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.

Various implementations include a system for adjusting the position of a seatbelt in a vehicle. The system includes a shoulder anchor, at least one sensor, and a processor. The shoulder anchor is for receiving a seatbelt. The shoulder anchor is movable relative to a seat disposed within the vehicle. The processor is in electrical communication with the sensor and a memory. The processor executes computer-readable instructions stored on the memory. The instructions cause the processor to receive sensor data from the sensor, determine whether the seatbelt is within an expected area on a person in the seat based on the received sensor data, and cause the shoulder anchor to move relative to the seat in response to the seatbelt being outside of the expected area on the person in the seat such that the seatbelt is moved into the expected area.

An alert device alerts a driver sitting on a driver's seat in a vehicle by winding a seat belt on the driver's seat with a retractor. The alert device includes a seat position information acquisition unit configured to acquire seat position information relating to a position of the driver's seat, a height estimation unit configured to calculate art estimated height that is an estimated value of the driver's height based on the seat position information, a winding strength setting unit configured to set a winding strength that is a strength for winding the seat belt with the retractor based on the estimated height, and a retractor control unit configured to operate the retractor to wind the seat belt with the winding strength.

A method and system for determining whether a seatbelt of a vehicle is fastened is provided. The system may be configured to detect markers on a seatbelt, engage seatbelt tensioners, and determine whether the markers have moved. The system may then be configured to determine whether the seatbelt is fastened based on movement of the markers.

A vehicle seatbelt device of an embodiment includes a recognizer that recognizes circumstances around a vehicle, a determiner that determines the state of the vehicle, a seatbelt that restrains a portion of the body of a driver of the vehicle, a tension adjustment mechanism that is able to adjust the tension of the seatbelt, a determiner that determines whether or not driving of the driver is a preferable method of driving on the basis of the circumstances recognized by the recognizer and the state determined by the determiner, and a controller that controls the tension adjustment mechanism such that a tension of the seatbelt varies when the determiner determines that driving of the driver is the preferable method of driving.

Guidance to a vehicle occupant is directed to manual adjustment of a height of a D-ring mechanism of a safety belt. First data of the occupant is collected which is indicative of a target height for the D-ring mechanism. Second data is collected indicative of a current height of the D-ring mechanism. The target height and the current height are compared to generate an adjustment amount whenever their difference is greater than a predetermined threshold. Visual guidance is presented to the occupant on an HMI display panel wherein the visual guidance describes taking an particular action to achieve the manual height adjustment of the D-ring mechanism. A further visual instruction is presented to the occupant on the HMI display panel wherein the visual instruction identifies the adjustment amount.

Methods for marking a seat belt webbing with an infrared compound are described herein. The methods comprise ablating a surface of the seat belt webbing by directing one or more laser pulses toward the seat belt webbing; and coating the ablated surface of the seat belt webbing with the infrared compound, wherein the infrared compound increases absorptivity or reflectivity of the seat belt webbing to infrared radiation. Methods for optically monitoring operation of the seat belt webbing in a vehicle and distinguishing between proper positioning and improper positioning of the seat belt webbing are also disclosed.

It is provided a method for determining information with respect to an occupant and/or a seat belt of a motor vehicle, wherein the seat belt includes a plurality of sensors. The method comprises the following steps: determining a force acting on each of the sensors in a sensor coordinate system associated with each of the sensors; generating a numerical model of the seat belt and the sensors in an initial state; generating a final state of the model by varying positions and/or orientations of portions of the modeled seat belt, which are in a fixed geometrical relationship with the represented positions and/or orientations of at least some of the sensors; and determining the information with respect to the occupant and/or the seat belt based on the course of the modeled seat belt in the final state.

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 system for detecting improper usage of a seatbelt of a vehicle includes a vehicle seat having a seat cushion and a seat back. A shoulder belt and a lap belt are intended to restrain an occupant sitting on the vehicle seat. The system includes a sensor module associated with the shoulder belt and the lap belt. The sensor module generates signals indicative of at least one parameter associated with the vehicle seat, the shoulder belt, and the lap belt when the occupant is sitting on the vehicle seat. The system also includes a controller that receives the signals indicative of the at least one parameter associated with the seat back, the shoulder belt, and the lap belt. The controller analyzes the received one or more signals, and determines whether the seatbelt is being used improperly by the occupant, based on the analysis.