Subaru Corporation

Hiroki Marumo

Fumiya Sato

Tomohiro Abe

Mika Suzuki

A vehicle control apparatus includes one or more processors. The one or more processors execute determination as to whether a driving state of the vehicle involves difficulty in continuing the automatic driving. In a case where the driving state is determined as involving difficulty in continuing the automatic driving, the one or more processors execute determination on a difficulty level of operation authority transfer from the automatic driving to the manual driving on the basis of information regarding a surrounding environment of the vehicle, information regarding a driving skill of a driver, and information regarding an experience level of the driver of the operation authority transfer. The one or more processors execute setting of a driving-state condition for executing the operation authority transfer in accordance with the difficulty level. The one or more processors execute the operation authority transfer in a case where the driving-state condition is satisfied.

Apparatus for switching control between automatic driving and manual driving in vehicles

A driving assistance apparatus configured to assist driving of a vehicle includes one or more processors and one or more memories communicably coupled to the one or more processors. The one or more processors are configured to execute a process including determining whether the vehicle is in a situation in which the vehicle is obstructing passage of a following vehicle; that the vehicle is in the situation, determining whether a driver of the vehicle is aware of the situation; upon determining that the driver is aware of the situation, determining whether the driver is able to determine a driving operation for avoiding the situation; and, upon not determining that the driver is able to determine the driving operation, setting an assistance operation for avoiding the situation, based on consciousness of the driver and a width of a road on which the vehicle is traveling.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Hiroki Marumo