Vehicle Driving Mode Notification for In-Car Safety Events

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing automatic driving techniques fail to address the risk of accidents both inside and outside a vehicle due to inconveniencing passengers by not informing external observers of the reason for vehicle behavior, leading to increased chances of collisions.

Innovation Solution

A vehicle control apparatus that acquires internal situation information, detects conditions likely to cause accidents, decides on a safety driving mode, and notifies external observers of this mode through vehicle-to-vehicle communication or displays.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a driving mode is decided according to a situation inside the vehicle, then an accident inside the vehicle can be suppressed, but a probability of occurring an accident between the own vehicle and another vehicle or an accident outside the own vehicle increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesafety inside vehicleVSAvoidaccident risk outside vehicle

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The notification unit acts as an intermediary between the vehicle's internal situation and external observers. It transmits information about the driving mode and internal situation to other vehicles and pedestrians, allowing them to understand the vehicle's behavior without direct observation. This mediator resolves the contradiction by enabling safe internal driving adjustments while maintaining external awareness and preventing misunderstandings that could lead to accidents.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If a driving mode is decided according to a situation inside the vehicle, then an accident inside the vehicle can be suppressed, but a person outside the vehicle cannot recognize a reason for such traveling

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesafety inside vehicleVSAvoidinformation about driving reason

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The notification unit provides feedback to external observers about the vehicle's internal situation and chosen driving mode. This feedback loop allows outside persons to understand the rationale behind the vehicle's behavior (e.g., why it is traveling slowly or stopping), preventing misinterpretation and irritation while maintaining the safety benefits of situation-based driving mode selection.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS12522250B2Vehicle control apparatus, vehicle control method, and non-transitory storage medium

Publication Date: 2026.01.13 NEC CORP

AI summary

The present invention provides a vehicle control apparatus (10) including: an acquisition unit (11) that acquires internal situation information indicating a situation inside a vehicle; a detection unit (12) that detects a person who satisfies a predetermined condition inside the vehicle, based on the internal situation information; a decision unit (13) that decides a driving mode of the vehicle, based on whether the person who satisfies the predetermined condition is detected; a processing unit (14) that performs processing of the decided driving mode; and a notification unit (15) that notifies an outside of the vehicle of the decided driving mode.