Patent ID: 7579942
Filing Date: 2009-08-25
Classification: B60Q,G08G

Abstract:
1. A method of facilitating safe operation of a vehicle, the vehicle having a vehicle operator and having a vehicle environment including an object, the method comprising: obtaining sensor data relating to the vehicle environment; predicting a vehicle path within the vehicle environment, the vehicle path having a vehicle path uncertainty; predicting an object path for the object within the vehicle environment; identifying a collision risk if the vehicle path and the object path intersect; identifying a vehicle risk if the vehicle path uncertainty is greater than a threshold uncertainty; providing an alert on identifying the collision risk or the vehicle risk, the alert facilitating tile safe operation of the vehicle; determining an object oath uncertainty for the object path; identifying an object risk if the object oath uncertainty is greater than an object threshold uncertainty; providing the alert on identifying the object risk; and wherein predicting the vehicle path includes: creating a world model of the vehicle environment using the sensor data; detecting changes in the world model at intervals, the vehicle path and the object oath being predicted from the changes in the world model.