Vehicle Mode Switching via Driver Experience Evaluation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic driving control systems face challenges in safely transitioning from automatic to manual driving modes, particularly when a driver unfamiliar with the vehicle needs to take over, as steering and acceleration characteristics vary by vehicle type, potentially leading to unsafe driving operations.
Innovation Solution
An automatic driving control apparatus that includes a driver identifier, a driving experience value evaluation unit, and a shift permission time setting unit, which evaluates the driver's experience based on their manual driving history and sets a shift permission time before allowing mode switching to automatic driving, ensuring the driver is adequately prepared to handle the vehicle's unique characteristics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the system allows immediate switching from manual to automatic driving mode, then the ease of operation is improved, but the safety deteriorates because the driver may not be familiar with the vehicle's steering and acceleration characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary evaluation of the driver's manual driving performance before allowing automatic mode activation. The evaluation unit assesses steering and acceleration operations during a predetermined period, and only after satisfactory evaluation is the automatic driving mode permitted, ensuring the driver understands vehicle characteristics beforehand
Solution Approach 2:
An intermediate evaluation mechanism is introduced between manual and automatic driving modes. The evaluation unit acts as an intermediary that verifies driver competence through assessment of manual driving performance, serving as a bridge that ensures safety before mode transition is permitted
2Reliability
If the system requires a predetermined evaluation period before mode switching, then the safety is improved, but the loss of time increases due to the delay in accessing automatic driving functionality
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the evaluation period and permissions based on actual driver performance. If the driver demonstrates competent vehicle control, the evaluation period can be shortened or waived, allowing faster access to automatic mode while maintaining safety standards
3Measurement precision
If the system continuously monitors and evaluates driver performance, then the measurement precision of driver ability is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional sensing and processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The evaluation unit leverages existing sensors and control systems already present in the vehicle for manual driving operations. By reusing these multi-functional components for evaluation purposes, the system achieves precise driver assessment without adding dedicated complex hardware, reducing overall system complexity
Data Source
AI summary
An automatic driving control apparatus for a vehicle can selectively switch between a manual driving mode in which a driver manually performs driving operation of the vehicle and an automatic driving mode in which driving operation is performed automatically along a target traveling route. The apparatus includes a driver identifier that identifies the driver, a driving experience value evaluation unit that evaluates a driving experience value based on a traveling history in the manual driving mode of the identified driver, a shift permission time setting unit that sets a shift permission time from the manual driving mode to the automatic driving mode based on the driving experience value, and a driving mode switching unit that controls the driving mode so as to be switchable to the automatic driving mode on condition that at least a driving time by the driver in the manual driving mode exceeds the shift permission time.