Aspects of the present invention relate to control system (100) for controlling a transition of a vehicle between a first driving mode and a second driving mode. The control system comprises one or more controllers, configured to: receive (302) a first request signal indicative of an occupant-initiated preparatory request; receive (303) a second request signal indicative of an occupant-initiated transition request; determine (304) a first control signal for controlling output of information to an occupant of the vehicle indicative of the driving environment in dependence on receipt of the first request signal; determine (308) a second control signal for causing transition of the vehicle from the first driving mode to the second driving mode in dependence on receipt of both the first request signal and the second request signal; and output (306, 310) the first or second control signal to a vehicle system.

A system and a method for providing visual assistance to an individual suffering from motion sickness. The system includes: a sensor configured to measure movement data of a vehicle in real time; an artificial horizon device designed to generate an image of an artificial horizon in real time on the basis of the movement data of the vehicle; and a wearable augmented reality device designed to display the image of the artificial horizon in real time to an individual who is wearing the wearable device and is a passenger in the vehicle.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to switching a driving mode of a vehicle. A mode change request from one of a plurality of sources to switch the vehicle from a first driving mode to a second driving mode is received. In response to receiving the mode change request, a status of the vehicle is accessed, and a confirmation request is transmitted to the one of the plurality of sources. Verification of the confirmation request is made, and a driving transition mode is initialized from the first driving mode to the second driving mode based on the status of the vehicle. In response to adhering to safety conditions or safety boundaries within a duration of time, a switching signal is sent to the control system of the vehicle to switch the vehicle from the first driving mode to the second driving mode.

When transitioning from both prohibition state that prohibit a specific action and a hand release during an execution of the autonomous driving to a specific action permission state that permits a driver to execute a specific action other than a driving operation, a presentation control device presents information indicating that the transition is allowable prior to information indicating that the transition is executed. When transitioning from a hand release permission state that prohibits the specific action and permits hand release from a steering wheel to the specific action permission state, the presentation control device presents the information indicating that the transition is allowable and the information indicating that the transition is executed at a same time.

The invention relates to a system for testing a driver assistance system of a vehicle, where the driver assistance system has at least one interior sensor and is designed to process sensor signals of the at least one interior sensor for monitoring a driver of the vehicle, the system comprising: simulation means for simulating at least one physical property of the driver which characterizes a physiological condition of the driver, in particular the driver's attentiveness, activity, fatigue, mood, state of health, and/or drug influence, and is able to be detected by the at least one interior sensor such that it can generate sensor signals as a function of the at least one simulated physical property; and an interface which interacts with the driver assistance system such that sensor signals are provided the driver assistance system as a function of the at least one simulated physical property. The invention further relates to a corresponding method.

A control device includes a video data acquisition unit, an orientation detection unit that determines whether a first condition that the driver faces a direction other than a traveling direction of the vehicle is met, an event detection unit, and a recording control unit that, if an event is detected, stores first video data including at least an event detection time point as event recording data.

Included are: a captured image acquiring unit to acquire a captured image obtained by imaging an occupant; a temperature image acquiring unit to acquire a temperature image indicating a temperature of a surface of a body of the occupant measured in a non-contact manner; a motion detection unit to detect a motion of the occupant on the basis of the captured image; a temperature detection unit to detect a temperature of a hand of the occupant on the basis of the temperature image; and an awakening level estimating unit to estimate an awakening level of the occupant on the basis of the motion of the occupant detected by the motion detection unit and the temperature of the hand of the occupant detected by the temperature detection unit.

Redundant vehicle controls based on user presence and position are disclosed herein. A method can include determining a presence and a position of a driver in a sensing zone of a vehicle using a sensor platform integrated into the vehicle. The sensing zone is associated with a primary driving interface of the vehicle. Determining when the position of the driver indicates that the driver is not in a fully-seated position relative to a driver's seat of the vehicle, and that the vehicle is in a non-seated drive mode where the driver is permitted to operate the vehicle while not being in the fully-seated position. Activating a secondary driving interface of the vehicle when the driver is not in a fully-seated position and the vehicle is in the selected driving mode. The secondary driving interface can be used in combination with the primary driving interface.

Various systems and methods are provided for determining a posture of an occupant of a vehicle. In one embodiment, a method comprises capturing images of an occupant in a vehicle via a vehicle camera, determining a current posture of the occupant and a recommended posture for the occupant based on the captured images and body measurements of the occupant, and outputting a guidance based on a difference between the current posture and the recommended posture. In this way, a comfort of the occupant may be increased by guiding the occupant toward a more ergonomic posture.

A method for monitoring occupants of a vehicle comprises identifying a respective body region for one or more occupants of the vehicle within an obtained image; identifying within the body regions, skeletal points including points on an arm of a body; identifying one or more hand regions; and determining a hand region to be either a left or a right hand of an occupant in accordance with its spatial relationship with identified skeletal points of the body region of an occupant. The left or right hand region for the occupant are provided to a pair of classifiers to provide an activity classification for the occupant, a first classifier being trained with images of hands of occupants in states where objects involved are not visible and a second classifier being trained with images of occupants in the states where the objects are visible in at least one hand region.