A WARNING AND INTERVENTION SYSTEM TO PREVENT ROAD-DEPARTURE ACCIDENTS

A driver assistance system is described which provides an automatic ro ad-departure warning and intervention function. The system is intended for drivers who are drifting off the roadway at a shallow angle of de parture due to inattention, drowsiness, intoxication, or other causes. An integrated set of model-based estimation algorithms serves to anti cipate imminent road departures. Interventions are achieved using diff erential braking - the application of unequal brake torques at the rig ht and left wheels. The driver remains in the loop, always able to pro vide the primary steering commands. A driver state assessment module i s being developed to further adapt to individual drivers and to identi fy changes in driver behavior. We describe the algorithms, present sim ulation results, and include preliminary experimental data from a prot otype vehicle.