Assessing driver readiness for transition between operational modes of an autonomous vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9786192-B2
Application number	US-201514883558-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 14, 2015
Priority date	Oct 14, 2015
Publication date	Oct 10, 2017
Grant date	Oct 10, 2017

Abstract

An autonomous vehicle can transition between operational modes. The readiness of a vehicle driver for a transition can be assessed, particularly when transitioning from a first operational mode to a second operational mode that has a greater degree of manual involvement than the first operational mode. It can be determined whether an operational mode transition event has occurred while the vehicle is operating in the first operational mode. Responsive to determining that an operational mode transition event has occurred, an audial sample from a vehicle driver can be collected. It can be determined whether the vehicle driver is ready or non-ready to provide the greater degree of manual involvement for the second operational mode based on the collected audial sample.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of assessing the readiness of a driver for transitioning a vehicle from a first operational mode to a second operational mode, the second operational mode having a greater degree of manual involvement than the first operational mode, the method comprising:
determining whether an operational mode transition event has occurred while the vehicle is operating in the first operational mode;
responsive to determining that an operational mode transition event has occurred, collecting an audial sample from a vehicle driver;
determining whether the vehicle driver is ready or non-ready to provide the greater degree of manual involvement for the second operational mode based on the collected audial sample; and
responsive to determining that the vehicle driver is ready for the greater degree of manual involvement for the second operational mode based on the collected audial sample, causing the vehicle to switch from the first operational mode to the second operational mode.

2. The method of claim 1 , further including:
responsive to determining that the vehicle driver is non-ready for the greater degree of manual involvement for the second operational mode based on the collected audial sample, causing the vehicle to switch from the first operational mode to a special operational mode.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the special operational mode includes:
providing at least one of a haptic alert, an audial alert, or a visual alert to the vehicle driver.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the vehicle driver is ready or non-ready for the greater degree of manual involvement for the second operational mode based on the collected audial sample includes comparing the collected audial sample to a baseline audial sample of the driver.

5. The method of claim 1 , further including:
responsive to determining that an operational mode transition event has occurred, prompting the vehicle driver to provide the audial sample.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein collecting the audial sample from the vehicle driver is performed automatically.

7. The method of claim 1 , further including:
detecting one or more physiological characteristics of the vehicle driver.

8. The method of claim 7 , further including:
confirming the determination of whether the vehicle driver is ready or non-ready based on the detected one or more physiological characteristics of the vehicle driver.

9. A system for assessing the readiness of a driver for transitioning a vehicle from a first operational mode to a second operational mode, the second operational mode having a greater degree of manual involvement than the first operational mode, the system comprising:
a microphone; and
a processor operatively connected to the microphone, the processor being programmed to initiate executable operations comprising:
determining whether an operational mode transition event has occurred while the vehicle is operating in the first operational mode;
responsive to determining that an operational mode transition event has occurred, collecting an audial sample from a vehicle driver using the microphone;
determining whether the vehicle driver is ready or non-ready to provide the greater degree of manual involvement for the second operational mode based on the collected audial sample; and
responsive to determining that the vehicle driver is ready for the greater degree of manual involvement for the second operational mode based on the collected audial sample, causing the vehicle to switch from the first operational mode to the second operational mode.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the executable operations further include:
responsive to determining that the vehicle driver is non-ready for the greater degree of manual involvement for the second operational mode based on the collected audial sample, causing the vehicle to switch from the first operational mode to a special operational mode.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein, in the special operational mode, the executable operations further include:
causing at least one of a haptic alert, an audial alert, or a visual alert to be provided to the vehicle driver.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein determining whether the vehicle driver is ready or non-ready for the greater degree of manual involvement for the second operational mode based on the collected audial sample includes comparing the collected audial sample to a previously provided baseline audial sample of the driver.

13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the executable operations further include:
responsive to determining that an operational mode transition event has occurred, prompting the vehicle driver to provide the audial sample.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein collecting the audial sample from the vehicle driver is performed automatically.

15. The system of claim 9 , further including:
one or more physiological sensors located within the vehicle, the one or more physiological sensors being operatively connected to the processor, and
wherein the executable operations further include:
detecting, using the one or more physiological sensors, one or more physiological characteristics of the vehicle driver.

16. The system of claim 15 , further including:
confirming the determination of whether the vehicle driver is ready or non-ready based on the detected one or more physiological characteristics of the vehicle driver.

17. A computer program product for assessing the readiness of a driver for transitioning a vehicle from a first operational mode to a second operational mode, the second operational mode having a greater degree of manual involvement than the first operational mode, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therein, the program code executable by a processor to perform a method comprising:
determining whether an operational mode transition event has occurred while the vehicle is operating in the first operational mode;
responsive to determining that an operational mode transition event has occurred, collecting an audial sample from a vehicle driver;
determining whether the vehicle driver is ready or non-ready to provide the greater degree of manual involvement for the second operational mode based on the collected audial sample; and
responsive to determining that the vehicle driver is ready for the greater degree of manual involvement for the second operational mode based on the collected audial sample, causing the vehicle to switch from the first operational mode to the second operational mode.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Eng & Mfg North America Inc

Inventors

• Gulash Emery Charles

Classifications

• G08B23/00

  Alarms responsive to unspecified undesired or abnormal conditions · CPC title

• G09B5/06

  with both visual and audible presentation of the material to be studied · CPC title

• G09B9/052 Primary

  characterised by provision for recording or measuring trainee's performance (devices for psychotechnics, e.g. for vehicle drivers A61B5/16, A61B5/18) · CPC title

• G01C22/00

  Measuring distance traversed on the ground by vehicles, persons, animals or other moving solid bodies, e.g. using odometers, using pedometers · CPC title

• G10L21/18

  Details of the transformation process · CPC title