Basic Study on Driving Support System using Visual Information to Predict Potential Risk

Yuki Sakuma･Masanori Takemoto (Seikei University)

This study dealt with situation when passing through a parked vehicle and examined the effectiveness of a driving support system, which prompted to predict potential risks such as a travelling bicycle and the blind spot of the parked vehicle. In the driving simulator experiment, the system displayed visual support information on safety confirmation and driving operation for each hazard. We recorded driving behavior data of participants and analyzed lateral distance, vehicle speed and completing position of safety confirmation for each hazard.

Development of Haptic Interaction-Based Driver Guidance System

Shusaku Sugamoto･Satoshi Inoue･Takeshi Hamaguchi･Shintaro Saigo･Satoshi Handa (Toyota Motor)

Although driving support systems have contributed to enhanced convenience, there are instances where drivers find it difficult to accept the operations designated by the system, preventing them from fully utilizing it. To address this issue and enhance the value proposition of the driving assistance system in more scenarios, we developed a steering operation support control. This system is designed to make driving feel easier and more intuitive, without giving the impression that it is dictating the driver's actions. The effectiveness of this control was evaluated.

This study focuses on steering operation support control. This control does not autonomously achieve the target operation amount on its own; instead, it modifies the steering resistance based on the predicted driver operation amount calculated from data provided by external sensors installed on the vehicle. This allows drivers to improve the accuracy of their feedforward component of anticipated operations, using the changes in steering resistance as cues. It is hypothesized that this setup enables drivers to have a sense of driving skillfully on their own, while still receiving support.

Since it is not directly possible to measure the improvement in the feedforward component's accuracy of the drivers, the effectiveness of this approach was inferred from changes in the feedback component, corresponding to the adjustment amount in steering. These effects were verified through measurements conducted with experimental vehicles.

Visibility Evaluation during Curve Driving in Headlamp Beam Control Technology using Map Information

Shuhei Ota･Shusaku Takamoto･Takahiro Seki (Mitsubishi Electric)

Misalignment between the driver's line of sight and the headlamp beam can lead to reduced visibility, necessitating alignment even during curve driving.
Consequently, a beam control system adapted to the road shape based on current position and map information has been proposed.
Evaluation results revealed that occlusion, in addition to road shape, influences the direction of the line of sight, suggesting that headlamp beam control adjusted for occlusion would be ideal.

Analysis of Discomfort Glare Caused to Oncoming Vehicles by Changes in the Pitch Angle of Passing Beam due to Road Undulations

Yoshiro Aoki･Yoko Kato･Michiaki Sekine (NALTEC)

Although the light distribution of the passing beam is determined so as not to cause discomfort glare to the driver of an oncoming vehicle, there is a possibility that it may cause glare depending on changes in the pitch angle of the own vehicle and the positional relationship with the oncoming vehicle. In this study, we measured changes in the pitch angle of an actual vehicle driving on an actual road, and numerically analyzed the frequency and level of glare. The effectiveness of countermeasures using dynamic auto leveling was also examined.

Consideration of an Alerting Method using Positional Correspondence Between Seat Vibration and Attention Targets

Yosuke Uemura (Kyoto Institute of Technology)･Tetsuya Kitagawa･Ryuji Furumai (Fuji Seat)･Yukiko Nishizaki (Kyoto Institute of Technology)

An intuitive and less burdensome method of alerting drivers using seat vibration was investigated. Experiments were conducted with university students and elderly drivers to ensure that the method could be adapted to drivers of all ages, including the elderly. The results showed that the vibration from the back of the seat promoted the response to the attention target. In addition, the response was significantly faster when the vibration was presented from the same direction as the emerging attentional target.