Driving support device

Abstract

To provide a drive support device capable of improving comfort of a user.SOLUTION: A drive support device 400 has a processor. The processor acquires biological information of at least one occupant riding on a vehicle 1, estimates emotion of the occupant based on the biological information, and controls acceleration of the vehicle 1 based on estimation results of emotion of the occupant.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a driving support device.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technique that can detect a preceding vehicle and travel at a constant speed while following the preceding vehicle. In this technique, when the preceding vehicle cannot be detected while traveling at a constant speed while following the preceding vehicle, acceleration is not performed until an acceleration instruction is received from the driver, or acceleration is performed with a small acceleration.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in Patent Document 1, only the timing of acceleration is determined, and the comfort of the passengers due to acceleration is not considered, leaving room for improvement.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to provide a driving support device capable of enhancing the comfort of users.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a driving support device according to the present disclosure is a driving support device including a processor, the processor acquires biological information of at least one passenger riding in a vehicle, estimates the emotion of the passenger based on the biological information, and controls the acceleration of the vehicle based on an estimation result of the emotion of the passenger.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it has the effect of enhancing the comfort of the user.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 9

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, a vehicle equipped with a driving support device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited by the following embodiments. Also, in the following, the same parts will be described with the same reference numerals.

[0010] (Embodiment 1) 〔Functional Configuration of the Vehicle〕 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a vehicle according to Embodiment 1. The vehicle 1 shown in FIG. 1 is assumed to be an HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle), PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle), FCEV (Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle), or the like. Also, the vehicle 1 is assumed to be capable of cruise control that can automatically maintain a constant speed while following a preceding vehicle at a predetermined inter-vehicle distance. The vehicle 1 includes a sensor group 10, a drive unit 20, a storage unit 30, and a driving support device 40.

[0011] The sensor group 10 is configured using a temperature sensor, a pulse sensor, an imaging device, an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, and the like. The sensor group 10 detects various information regarding the vehicle 1 and outputs the detected information to the driving support device 40. The detected information includes biometric information of the passengers in the vehicle 1, image information obtained by imaging the passengers, the acceleration of the vehicle 1, and the line-of-sight information of the passengers. Also, the biometric information includes the pulse, presence or absence of sweating, body temperature, etc. of the passengers.

[0012] The drive unit 20 is realized using an engine, a motor, or the like. The drive unit 20 accelerates the vehicle 1 by driving under the control of the driving support device 40.

[0013] The storage unit 30 is realized using a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an SSD (Solid State Drive), an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and the like. The storage unit 30 stores an operating system (OS), various programs, various tables, and various databases. Also, the storage unit 30 may store the estimation results of an emotion estimation unit 41 and a control parameter estimation unit 42 described later. Further, the storage unit 30 may store a machine-learned learned model (trained model) used in the emotion estimation unit 41 and the control parameter estimation unit 42 described later.

[0014] The driving support device 40 is realized by using a processor having hardware. The hardware includes, for example, a memory, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The driving support device 40 controls each part constituting the vehicle 1. The driving support device 40 loads the program stored in the storage unit 30 into the working area of the memory and executes it, and controls each component through the execution of the program to realize a function that meets a predetermined purpose. The driving support device 40 includes an emotion estimation unit 41, a control parameter estimation unit 42, and a driving control unit 43.

[0015] The emotion estimation unit 41 acquires the biological information of at least one occupant riding in the vehicle 1, and estimates the emotion of the occupant based on this biological information. Specifically, the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates the emotion of the occupant riding in the vehicle 1 based on a learned model or rule that has been learned in advance by machine learning. When a learned model is used in the emotion estimation unit 41, the input data is the biological information of the occupant, the acceleration, the image data of the occupant, and the line-of-sight information of the occupant acquired from the sensor group. And the output data is the emotion of the occupant. Here, the biological state is, for example, the heartbeat of the occupant measured by the sensor group 10, the presence or absence of sweating, and the body temperature. Also, the image data of the occupant includes the facial expression information of the occupant, the state information of the occupant, and the line-of-sight information of the occupant captured by the sensor group 10. The facial expression information is a numerical value of the degree of coincidence based on the face of the occupant and a predetermined pattern (for example, a smiling face). Also, the state information is the information of the detection result of detecting either the awake state or the sleep state of the occupant based on the eyelids of the occupant. Also, the emotion of the occupant is either comfortable, normal, or uncomfortable.

[0016] In the first embodiment, the emotion estimation unit 41 outputs the emotion of the occupant in three levels. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be at least two levels of comfortable and uncomfortable. Of course, the emotion estimation unit 41 may output the emotion of the occupant in three or more levels, for example, five levels of "comfortable", "somewhat comfortable", "normal", "somewhat uncomfortable", and "uncomfortable". In addition, although the emotion estimation unit 41 outputs the emotion of the occupant in three levels, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the numerical value (probability) of the comfort or discomfort of the occupant may be output. The numerical value of comfort or discomfort refers to, for example, a numerical index indicating comfort or discomfort. The probability of comfort or discomfort refers to the probability of a specific emotion indicating comfort or discomfort.

[0017] In addition, the method for constructing the learned model used in the emotion estimation unit 41 is not particularly limited, and for example, various machine learning methods such as deep learning using a neural network, a support vector machine, a decision tree, a naive Bayes method, and a k-nearest neighbor method can be used.

[0018] The control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates a control parameter for controlling the acceleration of the vehicle 1 based on the estimation result of the occupant estimated by the emotion estimation unit 41. The control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates a control parameter for controlling the acceleration of the vehicle 1 based on the emotion of the occupant based on a learned model or rule learned in advance by machine learning. When a learned model is used in the control parameter estimation unit 42, the input data is the estimation result of the emotion of the occupant. And the output data is the control parameter of the drive unit 20 for controlling the acceleration of the vehicle 1. For example, the control parameter is torque and the rotational speed of the motor or engine. In addition, the method for constructing the learned model used in the control parameter estimation unit 42 is not particularly limited, and for example, various machine learning methods such as deep learning using a neural network, a support vector machine, a decision tree, a naive Bayes method, and a k-nearest neighbor method can be used.

[0019] The driving control unit 43 controls the acceleration of the vehicle 1 by driving the drive unit 20 based on the control parameter input from the control parameter estimation unit 42.

[0020] [Overview of Information Flow in Each Part of the Driving Support Device] Next, an overview of the information flow in each part of the driving support device 40 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the overview of the information flow in each part of the driving support device 40.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2, the emotion estimation unit 41 acquires the biometric information of at least one passenger P100 riding in the vehicle 1 and the current acceleration of the vehicle 1 from the sensor group 10. Then, the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates the emotion of the passenger based on the biometric information of the passenger P100 acquired from the sensor group 10.

[0022] Subsequently, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates a control parameter for controlling the acceleration of the vehicle 1 based on the emotion estimation result of the passenger P100 estimated by the emotion estimation unit 41 and the acceleration of the vehicle 1 acquired from the sensor group 10.

[0023] Thereafter, the driving control unit 43 generates a control signal for the driving unit 20 to control the acceleration of the vehicle 1 based on the control parameter input from the control parameter estimation unit 42, and outputs this control signal to the driving unit 20.

[0024] [Processing of the Driving Support Device] Next, the processing executed by the driving support device 40 will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the overview of the processing executed by the driving support device 40. In the following, the processing executed by the driving support device 40 at predetermined timings during the cruise control in which the vehicle 1 automatically maintains a constant speed while following a preceding vehicle at a predetermined inter-vehicle distance will be described. Also, the predetermined timings are, for example, every 1 minute or every time the vehicle 1 travels 100 m.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 3, first, the driving control unit 43 accelerates the vehicle 1 with an acceleration of "1" by driving the driving unit 20 (step S1).

[0026] Subsequently, the emotion estimation unit 41 acquires detection information including the biological information of at least one passenger P100 riding in the vehicle 1 and the current acceleration of the vehicle 1 from the sensor group 10 (step S2).

[0027] Thereafter, the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates the emotion of the passenger based on the biological information of the passenger included in the detection information acquired from the sensor group 10 (step S3).

[0028] Subsequently, when the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the emotion of the passenger is unpleasant (step S4: Yes), the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the acceleration of the vehicle 1 as acceleration "2" (step S5). Specifically, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the control parameter corresponding to acceleration "2" which is the acceleration at which the passenger's emotion becomes comfortable and is smaller than acceleration "1". The control parameter is output from the control parameter estimation unit 42 to the driving control unit 43. Here, acceleration "2" is a value smaller than the value of acceleration "1". In this case, the driving control unit 43 controls the driving unit 20 according to the control parameter input from the control parameter estimation unit 42. After step S5, the driving support device 40 ends this process.

[0029] In step S4, when the emotion estimation unit 41 determines that the emotion of the passenger is not unpleasant (step S4: No), the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the acceleration of the vehicle 1 as acceleration "1" (step S6). Specifically, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the control parameter for maintaining at acceleration "1" because the current acceleration of the vehicle 1 is acceleration "1" and the emotion of the passenger is comfortable. The control parameter is output from the control parameter estimation unit 42 to the driving control unit 43. In this case, the driving control unit 43 controls the driving unit 20 according to the control parameter input from the control parameter estimation unit 42. After step S6, the driving support device 40 ends this process.

[0030] According to the first embodiment described above, since the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the control parameter for controlling the acceleration of the vehicle 1 based on the emotion of the occupant estimated by the emotion estimation unit 41, the comfort of the user can be improved.

[0031] (Second Embodiment) Next, the second embodiment will be described. In the second embodiment, the acceleration of the vehicle 1 is estimated by further using the line-of-sight information regarding the line of sight of the occupant included in the detection information. Note that since the driving support device according to the second embodiment has the same configuration as the driving support device 40 according to the first embodiment, it has a detailed configuration. Hereinafter, the processing executed by the driving support device 40 according to the second embodiment will be described.

[0032] [Processing of the Driving Support Device] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an outline of the processing executed by the driving support device 40 according to the second embodiment. Hereinafter, the processing executed by the driving support device 40 at predetermined timings during cruise control in which the vehicle 1 automatically maintains a constant speed while following a preceding vehicle at a predetermined inter-vehicle distance will be described. Also, in FIG. 4, steps S10 to S12 correspond to steps S1 to S3 in FIG. 3, respectively.

[0033] First, in step S13, when the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the emotion of the occupant is uncomfortable (step S13: Yes), and it is estimated that the occupant is looking ahead in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 (step S14: Yes), an explanation will be given. In this case, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the acceleration of the vehicle 1 as acceleration "2" (step S15). Specifically, even when the occupant is looking ahead, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the control parameter corresponding to acceleration "2", which is an acceleration at which the occupant's emotion becomes comfortable and is smaller than acceleration "1". The control parameter is output from the control parameter estimation unit 42 to the driving control unit 43. The driving control unit 43 controls the driving unit 20 according to the control parameter input from the control parameter estimation unit 42 to accelerate the vehicle 1 so that the acceleration becomes acceleration "2". After step S15, the driving support device 40 ends this process.

[0034] Next, in step S13, when the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the emotion of the occupant is uncomfortable (step S13: Yes), and it is estimated that the occupant is not looking ahead in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 (step S14: No), an explanation will be given. In this case, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the acceleration of the vehicle 1 as acceleration "3" (step S16). Specifically, even when the occupant is looking sideways, for example, in a state where the face is turned in the lateral direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the control parameter corresponding to acceleration "3", which is an acceleration at which the occupant's emotion becomes comfortable and is smaller than acceleration "2". That is, the magnitudes of the accelerations are in the order of acceleration "1", acceleration "2", and acceleration "3". The control parameter is output from the control parameter estimation unit 42 to the driving control unit 43. The driving control unit 43 controls the driving unit 20 according to the control parameter input from the control parameter estimation unit 42 to accelerate the vehicle 1 so that the acceleration becomes acceleration "3". After step S16, the driving support device 40 ends this process.

[0035] Next, the case where the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the emotion of the occupant is not unpleasant in step S13 (step S13: No) will be described. In this case, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the acceleration of the vehicle 1 as "1" (step S17). Specifically, since the emotion of the occupant is comfortable, the control parameter estimation unit 42 outputs the control parameter corresponding to the current acceleration "1" to the driving control unit 43. After step S17, the driving support device 40 ends this process.

[0036] According to the second embodiment described above, since the control parameter estimation unit 42 further uses the direction of the occupant's face estimated by the emotion estimation unit 41 to estimate the control parameter for controlling the acceleration of the vehicle 1, the comfort of the user can be further improved.

[0037] (Embodiment 3) Next, Embodiment 3 will be described. In Embodiment 3, based on the biological information and the image information, the acceleration of the vehicle 1 is further adjusted using the arousal state of the occupant. Note that the configuration of the driving support device according to Embodiment 3 is the same as the configuration of the driving support device 40 according to Embodiment 1. Hereinafter, the process executed by the driving support device according to Embodiment 3 will be described.

[0038] 〔Processing of the driving support device〕 FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an outline of the process executed by the driving support device 40 according to Embodiment 3. Hereinafter, the process executed by the driving support device 40 at predetermined timings during the cruise control driving in which the vehicle 1 automatically maintains a constant speed while following a preceding vehicle at a predetermined inter-vehicle distance will be described. Also, in FIG. 5, steps S20 to S22 correspond to steps S1 to S3 in FIG. 3, respectively.

[0039] In step S23, when the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the emotion of the occupant is unpleasant (step S23: Yes), the driving support device 40 proceeds to step S24 described below. On the other hand, when the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the emotion of the occupant is not unpleasant (step S23: No), the driving support device 40 proceeds to step S29 described below.

[0040] Next, in step S24, the case where the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the emotion of the occupant has awakened from the sleeping state (step S24: Yes), and it is estimated that the occupant is looking ahead in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 (step S25: Yes) will be described. In this case, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the acceleration of the vehicle 1 as acceleration "2" (step S26). Specifically, when the occupant is in a state of looking ahead, for example, with the face facing in the same direction as the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 and is in an awakened state (awake state), the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the control parameter that will result in acceleration "2" at which the emotion of the occupant becomes comfortable in order to induce the occupant back into the sleeping state again. In this case, the driving control unit 43 controls the drive unit 20 according to the control parameter input from the control parameter estimation unit 42 to accelerate the vehicle 1 so that the acceleration becomes acceleration "2". After step S26, the driving support device 40 ends this process.

[0041] In step S24, the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the emotion of the occupant has awakened from the sleeping state (step S24: Yes), and the case where it is estimated that the occupant is not looking ahead in the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 (step S25: No) will be described. In this case, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the acceleration of the vehicle 1 as acceleration "3" (step S27). Specifically, when the occupant is in a state of not looking ahead, for example, with the face turned sideways in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 and in an awakened state (awake state), the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates a control parameter that results in acceleration "3" at which the emotion of the occupant becomes comfortable in order to induce the occupant to return to the sleeping state again. In this case, the driving control unit 43 controls the drive unit 20 according to the control parameter input from the control parameter estimation unit 42 to accelerate the vehicle 1 so that the acceleration becomes acceleration "3". After step S27, the driving support device 40 ends this process.

[0042] In step S24, the case where the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the emotion of the occupant has not awakened from the sleeping state (step S24: No) will be described. In this case, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the acceleration of the vehicle 1 as acceleration "4" (step S28). Specifically, since the occupant is in the sleeping state, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates a control parameter that results in acceleration "4", which is a greater acceleration than acceleration "2" or acceleration "3", because there is a low possibility of awakening even if the acceleration is increased. That is, the magnitudes of the accelerations are in the order of acceleration "1", acceleration "4", acceleration "2", and acceleration "3". In this case, the driving control unit 43 controls the drive unit 20 according to the control parameter input from the control parameter estimation unit 42 to accelerate the vehicle 1 so that the acceleration becomes acceleration "4". After step S28, the driving support device 40 ends this process.

[0043] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the acceleration of the vehicle 1 and time. In FIG. 6, the horizontal axis represents time (number of times), and the vertical axis represents acceleration. Also, in FIG. 6, the threshold value LT1 represents the acceleration level at which the occupant wakes up. Further, in FIG. 6, the broken line L1 represents the change in acceleration over time.

[0044] The driving support device 40 will repeatedly alternate between a sleeping state and an awake state in response to changes in acceleration of the sleeping occupant. For this reason, as shown by the broken line L1 in FIG. 6, when the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the occupant is in an awake state, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates an acceleration "2" or an acceleration "3" that rapidly decreases the acceleration from the threshold value LT1 in order to induce the occupant to sleep. That is, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates a control parameter corresponding to the acceleration "2" or the acceleration "3" that greatly decreases the acceleration of the acceleration "1".

[0045] On the other hand, as shown by the broken line L1 in FIG. 6, when the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the occupant is in a sleeping state, it estimates an acceleration "4" that brings the acceleration closer to the threshold value LT1. That is, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates a control parameter corresponding to the acceleration "4" that is greater than the acceleration of the acceleration "2" or the acceleration "3".

[0046] As a result, even when the occupant repeatedly alternates between a sleeping state and an awake state, the occupant can optimally spend time in the vehicle interior.

[0047] Returning to FIG. 5, the description after step S29 will be continued. In step S29, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the acceleration of the vehicle 1 as the acceleration "1" (step S29). After step S29, the driving support device 40 ends this process.

[0048] According to the third embodiment described above, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates a control parameter corresponding to the acceleration according to the wake-up information of the emotion of the occupant estimated by the emotion estimation unit 41 and the sleeping state. As a result, even when the occupant repeatedly alternates between a sleeping state and an awake state, the occupant can optimally spend time in the vehicle interior.

[0049] (Embodiment 4) Next, Embodiment 4 will be described. In Embodiment 4, the acceleration at which the occupant does not wake up from the sleeping state is estimated over time, and this acceleration is sequentially reflected in the automatic driving. Note that the configuration of the driving support device according to Embodiment 4 is the same as that of the driving support device 40 according to Embodiment 1. Hereinafter, the processes executed by the driving support device according to Embodiment 4 will be described.

[0050] 〔Processing of the Driving Support Device〕 FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an overview of the processes executed by the driving support device 40 according to Embodiment 4. Hereinafter, the processes executed by the driving support device 40 at predetermined timings during the cruise control in which the vehicle 1 automatically maintains a constant speed while following a preceding vehicle at a predetermined inter-vehicle distance will be described. In FIG. 7, steps S30 to S32 correspond to steps S1 to S3 in FIG. 3, respectively.

[0051] In step S33, when the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the emotion of the occupant is unpleasant (step S33: Yes), the driving support device 40 proceeds to step S34. On the other hand, when the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the emotion of the occupant is not unpleasant (step S33: No), the driving support device 40 proceeds to step S39.

[0052] In step S34, when the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the emotion of the occupant has awakened from the sleeping state (step S34: Yes), the driving support device 40 proceeds to step S35 described later. On the other hand, when the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the emotion of the occupant has not awakened from the sleeping state (step S34: No), the driving support device 40 proceeds to step S37 described later.

[0053] In step S35, when the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the emotion of the occupant has awakened from the sleeping state with the current acceleration "1" of the vehicle 1 (step S35: Yes), the driving support device 40 proceeds to step S36 described later. On the other hand, when the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the emotion of the occupant has not awakened from the sleeping state with the current acceleration "1" of the vehicle 1 (step S35: No), the driving support device 40 proceeds to step S37 described later.

[0054] In step S36, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the acceleration of the vehicle 1 as acceleration "3". Specifically, since the emotion of the occupant has awakened from the sleeping state and is uncomfortable, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the control parameter for adjusting to an acceleration that makes the occupant's emotion comfortable and is smaller than acceleration "2". The control parameter is output from the control parameter estimation unit 42 to the driving control unit 43. The driving control unit 43 accelerates the vehicle 1 so that the acceleration becomes acceleration "3" by controlling the driving unit 20 according to the control parameter input from the control parameter estimation unit 42. After step S36, the driving support device 40 ends this process.

[0055] In step S37, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the acceleration of the vehicle 1 as acceleration "2". Specifically, since the emotion of the occupant is in the sleeping state but is uncomfortable, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates the control parameter for adjusting to an acceleration that makes the occupant's emotion comfortable and is smaller than acceleration "1". The control parameter is output from the control parameter estimation unit 42 to the driving control unit 43. The driving control unit 43 accelerates the vehicle 1 so that the acceleration becomes acceleration "2" by controlling the driving unit 20 according to the control parameter input from the control parameter estimation unit 42.

[0056] Subsequently, the control parameter estimation unit 42 updates the current acceleration corresponding to the control parameter in step S37 to the control parameter corresponding to acceleration "1" and stores it in the storage unit 30 (step S38). After step S38, the driving support device 40 ends this process.

[0057] In step S39, when the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the emotion of the occupant has changed from the sleeping state to the waking state based on the current acceleration "1" of the vehicle 1 (step S39: Yes), the driving support device 40 proceeds to step S37. On the other hand, when the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the emotion of the occupant has not changed from the sleeping state based on the current acceleration "1" of the vehicle 1 (step S39: No), the driving support device 40 proceeds to step S40, which will be described later.

[0058] In step S40, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates that the current acceleration "1" is greater than the acceleration "1", specifically, the acceleration "5". Specifically, since the occupant is in a sleeping state and does not wake up with the current acceleration of the vehicle 1, the control parameter estimation unit 42 outputs to the driving control unit 43 a control parameter for adjusting the acceleration from the current acceleration "1" to an acceleration "5" that is greater than the current acceleration "1".

[0059] Subsequently, the control parameter estimation unit 42 updates the current acceleration corresponding to the control parameter in step S37 to the control parameter corresponding to the acceleration "5" and stores it in the storage unit 30 (step S41). After step S41, the driving support device 40 ends this process.

[0060] FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are diagrams showing the relationship between the acceleration of the vehicle 1 and time. In FIGS. 8 and 9, the horizontal axis represents time (number of times), and the vertical axis represents acceleration. Also, in FIGS. 8 and 9, the threshold value LT1 represents the acceleration level at which the occupant wakes up. Further, the broken line L2 in FIG. 8 shows the change in acceleration over time. The broken line L3 in FIG. 9 shows the change in acceleration over time.

[0061] As shown by the broken line L2 in FIG. 8, when the acceleration exceeds LT1 (time t1), the occupant changes from the sleeping state to the waking state. Therefore, in step S40, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates a control parameter for increasing the acceleration over time until the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the occupant has changed from the sleeping state to the waking state.

[0062] On the other hand, as shown by the broken line L2 in FIG. 9, when the acceleration becomes LT1 or less (time t2), the occupant is more likely to be induced from the awake state to the sleep state. For this reason, in step S37, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates a control parameter that gradually decreases the acceleration over time until the emotion estimation unit 41 estimates that the occupant has changed from the awake state to the sleep state. That is, in step S37, since the emotion of the occupant is in the sleep state but is uncomfortable, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates a control parameter for adjusting the acceleration to an acceleration at which the occupant's emotion becomes comfortable and is less than the acceleration "1".

[0063] According to the fourth embodiment described above, the control parameter estimation unit 42 estimates a control parameter corresponding to the optimal acceleration according to the currently estimated emotion of the occupant by the emotion estimation unit 41. Thereby, even when the occupant is in the sleep state, the occupant can optimally spend time in the vehicle interior without waking up.

[0064] (Other Embodiments) In addition, in the first to fourth embodiments, the emotion estimation unit estimates the emotion of one occupant, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the emotion may be estimated for all the occupants in the vehicle interior of the vehicle. In this case, the emotion estimation unit may estimate the emotion of the occupants in the vehicle interior from the average value or the maximum value of the detection information of each occupant.

[0065] Further, in the first to fourth embodiments, the driving support device is provided in the vehicle, but the function of the driving support device may be realized by one server. Further, each of the emotion estimation unit, the control parameter estimation unit, and the driving control unit constituting the driving support device may be realized by dividing a plurality of servers.

[0066] In addition, in the driving support device according to the first to fourth embodiments, the above-described "unit" can be read as "means", "circuit", or the like. For example, the emotion estimation unit can be read as an emotion estimation means or an emotion estimation circuit.

[0067] In addition, the program to be executed by the driving support device according to Embodiments 1 to 4 is provided by being recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), a USB medium, or a flash memory in the form of installable or executable file data.

[0068] In the description of the flowchart in this specification, expressions such as "first", "subsequently", and "then" are used to clarify the sequence of processing between steps. However, the order of processing necessary to implement this embodiment is not uniquely determined by these expressions. That is, the order of processing in the flowchart described in this specification can be changed within a non-contradictory range.

[0069] Further effects and modifications can be easily derived by those skilled in the art. The broader aspects of the present invention are not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments described and represented as above. Therefore, various changes can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0070] As described above in detail with reference to the drawings, some of the embodiments of the present application are examples, and the present invention can be implemented in other forms with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, including the aspects described in the disclosure column of the present invention.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0071] 1 Vehicle; 10 Sensor group; 20 Driving unit; 30 Storage unit; 40 Driving support device; 41 Emotion estimation unit; 42 Control parameter estimation unit; 43 Driving control unit

Claims

1. A driving assistance device including a processor, wherein the processor acquires biometric information of at least one occupant riding in a vehicle, acquires line-of-sight information regarding the line of sight of the occupant, estimates the emotion of the occupant based on the line-of-sight information and the biometric information, controls the acceleration of the vehicle based on the estimation result of the emotion of the occupant, wherein the emotion is either discomfort or comfort, and the processor further estimates the awake state and the sleep state of the occupant as the emotion, and when the estimation result of the emotion of the occupant changes from the sleep state to the awake state and is discomfort, reduces the acceleration of the vehicle. A driving assistance device.

2. The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the processor estimates the emotion of the occupant during the automatic driving of the vehicle. A driving assistance device.

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