Enhanced collision avoidance

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10589741-B2
Application number	US-201515747910-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 27, 2015
Priority date	Aug 27, 2015
Publication date	Mar 17, 2020
Grant date	Mar 17, 2020

Abstract

A headway between a first vehicle and a second vehicle is determined. A predicted time to collision between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is determined. A first mechanism in a wearable device in the first vehicle is actuated when the headway is less than a predetermined threshold. A second mechanism in the first vehicle is actuated when the predicted time to collision is less than a second predetermined threshold.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system, comprising a computer including a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions executable by the computer to:
identify an occupant of a first vehicle;
determine a time difference at which the first vehicle and a second vehicle would pass a predetermined point in a roadway;
predict a time to collision between the first vehicle and the second vehicle with a forward collision warning subsystem;
provide a first output in a wearable device of the occupant in the first vehicle when the time difference is less than a predetermined threshold, the first output and the threshold based on the identified occupant; and
then, after providing the first output, provide a second output in the first vehicle when the predicted time to collision is less than a second predetermined threshold.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions include instructions to provide the first output only on the wearable device worn by a driver of the host vehicle.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions include instructions to determine a mean headway based on a current headway and a set of previous time difference calculations.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the instructions include instructions to provide the first output on the wearable device when the mean time difference is less than the predetermined threshold.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions include instructions to calculate a mean predicted time to collision based on a current predicted time to collision and a set of previous predicted time to collision calculations.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the instructions include instructions to provide the second output in the vehicle when the mean predicted time to collision is less than the second predetermined threshold.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further include instructions to provide the first output as a haptic output.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further include instructions to provide the first output before providing the second output.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined threshold is calculated to provide the first output before the second output is provided.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further include instructions to identify the occupant as one of a novice driver or a skilled driver, wherein a first threshold associated with the skilled driver is higher than a second threshold associated with the novice driver.

11. A method, comprising:
identifying an occupant of a first vehicle;
determining a time difference at which the first vehicle and a second vehicle would pass a predetermined point in a roadway;
predicting a time to collision between the first vehicle and the second vehicle with a forward collision warning subsystem;
providing a first output in a wearable device of the occupant in the first vehicle when the time difference is less than a predetermined threshold, the first output and the threshold based on the identified occupant; and
then, after providing the first output, providing a second output in the first vehicle when the predicted time to collision is less than a second predetermined threshold.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising providing the first output only on the wearable device worn by a driver of the host vehicle.

13. The method of claim 11 , further comprising determining a mean time difference based on a current time difference and a set of previous time difference calculations.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising providing the first output on the wearable device when the mean time difference is less than the predetermined threshold.

15. The method of claim 11 , further comprising determining a mean predicted time to collision based on a current predicted time to collision and a set of previous predicted time to collision calculations.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising providing the second output in the vehicle when the mean predicted time to collision is less than the second predetermined threshold.

17. The method of claim 11 , further comprising providing the first output as a haptic output.

18. A system, comprising:
a wearable device of an occupant in a first vehicle;
a haptic device in a first vehicle;
means for identifying the occupant in the first vehicle;
means for determining a time difference at which the first vehicle and a second vehicle would pass a predetermined point in a roadway;
means for predicting a time to collision between the first vehicle and the second vehicle with a forward collision warning subsystem;
means for providing a first output in the wearable device of the occupant in the first vehicle when the time difference is less than a predetermined threshold, the first output and the threshold based on the identified occupant; and
means for providing a second output to the haptic device in the first vehicle after providing the first output when the predicted time to collision is less than a second predetermined threshold.

19. The system of claim 18 , further comprising means for actuating a wearable haptic device in the wearable device.

20. The system of claim 18 , further comprising means for determining a mean predicted time to collision based on a current predicted time to collision and a set of previous predicted time to collision calculations.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Prakah-Asante Kwaku O
• Tonshal Basavaraj
• Chen Yifan
• Kolisetty Padma Aiswarya
• Yang Hsin-Hsiang

Classifications

• B60W50/14

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

• G08G1/166 Primary

  for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes · CPC title

• B60W50/16

  Tactile feedback to the driver, e.g. vibration or force feedback to the driver on the steering wheel or the accelerator pedal · CPC title

• B60W30/0956 Primary

  the prediction being responsive to traffic or environmental parameters · CPC title

• B60W2554/801

  Lateral distance · CPC title