In-Cabin Sleep Mode Control via Video Passenger State Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies for autonomous vehicles lack the ability to automatically determine a passenger's sleeping or drowsing state and adjust the in-cabin environment accordingly, requiring manual user intervention to achieve a comfortable sleep mode.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize a video sensor to monitor a passenger's state, detect determination target objects, crop images, and determine the passenger's state through feature vector combinations, allowing for automatic adjustment of in-cabin environment settings such as seat, air conditioning, lighting, sound, window tinting, and sunroof to a sleep mode.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a wearable device is used to determine passenger state, then passenger state can be identified, but the passenger has to bear inconvenience of having to wear the separate wearable device
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a video sensor to capture visual information of the passenger and creates a digital copy (image) of the passenger's state. This allows the system to analyze passenger state (sleeping, drowsing, awake) through image processing and feature vector comparison, eliminating the need for physical wearable devices while maintaining measurement capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/wearable sensing system with an optical sensing system (video sensor). Instead of requiring physical contact sensors or wearable devices, the system uses video imaging and computer vision algorithms to detect passenger state, substituting mechanical measurement with optical field-based measurement
2Adaptability or versatility
If the passenger manually adjusts lighting, sound, seat position, then the in-cabin environment can be adjusted, but the user has to directly adjust these settings in order to take a comfortable sleep
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects passenger state through video sensing and autonomously adjusts in-cabin environment settings (lighting, sound, seat position, air conditioning) without requiring manual user input. The passenger simply needs to lie down, and the system self-adjusts the environment based on detected state changes, making the service automatic and convenient
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors passenger state through video sensing and uses this feedback to automatically adjust environment settings. When the system detects that the passenger has lied down or is sleeping, it automatically modifies lighting intensity, sound levels, and seat position, creating a closed-loop control system that adapts to passenger needs
3Reliability
If prior art technologies are used for sleep safety, then oxygen levels can be maintained, but they are not able to automatically determine the sleeping state of the passenger and take action in the vehicle
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional sensor-based detection (oxygen sensors, pressure sensors) with video-based optical sensing. By using a video sensor to capture images and analyze facial features, head position, and body posture, the system automatically determines sleeping state without requiring additional hardware sensors or manual intervention
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates visual copies (images) of the passenger through video sensing and analyzes these copies to determine sleeping state. By processing image data and comparing feature vectors against predefined patterns, the system achieves automatic detection of sleeping, drowsing, and awake states, enabling automated response actions
Data Source
AI summary
A method for automatically controlling an in-cabin environment for a passenger in an autonomous vehicle includes monitoring a state of the passenger via a video sensor; determining whether the state of the passenger corresponds to one of preset states of a predetermined number; and adjusting, when the state corresponds to the one of the preset states, any one or any combination of any two or more of a seat, an air conditioning system, a lighting system, a sound system, a variable window tinting, and a variable sunroof of the autonomous vehicle based on the state. The determining of the state of the passenger includes detecting a plurality of determination target objects from a video of the video sensor, cropping an image of each of the plurality of determination target objects, and determining whether the state of the passenger corresponds to the one of the preset states.