JP2008305096A - Driving support device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a driving support device for supporting safe driving regardless of an drowsiness of a driver. <P>SOLUTION: An ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 2 of a night view system 1 is connected with a breath analyzer 3, a near-infrared camera 4, a driver imaging camera 5, a brake sensor 6, a display 7, a non-visual stimulation generation device 8, and a brake ECU 9. The ECU 2 has a drinking decision part 10, a video drawing part 11, a pedestrian detection part 12, a line of sight detection part 13, a visual stimulation drawing processing part 14, a non-visual stimulation generation processing part 15, and a brake control part 16. The ECU 2 controls the display 7 to display a pedestrian detection window and an alert window when detecting a pedestrian, increases a warning level of the alert window and the pedestrian detection window when deciding that the driver is drunk. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support device that detects an obstacle from a night vision image around a vehicle and performs an alerting process.

  Conventionally, in order to prevent a collision with a vehicle or a person existing in front of the vehicle at night, a night view system that displays a night vision image captured by a night vision camera mounted on the vehicle on a display in the vehicle, etc. Driving assistance devices are known. When detecting an obstacle from a night vision image, this driving support device displays an obstacle detection frame in the night vision image to display a warning to the driver (for example, see Patent Document 1).

In addition, the driving support device further approaches a warning area (for example, an area in which the time TTC until the collision is within 4 seconds) or an intervention control area (for example, TTC is 2) when a vehicle or the like existing in front of the vehicle approaches. Brake assist is performed when it is detected that the vehicle has entered the area (within seconds).
JP 2005-135037 A

  However, in the above-described driving support device, a warning display is performed regardless of the driver's state. Therefore, a driver with a low arousal level may not notice this warning display. In particular, when the driver is in a drinking state, symptoms such as narrowing of the visual field, reduced visual acuity, poor judgment ability, and operation error are likely to occur, and there is a problem that the possibility of not being aware of the alert display is further increased.

  In addition, in such a case, the driver's pedaling force is also weakened. Therefore, even if the driver finds an obstacle and steps on the brake, the braking force may not be obtained as much as expected. For this reason, there has been a problem that danger may be manifested by sudden braking or sudden steering.

  Then, an object of this invention is to provide the driving assistance apparatus which can perform a safe driving assistance irrespective of a driver | operator's arousal level.

  The driving support apparatus according to the present invention includes a night-vision video acquisition unit that acquires a night-vision video around the vehicle imaged by a night-vision imaging device, an obstacle detection unit that detects an obstacle from the night-vision video, and the obstacle A warning processing means for performing a warning process for calling a driver's attention when an object is detected, and a wakefulness determination means for determining a driver's wakefulness, wherein the warning processing means The alerting process is performed by increasing the degree of alerting as the alertness determined by the alertness determining means is lower.

  According to the driving support apparatus of the present invention, when an obstacle is detected from the night vision image acquired by the night vision image acquisition unit, the alerting processing unit performs the lower the driver's arousal level determined by the awakening level determination unit. By raising the degree of alerting, it is possible to make the alerting notice even for a driver whose arousal level is low and judgment ability and the like are reduced. In addition, the driver who has a high degree of arousal and high judgment ability or the like does not give excessive attention, and thus does not give excessive annoyance. For this reason, safe driving assistance can be performed regardless of the driver's arousal level.

  In this case, the alerting process is a process of displaying an obstacle detection frame on the night vision image, and the lower the alertness determined by the alertness determining unit, the higher the alerting degree, It is preferable to display an obstacle detection frame. In this driving support device, when an obstacle is detected, an obstacle detection frame is displayed, and the lower the driver's arousal level determined by the arousal level determination means, the higher the degree of alerting the driver, Display the obstacle detection frame. For this reason, a driver whose arousal level is low and judgment ability or the like is lowered can be made aware of the presence of an obstacle and can recognize the position of the obstacle. In addition, a driver with a high degree of arousal and high judgment ability or the like does not display an obstacle detection frame with an unnecessarily high degree of alerting, so that it is not excessively troublesome.

  In addition, the attention calling process is a process of displaying a warning stimulus frame around the night vision image, so that the lower the alertness determined by the alertness determination unit, the higher the degree of alerting. It is preferable to display the alerting stimulus frame. In this driving support device, when an obstacle is detected, a warning stimulus frame is displayed, and the lower the driver's arousal level determined by the arousal level determination means, the higher the level of alerting to the driver, A reminder stimulus frame is displayed. For this reason, it is possible to make the driver aware that the danger is imminent even for a driver whose judgment ability and the like are lowered due to a low degree of arousal. In addition, a driver with a high degree of arousal and high judgment ability or the like does not display an alerting stimulus frame with an unnecessarily high alerting degree, so that no excessive inconvenience is caused.

  In addition, the driving support device of the present invention further includes a brake adjustment unit that adjusts a waiting time from when the driver starts to step on the brake pedal until the brake starts to work, and the brake adjustment unit is determined by the arousal level determination unit. The waiting time is shortened as the awakening level is lower.

  According to this driving support device, the lower the driver's wakefulness determined by the wakefulness determining means, the shorter the waiting time until the brake starts to work with the brake adjusting means, thereby lowering the wakefulness. Even if the brake depression operation is delayed, it is possible to apply the brake at an earlier timing than when the arousal level is high. Moreover, a driver with a high arousal level can be braked at a normal timing, so that it is not excessively troublesome. Thus, according to the driving assistance apparatus of the present invention, safe driving assistance can be performed regardless of the driver's arousal level.

  In this case, it is preferable that the brake adjusting means adjusts the play amount of the brake. According to this driving support device, by adjusting the amount of play of the brake, it is possible to reliably adjust the time from when the brake pedal is started to when the brake starts to work.

  According to the present invention, safe driving assistance can be performed regardless of the driver's arousal level.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a driving assistance apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the driving support apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a night view system.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a block configuration of a night view system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the night view system 1 of the present embodiment includes an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 2. The ECU 2 is connected with a drinking detection device 3, a near-infrared camera 4, a driver imaging camera 5, and a brake sensor 6, and further includes a display 7, a non-visual stimulus generation device 8, and a brake ECU 9. Is connected.

  The drinking detection device 3 is a detection device that detects the alcohol concentration in the air. The alcohol detection device 3 is attached in the vicinity of the driver's seat such as the steering or the headrest of the driver's seat, and detects the alcohol concentration from the breath blown from the driver. Then, the drinking detection device 3 transmits alcohol concentration information indicating the alcohol concentration to the ECU 2.

  The near-infrared camera 4 is a night vision camera that is provided, for example, inside an inner rearview mirror of a vehicle and captures a front image of the vehicle. The near infrared camera 4 transmits the captured front image to the ECU 2 as a video signal.

  The driver imaging camera 5 is a camera that is provided inside the steering cover, for example, and images the face of the driver sitting in the driver's seat. The driver imaging camera 5 outputs the captured driver's face image to the line-of-sight detection unit 13 as a video signal.

  The brake sensor 6 is a sensor that detects the depression operation of the brake pedal by the driver. When the brake sensor 6 detects a depression operation of the brake pedal, the brake sensor 6 transmits a brake operation signal to the ECU 2.

  The display 7 is an image display device that is disposed at a position visible to the driver and displays a parking assistance image. The display 7 is composed of a head-up display, an HMI (Human Machine Interface), or the like.

  The non-visual stimulus generation device 8 is a device that stimulates the driver with five senses other than vision, such as a vibration generation device built in the driver's seat or a warning sound generation device built in the dashboard.

  Brake ECU9 is a control part which performs operation control of a brake according to control of ECU2. The brake ECU 9 performs brake assist processing and play adjustment processing as brake operation control. The brake assist process is a process for increasing the braking force generated by the brake operation by the driver. The play adjustment process is a process of adjusting the time from when the brake pedal is depressed until the brake starts to work. In this play adjustment process, for example, the brake play is reduced by mechanically adjusting the distance between the brake disc or brake drum and the brake pad, adjusting the slack of the brake wire, the hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder, etc. Can be adjusted.

  The ECU 2 also includes alcohol concentration information transmitted from the alcohol detection device 3, a front image transmitted as a video signal from the near-infrared camera 4, and a driver's face image transmitted as a video signal from the driver imaging camera 5. Based on the brake operation information transmitted from the brake sensor 6, an alerting process is performed to control the display 7, the non-visual stimulus generator 9, and the brake ECU 9. Therefore, the ECU 2 includes a drinking determination unit 10, a video drawing unit 11, a pedestrian detection unit 12, a gaze detection unit 13, a visual stimulus drawing processing unit 14, a non-visual stimulus generation processing unit 15, and a brake control unit. 16. The ECU 2 is mainly configured by a computer including a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, for example.

  The drinking determination unit 10 acquires the alcohol concentration information transmitted from the drinking detection device 3, determines whether or not the driver is drinking, and performs a drinking flag setting process. That is, the drinking determination unit 10 determines the amount of alcohol consumed by the driver according to the alcohol concentration indicated by the alcohol concentration information, and further determines that the alcohol is in a drinking state if the alcohol concentration is less than a predetermined threshold. If so, it is determined that there is no drinking. And if the drinking determination part 10 determines with a drinking state, it will set a drinking flag to ON, and if it determines with a non-drinking state, it will set a drinking flag to OFF.

  The video drawing unit 11 acquires a front image transmitted as a video signal from the near-infrared camera 4, converts the front image into a digital image, and generates a display image to be displayed on the display 7. Then, the video drawing unit 11 displays this display image on the display 7.

  The pedestrian detection unit 12 acquires a front image transmitted as a video signal from the near-infrared camera 4, converts the front image into a digital image, and generates an object detection image for detecting a pedestrian. And the pedestrian detection part 12 scans the image for object detection, and searches for a pedestrian. Then, when a pedestrian is detected, the pedestrian detection unit 12 transmits pedestrian detection information indicating that the pedestrian has been detected to the brake control unit 16 and also determines the position of the pedestrian in the object detection image. The pedestrian position information shown is transmitted to the visual stimulus drawing processing unit 14. Moreover, the pedestrian detection part 12 judges pedestrian capture establishment of whether the detected pedestrian is really a pedestrian. That is, when the pedestrian capture establishment is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the pedestrian capture establishment is high, and when the pedestrian capture establishment is less than the predetermined threshold, it is determined that the pedestrian capture establishment is low. Then, the pedestrian detection unit 12 transmits pedestrian capture information indicating the determination result to the visual stimulus drawing processing unit 14.

  The line-of-sight detection unit 13 performs display confirmation flag setting processing for determining whether or not the driver has confirmed the display. That is, the gaze detection unit 13 acquires a face image transmitted as a video signal from the driver imaging camera 5, converts the face image into a digital image, and detects a gaze detection image for detecting the driver's gaze. Is generated. Then, the line-of-sight detection unit 13 extracts feature points of the face image from the line-of-sight detection image, detects the driver's face, identifies the driver's eyes, and detects the driver's line-of-sight direction. Further, the line-of-sight detection unit 13 determines whether or not the driver's line-of-sight direction faces the direction of the display 7. Then, when detecting the driver's face from the face image, the line-of-sight detection unit 13 sets the display confirmation flag to OFF, and determines that the driver's line-of-sight direction is directed to the display 7 after the alerting process is started. Then, the display confirmation flag is set to ON.

  The visual stimulus drawing processing unit 14 includes a drinking determination result transmitted from the drinking determination unit 10, a display image transmitted from the video drawing unit 11, pedestrian position information transmitted from the pedestrian detection unit 12, and a line of sight. Based on the line-of-sight direction information transmitted from the detection unit 13, visual stimulus processing is performed as alert processing.

  In this visual stimulation process, when the pedestrian position information is received, a pedestrian detection frame surrounding the pedestrian is superimposed on the display image that the video drawing unit 11 displays on the display 7. Then, when the visual stimulus drawing processing unit 14 superimposes the pedestrian detection frame on the display image, if the driver determines that the person is drinking based on the drinking determination result, the visual stimulus drawing processing unit 14 is compared with the case where the driver is determined not to drink. Then, the alerting degree of the pedestrian detection frame is increased and superimposed on the display image. Increasing the alert level of the pedestrian detection frame means, for example, increasing the luminance of the pedestrian detection frame and increasing the time for superimposing on the display image.

  In addition, the visual stimulation process receives pedestrian position information and, upon receiving pedestrian capture information, alerts surrounding the entire display image with respect to the display image displayed on the display 7 by the video drawing unit 11. Superimpose stimulus frames. Then, when the visual stimulus drawing processing unit 14 superimposes the alerting stimulus frame on the display image, the visual stimulus drawing processing unit 14 determines that the driver is in a drinking state based on the drinking determination result, as compared with the case in which it is determined that the driver is not drinking. Then, the alerting degree of the alerting stimulus frame is increased and superimposed on the display image. Increasing the degree of alerting in the alerting stimulus frame means, for example, increasing the brightness of the pedestrian detection frame, shortening the blinking cycle, and increasing the time for superimposing on the display image.

  The non-visual stimulus generation processing unit 15 performs a non-visual stimulus process for generating a non-visual stimulus as a warning process for the non-visual stimulus generator 8.

  When receiving the pedestrian detection information from the pedestrian detection unit 12, the brake control unit 16 causes the brake ECU 9 to perform a brake assist process and a play adjustment process.

  Next, the alert processing operation of the night view system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the alerting processing operation of the ECU. As shown in the figure, when the video drawing unit 11 of the ECU 2 acquires the front image transmitted from the near-infrared camera 4 (step S1), the image drawing unit 11 generates a display image and an object detection image from the front image, and displays this display. The business image is displayed on the display 7 (step S2).

  And if the pedestrian detection part 12 detects a pedestrian from the image for object detection (step S3: YES), it will determine whether the drinking flag is set to ON (step S4).

  Here, the drinking flag setting processing operation will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of setting a drinking flag. As shown in the figure, when a drinking test is performed by the driver (step S21), alcohol concentration information is transmitted from the drinking detection device 3. If the alcohol concentration indicated by the alcohol concentration information is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, the drinking determination unit 10 determines that there is no drinking (step S22: NO), and sets the drinking flag to OFF (step S23). On the other hand, when the alcohol concentration indicated by the alcohol concentration information is less than the predetermined threshold, the drinking determination unit 10 determines that it is a drinking state (step S22: YES), and sets the drinking flag to ON (step S24).

  Returning to FIG. 2, when the drinking flag is set to OFF in step S <b> 4 (step S <b> 4: NO), the visual stimulus drawing processing unit 14 superimposes the pedestrian detection frame on the display image and displays it on the display 7. A work image is displayed (step S6).

  On the other hand, if the drinking flag is set to ON in step S4 (step S4: YES), the visual stimulus drawing processing unit 14 increases the degree of alerting of the pedestrian detection frame (step S5). A pedestrian detection frame is superimposed on the display 7 and a display image is displayed on the display 7. In step S5, increasing the alert level of the pedestrian detection frame means, for example, increasing the display time of the pedestrian detection frame, increasing the luminance, shortening the blinking cycle, and the like.

  In step S7, when the visual stimulus rendering processing unit 14 determines pedestrian capture establishment based on the pedestrian capture information and determines that the pedestrian capture establishment is low (step S7: NO), the process is terminated, and again. Repeat the above process.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S7 that the pedestrian capture establishment is high (step S7: YES), the visual stimulus drawing processing unit 14 further determines whether or not the drinking flag is ON (step S8).

  In step S8, when the drinking flag is set to OFF (step S8: NO), the visual stimulus drawing processing unit 14 superimposes the pedestrian detection frame on the display image and causes the display 7 to display the display image. (Step S10).

  On the other hand, when the drinking flag is set to ON in step S8 (step S8: YES), the visual stimulus drawing processing unit 14 increases the degree of alerting in the alerting stimulus frame (step S9). A pedestrian detection frame is superimposed on the display 7 and a display image is displayed on the display 7 (step S10). In step S9, increasing the degree of attention in the attention stimulating frame means, for example, that the display timing is advanced, the display time is increased, the luminance is increased, and the blinking cycle is shortened.

  Thereafter, when the drinking flag is set to ON (step S11: YES), the non-visual stimulus generation processing unit 15 causes the non-visual stimulus generation device 8 to generate a non-visual stimulus (step S12). In step S12, the non-visual stimulus refers to a vibration generated by a vibration generating device, a warning sound generated by a warning sound generating device, or the like.

  Then, the visual stimulus drawing processing unit 14 determines whether or not the display confirmation flag is ON (step S13).

Here, the display confirmation flag setting processing operation will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the display confirmation flag setting processing operation. As shown in the drawing, first, the line-of-sight detection unit 13 acquires a face image transmitted from the driver imaging camera 5 and detects the driver's face (step S31), and sets the display confirmation flag to OFF (step S31). Step S32). When the above-described alerting process is started, the line-of-sight detection unit 13 detects the driver's line-of-sight direction (step S33) and determines whether the line-of-sight direction is facing the display 7 (step S34). ). If it is determined that the line-of-sight direction is facing the display 7 (step S33: YES), the line-of-sight detection unit 13 sets the display confirmation flag to ON (step S35).
Returning to FIG. 2, when the display confirmation flag is set to OFF in step S <b> 13 (step S <b> 4: NO), the visual stimulus rendering processing unit 14 continues to generate the alert stimulus frame and the non-visual stimulus, and again Repeat the above process. On the other hand, when the display confirmation flag is set to ON in step S13 (step S4: YES), the visual stimulus drawing processing unit 14 interrupts the generation of the alert stimulus frame and the non-visual stimulus and performs the above process again. repeat.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a display example of the display. As shown in the figure, in the display image displayed from the display 7, a pedestrian detection frame β is displayed so as to surround the pedestrian α in the front image, and an attention stimulating frame so as to surround the entire display image. γ is displayed.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between luminance and time as an example of a display mode of the pedestrian detection frame. In the figure, a pedestrian detection frame when determined to be a non-drinking state is indicated by an alternate long and short dash line A, and a pedestrian detection frame when determined to be a drinking state is indicated by a solid line B. As shown in the figure, when the pedestrian α is detected at time t1 and it is determined that the person is not drinking, the pedestrian detection frame A is turned on at time t1 and the display is started. And lighting is maintained with the brightness | luminance Y1, and when it becomes time t2, the pedestrian detection frame A will be light-extinguished and a display will be complete | finished.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the person is drinking, the pedestrian detection frame A is turned on at time t1, and the display is started. And lighting is maintained with the brightness | luminance Y2 higher than the brightness | luminance Y1, and when it becomes time t3 later than time t2, the pedestrian detection frame B will be light-extinguished and a display will be complete | finished.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a relationship between luminance and time as an example of a display mode of the alerting stimulus frame. In the figure, the alerting stimulus frame when determined to be a non-drinking state is indicated by an alternate long and short dash line C, and the alerting stimulus frame when determined to be a drinking state is indicated by a solid line D. As shown in the figure, when pedestrian α is detected at time t1 and it is determined that there is no drinking, an alert is given at time t5 after sufficient grace time is taken to determine the establishment of pedestrian capture. The stimulus frame C is turned on and display is started. Then, lighting and extinguishing are repeated so that the maximum luminance becomes the luminance Y5 in the cycle f1. At time t7, the lighting is maintained at the luminance Y3, and at time t8, the alerting stimulus frame C is turned off and the display is ended.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the person is in a drinking state, the grace time for determining the establishment of pedestrian capture is shorter than in the case where it is determined that the person is not drinking. Lights up and display starts. Then, lighting and extinguishing are repeated so that the maximum luminance becomes the luminance Y6 higher than the luminance Y5 in the cycle f2 shorter than the cycle f1. Then, at time t6, lighting is maintained at luminance Y4 higher than luminance Y3, and at time t9 later than time t8, the attention stimulating frame D is extinguished and the display is terminated.

  Next, the brake control processing operation of the night view system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the brake control processing operation of the ECU. As shown in the figure, when the brake control unit 16 of the ECU 2 acquires the pedestrian detection information transmitted from the pedestrian detection unit 12 (step S41), the brake control unit 16 determines whether the drinking flag is set to ON (step S41). Step S42). If the drinking flag is set to OFF (step S42: NO), the brake control unit 16 proceeds to step S44.

  On the other hand, if the drinking flag is set to ON in step S42 (step S42: YES), the brake control unit 16 performs play adjustment processing and sets the brake "play" to a small value (step S43).

  Thereafter, the brake control unit 16 determines whether or not the driver has depressed the brake based on the brake operation signal transmitted from the brake sensor 6 (step S44). And when it determines with the brake depression operation not being performed (step S44: NO), the brake control part 16 complete | finishes a process, and repeats the said process again.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S44 that the brake depression operation is performed (step S44: YES), the brake control unit 16 performs a brake assist process and supports the braking force (step S45).

  As described above, according to the night view system 1 according to the present embodiment, when the pedestrian α is detected from the front image of the vehicle imaged by the near-infrared camera 4, the pedestrian detection frame β is displayed and the drinking determination unit 10 is displayed. Thus, when it is determined that the driver is in a drunk state, the degree of alerting of the pedestrian detection frame β is increased and the pedestrian detection frame β is displayed. For this reason, the driver whose judgment ability or the like has been lowered due to drinking can be made aware of the presence of the pedestrian α and can recognize the position of the pedestrian α. In addition, for a driver who is not drinking and has high judgment ability and the like, the degree of alerting is raised and the pedestrian detection frame β is not displayed, so that no excessive inconvenience is given.

  In addition, when a pedestrian is detected, an alerting stimulus frame γ is displayed, and when the drinking determination unit 10 determines that the driver is in a drinking state, the alerting degree of the alerting stimulus frame γ is increased. To display the alert stimulus frame γ. For this reason, the driver who is in a drinking state and whose judgment ability and the like are reduced can be made aware that the danger is imminent. In addition, since the driver is not drunk and has high judgment ability and the like, the alerting degree is not displayed and the alerting stimulus frame is not displayed, so that it is not excessively bothered.

  Moreover, according to the night view system 1 which concerns on this embodiment, when it determines with a driver | operator being a drinking state, the play control process by the brake control part 16 is performed, compared with the case where it determines with a non-drinking state. Therefore, by shortening the waiting time until the brake starts to work, even if the driver becomes depressed and the driver's brake depression operation is delayed, the brake is applied at an earlier timing than when it is determined that the person is not drinking. be able to. And since it can apply a brake at a normal timing with respect to the driver determined to be a non-drinking state, it does not give an excessive troublesomeness.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the display of the pedestrian detection frame and the display of the attention stimulating frame have been described as examples of the alerting process. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, a mark for alerting, A character image may be displayed.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, when it determined with the drinking determination part 10 being a drinking state, although demonstrated as a method of raising the alerting degree, a pedestrian detection frame and an alerting stimulus frame were displayed by one display mode. Depending on the amount of drinking determined by the drinking determination unit 10, the manner in which the pedestrian detection frame and the alerting stimulation frame are displayed stepwise or linearly may be changed. Further, as a technique for increasing the degree of alerting, for example, the color may be changed.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the brake control part 16 of ECU2 demonstrated that a play adjustment process was performed when a pedestrian was detected, for example, when the drinking determination part 10 determines with a drinking state, a pedestrian Regardless of whether or not this is detected, play adjustment processing may be performed.

It is the figure which showed the block configuration of the night view system of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the alerting process operation | movement of ECU. It is a flowchart which shows the setting process operation | movement of a drinking flag. It is a flowchart which shows the setting process operation | movement of a display setting flag. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of a display. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a brightness | luminance and time as a display mode example of a pedestrian detection frame. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a brightness | luminance and time as an example of a display aspect of an alerting stimulus frame. It is a flowchart which shows the brake control processing operation | movement of ECU.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Night view system (driving assistance apparatus), 2 ... ECU (driving assistance apparatus), 4 ... Near-infrared camera (night vision imaging device), 10 ... Drinking determination part (wakefulness determination means), 12 ... Pedestrian detection part (Obstacle detection means), 14 ... visual stimulus drawing processing section (attention calling processing means), 16 ... brake control section (brake adjustment means), α ... pedestrian (obstacle), β ... pedestrian detection frame (obstacle) Detection frame), γ ... alerting stimulus frame.

Claims (5)

Night vision image acquisition means for acquiring a night vision image around the vehicle imaged by the night vision imaging device;
Obstacle detection means for detecting an obstacle from the night vision image;
When the obstacle is detected, a warning processing means for performing a warning process for calling the driver's attention; and
An awakening level determination means for determining the driver's awakening level,
The driving assistance device, wherein the alerting processing unit performs the alerting process with a higher degree of alerting as the alertness determined by the alertness determination unit is lower.   The alerting process is a process of displaying an obstacle detection frame on the night vision image, and the obstacle detection is performed such that the lower the alertness determined by the alertness determination means, the higher the alerting degree. The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein a frame is displayed.   The alerting process is a process of displaying a reminder stimulus frame around the night-vision image, and the alerting degree is increased as the alertness determined by the alertness determining unit is lower. The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein a stimulating stimulus frame is displayed. Brake adjusting means for adjusting a waiting time from when the driver starts to step on the brake pedal until the brake starts to work,
The driving support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the brake adjusting unit shortens the waiting time as the awakening level determined by the awakening level determination unit is low.   The driving support device according to claim 4, wherein the brake adjusting unit adjusts a play amount of the brace.