Driver Gaze Detection and Safe-State Vehicle Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing driving assistance technologies fail to ensure safety when a driver's line-of-sight direction is inappropriate, particularly during straight travel, leading to potential accidents due to inattentive or dozing driving.

Innovation Solution

An information processing apparatus and method that detects a driver's line-of-sight direction using a combination of image and time-of-flight sensors, and controls the vehicle to a safe state by decelerating or changing lanes if the direction is not appropriate, ensuring safety through feedback mechanisms such as visual, auditory, and haptic alerts.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If driving assistance technology detects line-of-sight direction, then driver attention can be monitored, but driving control is not executed when inappropriate line-of-sight is detected during straight travel

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesafety assuranceVSAvoiddriving control execution

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes the parameter of driving control execution based on the combination of line-of-sight direction and driving state. When the vehicle is traveling straight and the driver's line-of-sight is inappropriate, the system executes driving control to a safe state. This resolves the contradiction by dynamically adjusting control execution parameters rather than maintaining a fixed policy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring line-of-sight direction and driving state, then executing appropriate driving control actions. The detection unit provides feedback about driver attention, and the control unit responds by adjusting vehicle operation to ensure safety while maintaining appropriate driving flow.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If driving control is executed whenever inappropriate line-of-sight is detected, then safety is improved, but unnecessary control may occur during already accepted driving states

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesafety assuranceVSAvoiddriving control appropriateness

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies different control strategies to different driving states and line-of-sight conditions. Instead of uniform control execution, it tailors the control response to the specific local condition (e.g., straight travel with inappropriate line-of-sight triggers control, while other states may have different thresholds), ensuring appropriateness while maintaining safety.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The solution effectively prevents accidents by ensuring the driver's attention is maintained, reducing damage in case of inattentive driving by controlling the vehicle's speed or lane change, thereby enhancing safety during automatic driving levels 0 to 2.

Implementation Method 1

line-of-sight direction detection unit configured to detect a line-of-sight direction of a driver

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectLight reflection: Reflection

Implementation Method 2

line-of-sight direction detection unit configured to detect a line-of-sight direction of a driver of a vehicle

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectTime of flight: Time of Flight

Data Source

PatentUS11873007B2Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and program

Publication Date: 2024.01.16 SONY GROUP CORP

AI summary

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a program for ensuring safety when a line-of-sight direction of a driver is inappropriate according to a driving situation.The line-of-sight direction of the driver of a vehicle is detected, whether or not the detected line-of-sight direction is a safe line-of-sight direction is determined, and in a case where the line-of-sight direction is determined not to be the safe line-of-sight direction, the vehicle is controlled to a safe state. The present disclosure can be applied to an in-vehicle system.