Aspects of the present disclosure relate switching between autonomous and manual driving modes. In order to do so, the vehicle's computer may conduct a series of environmental, system, and driver checks to identify certain conditions. The computer may correct some of these conditions and also provide a driver with a checklist of tasks for completion. Once the tasks have been completed and the conditions are changed, the computer may allow the driver to switch from the manual to the autonomous driving mode. The computer may also make a determination, under certain conditions, that it would be detrimental to the driver's safety or comfort to make a switch from the autonomous driving mode to the manual driving mode.

A method for controlling an autonomous driving operation comprising at least one processor includes determining a predicted driving condition of a vehicle; determining a predicted driving operation of the vehicle based on the predicted driving condition; determining necessity of wearing of a seat belt of a passenger, based on an image of the passenger captured by an interior vision sensor and the predicted driving operation; requesting the passenger to wear the seat belt and determining wearing of a seat belt of the passenger based on the necessity of wearing of a seat belt of the passenger; and controlling a driving operation of the vehicle based on a result obtained by determining the wearing of a seat belt of the passenger. The method of the present disclosure may be performed based on a deep neural network generated through machine learning and an Internet of Things (IoT) environment using a 5G network.

Disclosed is a system and method for passenger safety. A sensing unit, remote device, and/or fob may interoperate to provide various alerts and other indications representative of aspects of a context environment proximate to a sensing unit. In this manner, passenger safety may be enhanced.

According to one embodiments, a wearing detection apparatus includes a restraint device, an imaging device, a control unit, and an output device. The restraint device is to restrain a passenger seated in a seat, and includes a strap an exposed area of which changes when the strap is being worn and not worn. The imaging device captures an image of the restraint device including the strap. The control unit detects from the image captured by the imaging device, a recognition image corresponding to a recognition member provided in an area that is exposed when the strap is worn. The output device outputs a result of detection of the recognition image.

A restraint system for an occupant seat mounted in a motor vehicle includes a processor to produce at least one control signal to control either or both of an electronically controllable unit to disable or impede operation of the motor vehicle and a notification device to produce a notification unless, in sequence, a first sensor produces a first signal indicating detection of an occupant being seated in the occupant seat followed by at least one second sensor producing least one second signal indicating that a rotatable shaft of a web retractor coupled to a web of a restraint harness has rotated by at least a threshold amount followed by a third sensor producing a third signal indicating that a tongue of the restraint system is engaged with a buckle of the restraint system.

A vehicle system equipped with an apparatus for detecting a vehicle buckle may include: a buckle switch device which is turned on or off depending on whether a vehicle seat belt buckle is fastened; and a buckle detection apparatus that determines whether the vehicle seat belt buckle is fastened based on an on or off operation of the buckle switch device and diagnoses a failure of the buckle detection apparatus.

A system for detecting seatbelt routing includes: a state module configured to, based on a series of images over a period of time from a camera of a vehicle facing a seat, determine and output a routing state of a seatbelt of the seat; and a remediation module configured to, based on the routing state of the seatbelt of the seat, selectively perform at least one remedial action.

A passenger state modulation system for passenger vehicles is presented. The passenger state modulation system operates to predict events that will impact the passengers state (e.g., motion sickness) before they happen and use the prediction to implement preemptive interventions with active vehicle sub-systems.

An occupant detection system includes a controller, a sensing electrode, and a shield electrode, the electrodes disposed in a vehicle seat. The controller is electrically coupled to the sensing electrode and shield electrode by a sensing circuit. The controller is configured to send an input signal to the sensing electrode, the shield electrode, or both and measures current, impedance, or capacitance values to determine the presence of an object on the seat, to classify the object, or both.

In one embodiment, a system of detecting seat belt operation in a vehicle includes at least one light source configured to emit a predetermined wavelength of light onto structures within the vehicle, wherein at least one of the structures is a passenger seat belt assembly having a pattern that reflects the predetermined wavelength at a preferred luminance. At least one 3-D time of flight camera is positioned in the vehicle to receive reflected light from the structures in the vehicle and provide images of the structures that distinguish the preferred luminance of the pattern from other structures in the vehicle. A computer processor connected to computer memory and the camera includes computer readable instructions causing the processor to reconstruct 3-D information in regard to respective images of the structures and calculate a depth measurement of the distance of the reflective pattern on the passenger seat belt assembly from the camera.