JP2016173651A - Driver state improvement support device and driver state improvement support method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve a state of a driver by causing the driver to make conversation as considering a situation or judgement of a conversation opponent when the state of the driver (sleepiness, tension, fatigue and the like) comes into a state interfering with safe driving.SOLUTION: A driver state improvement support device 20 includes: a driver state determination unit 21 that determines whether a state of a driver is in a state interfering with safe driving; a driver state notification unit 22 that notifies a prescribed notification opponent of the state of the driver; and a conversation processing unit 24 that executes processing for the driver to make conversation with the prescribed notification opponent by means of a voice. The driver state notification unit is configured to: notify the prescribed notification opponent to the effect that the state of the driver comes into the state interfering with the safe driving; cause the notification opponent to start the conversation with the driver; and notify the notification opponent of the state of the driver during the conversation between the driver and the notification opponent.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a driver state improvement support device and a driver state improvement support method that support improvement of the state of a driver (vehicle driver) driving a vehicle.

  Conventionally, there are various techniques for realizing safe driving of a vehicle. For example, when the driver's arousal level is reduced, there are technologies for notifying voice guidance and warning sounds (alarms), and stimulating the driver with wind, chemicals, electrical stimulation, etc. of an air conditioner. Further, for example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a technique for preventing a driver from lowering arousal level by causing a driver to perform a conversational operation.

  There are various techniques for monitoring the driver's condition and determining whether or not the driver can perform safe driving. For example, Patent Literature 2 below discloses a technique for determining driver drowsiness from a driver's face image. Patent Document 2 below discloses a technique for determining deterioration of a driver's driving ability using a driving operation amount of the driver.

JP 2003-312306 A JP 2011-128966 A JP 2011-227883 A

  However, although stimuli and warning sounds to the living body that prevent the driver's arousal level from being lowered can be expected to have a certain effect, there is a problem that the driver gets used to such stimuli and gradually loses its effect. On the other hand, the method of preventing the driver's arousal level from lowering by causing the driver to have a conversation as disclosed in the above-described Patent Document 1 is expected to be more effective than a monotonous stimulus. However, according to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the driver-side in-vehicle device selects a conversation partner and makes a unilateral call without considering the convenience of the conversation partner. There are cases. Furthermore, the driver's state is not recovered immediately after the conversation, and it is impossible for the conversation partner to determine whether the driver's state has been sufficiently improved.

  In consideration of the above problems, the present invention provides a technology for improving a driver's state by causing the driver to have a conversation when the driver's state becomes a state that hinders safe driving. An object of the present invention is to provide a driver state improvement support apparatus and a driver state improvement support method that take into account the other party's situation and judgment.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a driver state improvement support device for supporting improvement of a state of a driver driving a vehicle,
A driver state determination unit that determines whether the state of the driver is a state that interferes with safe driving; and
A driver state notifying unit for notifying a predetermined notification partner of the state of the driver;
A conversation processing unit that executes a process for the driver to perform a voice conversation with the predetermined notification partner;
The driver state notifying unit enters a state in which the driver state interferes with safe driving when the driver state determining unit determines that the driver state has interfered with safe driving. The driver status improvement is configured to notify the predetermined notification partner of the fact that the driver has been notified, and to notify the predetermined notification partner of the state of the driver during the conversation between the driver and the predetermined notification partner. A support device is provided.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a driver state improvement support method for supporting improvement of the state of a driver driving a vehicle,
A driver state determination step for determining whether the state of the driver is a state that interferes with safe driving; and
A driver status notification step of notifying a predetermined notification partner of the status of the driver;
A conversation processing step in which the driver performs a process for performing a voice conversation with the predetermined notification partner;
In the driver state notifying step, when it is determined in the driver state determining step that the driver state is in a state that interferes with safe driving, the driver state is in a state that interferes with safe driving. A driver state improvement support method is provided for notifying the predetermined notification partner of the fact that the driver has been notified, and notifying the driver of the state of the driver during the conversation between the driver and the predetermined notification partner. The

  In the present invention, when the driver's state becomes a state that interferes with safe driving, the notification partner notifies his / her convenience that the driver's state has been lowered. Considering this, it is possible to start a conversation with the driver. Further, the present invention has an effect that the notification partner can confirm the driver state by notifying the notification partner of the driver state even during a conversation.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the system configuration | structure containing the driver state improvement assistance apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation | movement in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the improvement process of the driver state in embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a system configuration including a driver state improvement support apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a driver state monitoring device 10 and a driver state improvement support device 20.

  The driver state monitoring apparatus 10 in FIG. 1 includes a driver state monitoring unit 11 and a driver state output unit 12.

  The driver state monitoring unit 11 has a function of monitoring a driver state (a driver's sleepiness state, fatigue state, tension state, etc.). Driver state monitoring can be performed using existing technology, and the technology related to driver state monitoring used in the embodiment of the present invention is not particularly limited. For example, a driver's face image may be captured, and the driver state may be estimated from the captured image, or the driver's biological information (pulse, body temperature, etc.) may be measured and the driver state estimated from the measurement result. Alternatively, the driver state may be estimated based on information related to a vehicle operation by the driver (for example, how to step on an accelerator or a brake).

  As described above, a driver's sleepiness state, a fatigue state, a tension state, and the like are assumed as the driver state, and any state impedes safe driving. The drowsiness state of the driver represents the degree of drowsiness of the driver, and the greater the drowsiness of the driver, the more likely it is to doze. In order to improve the driver's drowsiness, it is necessary to wake up the driver by giving an appropriate stimulus. Further, the driver's fatigue state represents the degree of driver fatigue, and the greater the driver fatigue, the more likely the driver is to drive. In order to improve driver fatigue, it is necessary to awaken the driver by applying an appropriate stimulus. The driver's tension state indicates the degree of driver's tension, and the driver's tension may increase as the driver's tension increases. In order to improve driver tension, it is necessary to relax the driver. In the embodiment of the present invention, the driver state monitoring unit 11 monitors any one or more of these states to monitor whether the driver is in a state where safe driving can be performed.

  The driver status output unit 12 has a function of outputting a monitoring result from the driver status monitoring unit 11 as driver status information. The driver status information basically includes information indicating whether or not the driver is in a state where safe driving is possible. For example, the driver status is set to be expressed in a plurality of levels (for example, 6 levels of levels 0 to 5), and the driver status information indicates a monitoring result (current driver status) by the driver status monitoring unit 11 A value may be included.

  The driver state improvement support apparatus 20 in FIG. 1 includes a driver state determination unit 21, a driver state notification unit 22, a notification partner information storage unit 23, and a conversation processing unit 24.

  The driver state determination unit 21 refers to the driver state information output from the driver state output unit 12 of the driver state monitoring device 10, determines whether the driver state requires improvement processing, and needs improvement processing. Then, if it is determined, it has a function of starting the improvement process. For example, the driver status information includes a level value indicating the driver status, and when it is determined that the driver status is equal to or higher than a predetermined level (the driver status is higher than a level that interferes with safe driving), the driver status improvement process is started. It may be configured to. When the driver state determination unit 21 determines to start the driver state improvement process, the driver state determination unit 21 instructs the driver state notification unit 22 to perform the process.

  When it is determined that the driver state needs to be improved, the driver state notifying unit 22 refers to and selects the notification partner information stored in the notification partner information storage unit 23, and selects the selected notification partner information. And has a function of notifying the driver status. It should be noted that at the stage where the driver state improvement process is started by the driver state determination unit 21, the driver state notification unit 22 indicates that the driver state is in a state that interferes with safe driving for the selected notification partner information. To be notified. In addition, it is possible to notify the cause (sleepiness, fatigue, tension, etc.) which is in the state which interferes with safe driving by this notification.

  The notification partner information is divided into, for example, the following four types (1) to (4), and the notification partner information storage unit 23 stores any one of the following types or a plurality of types of notification partner information (each type). The priority level may be set in the information (1).

(1) Notification Using Mail The notification partner information storage unit 23 stores, as notification partner information, for example, a mail address that is a contact address for a driver's acquaintance (family member, friend, etc.). The driver status notification unit 22 notifies the driver status by an email transmitted to an acquaintance.

(2) Notification using SNS In the notification partner information storage unit 23, for example, an account of an acquaintance (family, friend, etc.) registered in the SNS (Social Networking Service) is registered as notification partner information. Stored. The driver status notification unit 22 notifies the driver status by a message transmitted to the SNS account of a family member or friend. A group associated with a plurality of accounts may be used as notification partner information. Moreover, the message transmitted using SNS may be a public message that can be browsed by a plurality of users, or may be a direct message that can be browsed only by a specific user.

(3) Notification to Center The notification partner information storage unit 23 stores, as notification partner information, for example, identification information of a center that provides a driver state improvement processing service. The driver status notification unit 22 notifies the driver status by mail or a message transmitted with respect to the center identification information.

(4) Notification to Dialog Robot In the notification partner information storage unit 23, for example, notification to the dialog robot is set. The driver status notification unit 22 refers to the information related to this setting to notify the dialog robot of the driver status and instructs the dialog robot to have a conversation with the driver. In this case, the later-described conversation processing unit 24 is an artificial intelligence agent capable of performing a conversation with the driver, and does not necessarily require a communication function with the outside.

  In addition, the conversation processing unit 24 has a function for the driver to have a voice conversation with the notification partner whose driver state is notified by the driver state notification unit 22. The conversation processing unit 24 is connected to a microphone (sound collecting unit) 25 and a speaker (sound output unit) 26, and is configured so that a driver can have a conversation with a notification partner. Note that the conversation processing unit 24 may have a call function that enables a call to the other party through a cellular phone network or the like, or converts a text message received through an SNS that can be used through the Internet into voice. (Speech synthesis processing), a driver's voice collected by the microphone is converted into a text message to create a text message (voice recognition processing), and the text message is transmitted via SNS (voice) / Text conversion function). Further, as described above, the conversation processing unit 24 may be realized by an artificial intelligence agent.

  In FIG. 1, the system configuration is represented using functional blocks. However, each functional block of the driver status monitoring device 10 and the driver status improvement support device 20 creates a program describing each function and creates a CPU ( It may be realized by being executed by a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit), and each functional block may be configured by an integrated circuit. Further, the driver state monitoring device 10 and the driver state improvement support device 20 may be realized as a function of an in-vehicle device (for example, a navigation device) or a mobile terminal.

  Next, the operation in the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation in the embodiment of the present invention.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the driver state is monitored while the vehicle is traveling (step S101), and it is determined whether or not the driver state is lowered based on the monitoring result (step S101). S102) When it is determined that the driver state is lowered, a driver state improvement process is performed (step S103). Even if the driver state improvement process is completed, it is desirable to return to the process of monitoring the driver state again while the operation by the driver continues (step S104). That is, it is desirable to constantly monitor the driver state while the vehicle is traveling and to perform improvement processing when the driver state is lowered.

  Hereinafter, the driver state improvement processing in step S103 of FIG. 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of driver state improvement processing according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The driver state improvement process according to the embodiment of the present invention is performed when it is determined that the driver state is lowered. In the driver state improvement process, as shown in FIG. 3, first, the notification partner is notified that the driver state is decreasing (step S1041). Note that, as described above, a notification using a mail, a notification using an SNS, a notification to a center, a notification to a dialog robot, and the like can be performed as a notification mode for the notification partner at this time.

  Here, the system waits until a notification is received from the notification partner who has notified that the driver state is decreasing (step S1042). If the conversation robot is the notification partner, it is possible to immediately instruct the conversation robot to have a conversation with the driver, and the driver can immediately contact the conversation robot without waiting. Conversation is possible. On the other hand, when the notification partner is an acquaintance, a center (center operator), or the like, the driver needs to wait for a while until a notification is received from the notification partner. Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, it is assumed that the notification partner is contacted in consideration of the circumstances of the notification partner so that the notification partner is not inconvenienced and the driver is contacted when the notification partner is convenient. Therefore, there is a possibility that contact will not be made especially when the notification partner is an acquaintance. Assuming such a case, a priority is set in the notification partner information, the notification partner having a high priority is notified that the driver state is lowered, and the notification partner sends a predetermined time (for example, a number). If there is no contact even after waiting for about a minute, the notification may be made by switching to the next highest-priority notification partner.

  When a notification is received from the notification partner, a conversation between the driver and the notification partner is started (step S1043). In this conversation process, it is desirable that the driver can have a voice conversation taking into account that the driver is driving. When a voice message using an SNS capable of making a voice call or a voice call through a mobile phone network or the like is received from the notification partner, a voice call is started between the driver and the notification partner. On the other hand, for example, when the notification from the notification partner is a text message using SNS, the text message received from the notification partner is converted to voice and notified to the driver. It is desirable to convert it into a message and send it to the notification partner.

  Similar to the processing in step S101 in FIG. 2, the driver status is always monitored and the driver status information is acquired even while the conversation with the notification partner continues (step S1044). Then, the driver state (including at least information indicating whether or not the driver state has been improved) is notified to the notification partner in conversation (step S1045). The notification of the driver status at this time may use the notification mode performed in step S1041, but for example, by creating a voice message or a text message representing the driver status and transmitting it to the notification partner, the notification partner can communicate with the driver. The driver status may be grasped during the conversation.

  By providing the driver status to the notification partner, the notification partner can have a conversation with the driver while checking the improvement level of the driver status. As a result, the notification partner can have a conversation while being conscious of improving the driver state. Also, if the conversation ends before the driver status is improved, the original purpose of the conversation is not fulfilled, but by providing the driver status to the notification partner, the notification partner After confirming that the driver status has been improved sufficiently, the conversation can be terminated. When the conversation between the driver and the notification partner ends, the driver state improvement process ends (step S1045).

  When the vehicle has an automatic driving function and the driver state is not improved, the vehicle may be switched to the automatic driving mode to ensure the safety of the vehicle and the driver. For example, when the driver's condition is not improved, the notification partner may be switched to the automatic driving mode so that the vehicle during traveling can be decelerated or urgently stopped. In this case, it is assumed that the notification partner is given the authority to switch to the automatic driving mode in advance and perform an emergency stop of the vehicle. In addition, when the conversation is interrupted for a predetermined number of seconds (for example, 6 seconds) (when there is no conversation and the sound enters a silent state), the vehicle safety device autonomously shifts to the automatic operation mode and the vehicle decelerates. Or an emergency stop or the like.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the driver is in a state that hinders safe driving due to drowsiness, fatigue, tension, etc., the driver state is informed to the notification partner. By notifying that it has dropped, the notification partner can start a conversation with the driver to improve the driver state in consideration of his / her convenience (a state where he can contact the driver). It becomes possible. In addition, by notifying the notification partner (conversation partner) of the driver status even during a conversation, the notification partner can confirm the driver status and can perform a conversation with an awareness of improving the driver status. At the same time, the conversation can be ended after confirming that the driver state is improved.

  The present invention can be applied to a driver state improvement technique that supports improvement of the state of a driver driving a vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Driver state monitoring apparatus 11 Driver state monitoring part 12 Driver state output part 20 Driver state improvement assistance apparatus 21 Driver state determination part 22 Driver state notification part 23 Notification other party information storage part 24 Conversation processing part 25 Microphone 26 Speaker

Claims (16)

A driver state improvement support device for supporting improvement of a state of a driver driving a vehicle,
A driver state determination unit that determines whether the state of the driver is a state that interferes with safe driving; and
A driver state notifying unit for notifying a predetermined notification partner of the state of the driver;
A conversation processing unit that executes a process for the driver to perform a voice conversation with the predetermined notification partner;
The driver state notifying unit enters a state in which the driver state interferes with safe driving when the driver state determining unit determines that the driver state has interfered with safe driving. The driver status improvement is configured to notify the predetermined notification partner of the fact that the driver has been notified, and to notify the predetermined notification partner of the state of the driver during the conversation between the driver and the predetermined notification partner. Support device.   The driver state improvement support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the state of the driver is one of a drowsiness state, a fatigue state, and a tension state of the driver.   3. The driver state improvement support according to claim 1, wherein the driver state notification unit is configured to notify the predetermined state of the driver of the state of the driver using an email or a message of a social networking service. apparatus.   The conversation processing unit performs speech synthesis processing on the text message received from the predetermined notification partner, converts the text message into speech, outputs the speech to the driver, and outputs the speech spoken by the driver. The driver state improvement support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the driver state improvement support apparatus is configured to perform voice recognition processing to convert the text message into the text message, and to transmit the text message to the predetermined notification partner. A notification partner information storage unit for storing information related to a plurality of notification partners each having a priority set;
The driver state notification unit is configured to select the predetermined notification partner from information related to the plurality of notification partners according to the priority. Driver status improvement support device.   The driver status improvement unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the driver status notification unit is configured to sequentially select the notification partner with the highest priority until a conversation with the driver is performed. Support device.   When the vehicle has an automatic driving function, when the state of the driver during the conversation is not seen, the notification partner switches the vehicle to an automatic driving mode to allow the vehicle to decelerate or stop. The driver state improvement support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6.   The conversation between the driver and the predetermined notification partner is monitored, and the automatic driving function of the vehicle is autonomously shifted to the automatic driving mode when the conversation is interrupted for a predetermined number of seconds or more. The driver state improvement support apparatus according to claim 7. A driver state improvement support method for supporting the improvement of the state of a driver driving a vehicle,
A driver state determination step for determining whether the state of the driver is a state that interferes with safe driving; and
A driver status notification step of notifying a predetermined notification partner of the status of the driver;
A conversation processing step in which the driver performs a process for performing a voice conversation with the predetermined notification partner;
In the driver state notifying step, when it is determined in the driver state determining step that the driver state is in a state that interferes with safe driving, the driver state is in a state that interferes with safe driving. A driver state improvement support method of notifying the predetermined notification partner of the fact and notifying the driver of the state of the driver during a conversation between the driver and the predetermined notification partner.   The driver state improvement support method according to claim 9, wherein the state of the driver is one of a drowsiness state, a fatigue state, and a tension state of the driver.   The driver state improvement support method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein, in the driver state notification step, the state of the driver is notified to the predetermined notification partner using an email or a message of a social networking service.   In the conversation processing step, a voice synthesis process is performed on the text message received from the predetermined notification partner to convert the text message into voice, and the voice is output to the driver. The driver state improvement support method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein voice recognition processing is performed to convert the text message into a text message, and the text message is transmitted to the predetermined notification partner. Priorities are set for each of the information related to multiple notification partners,
The driver state improvement support according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein, in the driver state notification step, the predetermined notification partner is selected from information related to the plurality of notification partners according to the priority. Method.   The driver status improvement support method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein, in the driver status notification step, selection is performed in order from the notification partner with the highest priority until a conversation with the driver is performed.   10. When the vehicle has an automatic driving function, the notification partner has a step of switching the vehicle to an automatic driving mode and decelerating or stopping the vehicle when the state of the driver during the conversation is not seen. 15. The driver state improvement support method according to any one of 1 to 14.   The step of monitoring the conversation between the driver and the predetermined notification partner, and having the automatic driving function of the vehicle autonomously shift to an automatic driving mode when the conversation is interrupted for a predetermined number of seconds or more. 15. The driver state improvement support method according to 15.

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