INTRODUCTION

The present invention relates to obtaining onboard sensor data from one or more driver attention sensors and configuring one or more vehicle functions based on driver attention as determined through the onboard sensor data.

Vehicles include hardware and software capable of obtaining and processing various information, including information that is obtained by onboard vehicle sensors. These onboard vehicle sensors can capture sensor data concerning the operation of the vehicle and/or one or more occupants of the vehicle. Many passenger vehicles can also provide in-vehicle entertainment to one or more passengers.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of carrying out a remedial action based on monitoring driver attention of a vehicle driver. The method includes: obtaining driver attention sensor data from one or more driver attention sensors that are installed on the vehicle as onboard vehicle sensors; detecting a driver inattention event based on the obtained driver attention sensor data; determining one or more driver inattention metrics based on the obtained driver attention sensor data and in response to the detected driver inattention event; based on at least one of the driver inattention metrics, determining one or more remedial actions to be carried out; and carrying out the one or more remedial actions, wherein, when at least one of the one or more remedial actions is carried out, in-vehicle entertainment that is provided by one or more vehicle-user interfaces of the vehicle is restricted or prevented.

According to various embodiments, this method may further include any one of the following features or any technically-feasible combination of some or all of these features:the one or more driver attention sensors include a driver-facing camera, a steering wheel touch sensor, and/or a steering wheel torque sensor;the driver inattention event is demarcated by a driver inattention start event and a driver inattention end event, each of which is detected or otherwise determined by the vehicle;a first one of the one or more driver inattention metrics is determined in response to detecting the driver inattention end event;the one or more driver inattention metrics includes a plurality of driver inattention metrics;the plurality of driver inattention metrics includes a driver inattention event length and a driver inattention event count;the one or more remedial actions are those of a first remedial action set when the driver inattention event length exceeds a first driver inattention event length threshold and/or when the driver inattention event count exceeds a first driver inattention event count threshold;the one or more remedial actions are those of a second remedial action set when the driver inattention event length exceeds a second driver inattention event length threshold and/or when the driver inattention event count exceeds a second driver inattention event count threshold, wherein the first remedial action set includes at least one remedial action that is different than at least one remedial action of the second remedial action set;the one or more remedial actions, when carried out, results in turning down or restricting audio volume produced as a result of an in-vehicle entertainment application;the one or more remedial actions, when carried out, results in disabling or otherwise preventing use of an in-vehicle entertainment application for a predetermined amount of time;the one or more remedial actions, when carried out, results in restricting use of the in-vehicle entertainment application until a next key cycle;the method further comprises generating a driver attention report based on the one or more driver attention metrics and presenting the driver attention report to one or more vehicle users; and/orobtaining onboard sensor data from an onboard vehicle sensor other than the driver attention sensors, and using the onboard sensor data in determining the one or more remedial actions to be carried out.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of carrying out a remedial action based on monitoring driver attention of a vehicle driver. The method includes: obtaining driver attention sensor data from one or more driver attention sensors that are installed on the vehicle as onboard vehicle sensors; detecting a driver inattention event based on the obtained driver attention sensor data; determining one or more driver inattention metrics based on the driver attention sensor data and in response to the detected driver inattention event; based on at least one of the driver inattention metrics, determining a driver inattention level; determining one or more remedial actions based on the determined driver inattention level; and carrying out the one or more remedial actions based on the determined driver inattention level, wherein, when at least one of the one or more remedial actions is carried out, functionality of an in-vehicle entertainment application is disabled or restricted.

According to various embodiments, this method may further include any one of the following features or any technically-feasible combination of some or all of these features:the one or more driver inattention metrics includes a plurality of driver inattention metrics, and wherein the at least one driver inattention metric includes a driver inattention event length and a driver inattention event count;the one or more driver attention sensors includes a camera that is configured as an eye-tracking sensor and that obtains driver attention data that indicates whether the vehicle driver is looking forward and/or toward a road on which the vehicle is driving;the method further comprises: generating a driver attention report based on the one or more driver attention metrics and presenting the driver attention report to one or more vehicle users, wherein the driver attention report, when provided, displays driver attention information that is based on the one or more driver inattention metrics; and/orsending the driver attention report to a handheld wireless device, wherein the handheld wireless device is configured to display the driver attention report on an electronic display of the handheld wireless device.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle driver attention monitoring system for a vehicle. The vehicle driver attention monitoring system includes: one or more driver inattention sensors that are installed on the vehicle; an onboard computer having a processor; memory that is communicatively coupled to the processor of the onboard computer, wherein the memory stores computer instructions; and one or more vehicle-user interfaces for providing visual and/or audio output to a local vehicle user; wherein the computer instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the vehicle driver attention monitoring system to: (i) obtain driver attention sensor data from the one or more driver attention sensors; (ii) detect a driver inattention event based on the obtained driver attention sensor data; (iii) determine one or more driver inattention metrics based on the driver attention sensor data and in response to the detected driver inattention event; (iv) based on at least one of the driver inattention metrics, determine one or more remedial actions to be carried out; and (v) carry out the one or more remedial actions, wherein, when at least one of the one or more remedial actions is carried out, in-vehicle entertainment that is provided by the one or more vehicle-user interfaces of the vehicle is restricted or prevented. In at least some embodiments, the onboard computer may be an external object calculation module (EOCM).

