US 2,016,001,781 · Filed 2015-09-11
Honda's Smart Car Brain That Watches the Driver
Honda invented a system where cameras and sensors inside your car watch what the driver is doing — whether they're drowsy, distracted, or alert — and then automatically adjusts how the car behaves to keep you safer. It's like having a co-pilot who's always paying attention.
The plain-English version
What it protects
The claim covers a method where a vehicle collects real-time monitoring data about the driver's state (alertness, attention level, physical condition), combines multiple signals into one overall assessment of driver condition, and then uses that assessment to automatically modify how the car's systems operate — whether that's adjusting steering sensitivity, engine response, braking feel, or activating safety warnings.
Why it matters
As cars become more automated, understanding driver state becomes critical for safety handoffs between human and machine. This patent covers the core logic that lets a vehicle sense when a driver is unsafe and respond automatically — a foundational piece of technology for modern driver-assistance and autonomous vehicle systems that now appear across the industry.
Real-world use
When you're driving tired on a highway and the car detects your eyelids drooping or head nodding, it might gently vibrate the wheel or flash a rest alert — that's this system working behind the scenes.
Original USPTO abstract
A method for controlling vehicle systems includes receiving monitoring information from one or more monitoring systems and determining a plurality of driver states based on the monitoring information from the one or more monitoring systems. The method includes determining a combined driver state based on the plurality of driver states and modifying control of one or more vehicle systems based on the combined driver state.
Patent details
- Publication number
- US 2,016,001,781
- Filing date
- 2015-09-11
- Grant date
- Application — not yet granted
- Assignee
- Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
- Inventor(s)
- FUNG KIN C., DICK TIMOTHY J.
- CPC class
- G06V10/82
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