Vehicle control device, vehicle control method, and program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10166997-B2
Application number	US-201515520495-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 1, 2015
Priority date	Dec 12, 2014
Publication date	Jan 1, 2019
Grant date	Jan 1, 2019

Abstract

A method for decelerating a vehicle, a non-transitory computer-readable medium for performing the method, and reception apparatuses. The method includes monitoring a state of a driver of the vehicle, and causing a notification to be output based on the monitored state of the driver. The method further includes determining, by circuitry of an information processing apparatus and when operating in a manual operation mode, whether to cause the vehicle to decelerate after the notification is output. The vehicle is caused by the circuitry to decelerate based on the determination of whether to cause the vehicle to decelerate. A passenger of the vehicle may trigger an automatic emergency stop (unit 23 ), which in turn may be overridden by the driver (switch 24 ).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for decelerating a vehicle, the method comprising:
monitoring a state of a driver of the vehicle;
causing a notification that indicates the state of the driver to be output based on the monitored state of the driver, the notification being presented to a person inside the vehicle that is not the driver;
determining, by circuitry of an information processing apparatus and when operating in a manual operation mode, whether to cause the vehicle to decelerate based on whether a first instruction to stop the vehicle is received in response to the notification that is output to the person inside the vehicle; and
causing, by the circuitry, the vehicle to decelerate based on the determination of whether to cause the vehicle to decelerate, wherein
the notification is presented by a light that emits a predetermined color based on the monitored state of the driver.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
the step of causing the vehicle to decelerate includes causing the vehicle to decelerate based on a determination that the first instruction is received after the notification is output.

3. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising:
causing a warning to be provided inside the vehicle before causing the vehicle to decelerate.

4. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising:
determining whether a second instruction to stop the vehicle is received after the first instruction is received; and
causing the vehicle to stop based on a determination that the second instruction is received.

5. The method according to claim 2 , further comprising:
determining whether a third instruction to cancel the first instruction is received from the driver after the first instruction is received; and
canceling the deceleration of the vehicle based on a determination that the third instruction is received after the first instruction.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein
the notification includes feedback to the driver based on the monitored state of the driver, and
the method further comprises:
determining whether to cause the vehicle to perform an emergency stop,
automatically causing the vehicle to perform an immediate stop based on a determination to cause the vehicle to perform the emergency stop, and
causing the vehicle to perform a guided manual stop based on a determination that the emergency stop is not to be performed.

7. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
limiting a top speed of the vehicle based on the monitored state of the driver.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of monitoring comprises:
monitoring eye movement or a sight line of the driver.

9. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:
causing activation of at least one of hazard lights or a horn of the vehicle during the deceleration of the vehicle.

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the hazard lights are activated such that a short period of light is emitted twice and a long period of light is emitted once.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions which, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform a method for decelerating a vehicle, the method comprising:
monitoring a state of a driver of the vehicle;
causing a notification that indicates the state of the driver to be output based on the monitored state of the driver, the notification being presented to a person inside the vehicle that is not the driver;
determining, when operating in a manual operation mode, whether to cause the vehicle to decelerate based on whether a first instruction to stop the vehicle is received in response to the notification that is output to the person inside the vehicle; and
causing the vehicle to decelerate based on the determination of whether to cause the vehicle to decelerate, wherein
the notification is presented by a light that emits a predetermined color based on the monitored state of the driver.

12. An information processing apparatus, comprising:
circuitry configured to
monitor a state of a driver of a vehicle;
cause a notification that indicates the state of the driver to be output based on the monitored state of the driver, the notification being presented to a person inside the vehicle that is not the driver;
determine, when operating in a manual operation mode, whether to cause the vehicle to decelerate based on whether a first instruction to stop the vehicle is received in response to the notification that is output to the person inside the vehicle; and
cause the vehicle to decelerate based on the determination of whether to cause the vehicle to decelerate, wherein

the notification is presented by a light that emits a predetermined color based on the monitored state of the driver.

13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the circuitry is configured to
determine whether the first instruction to stop the vehicle is received after the notification is output; and
cause the vehicle to decelerate based on a determination that the first instruction is received after the notification is output.

14. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the circuitry is configured to
cause a warning to be provided inside the vehicle before causing the vehicle to decelerate.

15. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the circuitry is configured to
determine whether a second instruction to stop the vehicle is received after the first instruction is received; and
cause the vehicle to stop based on a determination that the second instruction is received.

16. The information processing apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the circuitry is configured to
determine whether a third instruction to cancel the first instruction is received from the driver after the first instruction is received; and
cancel the deceleration of the vehicle based on a determination that the third instruction is received after the first instruction.

17. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein
the notification includes feedback to the driver based on the monitored state of the driver, and
the circuitry is configured to
determine whether to cause the vehicle to perform an emergency stop,
automatically cause the vehicle to perform an immediate stop based on a determination to cause the vehicle to perform the emergency stop, and
cause the vehicle to perform a guided manual stop based on a determination that the emergency stop is not to be performed.

18. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12 , where the circuitry is configured to:
limit a top speed of the vehicle based on the monitored state of the driver.

19. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the circuitry is configured to:
monitor eye movement or a sight line of the driver.

20. The information processing apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the circuitry is configured to
cause activation of at least one of hazard lights or a horn of the vehicle during the deceleration of the vehicle.

21. The information processing apparatus according to claim 20 , wherein the hazard lights are activated such that a short period of light is emitted twice and a long period of light is emitted once.

22. An information processing apparatus, comprising:
means for monitoring a state of a driver of a vehicle;
means for causing a notification that

Assignees

• Sony Corp

Inventors

• Oba Eiji

Classifications

• B60W2050/143

  Alarm means · CPC title

• B60W2540/26

  Incapacity · CPC title

• B60W50/14 Primary

  Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention · CPC title

• B60W50/082 Primary

  Selecting or switching between different modes of propelling · CPC title

• B60W40/08

  related to drivers or passengers · CPC title