US 11,893,807 B2
Method for determining a level of alertness of a driver
Martin Petrov, Toulouse (FR); and Alain Giralt, Toulouse (FR)
Assigned to Continental Automotive France; and Continental Automotive GmbH
Appl. No. 17/297,750
Filed by Continental Automotive France, Toulouse (FR); and Continental Automotive GmbH, Hannover (DE)
PCT Filed Dec. 13, 2019, PCT No. PCT/EP2019/085109
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date May 27, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/120751, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 18, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 1872827 (FR), filed on Dec. 13, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2022/0044037 A1, Feb. 10, 2022
Int. Cl. G06V 20/59 (2022.01); G06T 7/20 (2017.01); G08B 21/06 (2006.01)
CPC G06V 20/597 (2022.01) [G06T 7/20 (2013.01); G08B 21/06 (2013.01); G06T 2207/10016 (2013.01); G06T 2207/30196 (2013.01); G06T 2207/30268 (2013.01)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for determining a level of vigilance of a driver in a vehicle using a predetermined image-analyzing algorithm, said vehicle comprising a camera and a computer, said computer implementing said predetermined algorithm using at least one so-called “input” parameter relating to the attitude of the driver, the method comprising:
generating, by the camera, a sequence of images of the head of the driver,
executing the predetermined algorithm on said generated sequence of images in order to detect a series comprising at least one movement of the head of the driver,
determining at least one value of at least one predetermined parameter relating to each movement of the detected series, wherein the at least one measured parameter comprises an angle of rotation of the head of the driver with respect to the Earth's vertical or an angle of inclination of the head of the driver with respect to the Earth's horizontal,
comparing the at least one value of each parameter with a predetermined interval of values of said parameter, each predetermined interval of values of said parameter being associated with a different type of head movement,
identifying each movement of the detected series using the at least one comparison made,
determining the speed and/or amplitude of each identified movement,
detecting dynamic and static periods of the head of the driver and measuring the frequency and the duration of each detected period, and
determining a level of vigilance of the driver using the speed and/or amplitude determined for each identified movement and the frequency and duration of each detected period,
wherein the driver is detected to be in an alert state when at least one rotation of the head of the driver to the right or to the left with respect to the Earth's vertical is determined in a predefined time window without notable degradation of the movement characteristics.