Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications

SITUATION-ADAPTIVE DRIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS FOR SAFE LANE CHANGE
VIA INFERRING DRIVER INTENT
ABSTRACT
This paper focuses on driver intent inference by investigating driver
glance behavior and driving maneuver, and attempts to show a
general framework to design a situation-adaptive driver assistance
system for avoiding a crash or an incident. The results show that
inferring driver intent via monitoring driver glance behavior is not only
to comprehend driver intent, but also important to detect if the driving
performance is safe. The study revealed how to apply the intent
inference for providing an appropriate support at a proper time point,
which is expected to improve driver’s acceptance and driving safety.
INTRODUCTION
Approximately 25% of crashes were attributed to driver distraction [1].
Drivers’ recognition failure accounted for 65�75% of the lane
changing/merging crashes [2].
Intelligent driver assistance systems
have been developed for preventing
such a distraction-related crash [3]:
DRIVER’S LANE-CHANGE INTENT
Inferring driver’s lane-change intent [6]
Distracted driver’s lane-change intent [7]
Huiping ZHOU, Makoto ITOH & Toshiyuki INAGAKI
University of Tsukuba, Japan
EXTREMELY LOW: A driver
has not recognized a slower
lead vehicle or has not
decided to pass the lead at all;
LOW: He/she has decided to
pass the lead vehicle;
MIDDLE: He/she decided to pass the lead vehicle, but not
determine to change lanes yet, and
HIGH: He/she determined to change lanes once the traffic
conditions allow an implementation.
Driving only
condition
Distracted
driving condition
Caution type
Warning type
Action type
Issue>> Selection of an appropriate type of support functions [4]
Purpose>> to investigate how to develop a situation-adaptive
driver assistance system for changing lanes based on an
inference of driver intent.
Lane-change intent detection rate at HIGH level decreased but was
not significant under distracted driving conditions in comparison with
driving only conditions.
Lane-change intent detection at each of levels was delayed
significantly under distracted driving conditions in comparison with
driving only conditions.
Significant decrease of the glance behavior frequency under
distracted driving conditions.
DEVELOPING AN ADAPTIVE DRIVER ASSISTANCE
SYSTEMS FOR SAFE LANE CHANGE
Two cases of distracted driver’s lane-change intent
Delayed intent creation
Driver’s lane-change intent is
detected at a delayed time point
at each of level.
Delayed type might be caused
by the reduction of the attention
to the environment.
Incomplete intent creation
Driver failed to create the intent until changing lanes.
Driver distraction caused the failure in having the intent to change
lanes rather than the degradation of drive situation awareness.
Situation-adaptive support system for safe lane-change
intent
CONCLUSION
Caution type support function
for enhancing driver’s situation
awareness should be suitable for
the delayed case in order to reattract
the driver attention.
Warning message for evoking the situation awareness is given
when a deviation from the appropriate driver intent creation.
Action protection function becomes essential if a driver ignored or
missed the warning message.
Feedback
Inferring driver intent
Supplying a support function
Inferring driver intent
System processes environmental information, physiological
information & driving information, and infers what a driver is going to
do, and detects whether the driver is driving at a normal state and
determines which level the current intent is.
Supplying a support function
System judges which kind of support function should be given
adapting to the detected intent level once driver’s cognitive state is
detected abnormally.
Feedback
This study presented how to apply the driver’s intent inference for
developing a situation-adaptive support system.
The investigation implied that this adaptive function based on
driver intent would be helpful to give a proper support function at a
proper timing and to avoid an unnecessary support.
Thus, the system will be expected to supply more comfort and
effective function to a driver.