation of a driving assistance function to a driver of a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Various driving assistance functions have been proposed to assist vehicle driving, such as an automatic lane change function, a lane keeping function, etc. For example, Patent Document 1 describes the above-mentioned automatic lane change function. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 20018-092538 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Although various driving assistance functions have been proposed, not all functions are necessarily considered necessary by the driver of the vehicle. If these driving assistance functions are uniformly activated or inactivated, the driving assistance functions that the driver does not consider unnecessary will be activated, and the driving assistance functions that the driver considers necessary will be inactivated.

[0005] For this reason, the present disclosure describes a recommendation system that can suggest whether or not to activate a driving assistance function that is more appropriate for the driver. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the present disclosure is [1] "a recommendation system that suggests to a driver of a vehicle that a driving assistance function be activated, the recommendation system comprising: an operation detection unit that detects an override operation by the driver for the operation of the driving assistance function; a scene acquisition unit that acquires an override scene when the override operation is detected; a function selection unit that selects, based on the acquired override scene, the driving assistance function that corresponds to the override scene from among the driving assistance functions that have not been activated; and a suggestion unit that suggests to the driver whether or not to activate the selected driving assistance function."

[0007] Here, the case where the driver performs an override operation is considered to be a case where the driver wants the vehicle to perform an operation different from the driving assistance function currently in operation, or the driver does not want the driving assistance function currently in operation. Therefore, the recommendation system selects a driving assistance function corresponding to the override scene when the override operation is detected, triggered by the detection of the override operation by the driver. This allows the recommendation system to select a driving assistance function that is more appropriate for the driver from among the driving assistance functions that are not activated. In this way, the recommendation system can suggest whether or not to activate a driving assistance function that is more appropriate for the driver by selecting a driving assistance function that corresponds to an override scene.

[0008] The recommendation system may be the recommendation system described in [1] above, [2] "wherein the suggestion unit suggests to the driver whether or not to inactivate the driving assistance function for which the detection state of the override operation by the operation detection unit satisfies a predetermined detection state." In this case, the recommendation system can not only suggest activation of the driving assistance function, but also suggest inactivation of the driving assistance function more appropriately for the driver.

[0009] The recommendation system may be the recommendation system described in [1] or [2] above, further comprising: [3] a function adjustment unit that adjusts the assistance content of the driving assistance function selected by the function selection unit based on the override operation detected by the operation detection unit, and the suggestion unit suggests to the driver whether or not to activate the driving assistance function adjusted by the function adjustment unit. In this case, the recommendation system can adjust the assistance content of the driving assistance function to be more suitable for the driver. The recommendation system can then suggest whether or not to activate the driving assistance function with assistance content more suitable for the driver.

[0010] The above recommendation system may be [4] "the recommendation system according to any one of [1] to [3] above, further comprising a driver recognition unit that recognizes the driver, and an individual information storage unit that stores, for each driver, the identification information of the driver and the unactivated driving assistance function in association with each other, and the function selection unit selects, based on the information stored in the individual information storage unit, the driving assistance function corresponding to the override scene from among the unactivated driving assistance functions corresponding to the driver recognized by the driver recognition unit." In this case, the recommendation system can suggest whether or not to activate the unactivated driving assistance function according to the driver currently aboard, even if the driver of the vehicle has changed. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to suggest to the driver whether or not to activate a driving assistance function, which is more appropriate for the driver. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a recommendation system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2]FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the flow of the process of proposing activation of a driving assistance function performed by the recommendation system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] A vehicle V shown in FIG. 1 is equipped with a driving assistance device 2 capable of executing various driving assistance functions such as an automatic lane change function and a lane keeping function. The driving assistance device 2 executes an activated driving assistance function among the driving assistance functions implemented in the vehicle V. The vehicle V may be an autonomous vehicle capable of autonomous driving. The recommendation system 1 makes a suggestion to the driver of the vehicle V to activate a driving assistance function that has not been activated in the driving assistance device 2.

[0015] The recommendation system 1 is mounted on a vehicle V. The recommendation system 1 includes an external sensor 11, an in-vehicle camera 12, a presentation device 13, an input device 14, and a recommendation ECU [Electronic Control Unit] 20. The external sensor 11 is an in-vehicle sensor that detects the external environment of the vehicle V. For example, the external sensor 11 includes at least one of a camera that captures an image of the environment of the vehicle V and a LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging).

[0016] The in-vehicle camera 12 is a camera that captures an image of the driver inside the vehicle V. The presentation device 13 is a device that presents information to the driver of the vehicle V. The presentation device 13 includes, for example, at least one of an in-vehicle display and a speaker. The input device 14 is a device that accepts an input operation by the driver. For example, the input device 14 may be a switch, a touch panel, or the like.

[0017] The recommendation ECU 20 is an electronic control unit having a CPU [Central Processing Unit], a ROM [Read Only Memory], a RAM [Random Access Memory], etc. The recommendation ECU 20 realizes various functions by, for example, loading a program recorded in the ROM into the RAM and executing the program loaded into the RAM with the CPU. The recommendation ECU 20 may be composed of multiple electronic units. Functionally, the recommendation ECU 20 includes an operation detection unit 21, a scene acquisition unit 22, a driver recognition unit 23, an individual information storage unit 24, a function selection unit 25, a function adjustment unit 26, and a suggestion unit 27.

[0018] The operation detection unit 21 detects an override operation performed by the driver with respect to the operation of a driving assistance function being executed by the driving assistance device 2. The operation detection unit 21 can acquire information on which driving assistance function is being executed from the driving assistance device 2. The operation detection unit 21 can detect an override operation based on the detection results of various sensors that detect the driving operation of the driver. As sensors that detect the driving operation of the driver, for example, an accelerator pedal sensor that detects the operation of an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal sensor that detects the operation of a brake pedal, a steering sensor that detects the operation of a steering wheel, and a turn signal sensor that detects the operation of a turn signal lever can be used.

[0019] The scene acquisition unit 22 acquires an override scene when an override operation is detected by the operation detection unit 21. Here, the override scene includes at least one of the situation when the override operation is detected and the operation content when the driver performs the override operation. The situation when the override operation is detected may include the state of the vehicle V, and may include the situation around the vehicle V. The scene acquisition unit 22 can acquire the state of the vehicle V based on the detection results of various sensors (e.g., a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, etc.) that detect the traveling state of the vehicle V. In addition, the scene acquisition unit 22 may acquire the state of the vehicle V based on the control command value when the driving assistance device 2 controls the traveling of the vehicle V, etc. The scene acquisition unit 22 can acquire the situation around the vehicle V based on the detection result of the external sensor 11. In addition, the scene acquisition unit 22 may acquire the operation content when the driver performs the override operation from the operation detection unit 21 that detects the override operation, or may acquire it based on the detection results of various sensors that detect the driving operation of the driver similarly to the operation detection unit 21.

[0020] The driver recognition unit 23 recognizes the driver who is in the vehicle V. Here, the driver recognition unit 23 recognizes the driver so that the driver can be identified. For example, the driver recognition unit 23 can recognize (identify) the driver based on the image captured by the in-vehicle camera 12, based on a well-known image processing technique.

[0021] Here, the driver activates the driving assistance function based on a suggestion from the recommendation system 1, which will be described in detail later. In other words, the driving assistance function that is activated differs for each driver. The individual information storage unit 24 stores, for each driver identified by the driver recognition unit 23, the driver's identification information and the driving assistance function that is not activated for the driver in association with each other. For example, the individual information storage unit 24 may acquire information on whether or not a driving assistance function is activated for each driver from the driving assistance device 2.

[0022] The function selection unit 25 selects a driving support function corresponding to the acquired override scene from among the driving support functions that have not been activated, based on the override scene acquired by the scene acquisition unit 22. As described above, the individual information storage unit 24 stores driving support functions that have not been activated for each driver. Therefore, here, the function selection unit 25 selects a driving support function corresponding to the override scene from among the driving support functions that have not been activated and that correspond to the driver recognized by the driver recognition unit 23, based on the information stored in the individual information storage unit 24.

[0023] Here, the override scene may include a situation when an override operation is detected. In this case, the function selection unit 25 selects a driving assistance function that is predetermined for the situation when an override operation is detected from among the driving assistance functions that are not activated. For example, there is a driving assistance function that is considered to be able to make the behavior of the vehicle V behave in accordance with the driver's intention by executing it in the situation when an override operation is detected. Such a driving assistance function is set as a driving assistance function that is predetermined for the situation when an override operation is detected. In addition, there is a driving assistance function that is able to make the vehicle V run more appropriately by executing it in the situation when an override operation is detected. Such a driving assistance function is set as a driving assistance function that is predetermined for the situation when an override operation is detected.

[0024] Furthermore, the override scene may include the operation contents when the driver performs the override operation. In this case, the function selection unit 25 selects, from among the driving support functions that are not activated, a driving support function whose behavior of the vehicle V caused by executing the driving support function is closest (has a high degree of agreement) to the behavior caused by the operation contents of the override operation.

[0025] The function adjustment unit 26 adjusts the assistance content of the driving assistance function selected by the function selection unit 25 based on the override operation detected by the operation detection unit 21. Here, the function adjustment unit 26 adjusts the assistance content, for example, so that the behavior of the vehicle V caused by the execution of the selected driving assistance function becomes closer to the behavior caused by the operation content of the override operation. For example, the function adjustment unit 26 can adjust the steering timing, the amount of change (speed of change) in the steering angle, the strength and operation timing of the brakes, the stopping position of the vehicle V when stopping the vehicle V, and the strength of acceleration, etc., as the contents to be adjusted.

[0026] The function adjustment unit 26 is not limited to adjusting the assistance contents of all driving assistance functions selected by the function selection unit 25. For example, the function adjustment unit 26 may be configured not to adjust predetermined driving assistance functions. This allows the recommendation system 1 to maintain the state of the initial assistance contents set in advance for the predetermined driving assistance functions.

[0027] The suggestion unit 27 suggests to the driver of the vehicle V whether or not to activate the driving support function selected by the function selection unit 25. When the support content of the driving support function is adjusted by the function adjustment unit 26, the suggestion unit 27 suggests to the driver whether or not to activate the driving support function whose support content has been adjusted by the function adjustment unit 26. Here, the suggestion unit 27 can suggest the support content using the presentation device 13. For example, the suggestion unit 27 can suggest whether or not to activate the driving support function using at least one of the in-vehicle display and the speaker of the presentation device 13.

[0028] Note that the suggestion unit 27 is not limited to making a suggestion using the presentation device 13 mounted on the vehicle V. For example, the suggestion unit 27 can make a suggestion to the driver as to whether or not to activate the driving assistance function using a presentation device other than the in-vehicle device. For example, the suggestion unit 27 can make a suggestion using a communication device (email, notification by an app, etc.) such as a mobile terminal as a presentation device other than the in-vehicle device.

[0029] The suggestion unit 27 receives an input operation of whether or not to activate the driving support function, performed by the driver, via the input device 14. When the suggestion unit 27 receives an input operation of activating the proposed driving support function, the suggestion unit 27 instructs the driving support device 2 to activate the driving support function. As a result, the driving support device 2 activates the instructed driving support function. Note that, when the function adjustment unit 26 adjusts the support content of the driving support function, the suggestion unit 27 instructs the driving support device 2 to provide information on the adjusted support content together with an instruction to activate the driving support function. In addition to using the input device 14, the suggestion unit 27 may receive an instruction of whether or not to activate based on an input operation to a communication device such as a mobile terminal.

[0030] Furthermore, the suggestion unit 27 can not only suggest activation of a driving assistance function, but also suggest deactivating an activated driving assistance function. Here, the suggestion unit 27 suggests to the driver whether or not to deactivate a driving assistance function for which the detection state of an override operation by the operation detection unit 21 satisfies a predetermined detection state. For example, when an override operation is detected by the operation detection unit 21 a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined period, the suggestion unit 27 can suggest to the driver whether or not to deactivate the driving assistance function.

[0031] The suggestion unit 27 is not limited to suggesting inactivation for all driving support functions whose detection state of the override operation satisfies a predetermined detection state. The suggestion unit 27 may be configured not to suggest inactivation for a predetermined driving support function even if the detection state of the override operation satisfies a predetermined detection state. This allows the recommendation system 1 to maintain the activation state for the predetermined driving support function.

[0032] The suggestion unit 27 receives an input operation of whether or not to inactivate a driving assistance function via the input device 14. When the suggestion unit 27 receives an input operation of inactivating the proposed driving assistance function, the suggestion unit 27 instructs the driving assistance device 2 to inactivate the driving assistance function. As a result, the driving assistance device 2 inactivates the instructed driving assistance function. In addition to using the input device 14, the suggestion unit 27 may also receive an instruction of whether or not to inactivate based on an input operation to a communication device such as a mobile terminal.

[0033] Next, the flow of the process of proposing activation of a driving assistance function performed in the recommendation system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The process shown in FIG. 2 is started after the vehicle V becomes drivable. When the process reaches the end, the process is started from the start after a predetermined time. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation detection unit 21 determines whether or not an override operation has been detected by the driver (S101). Here, the operation detection unit 21 determines whether or not an override operation has been detected by the driver at the present time. If it is determined that an override operation has not been detected (S101: NO), the recommendation system 1 executes the process from the start again after a predetermined time.

[0034] On the other hand, if it is determined that an override operation is detected (S101: YES), the scene acquisition unit 22 acquires the override scene when the override operation is detected (S202). Next, the function selection unit 25 selects a driving support function to be proposed to the driver from among the driving support functions that are not activated, as described above (S103). The suggestion unit 27 suggests to the driver of the vehicle V whether or not to activate the driving support function selected by the function selection unit 25 (S104).

[0035] After proposing the activation, the suggestion unit 27 judges whether or not the driver has performed an input operation to activate the proposed driving assistance function (S105). Here, the suggestion unit 27 judges whether or not an input operation has been performed for a predetermined period of time. If an input operation to activate is not performed (S105: NO), the recommendation system 1 executes the process from the start again after a predetermined time. On the other hand, if an input operation to activate is performed (S105: YES), the suggestion unit 27 instructs the driving assistance device 2 to activate the driving assistance function proposed to the driver (S106). As a result, the driving assistance device 2 sets the instructed driving assistance function to an activated state.

[0036] As described above, the recommendation system 1 proposes whether or not to activate a driving assistance function corresponding to an override scene among the driving assistance functions that are not activated. Here, the case where the driver performs an override operation is considered to be a case where the driver wants the vehicle V to perform an operation different from the driving assistance function in operation, or the driver does not want the driving assistance function in operation. For this reason, the recommendation system 1 selects a driving assistance function corresponding to the override scene when the override operation is detected, triggered by the detection of an override operation by the driver. This allows the recommendation system 1 to select a driving assistance function that is more appropriate for the driver among the driving assistance functions that are not activated. In this way, the recommendation system 1 can propose whether or not to activate a driving assistance function that is more appropriate for the driver by selecting a driving assistance function corresponding to an override scene.

[0037] The recommendation system 1 can suggest to the driver whether to inactivate a driving assistance function for which the detection state of an override operation satisfies a predetermined detection state. In this case, the recommendation system 1 can not only suggest activation of the driving assistance function, but also suggest inactivation of the driving assistance function in a more appropriate manner for the driver.

[0038] The recommendation system 1 includes a function adjustment unit 26 that adjusts the assistance content of the driving assistance function selected by the function selection unit 25 based on the override operation. In this case, the recommendation system 1 can adjust the assistance content of the driving assistance function to be more suitable for the driver. Then, the recommendation system 1 can suggest whether or not to activate the driving assistance function with the assistance content more suitable for the driver.

[0039] The recommendation system 1 includes an individual information storage unit 24 that stores, for each driver, driving assistance functions that have not been activated. Then, the function selection unit 25 selects a driving assistance function that corresponds to an override scene from among the driving assistance functions that have not been activated and that correspond to the driver recognized by the driver recognition unit 23, based on the information stored in the individual information storage unit 24. The suggestion unit 27 suggests whether or not to activate the selected driving assistance function. In this case, even if the driver of the vehicle V has changed, the recommendation system 1 can suggest whether or not to activate the driving assistance function that has not been activated, depending on the driver currently aboard.

[0040] Although the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, some of the functions of the recommendation system 1 may be installed in a server or the like other than the vehicle V. In this case, various information may be transmitted and received by communicating between the vehicle V and the server via wireless communication or the like. For example, the function selection unit 25 of the recommendation system 1 may be installed in a server or the like outside the vehicle. In this case, for example, the function selection unit 25 installed outside the vehicle may not know what driving assistance function is installed in the vehicle V. Then, the function selection unit 25 installed outside the vehicle may select such a driving assistance function according to the override scene, even if it is a driving assistance function that is not currently installed in the vehicle V, as long as it is a driving assistance function that the vehicle V can execute. Then, the suggestion unit 27 suggests to the driver of the vehicle V whether or not to activate the driving assistance function selected by the function selection unit 25 installed outside the vehicle. In this case, the recommendation system 1 can suggest whether or not to activate a driving assistance function that is more appropriate for the driver, even if it is a driving assistance function that is not currently installed in the vehicle V. In addition, functional units other than the above-mentioned function selection unit 25 may also be provided in a server or the like outside the vehicle. [Explanation of symbols]

[0041] 1... recommendation system, 21... operation detection unit, 22... scene acquisition unit, 23... driver recognition unit, 24... individual information storage unit, 25... function selection unit, 26... function adjustment unit, 27... proposal unit, V... vehicle.

Claims

1. A recommendation system that suggests activation of a driving assistance function to a driver of a vehicle, an operation detection unit that detects an override operation by the driver with respect to an operation of the driving assistance function; a scene acquisition unit that acquires an override scene when the override operation is detected; A function selection unit that selects, based on the acquired override scene, the driving assistance function that corresponds to the override scene from among the driving assistance functions that have not been activated; A suggestion unit that suggests to the driver whether or not to activate the selected driving assistance function; A driver recognition unit that recognizes the driver; an individual information storage unit that stores, for each of the drivers, identification information of the driver and the driving assistance function that is not activated in association with each other; A recommendation system in which the function selection unit selects, based on the information stored in the individual information storage unit, the driving assistance function corresponding to the override scene from among the driving assistance functions that have not been activated and correspond to the driver recognized by the driver recognition unit.

2. The recommendation system according to claim 1 , wherein the suggestion unit suggests to the driver whether or not to inactivate a driving assistance function for which the detection state of the override operation by the operation detection unit satisfies a predetermined detection state.

3. A function adjustment unit adjusts the assistance content of the driving assistance function selected by the function selection unit based on the override operation detected by the operation detection unit, The recommendation system according to claim 1 , wherein the suggestion unit suggests to the driver whether or not to activate the driving assistance function adjusted by the function adjustment unit.

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