Driver Assistance System Gaze-Adaptive Hazard Thresholds

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing driver assistance systems often intervene too late and with excessive force, reducing driver acceptance as they do not adapt interventions to the current driving situation effectively.

Innovation Solution

The system adjusts triggering threshold values for interventions based on whether a critical object is within the driver's field of vision, lowering the threshold for gentler interventions when the object is outside the field of view and maintaining higher thresholds for necessary, stronger interventions, ensuring they occur only when necessary.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the driver assistance system uses fixed trigger thresholds for interventions, then the system structure is simple, but the interventions occur either too late or are perceived as unnecessary by the driver

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveintervention timing accuracyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The trigger thresholds are made dynamic by adjusting them based on the driver's gaze direction. When the driver is looking away from the road, the thresholds are lowered to enable earlier interventions. When the driver is monitoring the road, the thresholds remain higher to avoid unnecessary interventions. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by making the system responsive to driving conditions without requiring complex structural changes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the trigger threshold parameter based on the driver's gaze state. By detecting whether the driver is looking at the road or away from it, the system adjusts the intervention threshold parameter accordingly. This parameter change allows the same system structure to achieve better intervention timing accuracy without increasing overall system complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If the system lowers trigger thresholds to intervene earlier, then safety is improved, but unnecessary interventions increase reducing driver acceptance

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovesafetyVSAvoiddriver acceptance
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies different trigger thresholds locally based on the driver's gaze direction. Instead of using a single uniform threshold, the system creates localized threshold values that are lower only when the driver is looking away from the road. This local differentiation ensures safety improvements are applied only where needed, avoiding unnecessary interventions that would reduce driver acceptance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If the system intervenes with stronger force to ensure safety, then collision avoidance is improved, but driver comfort and acceptance deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecollision avoidanceVSAvoiddriver comfort
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The intervention force is made dynamic and adaptive based on the driving situation and driver gaze. The system applies stronger interventions only when necessary (when the driver is looking away and a hazard is detected), and milder interventions or no interventions when the driver is monitoring the road. This dynamic adjustment maintains collision avoidance effectiveness while preserving driver comfort and acceptance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP3929047B1Method for operating a driver assistance system for a vehicle and driver assistance system
Publication Date: 2023.02.22 VOLKSWAGEN AG
  • EP3929047B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3929047B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

The present invention relates to a method for operating a driver assistance system (1) of a vehicle, wherein the driver assistance system (1) is configured to automatically prepare or execute interventions in the movement of the vehicle depending on a hazard value and trigger thresholds, wherein at least two intervention levels are defined that prepare or generate increasingly severe interventions in the movement of the vehicle, wherein a trigger threshold is assigned to each intervention level, wherein the vehicle environment is detected in the method, the position of at least one object (12) in the detected vehicle environment is determined relative to the position of the vehicle, it is checked whether the object (12) poses a hazard to the vehicle, and, if the object (12) poses a hazard to the vehicle, this object (12) is classified as a critical object (12) and a specific hazard value is assigned to it.The system detects the direction of gaze (10) of the driver of the vehicle and determines a field of view (11) from it. Based on the position of a critical object (12), it is checked whether this critical object (12) is located outside the driver's field of view (11). The method according to the invention is characterized in that, if the critical object (12) is located outside the driver's field of view (11), the trigger threshold for the intervention of the lower intervention level is reduced more than for the intervention of the higher intervention level, relative to the trigger thresholds at which the critical object (12) is located within the driver's field of view (11). The invention also relates to a corresponding driver assistance system (1).