Driving Assistance Voice Control With Approval-Based Acceleration Limits

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing driving assistance systems may confuse drivers when executing voice operation processes without approval, especially when the process contents differ from the driver's utterances, leading to unintended vehicle acceleration.

Innovation Solution

The driving assistance apparatus includes an electronic control unit that informs the driver of voice operation process contents and requests approval. When the moving situation does not require approval, the system executes the voice operation process without approval and sets a lower upper limit for vehicle acceleration to prevent confusion.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the voice operation process is executed without approval operation to reduce driver load, then driver load is reduced, but driver confusion may occur when process contents differ from utterance contents

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedriver loadVSAvoiddriver confusion

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The system changes the acceleration parameter by setting an upper limit value when executing voice operation processes without approval. This parameter modification ensures that even if the executed process differs from the driver's utterance, the acceleration remains within a safe and expected range, preventing driver confusion while maintaining ease of operation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The system prepares a cushioning measure by pre-setting an upper limit on acceleration for voice operation processes executed without approval. This beforehand cushioning prevents potential driver confusion by ensuring acceleration does not exceed a threshold that would be unexpected or confusing to the driver

Inventive Principle:

Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

2Reliability

If the upper limit of acceleration is set to a smaller value to prevent driver confusion, then driver confusion is prevented, but vehicle acceleration performance is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedriver confusionVSAvoidvehicle acceleration

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSSpeed

Solution Approach 1:

The system dynamically adjusts the acceleration upper limit based on the approval status. When approval is obtained, a higher acceleration upper limit is applied for better performance. When approval is not obtained, a smaller upper limit is applied to prevent driver confusion. This dynamic parameter adjustment resolves the contradiction between reliability and speed

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS12311934B2Driving assistance apparatus, driving assistance method, and computer-readable storage medium storing driving assistance program

Publication Date: 2025.05.27 TOYOTA JIDOSHA KK

AI summary

A driving assistance apparatus executes a moving control to autonomously control a moving of a vehicle. The apparatus informs a driver of contents of a voice operation process planned to be executed for the moving control in accordance with utterance contents of the driver acquired by voice recognition and request the driver to perform an approval operation to approve the informed contents. The apparatus executes the voice operation process when the approval operation is performed. When a moving situation of the vehicle is not a predetermined situation which needs the approval operation, the apparatus execute the voice operation process without the approval operation being performed, and set an upper limit of an acceleration of the vehicle by the moving control to a value smaller than the upper limit set when executing the voice operation process in response to the approval operation being performed.