CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a U.S. National Stage Application under 35 U.S.C. § 371, based on International Application No. PCT/JP2019/034078, filed in the Japanese Patent Office as a Receiving Office on Aug. 30, 2019, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d) or 35 U.S.C. § 365(b) to Japanese Patent Application Number JP2018-171586, filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Sep. 13, 2018, each of which applications is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to an information processing device, a moving apparatus, a method, and a program. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an information processing device, a moving apparatus, a method, and a program for controlling switching between automatic driving and manual driving.

BACKGROUND ART

Technological development related to automatic driving is being actively conduced these days.

Autonomous driving technology is a technology that enables automatic driving on roads by using various sensors such as position detecting means provided in a vehicle (automobile), and is expected to spread rapidly in the future.

At present, however, automatic driving is in the development stage, and it is believed to take some time before 100% automatic driving becomes possible. Therefore, it is predicted that, for some time in the future, driving is performed by switching automatic driving and manual driving by an operator (driver).

For example, on a straight road with a sufficient road width such as an expressway, driving is performed in an automatic driving mode. However, in a case where a vehicle leaves an expressway and stops at a desired position in a parking lot, or on a narrow mountain road or the like, it is predicted that it will be necessary to switch the mode to a manual driving mode to perform driving according to an operation being performed by the operator (driver).

While a vehicle is performing automatic driving, the operator (driver) does not need to look ahead in the traveling direction of the vehicle, and can take a desired action such as taking a nap, watching TV, reading a book, or sitting backward and talking with a person in the back seat, for example.

In a vehicle that switches between automatic driving and manual driving, in a case where it becomes necessary to switch from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode, it is necessary to make the operator (driver) start manual driving.

However, if the driver dozes off during automatic driving, for example, the driver's level of alertness drops. That is, the level of consciousness becomes lower. If the driving mode is switched to the manual driving mode in such a state in which the level of alertness has dropped, appropriate manual driving cannot be performed, and, in the worst case, an accident might occur.

To ensure safe driving, it is necessary to make the driver start manual driving when the driver's level of alertness is high, which is when the driver is clearly in a conscious state.

For this purpose, it is necessary to check the driver's level of alertness.

Note that an example conventional technology that discloses a technique for estimating the situation of an occupant in a vehicle is Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-133449), for example. This document discloses a configuration for estimating a disability level such as the state of injury inflicted on the occupant by an accident or the like.

However, conventional technologies, including Patent Document 1, do not disclose any configuration for controlling the timing of notification that is necessary for a safe return from automatic driving to manual driving.

In a case where it becomes necessary to switch from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode, the operator (driver) needs to be notified to start manual driving.

If this notification timing is too late, manual driving is started when the driver's level of alertness is low, which is when the driver's level of consciousness is low, and the possibility of an accident will become higher.

CITATION LIST

Patent Document

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-133449

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

The present disclosure is made in view of the above problem, for example, and aims to provide an information processing device, a moving apparatus, a method, and a program for enabling safe switching from automatic driving to manual driving.

Solutions to Problems

A first aspect of the present disclosure lies in

an information processing device that includes

a data processing unit that determines an alertness level that is the consciousness level of the driver of a vehicle,

in which the data processing unit acquires observation information about the driver, and determines the alertness level of the driver on the basis of the acquired observation information.

Further, a second aspect of the present disclosure lies in

a moving apparatus capable of switching between automatic driving and manual driving,

the moving apparatus including

a data processing unit that determines an alertness level that is the consciousness level of the driver of a vehicle,

in which the data processing unit performs an observation information recording process to acquire observation information about the driver and store the observation information into a storage unit, determines the alertness level of the driver on the basis of the acquired observation information, and, in accordance with the determined alertness level, controls the notification timing of a manual driving return request notification that is a notification of request for the driver's return from automatic driving to manual driving.

Further, a third aspect of the present disclosure lies in

an information processing method implemented in an information processing device,

the information processing device including a data processing unit that determines an alertness level that is the consciousness level of the driver of a vehicle,

in which

the data processing unit performs an observation information recording process to acquire observation information about the driver and store the observation information into a storage unit, and determines the alertness level of the driver on the basis of the acquired observation information.

Further, a fourth aspect of the present disclosure lies in

an information processing method implemented in a moving apparatus capable of switching between automatic driving and manual driving,

the moving apparatus including a data processing unit that determines an alertness level that is the consciousness level of the driver of the moving apparatus,

in which

the data processing unit performs an observation information recording process to acquire observation information about the driver and store the observation information into a storage unit, determines the alertness level of the driver on the basis of the acquired observation information, and, in accordance with the determined alertness level, controls the notification timing of a manual driving return request notification that is a notification of request for the driver's return from automatic driving to manual driving.

Further, a fifth aspect of the present disclosure lies in

a program for causing an information processing device to perform information processing,

the information processing device including a data processing unit that determines an alertness level that is the consciousness level of the driver of a vehicle,

in which

the program causes the data processing unit to perform an observation information recording process to acquire observation information about the driver and store the observation information into a storage unit, and determine the alertness level of the driver on the basis of the acquired observation information.

Note that the program of the present disclosure is a program that can be provided in a computer-readable format from a storage medium or a communication medium to an information processing device or a computer system that can execute various program codes, for example. As such a program is provided in a computer-readable format, processes according to the program are performed in an information processing device or a computer system.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will be made apparent by the embodiments of the present disclosure described below and the detailed descriptions with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that, in this specification, a system is a logical assembly of a plurality of devices, and does not necessarily mean devices with the respective components incorporated into the same housing.

Effects of the Invention

A configuration of one embodiment of the present disclosure forms a configuration that determines an alertness level that is the consciousness level of the driver of a vehicle, and determines the timing of a manual driving return request notification in accordance with the alertness level.

Specifically, a data processing unit determines the alertness level, which is the consciousness level of the driver of the vehicle, for example. The data processing unit acquires observation information about the driver, and determines the alertness level of the driver. The vehicle is a vehicle capable of switching between automatic driving and manual driving, and the data processing unit controls the timing of a manual driving return request notification for the driver's return from automatic driving to manual driving, in accordance with the alertness level of the driver. The observation information to be acquired by the data processing unit includes observation information about the driver both before and after the driver gets in the vehicle. For example, passive monitoring, information about the driver's response to a notification, and the like are observed.

This configuration forms a configuration that determines an alertness level that is the consciousness level of the driver of a vehicle, and determines the timing of a manual driving return request notification in accordance with the alertness level.

Note that the advantageous effects described in this specification are merely examples, and the advantageous effects of the present technology are not limited to them and may include additional effects.

