Information presentation method and information presentation device

Abstract

In the present invention, if a user of a vehicle is presented with driving operation information that is related to a driving operation performed by the user, at least one of the following is executed: the presentation of driving operation information corresponding to a degree of trust indicating the degree to which the user trusts an information presentation device; and the presentation of driving operation information at a timing that is in accordance with the degree of trust.

Description

Information presentation method and information presentation device

[0001] The present invention relates to an information presentation method and an information presentation device.

[0002] An information processing device is known that calculates a user's proficiency in vehicle driving based on historical information and environmental information related to the user's vehicle driving, and generates advice for vehicle driving in response to changes in the situation related to vehicle driving based on the user's proficiency (Patent Document 1).

[0003] JP 2018-10310 A

[0004] In the above-mentioned conventional technology, driving operation information regarding the driving operation of a vehicle user is presented to all users using the same standards, so when driving operation information is presented from an information presentation device, there is a problem that users who do not trust the information presentation device do not accept the driving operation information as easily as users who do trust the information presentation device.

[0005] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an information presentation method and an information presentation device that can prevent presented driving operation information from being rejected by a user.

[0006] The present invention solves the above problem by, when presenting driving operation information to a user regarding the driving operation of a vehicle, at least one of presenting driving operation information according to a reliability indicating the degree to which the user trusts the information presentation device, and presenting the driving operation information at a timing according to the reliability.

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent presented driving operation information from being unacceptable to the user.

[0008] It is a block diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a driving assistance system including an information presentation device according to the present invention. It is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure in the driving assistance system of Fig. 1. It is a flowchart showing another example of the processing procedure in the driving assistance system of Fig. 1. It is a flowchart showing still another example of the processing procedure in the driving assistance system of Fig. 1.

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0010] [Configuration of Driving Assistance System] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an embodiment of a driving assistance system including an information presentation device according to the present invention. The driving assistance system presents driving-related information to vehicle users, including the driver (hereinafter simply referred to as users). The user is not particularly limited to anyone who uses a vehicle, and includes not only vehicle occupants but also users of services provided via the vehicle. The user does not necessarily need to use one (or a specific) vehicle, but can use multiple (or unspecified) vehicles, such as a rental car service.

[0011] The driving assistance system also generates a driving route from the current position to a destination set by the user through autonomous driving control, and controls the vehicle's actuators to drive the vehicle along the driving route. Autonomous driving control is the autonomous control of the vehicle's driving operations, and driving operations include all driving operations such as acceleration, deceleration, starting, stopping, and steering.

[0012] 1, the driving assistance system 10 includes an imaging device 11, an on-board sensor 12, a microphone 13, an actuator 14, a display device 15, a speaker 16, and a driving assistance device 17. These devices are mounted on a vehicle and are communicably connected via an on-board LAN such as a CAN (Controller Area Network), thereby enabling the devices to exchange information with each other. Note that the vehicle is not particularly limited as long as it can accommodate the driving assistance system 10.

[0013] The imaging device 11 is a camera equipped with an imaging element such as a CCD, and captures an image of an object to generate an image including the object. The imaging device 11 may be an infrared camera, a stereo camera, or the like. The imaging device 11 includes an interior camera that captures an image of an object inside the vehicle, and an exterior camera that captures an image of an object around the vehicle. The interior camera is installed on the top of the windshield, rearview mirror, roof, or top of the rear window, etc., and the exterior camera is installed on the front grille, side mirrors, rear bumper, etc. of the vehicle.

[0014] The objects captured by the imaging device 11 include objects inside the vehicle (e.g., vehicle occupants, instrument panel, switches, steering wheel, etc.) and objects on the road on which the vehicle is traveling and its surroundings (e.g., automobiles, bicycles, pedestrians, lane boundaries, center lines, road markings, median strips, curbs, road signs, etc.) A plurality of imaging devices 11 are provided in one vehicle to prevent the occurrence of blind spots where objects cannot be captured.

[0015] The driving assistance system 10 may include a distance measuring device (not shown). Examples of distance measuring devices include laser radar, millimeter-wave radar, and a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) unit. The driving assistance device 17 may acquire image information from the imaging device 11 and also acquire position information of objects from a distance measuring device (not shown), and recognize objects around the vehicle and the driving environment. The driving assistance device 17 acquires information at predetermined time intervals (for example, every 0.1 to 1 millisecond).

[0016] The on-board sensors 12 detect the vehicle's driving state. The on-board sensors 12 include a vehicle speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, a yaw rate sensor, a steering angle sensor, and the like. Any known sensor can be used without any particular limitations, and the arrangement and number of sensors can be set appropriately within a range that allows appropriate detection of the vehicle's driving state. The on-board sensors 12 may also include a positioning system that detects the current position of the vehicle. The positioning system calculates the current position of the vehicle based on radio waves received from GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites, etc.

[0017] The microphone 13 acquires sounds from within the vehicle cabin as audio data. Examples of sounds from within the vehicle cabin include the voices of the occupants, the sounds output from the speaker 16, and the sounds of the vehicle traveling. The microphone 13 may be a stand microphone, a close-talking microphone, a gun microphone, or the like, and is installed in an appropriate position within a range where it can appropriately detect sounds from within the vehicle cabin.

[0018] The actuator 14 converts the electrical control signal input from the driving assistance device 17 into mechanical work. The actuator 14 includes a servo motor, a hydraulic motor, a hydraulic cylinder, etc., and these devices operate the drive device and steering device of the vehicle.

[0019] The display device 15 displays to the user information output from the driving assistance device 17. Examples of the display device 15 include a projector such as a head-up display, a liquid crystal display provided on an instrument panel, etc. The display device 15 may be integrated with an input device (not shown).

[0020] The speaker 16 converts electrical signal energy into acoustic energy and emits it into space. The speaker 16 may be, but is not limited to, an integrated or separate vehicle speaker. The speaker 16 is provided at an appropriate position within a range where the user can adequately hear the output sound. The speaker 16 may be integrated with the display device 15.

[0021] The driving assistance device 17 controls the devices that make up the driving assistance system 10 to cooperate with each other and perform driving assistance for the vehicle. The driving assistance device 17 autonomously controls the driving behavior of the vehicle within a predetermined range using devices mounted on the vehicle. Driving behavior that is not controlled by the driving assistance device 17 is manually operated by the driver. When the driver drives the vehicle manually, the driving assistance device 17 does not autonomously control the driving behavior, and the driving behavior of the vehicle is controlled by the driver's operation.

[0022] The driving assistance device 17 is, for example, a computer, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) which is a processor, a ROM (Read Only Memory) in which a program is stored, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) which functions as an accessible storage device. The CPU is an operating circuit for executing the program stored in the ROM and realizing the functions of the driving assistance device 17. Note that an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or the like may be used instead of or together with the CPU.

[0023] The driving assistance device 17 includes a storage unit 18, which is a storage medium (e.g., a non-volatile memory such as a flash memory) that stores information necessary for driving assistance processing. The driving assistance device 17 and the storage unit 18 are communicably connected via an in-vehicle LAN or the like. Note that instead of an in-vehicle storage medium, the storage unit 18 may be a server that is provided outside the vehicle (e.g., in a remote location away from the vehicle) and communicably connected to the driving assistance device 17 via a network.

[0024] The driving assistance device 17 includes, as a part thereof, an information presentation device 20. The information presentation device 20 presents information about driving to the user in at least one of the following cases: when the vehicle is being driven manually by the driver, and when some driving operations are being autonomously controlled by the driving assistance device 17. Presenting information includes displaying images and text, outputting (playing) audio data, turning on switches and lights, and the like.

[0025] The driving assistance device 17 has a driving assistance function that performs driving assistance for the vehicle, and the information presentation device 20 has an information presentation function that presents information related to driving to the user as part of the driving assistance function. The ROM stores a program for realizing the driving assistance function, and the CPU executes the program stored in the ROM to realize the driving assistance function including the information presentation function.

[0026] 1 illustrates, for convenience, a driving control unit 19, an estimation unit 21, and a presentation unit 22 as functional blocks that realize the driving assistance function. The estimation unit 21 and the presentation unit 22 are functional blocks that realize the information presentation function and are included in the information presentation device 20.

[0027] The driving control unit 19 generates a driving route for the vehicle and operates the actuator 14 so that the vehicle drives along the driving route. The driving control unit 19 generates a control signal for operating the actuator 14 and outputs the control signal to the actuator 14. The driving control unit 19 also determines whether the vehicle is being driven manually, and if it determines that the vehicle is being driven manually, outputs an execution instruction to the information presentation device 20 to present information about driving. Alternatively or in addition to this, the driving control unit 19 determines whether some driving operations of the vehicle are being autonomously controlled by the driving assistance device 17, and if it determines that some driving operations of the vehicle are being autonomously controlled by the driving assistance device 17, outputs an execution instruction to the information presentation device 20 to present information about driving.

[0028] [Function of Information Presentation Device] When an execution instruction is input from the driving control unit 19 to the information presentation device 20, the estimation unit 21 estimates a reliability (hereinafter simply referred to as reliability) indicating the degree to which the user trusts the information presentation device 20. The reliability corresponds to, for example, the depth of the relationship between the user and the information presentation device 20, and is calculated to be higher the more the user trusts the information presentation device 20 (i.e., the deeper the relationship between the user and the information presentation device 20). The reliability may also correspond to the degree to which the user is accustomed to receiving driving operation information from the information presentation device 20. In this case, the more accustomed the user is to receiving driving operation information from the information presentation device 20, the higher the reliability is calculated to be.

[0029] The estimation unit 21 estimates the reliability based on the user's past behavior, the user's attributes, etc. For example, the estimation unit 21 detects the user's behavior from images captured by an in-vehicle camera, audio data acquired by the microphone 13, etc., and stores the detected behavior in advance in the storage unit 18. When estimating the reliability, the estimation unit 21 acquires information related to the user's past behavior stored in the storage unit 18. Furthermore, the estimation unit 21 may estimate the user's attributes from image information acquired from the in-vehicle camera, and estimate the reliability based on the estimated attributes.

[0030] As an example, when the information presentation device 20 suggests that the user perform a certain driving operation, the estimation unit 21 acquires the detection results of the on-board sensors 12 and determines whether the user performed the suggested driving operation. The estimation unit 21 stores and accumulates this determination result in the storage unit 18. Then, when it is detected from the determination results accumulated in the storage unit 18 that there is a high probability that the user will not perform the driving operation suggested by the information presentation device 20 (i.e., there is a high probability that the user will not accept the suggestion from the information presentation device 20), the estimation unit 21 calculates the reliability as low. On the other hand, when it is detected that there is a high probability that the user will perform the driving operation suggested by the information presentation device 20 (i.e., there is a high probability that the user will accept the suggestion from the information presentation device 20), the estimation unit 21 calculates the reliability as high.

[0031] Furthermore, the estimation unit 21 may estimate the user's driving skill (hereinafter also simply referred to as driving skill) from the user's driving history information (hereinafter also simply referred to as driving history information). The driving history information is information regarding the user's past driving operations, and is acquired by the in-vehicle sensors 12, such as a vehicle speed sensor and a steering angle sensor. The user's driving operations include the user's driving operations during manual driving and the user's driving operations when some driving operations are autonomously controlled by the driving assistance device 17. The driving history information is stored in the storage unit 18 in association with the user (or the user and the vehicle).

[0032] The driving history information may include vehicle location information when the user performed driving operations, information about the driving state when the user performed driving operations, information about the driving environment of the vehicle when the user performed driving operations, etc. The driving history information may also include information about the user's own characteristics, audio data of conversations between occupants (including the user) acquired by microphone 13 when the user performed driving operations, image information about the interior of the vehicle captured by an in-vehicle camera when the user performed driving operations, etc.

[0033] Driving skill is the ability to drive a vehicle and is an index that indicates the skill of the user's driving operation. For example, if the estimation unit 21 detects from the driving history information that the user is relatively likely to stop at a lane merging point just before entering the main lane, the estimation unit 21 estimates that the user is not good at driving to enter the main lane and has relatively low driving skill. On the other hand, if the estimation unit 21 detects from the driving history information that the user relatively frequently drives on ring roads (circuits) built for automobile racing, the estimation unit 21 estimates that the user is interested in sports driving and has relatively high driving skill.

[0034] The presentation unit 22 presents driving operation information related to the user's driving operation. The driving operation information is not particularly limited as long as it is information related to the user's driving operation, and may include information about advice for the user's driving operation, information suggesting driving operations to drive the vehicle more safely, information used by the user to judge traffic conditions, information about the driving environment around the vehicle, etc.

[0035] The presentation unit 22 detects the vehicle's driving state from, for example, the detection results of the in-vehicle sensor 12, and detects the user's state from, for example, image information acquired from the in-vehicle camera (specifically, information about the user's posture recognized by pattern matching) and voice data acquired from the microphone 13 (specifically, information about the occupant's speech extracted from the voice data).The presentation unit 22 then determines whether to present driving operation information to the user based on the vehicle's driving state and the user's state, and if it determines to present driving operation information to the user, presents driving operation information whose content corresponds to at least one of the vehicle's driving state and the user's state.

[0036] As an example, the presentation unit 22 determines whether the vehicle is (or is about to be) driving in violation of traffic laws. If it is determined that the vehicle is driving in violation of traffic laws, such as when the vehicle is traveling straight across a lane boundary line or when the vehicle is about to change lanes in an area where lane changes are prohibited, the presentation unit 22 presents information regarding driving operation advice to the user. On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle is driving in compliance with traffic laws, the presentation unit 22 does not present driving operation information.

[0037] As another example, the presentation unit 22 determines whether the user is in a state where they can properly drive the vehicle. If it is determined that the user is unable to properly drive the vehicle, for example, if the user (driver) is dozing, the presentation unit 22 presents information suggesting that the user take a break. On the other hand, if it is determined that the user is in a state where they can properly drive the vehicle, the presentation unit 22 does not present driving operation information.

[0038] The presentation unit 22 may also determine whether to present driving operation information depending on the user's driving skill. For example, if the user's driving skill is determined to be relatively high, the presentation unit 22 does not present information about the driving environment around the vehicle. On the other hand, if the user's driving skill is determined to be relatively low, the presentation unit 22 presents information that the user uses to judge the traffic situation.

[0039] When presenting driving operation information to a user, the presentation unit 22 at least one of presenting driving operation information according to the reliability and presenting the driving operation information at a timing according to the reliability. For example, the presentation unit 22 presents different driving operation information to the user according to the reliability. For example, when a vehicle is traveling straight across a lane boundary and a relatively high reliability is calculated, the presentation unit 22 outputs a voice message from the speaker 16 saying, "It would be safer to drive closer to the center of the lane," thereby directly providing the user with driving advice. On the other hand, when a relatively low reliability is calculated in the same case, the presentation unit 22 outputs a voice message from the speaker 16 saying, "The vehicle ahead is drifting out of its lane, which is dangerous," thereby indirectly notifying the user that the user's driving operation violates traffic laws.

[0040] Furthermore, when presenting the driving operation information at a timing according to the reliability, for example, if a relatively high reliability is calculated, the presentation unit 22 presents the driving operation information regardless of the user's state, whereas if a relatively low reliability is calculated, the presentation unit 22 sets the timing of presenting the driving operation information according to the detected user's state. For example, if a relatively high reliability is calculated when it is detected that the user has operated a turn signal and the user is attempting to change lanes within a range where lane changes are prohibited, the presentation unit 22 immediately displays information indicating that lane changes are prohibited on the display device 15. On the other hand, if a relatively low reliability is calculated in the same case, the presentation unit 22 does not immediately present information indicating that lane changes are prohibited, but displays information indicating that lane changes are prohibited on the display device 15 after it is detected that the user has operated the steering wheel to change lanes.

[0041] The presentation unit 22 may determine whether the user has time to accept the presented driving operation information based on image information acquired from an in-vehicle camera, etc. If it is determined that the user has time to accept the presented driving operation information, such as when there are no passengers, the presentation unit 22 presents the driving operation information to the user. On the other hand, if it is determined that the user does not have time to accept the presented driving operation information, such as when the user is talking to a passenger, the presentation unit 22 stores the driving operation information in the storage unit 18 and presents the driving operation information to the user when the user has time to accept the presented driving operation information.

[0042] The estimation unit 21 may calculate the reliability based on the percentage of times the user performed a driving operation when the driving operation information includes an instruction to perform the driving operation. For example, the estimation unit 21 calculates the probability that the user will perform the proposed driving operation (i.e., the percentage of times the driving operation was performed) from the ratio between the number of times the driving operation information suggested the user to perform the driving operation and the number of times the user actually performed the proposed driving operation. The higher the percentage of times the driving operation was performed, the higher the calculated reliability. In other words, if the percentage of times the driving operation was performed is high, the calculated reliability is higher than if the percentage of times the driving operation was performed is low.

[0043] The estimation unit 21 may calculate the reliability based on at least one of the percentage of times the user agrees with a suggestion when the driving operation information includes a suggestion regarding the driving of another vehicle and the frequency with which the user requests response information corresponding to the user's utterance. For example, the estimation unit 21 calculates the probability that the user agrees with the suggestion (i.e., the percentage of times the user agrees with the suggestion) based on the ratio between the number of times that driving operation information including a suggestion regarding the driving of another vehicle is proposed to the user and the number of times the user agrees with the suggestion. Whether the user agrees with the suggestion is determined based on the content of the occupant's utterance extracted from the voice data of the microphone 13, etc. The higher the percentage of times the user agrees with the suggestion, the higher the calculated reliability. In other words, when the percentage of times the user agrees with the suggestion is high, the calculated reliability is higher than when the percentage of times the user agrees with the suggestion is low.

[0044] The response information according to the user's utterance content is information that serves as a response to the user's utterance content and is output from the speaker 16 (or the display device 15) when the information presentation device 20 recognizes the user's utterance content from the audio data of the microphone 13 and is able to output a response corresponding to the recognized utterance content. The frequency at which the user requests response information according to the user's utterance content is calculated, for example, as the number of times the user requests response information within a certain period of time. The higher the frequency at which the user requests response information, the higher the calculated reliability. In other words, if the user requests response information frequently, a higher reliability is calculated than if the user requests response information infrequently.

[0045] The estimation unit 21 may calculate a higher reliability for a user who frequently uses a vehicle than for a user who infrequently uses a vehicle. The frequency with which a user uses a vehicle is calculated, for example, as the number of times the user has used a vehicle within a certain period of time. Furthermore, the estimation unit 21 may calculate a higher reliability for a user who has used a vehicle relatively frequently in the past and for whom a reliability higher than the predetermined reliability has been calculated than for a user for whom a reliability higher than the predetermined reliability has not been calculated in the past. The predetermined reliability can be set to an appropriate value within a range that encourages the user to use the vehicle.

[0046] When calculating the reliability, if information about the user is not stored in the storage unit 18, the estimation unit 21 may estimate an initial value of the reliability from the user's attributes and present the user with initial driving operation information corresponding to the initial value. For example, the estimation unit 21 may estimate the user's attributes (age, gender, etc.) from image information acquired from an in-vehicle camera and present the user with initial driving operation information preset for each driving scene according to the attributes. The estimation unit 21 may also correct the initial value based on the user's reaction to the presentation of the initial driving operation information. For example, if it is detected that the presentation of the initial driving operation information has caused discomfort to the user, the presentation unit 22 corrects the initial value of the reliability to a lower value.

[0047] If the reliability is less than the first threshold, the presentation unit 22 may present the driving operation information only when the proximity of the vehicle to the obstacle reaches a predetermined value or more. The first threshold can be set to an appropriate value within a range that can determine whether the relationship between the user and the information presentation device 20 is relatively short. The proximity corresponds to, for example, the vehicle's time to collision (TTC) or time headway (THW), and the predetermined value can be set to an appropriate value within a range that can avoid contact between the vehicle and the obstacle. An obstacle refers to an object that may affect the vehicle's travel, such as another automobile (other vehicle), a bicycle, or a pedestrian.

[0048] When the reliability is equal to or greater than a second threshold higher than the first threshold and a driving operation error by the user is detected, the presentation unit 22 may present at least one of driving operation information indicating the error and driving operation information suggesting a remedy for the error to the user. The second threshold can be set to an appropriate value within a range that can determine whether the relationship between the user and the information presentation device 20 is relatively close. For example, when the reliability is equal to or greater than the second threshold and the user is attempting to change lanes in a range where lane changes are prohibited, the presentation unit 22 outputs a voice message from the speaker 16 stating, "Lane changes are prohibited. Please return the steering wheel to the neutral position."

[0049] The presentation unit 22 may set the frequency of presenting the driving operation information higher when the reliability is high than when the reliability is low. The presentation unit 22 may also detect the user's state and present the driving operation information to the user at a timing that will not interfere with the user's driving operation. An example of a timing that will not interfere with the user's driving operation is a timing when the user has enough time to listen to the driving operation information.

[0050] When increasing or maintaining the reliability, the presentation unit 22 may present the user with driving operation information including at least one of information requesting consent to an evaluation of the driving operation of another vehicle, information praising the user's driving operation, information about the user's preferences, information about the vehicle, information about traffic laws, and information about the user's emotions. The information requesting consent to an evaluation of the driving operation of another vehicle is, for example, information requesting consent that the driving operation of another vehicle that is violating traffic laws violates traffic laws. The information praising the user's driving operation is, for example, set in advance for each driving scene and stored in the memory unit 18. The information about the user's preferences is, for example, obtained from information about the user's past behavior stored in the memory unit 18. The information about the vehicle and the information about traffic laws are stored in advance in the memory unit 18. The user's emotions are estimated from image information acquired by an in-vehicle camera, etc.

[0051] If the user does not perform the driving operation instructed by the driving operation information, the presentation unit 22 may correct at least one of the content of the driving operation information and the timing of presenting the driving operation information to the user. For example, if a message saying "It is safer to reduce your speed" is displayed on the display device 15 to instruct a user who is driving a vehicle at a speed close to the road speed limit to decelerate the vehicle, and the user maintains the vehicle speed, the presentation unit 22 changes the content of the driving operation information and outputs a voice message saying "It is dangerous, so please reduce your speed" from the speaker 16.

[0052] [Processing in Driving Assistance System] The information presentation process of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 2 to 4. The process described below is executed at predetermined time intervals (for example, every 0.1 to 1 millisecond) by a processor (CPU) included in the driving assistance device 17 (information presentation device 20) when the vehicle is being manually driven by the user and when some driving operations are being autonomously controlled by the driving assistance device 17.

[0053] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure executed by the driving assistance system 10 when presenting driving operation information to the user.

[0054] First, in step S11, reliability is estimated from driving history information, etc., and then in step S12, driving skill is estimated from the driving history information. In step S13, the vehicle driving state and the user's state are detected from image information acquired from the imaging device 11, etc., and then in step S14, the subject and viewpoint of advice to be presented to the user are estimated. In step S15, it is determined whether or not advice needs to be presented to the user based on the vehicle driving state, the user's state, etc.

[0055] If it is determined that no advice needs to be provided to the user, the process proceeds to step S20, where it is determined whether the vehicle has arrived at the destination. If it is determined that the vehicle has arrived at the destination, execution of the routine ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle has not arrived at the destination, the process proceeds to step S15. On the other hand, if it is determined that advice needs to be provided to the user, the process proceeds to step S16, where driving operation information according to the reliability is generated.

[0056] In step S17, it is determined whether the user has time to listen to the driving operation information based on image information acquired from the in-vehicle camera, etc. If it is determined that the user has time to listen to the driving operation information, such as when the vehicle is traveling on a straight road, the process proceeds to step S18, where the driving operation information is presented to the user. Then, it proceeds to step S20. On the other hand, if it is determined that the user does not have time to listen to the driving operation information, such as when traveling on a mountain road with many curves, the process proceeds to step S19, where the driving operation information is stored in the memory unit 18. Then, it proceeds to step S17.

[0057] Next, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure executed in the driving assistance system 10 when estimating reliability.

[0058] First, in step S21, the user is identified from image information acquired from the in-vehicle camera, and then in step S22, it is determined whether the identified user has a vehicle usage history. If it is determined that the identified user's usage history is registered in the storage unit 18, the process proceeds to step S23, where the user's driving skill and reliability are estimated from information related to the user's usage history. On the other hand, if it is determined that the identified user's usage history is not registered in the storage unit 18, the process proceeds to step S24, where initial values ​​of the driving skill and reliability are set based on the user's attributes, etc.

[0059] Next, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure executed in the driving assistance system 10 when correcting the reliability in accordance with the user's response.

[0060] First, in step S31, the driving operation information presented to the user is stored in the storage unit 18. In step S32, the system detects the user's reaction to the presented driving operation information using an in-vehicle camera or the like, and corrects the reliability according to the user's reaction. Then, in step S33, the system generates driving operation information according to the corrected reliability.

[0061] According to the present embodiment, there is provided an information presentation method executed by an information presentation device 20 of a vehicle, in which the information presentation device 20, when presenting driving operation information related to the driving operation of a user of the vehicle, performs at least one of presenting the driving operation information according to a reliability indicating the degree to which the user trusts the information presentation device 20 and presenting the driving operation information at a timing according to the reliability, and an information presentation device 20 that executes the information presentation method. This makes it possible to prevent the presented driving operation information from being unacceptable to the user.

[0062] In the information presentation method and information presentation device 20 of this embodiment, when the driving operation information includes an instruction to perform a driving operation, the reliability is calculated based on the percentage of the driving operation that the user performed, thereby making it possible to estimate the reliability based on the user's reaction.

[0063] In the information presentation method and information presentation device 20 of this embodiment, when the driving operation information includes a warning about the driving of another vehicle, the reliability is calculated based on at least one of the rate at which the user agrees with the warning and the frequency at which the user requests response information in response to the user's utterance. This makes it possible to estimate the reliability based on the user's reaction.

[0064] In the information presentation method and information presentation device 20 of this embodiment, when the user frequently uses the vehicle, the reliability is calculated to be higher than when the user infrequently uses the vehicle. This makes it possible to estimate the reliability according to the vehicle usage situation.

[0065] In the information presentation method and information presentation device 20 of this embodiment, when calculating the reliability, an initial value of the reliability is estimated from the attributes of the user, initial driving operation information corresponding to the initial value is presented to the user, and the initial value is corrected based on the user's reaction to the presentation of the initial driving operation information. This makes it possible to estimate the reliability even for users who have never used a vehicle.

[0066] In the information presentation method and information presentation device 20 of this embodiment, if the reliability is less than a first threshold, the driving operation information is presented when the proximity of the vehicle to an obstacle reaches or exceeds a predetermined value, thereby preventing the user who does not trust the information presentation device 20 from feeling uncomfortable due to unnecessary presentation of driving operation information.

[0067] In the information presentation method and information presentation device 20 of this embodiment, when the reliability is equal to or greater than a second threshold higher than the first threshold and an error in the user's driving operation is detected, at least one of the driving operation information pointing out the error and the driving operation information showing a remedy for the error is presented to the user, thereby enabling the user to correct their driving operation without causing discomfort to the user.

[0068] In the information presentation method and the information presentation device 20 of this embodiment, when the reliability is high, the driving operation information is presented more frequently than when the reliability is low, thereby making it possible to present appropriate driving operation information to a user who trusts the information presentation device 20.

[0069] In the information presentation method and information presentation device 20 of this embodiment, when increasing or maintaining the reliability, the driving operation information includes at least one of information requesting consent for an evaluation of the driving operation of another vehicle, information praising the user's driving operation, information about the user's preferences, information about the vehicle, information about traffic laws, and information about the user's emotions, thereby effectively increasing or maintaining the reliability.

[0070] In the information presentation method and the information presentation device 20 of this embodiment, the driving operation information is presented to the user at the timing that does not interfere with the driving operation of the user, thereby making it possible to prevent the user from feeling uncomfortable.

[0071] In the information presentation method and information presentation device 20 of this embodiment, if the user does not perform the driving operation instructed by the driving operation information, at least one of the content of the driving operation information and the timing of presenting the driving operation information to the user is corrected, thereby making it possible to present the driving operation information to the user effectively.

[0072] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Driving assistance system 11 Imaging device 12 In-vehicle sensor 13 Microphone 14 Actuator 15 Display device 16 Speaker 17 Driving assistance device 18 Memory unit 19 Travel control unit 20 Information presentation device 21 Estimation unit 22 Presentation unit

Claims

1. An information presentation method executed by an information presentation device of a vehicle, wherein when presenting driving operation information regarding the driving operation of a user of the vehicle to the user, the information presentation device performs at least one of presenting the driving operation information according to a reliability indicating the degree to which the user trusts the information presentation device, and presenting the driving operation information at a timing according to the reliability.

2. The information presentation method described in claim 1, wherein the information presentation device calculates the reliability based on the percentage of times the user performs a certain driving operation when the driving operation information includes an instruction to perform the certain driving operation.

3. The information presentation method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the information presentation device calculates the reliability based on at least one of the rate at which the user agrees with a suggestion when the driving operation information includes a suggestion regarding the driving of another vehicle, and the frequency at which the user requests response information corresponding to the content of the user's utterance.

4. An information presentation method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information presentation device calculates the reliability to be higher when the user uses the vehicle frequently than when the user uses the vehicle infrequently.

5. The information presentation method described in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein, when calculating the reliability, the information presentation device estimates an initial value of the reliability from the attributes of the user, presents initial driving operation information to the user according to the initial value, and corrects the initial value based on the user's reaction to the presentation of the initial driving operation information.

6. An information presentation method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the information presentation device presents the driving operation information when the proximity of the vehicle to contact an obstacle reaches or exceeds a predetermined value if the reliability is less than a first threshold value.

7. The information presentation method described in claim 6, wherein when the reliability is equal to or greater than a second threshold value higher than the first threshold value and an error in the user's driving operation is detected, the information presentation device presents to the user at least one of the driving operation information pointing out the error and the driving operation information indicating a remedy for the error.

8. An information presentation method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the information presentation device presents the driving operation information more frequently when the reliability is high than when the reliability is low.

9. An information presentation method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein, when increasing or maintaining the reliability, the information presentation device presents to the user the driving operation information including at least one of information requesting agreement with an evaluation of the driving operation of other vehicles, information praising the user's driving operation, information about the user's preferences, information about the vehicle, information about traffic laws, and information about the user's emotions.

10. An information presentation method described in any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the information presentation device presents the driving operation information to the user at a timing that does not interfere with the user's driving operation.

11. An information presentation method described in any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein, if the user does not perform the driving operation instructed by the driving operation information, the information presentation device corrects at least one of the content of the driving operation information and the timing of presenting the driving operation information to the user.

12. An information presentation device that presents driving operation information related to the driving operation of a vehicle user, the information presentation device having a presentation unit that, when presenting the driving operation information to the user, performs at least one of presenting the driving operation information according to a reliability indicating the degree to which the user trusts the information presentation device, and presenting the driving operation information at a timing according to the reliability.

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