Vehicle Acceleration Control for Elderly Driver Obstacle Approach
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Solution Overview
Problem
Elderly drivers often exhibit impaired driving abilities, leading to improper vehicle control when encountering moving objects, which existing support devices cannot prevent effectively.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle control device that estimates the driver's age from a facial image and calculates the distance to a moving object, restricting vehicle speed or accelerating operations if the driver is elderly and the object is close, thereby preventing improper vehicle behavior.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the timing speed for obstacle approach warnings is increased for elderly drivers, then the warning timing is improved, but improper driving maneuvers cannot be prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by detecting elderly drivers through facial image analysis and proactively restricting accelerating operations before improper maneuvers can occur. When an elderly driver is detected and a moving object is identified within a reference distance, the system limits the accelerator pedal's effect on vehicle acceleration, preventing potential erroneous acceleration before it can cause harm.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary control mechanism between the driver's accelerator pedal operation and the vehicle's actual acceleration. The control device acts as a mediator that receives the driver's acceleration input but applies restrictions based on driver age and distance to moving objects, modifying the acceleration command before it reaches the vehicle's propulsion system.
2Reliability
If speed restriction or acceleration reflection restriction is applied to elderly drivers, then vehicle safety is improved, but driver operation freedom is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies local quality by implementing restrictions only in specific conditions rather than universally. Acceleration reflection restriction is applied only when three conditions are simultaneously met: the driver is elderly (detected through facial image analysis), a moving object is detected within a reference distance, and the vehicle is in a state where acceleration could be hazardous. This localized application preserves driver freedom in normal conditions while ensuring safety in critical situations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs dynamics by making the restriction level adaptive rather than fixed. The degree of acceleration reflection restriction varies dynamically based on the specific situation, including the distance to the moving object, the type of vehicle, and environmental conditions. This dynamic adjustment optimizes the balance between safety and driver operation freedom.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle control device has a processor configured to estimate an age of a driver based on a facial image representing a face of the driver of a vehicle, to calculate a distance between the vehicle and a moving object detected based on a front image, to determine whether or not the age of the driver is above a predetermined reference age and the distance between the vehicle and the moving object is below a predetermined reference distance, and to decide either to restrict the speed of the vehicle to below a first reference speed or to restrict a reflection of accelerating operation by the driver for acceleration of the vehicle in traveling of the vehicle, when it has been determined that the age of the driver is above the reference age and the distance between the vehicle and the moving object is below the reference distance.