Driver Gaze Monitoring for Missed Road Cue Abnormality Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing driver state detection systems fail to detect subtle declines in a driver's attention function due to mild diseases or aging, as they rely on amplitude and frequency of saccades, which do not show obvious differences until the driver has difficulty driving, making it impossible to detect abnormality sign states early enough.
Innovation Solution
A driver abnormality sign detection apparatus that uses a travel environment information acquisition device and an eye gaze tracker to identify visual recognition required points and determine if the driver has visually recognized them, detecting abnormalities based on missed points and reduced effective visual field, allowing for early detection of attention function decline.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If saccade amplitude and frequency are used to detect driver abnormality, then the detection method is simple, but the abnormality sign state cannot be detected early enough
Solution Approach 1:
The detection system is segmented into multiple independent components: travel environment information acquisition device, eye gaze tracker, and controller. Each component performs a specific function (acquiring environment data, tracking eye position, analyzing visual recognition), allowing the system to detect abnormality signs early through comprehensive analysis rather than relying on a single simple metric like saccade amplitude.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary detection approach by using eye gaze tracking as a mediator between the driver's visual system and the abnormality detection. Instead of directly measuring saccade parameters, the system tracks eye gaze position and determines whether the driver visually recognized required points, providing earlier and more sensitive detection of attention function decline.
2Measurement precision
If multiple visual recognition required points are monitored, then the detection accuracy improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller performs multiple functions using the same eye gaze tracking data: it identifies visual recognition required points based on travel environment information, determines whether the driver visually recognized these points, and detects abnormality signs. This multi-functional approach improves detection accuracy without requiring separate complex systems for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary identification of visual recognition required points based on travel environment information before actual driving occurs. This allows the system to pre-establish what the driver should be looking at, making the subsequent abnormality detection more accurate and reducing the complexity of real-time analysis.
Data Source
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AI summary
[Task] To provide a driver abnormality sign detection apparatus capable of detecting a decline in a driver's physical function and confirming a determination on an abnormal state at an initial stage at a stage sufficiently earlier than onset of a state where the driver can no longer drive. [Solution] A driver abnormality sign detection apparatus 100 includes: an outside camera 21, a radar 22, a navigation system 23, and a positioning system 24, each of which acquires travel environment information of a vehicle; an in-vehicle camera 32 that detects the driver's eye gaze; and a controller 10 configured to detect a driver's abnormality sign state on the basis of the travel environment information and the driver's eye gaze. The controller identifies a visual recognition required point to be visually recognized by the driver on the basis of the travel environment information, determines whether the driver has visually recognized the visual recognition required point on the basis of the driver's eye gaze, and detects the driver's abnormality sign state on the basis of a fact that the driver has not visually recognized the visual recognition required point.