Patent ID: 8838323

Claim:
A driving assistance device, comprising: at least one processor programmed to perform as: an operation prediction unit that predicts that a driving operation is to be performed by a driver of a vehicle before the driver performs the driving operation; a travel trajectory generation unit that generates a target travel trajectory of the vehicle based on a prediction result of the driving operation that has been predicted by the operation prediction unit; and a travel function control unit that controls a travel function of the vehicle based on a result of adjusting the target travel trajectory generated by the travel trajectory generation unit and an actual driving operation by the driver, wherein the travel trajectory generation unit generates a first travel trajectory based on information relating to environment surrounding the vehicle, generates a second travel trajectory based on the prediction result of the driving operation that has been predicted by the operation prediction unit, and generates the target travel trajectory based on a result of comparing the first travel trajectory and the second travel trajectory, wherein the operation prediction unit predicts the driving operation based on musculoskeletal state information of the driver, wherein the operation prediction unit predicts the driving operation so as to satisfy a constraint that is a range of motion of a body part that relates to the driving operation, the range of motion being determined based on a range of motion of human body joint, wherein the operation prediction unit predicts a steering direction in which the driver performs steering operation based on a constraint of an arm that is determined based on a range of motion of an elbow joint, wherein the travel trajectory generation unit generates the target travel trajectory following the steering direction when the steering operation by the driver is predicted, and wherein the operation prediction unit calculates an inclination degree of a shoulder line of the driver and an inclination degree of a body trunk based on the obtained musculoskeletal information of the driver, and predicts the steering direction and an operation amount of the steering wheel by which the driver performs the steering operation based on the degree of inclination of shoulder line and the degree of the inclination of the body trunk of the driver.