Alert Control Apparatus for Automated Driving Lane Change
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Solution Overview
Problem
In automatic driving systems, drivers are often forced to take control unexpectedly due to unreliable vehicle position information, leading to insufficient notification time and a lack of understanding about the control transfer situation, causing a troublesome experience.
Innovation Solution
An alert control apparatus and method that estimates the necessity of a lane change and determines the difficulty level based on travel environment factors, notifying the driver of the control transfer possibility and reason, ensuring sufficient time and reducing the feeling of being forced to change driving initiative.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If notification is based on sensor reliability reduction, then system complexity is reduced, but sufficient notification time cannot be ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary estimation of change execution situations that require lane changes before actual control transfer occurs. By predicting future situations requiring manual intervention, the system provides advance notification to the driver, ensuring sufficient preparation time while maintaining relatively simple system architecture.
2Loss of information
If only possibility of transfer is notified, then information loss is reduced, but driver understanding of transfer situation is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The notification system segments information presentation by providing both the possibility of control transfer and the specific reasons for transfer separately. This segmentation allows the driver to understand not only that transfer will occur but also the underlying causes (travel environment factors), improving overall comprehension and acceptance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides feedback to the driver about the specific situation requiring lane change, creating a closed-loop communication where the driver understands the system's decision-making basis. This feedback mechanism enhances driver understanding and reduces resistance to control transfer.
3Ease of operation
If advance notification with reasons is provided, then driver understanding is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The estimator component performs preliminary analysis of travel environment factors and change execution situations in advance, preparing notification content before control transfer is needed. This preliminary action enables comprehensive information provision without requiring complex real-time processing during the transfer moment.
Data Source
AI summary
An alert control apparatus that notifies a driver in advance of a transfer of control relating to a driving operation from an automatic driving function to the driver by controlling an alert device mounted on a vehicle, which is equipped with the automatic driving function, includes: an estimator that estimates an occurrence of a change execution situation that requires a lane change under a condition in which the driving operation of the vehicle is controlled by the automatic driving function; a determiner that determines a level of difficulty of lane change control based on a plurality of travel environment factors in the change execution situation; and a notification device that notifies the driver of a possibility of the transfer of the control together with a reason of the transfer of the control with a notification mode corresponding to the level using the alert device.