Adaptive Driver Reaction Time Determination in Motor Vehicle Assistance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current driver assistance systems, such as 'Front Assist', often issue unnecessary warnings due to an inability to accurately determine driver attentiveness and adaptive reaction times, leading to early and irritating warnings, especially when the driver recognizes a turning vehicle ahead.

Innovation Solution

A method to determine adaptive driver reaction times by correlating driver-specific activity with the behavior of the vehicle ahead, using environment sensors to assess temporal correlations between the vehicle's deceleration and the driver's reactions, such as easing off the accelerator or braking, to accurately reflect driver attentiveness and adjust warning timing accordingly.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the driver assistance system determines driver activity based solely on operator actions intensity, then the system can detect driver inattention, but it issues unnecessary warnings when the driver recognizes a turning vehicle ahead

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvewarning accuracyVSAvoidunnecessary warnings
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-generated harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system establishes a feedback loop by monitoring the relationship between the vehicle ahead's behavior (turning, deceleration) and the driver's reactions. It determines temporal correlations to understand whether driver inactivity is due to inattention or situational awareness, thereby providing feedback that distinguishes between genuine driver inattention and appropriate driver response to predictable vehicle behavior ahead

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically adjusts the driver activity assessment based on the contextual relationship between the vehicle ahead's maneuvers and the driver's reactions. Instead of using a static threshold for driver activity, it adapts the assessment by analyzing temporal correlations, allowing the warning system to remain sensitive to real inattention while being tolerant of appropriate driver behavior in predictable situations

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Device complexity

If the system issues warnings based on fixed reaction time assumptions, then the warning system is simple to implement, but it provides early and irritating warnings that reduce driver trust

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem simplicityVSAvoidwarning timing accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes the parameter used for warning timing from a fixed reaction time assumption to a dynamically determined adaptive reaction time. This adaptive parameter is calculated based on the temporal correlations between the vehicle ahead's behavior and the driver's reactions, allowing the warning system to adjust its timing accuracy to match the actual driver's response characteristics in different situational contexts

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentEP3153376B1Method and device for determining the adaptive reaction time of a driver of a motor vehicle
Publication Date: 2018.06.27 VOLKSWAGEN AG
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AI summary

A method for determining the adaptive reaction time of a motor vehicle driver, where the adaptive reaction time is determined from the driver's activity, comprises the following steps: - Determining the driving behavior of a vehicle ahead using environmental sensors, - Determining the activities of the motor vehicle driver, - Determining temporal correlations between the driving behavior of the vehicle ahead and the driver's activities, and - Determining the driver's activity from the temporal correlations. This method is used in driver assistance systems that monitor the vehicle's front surroundings, where the driver's reaction time is used to determine the warning time.