Patent Description:
Document <CIT> discloses a method and system for providing a drowsiness alert to a driver of a vehicle. A drowsiness estimate data set is compared to historical drowsiness data from multiple vehicles. The drowsiness estimate data set includes current drive context data, and traffic situation data indicative of a present traffic situation for the vehicle and the position of the vehicle. The previously collected drowsiness estimate data sets of the historical drowsiness data are each associated with a determined degree of drowsiness of the respective driver when the previous drowsiness estimate data sets were collected. The degree of drowsiness is determined by a drowsiness detection system in the respective vehicle. A drowsiness risk measure is subsequently determined and, based on the drowsiness risk measure and based on a current drive context for the vehicle, a drowsiness alert may be provided to the driver.

Driver assistance may include any relief that is provided to an individual associated with a vehicle with the aim of increasing individual protection and enhancing driver experience. A driver may be distracted for many different reasons. Driver distraction or a reduced driver attention resulting from the distraction, however, may increase the risk for accidents. Therefore, driver distraction has a huge impact on road safety. Some distractions may be caused by the driver themselves, e.g., when using a phone while driving or when adjusting the settings of a navigation or entertainment system while driving. Drivers, however, may also be distracted when their attention is drawn to any unexpected events or occurrences that may happen along the route the driver is traveling. Such distractions are generally unforeseeable for the driver of a vehicle. Turning one's head towards a sudden and unexpected occurrence outside of the vehicle is generally a reflex that cannot easily be suppressed. Many people, out of curiosity, even tend to give attention to such occurrences for a long period of time. During this time, driver attention with regard to the traffic may be significantly reduced. This may increase the risk for accidents.

Many advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are known that monitor a driver's attention level / distraction level and generate a warning if it is detected that the attention level decreases and/or the distraction level increases. Such warnings may increase a driver's attention momentarily. However, warning signals of any kind (e.g., acoustical, visual, or haptic) may be perceived as disturbing or even annoying by a driver. In some cases, warning signals may even be generated too late, especially when a driver's attention is drawn to a suddenly appearing unexpected occurrence. Hence, there is a need for a driver attention system and a method that reduce or even entirely prevent driver distraction caused by events or occurrences that may happen along the route the driver is traveling.

The invention is directed to a driving assistance system according to claim <NUM> and a method according to claim <NUM>. Further details are included in the dependent claims.

Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the present disclosure will be or will become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following detailed description and figures. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention and be protected by the following claims.

The arrangement may be better understood with reference to the following description and drawings.

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms.

It is recognized that directional terms that may be noted herein (e.g., "upper", "lower", "inner", "outer", "top", "bottom", etc.) simply refer to the orientation of various components of an arrangement as illustrated in the accompanying figures. Such terms are provided for context and understanding of the disclosed embodiments.

The driver assistance system and related method according to the various embodiments described herein allow to reduce or even entirely avoid driver distraction caused by events or occurrences that may happen along the route the driver is traveling. In this way, the risk for accidents may be significantly reduced. The driver assistance systems and methods of the various embodiments allow to reduce or avoid driver distraction without disturbing or annoying the driver.

Referring to <FIG>, an exemplary driver assistance system is schematically illustrated. The driver assistance system includes a central server <NUM> and a plurality of monitoring units <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-N. Each of the plurality of monitoring units <NUM>-N is mounted on a different one of a plurality of vehicles <NUM>-<NUM><NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-N and is configured to determine a distraction level of a driver of the respective vehicle <NUM>-N. Each of the monitoring units <NUM>-N may include one or more inward facing cameras, for example. Inward facing cameras may capture images of a driver of the vehicle <NUM>-N, for example. A driver's distraction level may be determined, for example, by evaluating the images captured by the inward facing cameras. For example, it may be determined whether a driver is looking ahead onto the road, or whether they are looking away from the road, e.g., out of one of the side windows. Any sudden or unexpected head or eye movements may be detected. It may also be detected whether a driver is looking away from the road (e.g., out of one of the side windows) for a comparably long time. If a driver is not looking ahead on the road but outside one of the side windows instead, for example, it may be assumed that the driver is distracted. The driver distraction level, however, may also be determined in any other suitable way. It is further possible to determine a duration of a distraction. For example, it may be determined whether the driver is only distracted for a short time or for a comparably long time. Many different methods for monitoring a driver's distraction level are generally known.

The driver distraction level may be rated and, if it is determined that the driver distraction level exceeds a predetermined threshold, a distraction information message is transmitted to the central server <NUM>. The distraction information message includes information about the distraction level (severity of the distraction) and the position at which the distraction level occurred. The monitoring units <NUM>-N may communicate with a navigation system of the vehicle <NUM>-N, for example, or may include a position determination unit of any kind (e.g., GPS sensor). In this way, the current position of a vehicle <NUM>-N is known when it is detected that the distraction level exceeds the threshold. A position of a vehicle may be defined by the coordinates (latitude, longitude) of a geographic coordinate system.

When rating the driver distraction level, it is optionally also possible to further consider a velocity of the vehicle at the time of the distraction. If, for example, the velocity of the vehicle <NUM>-N is zero (e.g., because the driver is waiting at a red traffic light or is caught in a traffic jam), a distraction may be considered less severe, even if the driver is looking out of the side windows for a longer time. In such situations it may be considered, for example, that the driver is merely whiling away time until they can continue the drive. A distraction may be considered to be more severe if the driver is driving at a high velocity, for example.

The central server <NUM> collects distraction information messages received from different ones of the plurality of monitoring units <NUM>-N and evaluates them. If it is detected, that a number of distraction information messages that is received for one and the same location P1 within a certain period of time exceeds a defined number of messages, it may be assumed that an event occurring at the concerned location P1 which distracts the drivers of different vehicles <NUM>-N continues for a long time or may be even permanent. It is also possible that certain events or situations occur repeatedly at similar times (e.g., every day at the same time, or every Monday at the same time). This may also be determined by evaluating the respective distraction information messages. If a continuing or repeating event or situation is detected, the central server <NUM> is configured to provide notifications to vehicles <NUM>-X that are determined to pass the location P1 on their planned route. A location P1 may include a plurality of positions within a defined radius. The positions of the different vehicles transmitted to the central server <NUM> may not be identical, but may be within a defined area. According to one example, a location P1 covers an area having a radius of several meters, or several tens of meters. Even a radius of one hundred meters or more, e.g., up to <NUM>, may still be considered as the same location P1. According to another example, all positions along a certain section of a road may be considered as being at the same location. The section of the road may have a length of several meters, or several tens of meters. Even a length of one hundred meters or more, e.g., up to <NUM>, may still be considered as the same location P1.

For example, if an event occurs that distracts the drivers of a plurality of different vehicles <NUM>-N, and the event lasts for a comparably long time, the number of distraction information messages transmitted to the central server <NUM> will most likely exceed the predetermined threshold after a certain time. Any following vehicles <NUM>-X that are determined to pass the location P1 of the event on their route of travel may then be notified of the event before they reach the location P1. Any vehicle <NUM>-X may provide their current position and, optionally, their intended route, to the central server <NUM> in regular intervals. The central server <NUM>, e.g., may send a notification if it is determined that a vehicle <NUM>-X approaches a location P1 at which a potentially distracting event has been identified. For example, the drivers of the following vehicles <NUM>-X may receive notifications about an upcoming distraction. In this way, the event is no longer unexpected for the drivers and the distraction level may be lower as compared to drivers which pass the situation unexpected. It is, however, also possible, if the driver follows a route provided to them by a navigation system, that the monitoring unit <NUM>-X receives the notification and causes the navigation system to change the proposed route in order to avoid passing the situation altogether. That is, the route proposed to the driver by the navigation system may be changed in order to bypass the potentially distracting event.

As has been explained above, it may also be possible that the event occurs repeatedly at the same or similar times on different days. That is, the central server <NUM> might receive an increased number of distraction information messages at the same time of different days. While during other times, the central server <NUM> receives no or only few distraction notification messages, the number of received distraction information messages may increase during certain repeating time intervals or at certain repeating times. The increase of the number of received distraction information messages may be noticeable, e.g., the difference between a number of distraction notification messages when a potentially distracting event occurs and a number of distraction information messages received during "normal times" may exceed a certain defined threshold. The central server <NUM> may store such information and, if a vehicle <NUM>-X approaches the location of the event at a time at which the event is expected to occur again, the driver may be notified accordingly or the route provided by a navigation system may be changed accordingly to bypass the event, as has been described above.

The central server <NUM> may only determine a general location P1 of the potentially disturbing event (e.g., based on latitude and longitude). It is, however, also possible that even more information is collected. For example, if the distraction level of the drivers is determined by a monitoring unit <NUM>-N including at least one camera, it may also be determined on which side of the road the event occurs. The direction of travel of the vehicles <NUM>-N is generally known from the navigation system or a position determination unit with which the current position of the vehicle <NUM>-N can be detected. The images captured by the at least one camera may be evaluated by means of suitable face recognition techniques, for example. In this way it may be determined to which side of the road the driver is turning their head when passing the event. This information may also be included in the distraction information messages transmitted to the central server <NUM>.

This is schematically illustrated in <FIG> illustrates a section of a map. An event that is potentially distracting has been determined to occur at location P1. For vehicles travelling eastbound, the event occurs to the left side of the road, while for vehicles travelling westbound, the event occurs to the right side of the road. Any following vehicles <NUM>-X (not specifically illustrated in <FIG>) may be notified accordingly as long as the event is still determined to be occurring at location P1.

It is, however, also possible that the exact location of the event is determined by means of outward facing cameras. It is generally possible to analyze images captured with outward facing cameras and to identify any distracting events in the surroundings of the vehicle. In this way it may also be determined by evaluating the images captured by one or more outward facing cameras on which side of a road a potentially distracting event occurs.

If, after a plurality of distraction information messages have been received by the central server <NUM> and a potentially distracting event has been identified, no further distraction information messages are received for a defined period of time, it may be assumed that the event no longer occurs and the central server <NUM> may stop sending notifications to any following vehicles <NUM>-X.

It is also possible, if a distractive event is determined to be permanent, that the central server <NUM> sends notifications to concerned authorities. In this way, authorities have the possibility to remove any distracting events in order to enhance road safety.

Now referring to <FIG>, a method according to one out of several examples is schematically illustrated in a flow diagram. The method includes determining the distraction levels of drivers of a plurality of vehicles by means of a plurality of monitoring units, each of the plurality of monitoring units mounted to a different one of the plurality of vehicles (step <NUM>). If it is determined that the driver distraction level of a driver exceeds a predetermined threshold (step <NUM>), a distraction information message is transmitted to the central server by means of the respective monitoring unit (step <NUM>), wherein the distraction information message includes information about the distraction level and the position at which the distraction level occurred. The method further includes collecting and evaluating the distraction information messages received from different ones of the plurality of monitoring units at the central server (step <NUM>), and, if a number of distraction information messages that are received for one and the same location during a defined period of time exceeds a defined number of messages, or if an increased number of distraction information messages is received for one and the same location regularly or at recurring points in time (step <NUM>), providing notifications from the central server to following vehicles that are determined to pass the location on their planned route (step <NUM>).

Claim 1:
A driver assistance system comprises:
a plurality of monitoring units (<NUM>-N), each monitoring unit in the plurality of monitoring units (<NUM>-N) is mounted to a different vehicle in a plurality of vehicles (<NUM>-N); and
a central server (<NUM>), wherein
each monitoring unit (<NUM>-N) is configured to determine a distraction level of a driver of the vehicle (<NUM>-N) it is mounted to, and, if it is determined that the distraction level of the driver exceeds a predetermined threshold, transmit a distraction information message to the central server (<NUM>), wherein the distraction information message includes information about the distraction level of the driver and a position at which the distraction level of the driver occurred,
the central server (<NUM>) is configured to collect and evaluate distraction information messages received from different ones of the plurality of monitoring units (<NUM>-N), and
in response to a number of the distraction information messages collected by the central server (<NUM>) for a particular location (P1) and during a defined period of time exceeding a pre-defined number of messages, the central server (<NUM>) is configured to provide notifications to following vehicles (<NUM>-X) that are determined to pass the location (P1) on their planned route.