Claims:We Claim:

1. A method for preventing driver fatigue in a vehicle, comprising:
monitoring, by a fatigue prevention system (101), a driver in a vehicle continuously upon switching ON of ignition in the vehicle;
detecting, by the fatigue prevention system (101), the driver to be in a fatigue state, during monitoring;
providing, by the fatigue prevention system (101), plurality of options to the driver, to recover from the fatigue state;
initiating, by the fatigue prevention system (101), one or more actions in the vehicle, based on an option selected from the plurality of options by the driver, for preventing driver fatigue in the vehicle.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the monitoring is performed until the ignition of the vehicle is switched OFF.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein monitoring the driver comprises:
receiving images of the driver face upon switching ON of the ignition.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein detecting the driver to be in the fatigue state is performed using images of the driver face received during the monitoring.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 further comprises:
detecting speed of the vehicle to be one of greater than zero or zero, upon detecting the fatigue state.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of options comprises:
an option to stop the vehicle, an option to take a break from driving, an option to follow instructions to recover from the fatigue state and an option to skip recovery from the fatigue state.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein detecting the driver to be in the fatigue state, when a speed of the vehicle detected to be greater than zero, comprises:
calculating, a level of the fatigue state of the driver; and
comparing the level of the fatigue stage with a predefined threshold level (213), to provide the plurality of options to the driver.

8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein upon the comparison, when the level of the fatigue state is greater than the predefined threshold level (213), providing the plurality of options to the driver comprises:
providing, for a first predefined time duration, an option to stop the vehicle and an option to skip recovery from the fatigue state; and
upon detecting stop of the vehicle within the first predefined time duration, providing at least one of an option to take a break from driving and an option to follow instructions to recover from the fatigue state.

9. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein upon the comparison, when the level of the fatigue state is lesser than the predefined threshold level (213), providing the plurality of options to the driver comprises:
providing at least one of an option to take a break from driving, an option to follow instructions to recover from the fatigue state and an option to skip recovery from the fatigue state.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein providing the plurality of options, when a speed of the vehicle is detected to be zero, comprises:
providing, at least one of an option to take a break from driving, an option to follow instructions to recover from the fatigue state and an option to skip recovery from the fatigue state.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein initiating the one or more actions, when an option to skip recovery from fatigue state from the plurality of options is selected, comprises:
aborting prevention of the driver fatigue performed by the fatigue prevention system, for a second predefined duration time.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein initiating the one or more actions, when an option to follow instructions from fatigue state is selected, comprises:
providing one or more audio instructions to the driver to perform eye exercises.

13. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein initiating the one or more actions, when an option to take a break from the fatigue state is selected, comprises:
aborting prevention of the driver fatigue performed by the fatigue prevention system, for a third predefined duration time.

14. A fatigue prevention system (101) for preventing driver fatigue in a vehicle, said fatigue prevention system comprises:
a processor (105); and
a memory (107) communicatively coupled to the processor, wherein the memory (107) stores processor-executable instructions, which, on execution, cause the processor (105) to:
monitor a driver in a vehicle continuously, upon switching ON of ignition in the vehicle;
detect the driver to be in a fatigue state, during monitoring;
provide plurality of options to the driver, to recover from the fatigue state;
initiate one or more actions in the vehicle, based on an option selected from the plurality of options by the driver, for preventing driver fatigue in the vehicle.

15. The fatigue prevention system (101) as claimed in claim 14, wherein the processor (105) is configured to monitor the driver until the ignition of the vehicle is switched OFF.

16. The fatigue prevention system (101) as claimed in claim 14, wherein the processor (105) is configured to monitor the driver by:
receiving images of the driver face upon switching ON of the ignition.

17. The fatigue prevention system (101) as claimed in claim 14, wherein the processor (105) is configured to detect the driver to be in the fatigue state using images of the driver face received during the monitoring.

18. The fatigue prevention system (101) as claimed in claim 14, wherein, upon detecting the fatigue state, the processor (105) is configured to:
detect speed of the vehicle to be one of greater than zero or zero;

19. The fatigue prevention system (101) as claimed in claim 14, wherein the plurality of options comprises:
an option to stop the vehicle, an option to take a break from driving, an option to follow instructions to recover from the fatigue state and an option to skip recovery from the fatigue state.

20. The fatigue prevention system (101) in claim 14, wherein, when a speed of the vehicle detected to be greater than zero, the processor is configured to detect the driver to be in the fatigue state by:
calculating, a level of the fatigue state of the driver; and
comparing the level of the fatigue stage with a predefined threshold level (213), to provide the plurality of options to the driver.

21. The fatigue prevention system (101) in claim 20, wherein, when the level of the fatigue state is greater than the predefined threshold level (213), the processor (105) is configured to provide the plurality of options to the driver by:
providing, for a first predefined time duration, an option to stop the vehicle and an option to skip recovery from the fatigue state; and
upon detecting stop of the vehicle within the first predefined time duration, providing at least one of an option to take a break from driving and an option to follow instructions to recover from the fatigue state.

22. The fatigue prevention system (101) in claim 19, wherein, when the level of the fatigue state is lesser than the predefined threshold level (213), the processor is configured to provide the plurality of options to the driver by:
providing at least one of an option to take a break from driving, an option to follow instructions to recover from the fatigue state and an option to skip recovery from the fatigue state.

23. The fatigue prevention system (101) as claimed in claim 14, wherein when the speed of the vehicle is detected to be zero, the processor (105) is configured to provide plurality of options by:
providing, at least one of an option to take a break from driving, an option to follow instructions to recover from the fatigue state and an option to skip recovery from the fatigue state.

24. The fatigue prevention system (101) as claimed in claim 14, wherein, when an option to skip recovery from fatigue state from the plurality of options is selected, the processor (105) is configured to initiate the one or more actions by:
aborting prevention of the driver fatigue performed by the fatigue prevention system, for a second predefined duration time.

25. The fatigue prevention system (101) as claimed in claim 14, wherein, when an option to follow instructions from fatigue state is selected, the processor (105) is configured to initiate the one or more actions by:
providing one or more audio instructions to the driver to perform eye exercises.

26. The fatigue prevention system (101) as claimed in claim 14, wherein, when an option to take a break from the fatigue state is selected, one or more processors (105) initiates the one or more actions:
aborting prevention of the driver fatigue performed by the fatigue prevention system, for a third predefined duration time.
, Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
The present subject matter is related in general to systems implemented in automobiles, more particularly, but not exclusively the present subject matter relates to method and system for preventing driver fatigue in a vehicle.

BACKGROUND
Currently, many vehicles are integrated with driver monitoring systems to avoid any accidents or crises due to recklessness of driver. Accidents might occur due to driver’s distraction, drowsiness, tiredness, and so on. Drowsiness refers to feeling sleepy or tired or being unable to keep the eyes open. Many factors may lead to driver drowsiness or fatigue. Some of the factors may be due to lifestyle of driver such as working very long hours or working at a night shift. Some medical conditions can also cause drowsiness. The driver monitoring systems are configured to alert the driver when signs of drowsiness or distraction are detected.
Nowadays most people suffer from fatigue and overstrained eyes as a result of using computers, phone, and digital screen for longer duration during work. Continuous screen gazing for several hours may strain human eyes which often leads to eye strain, blurred vision and headache. People who drive continuously for long hours, for example, people who drive continuously as part of their job, may also have eye strain and fatigue. Such eyestrain creates critical safety issues for people who are driving their vehicle after their work to home. The eyestrain might cause mild or painful headaches, feeling of dizziness or drowsiness. The driver might lose his focus from dynamic driving due to effects of the eyestrain. The loss of focus may result in higher collision risks or accidents causing harm to passengers in the vehicle driven by the driver, driver and people in surroundings of the vehicle.
In conventional driver monitoring systems, drowsiness level of the driver may be detected and alert to the driver may be provided upon detection. Alerts may be in form of audio signals, flashing of lights on to their face or instructions to stop the vehicle. These alerts however do not help in overcoming the detected driver fatigue, as they do not provide any means to reduce the drowsiness of the driver. The conventional systems do not provide a provision to overcome the driver fatigue or provide any relaxation to the driver to overcome the tiredness. Thus, there still exists a concern of critical safety issues for the driver as well as people around the environment.
The information disclosed in this background of the disclosure section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

SUMMARY
In an embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a method for preventing driver fatigue in a vehicle. The method comprises monitoring a driver in a vehicle continuously upon switching ON of ignition in the vehicle. During the monitoring, the driver fatigue is detected, and plurality of options are provided to the driver to recover from the fatigue state. Further, method comprises to initiate one or more actions in the vehicle based on an option selected from the plurality of options by the driver, for preventing driver fatigue in the vehicle.

In an embodiment, the present disclosure relates to a fatigue prevention system for preventing driver fatigue in a vehicle. The fatigue prevention system includes a processor and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor. The memory stores processor-executable instructions, which on execution cause the processor to prevent driver fatigue. The fatigue prevention system monitors a driver continuously in a vehicle upon switching ON of ignition in the vehicle. During monitoring, fatigue state of the driver is detected. Upon the detection, the fatigue prevention system provides plurality of options to the driver to recover from the fatigue state. The fatigue prevention system initiates one or more actions in the vehicle based on an option selected from the plurality of options by the driver, for preventing driver fatigue in the vehicle.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the disclosed principles. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system and/or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example only, and regarding the accompanying figures, in which:

Figure 1 shows an exemplary environment of a fatigue prevention system for preventing driver fatigue in a vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 2 shows a detailed block diagram of a fatigue prevention system for preventing driver fatigue in a vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figure 3 shows an exemplary embodiment for monitoring driver fatigue in a vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of present disclosure;

Figures 4a, 4b and 4c show exemplary embodiments for preventing driver fatigue in a vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of present disclosure;

Figure 5 illustrates a flowchart showing an exemplary method for preventing driver fatigue in a vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of present disclosure;

Figure 6 illustrates a flow diagram showing an exemplary method for preventing driver fatigue in a vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of present disclosure; and

Figure 7 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computer system for implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure.

It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the principles of the present subject matter. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and executed by a computer or processor, whether such computer or processor is explicitly shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In the present document, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the spirit and the scope of the disclosure.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup, device, or method that comprises a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or method.

The terms “includes”, “including”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup, device, or method that includes a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “includes… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or method.

In the following detailed description of the embodiments of the disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.

Present disclosure relates to a fatigue prevention system for preventing driver fatigue in a vehicle. The proposed system is configured to monitor a driver continuously in a vehicle when ignition of the vehicle is switched ON. While monitoring the proposed system may detect the driver fatigue state. Upon the detection, the proposed system provides plurality of options to the driver to recover from the fatigue state. The proposed system also initiates one or more actions based on an option selected by the driver for preventing driver fatigue in the vehicle. By the proposed system, the driver may overcome fatigue and avoid any accidents during driving.

Figure 1 shows an exemplary environment 100 of a fatigue prevention system 101 for preventing driver fatigue in a vehicle. The exemplary environment 100 may include the fatigue prevention system 101, an image capturing unit 102, a Human Machine Interface (HMI) unit 103 and a communication network 104. The environment 100 may be interior of the vehicle driven by the driver. The vehicle may be a four-wheeler, three-wheeler, truck, bus and so on. The proposed fatigue prevention system may be implemented in any vehicle which may be capable of monitoring the driver and implements HMI system to provide options to the driver. For example, the vehicle may be used by an individual like a taxi or a cab driver for sole purpose of driving from a source point to destination point. The taxi or cab driver may drive for hours continuously to reach to their destination point making the driver tired. Consider another example where many individuals drive themselves back home from work after night shifts, in such scenarios the driver may be already tired even before starting to drive the vehicle. The fatigue prevention system 101 may be used to prevent driver fatigue in such scenarios. The fatigue prevention system 101 may be in communication with the image capturing unit 102 and the HMI unit 103.

The HMI unit 103 may be a user interface or dashboard that connects a person to a machine, system, or device in the vehicle. In an embodiment, the HMI unit 103 may include a display unit, a speaker, a microphone and so on. In an embodiment, the display unit may be used for displaying plurality of options to the driver, speaker for providing audio alerts and microphones could be used by drivers to provide voice commands. The fatigue prevention system 101 monitors the driver continuously upon switching ON of ignition in the vehicle. The fatigue prevention system 101 may communicate with the image capturing unit 102 for the monitoring. In an embodiment, the image capturing unit 102 may be integrated in the vehicle to monitor the driver. The image capturing unit 102 may be a camera, video recorder or any image sensor for monitoring the driver. The image capturing unit 102 may be configured to capture images or video of the driver. The images or frames of the video of the driver may be received as an input to the fatigue prevention system 101. One or more other modes, known to a person skilled in the art, may be associated with the fatigue prevention system 101, to receive the images or videos of the driver. The fatigue prevention system 101 may be configured to detect the driver to be in fatigue state using the images or the frames of the video of the driver. Upon detection of the driver fatigue, the fatigue prevention system 101 may be configured to provide a plurality of options to the driver to recover from the fatigue state. The plurality of options may include an option to take a break from driving, an option to follow instructions to recover from the fatigue state, an option to skip recovery from the fatigue state and an option to stop the vehicle. In an embodiment, plurality of options provided to the driver may vary based on detection of the driver fatigue and speed of the vehicle. Each of the option to take a break from driving, the option to follow instructions to recover from the fatigue state and the option to skip recovery from the fatigue state may be provided via the HMI unit 103. In an embodiment, the plurality of options may be displayed on the display unit of the HMI unit 103. In an embodiment, the plurality of options may be provided by the speaker of the HMI unit 103. When the driver fatigue is detected, and speed of the vehicle is zero, the plurality of options may include the option to take a break from driving, the option to follow instructions to recover from the fatigue state and the option to skip recovery from the fatigue state. Further, when the speed of the vehicle is greater than zero and level of fatigue is less than predefined threshold level, the plurality of options may include the option to take a break from driving, the option to follow instructions to recover from the fatigue state and the option to skip recovery from the fatigue state. Further, when the speed of the vehicle is greater than zero and level of fatigue is greater than predefined threshold level, the plurality of options may include the option to stop the vehicle and the option to skip recovery from the fatigue state.

The fatigue prevention system 101 may be configured to initiate one or more actions based on an option from the plurality of options, selected by the driver. In an embodiment, when the driver selects the option to take a break from driving, the fatigue prevention system 101 may be aborted for a third predefined duration of time from predefined duration data 214. For example, the fatigue prevention system 101 may abort monitoring for the driver fatigue for five to ten minutes. During the five to ten minutes of the third predefined duration of time, the driver may stop the vehicle and relax before starting to drive again. In an embodiment, the third predefined duration of time may be predefined based on driver’s preferences.

In an embodiment, when the driver selects the option to follow instructions to recover from the fatigue state, the fatigue prevention system 101 may be configured to trigger the speaker of the HMI unit 103 to provide instructions to recover from the fatigue state. In an embodiment, the instructions may be audio instructions related to performing eye exercises. In an embodiment, the fatigue prevention system may be configured to monitor the driver while performing the eye exercise, to check if the driver is performing the eye exercises correctly.

In an embodiment, when the driver selects the option to skip recovery from the fatigue state, the fatigue prevention system 101 may be aborted for a first predefined duration of time. For example, consider a scenario the fatigue prevention system 101 detects the driver fatigue when the driver is about to reach the destination shortly. Then, there is a possibility that the driver may select option to skip recovery from the fatigue state. Upon the selection by the driver, the fatigue prevention system 101 may abort monitoring for the driver fatigue for five to ten minutes. Upon completion of the first predefined duration of time, the fatigue prevention system may resume to monitor the driver fatigue.

By initiating the one or more actions, the fatigue prevention system 101 may be configured to prevent driver fatigue in the vehicle. In an embodiment, the fatigue prevention system 101 may communicate with at least one of the image capturing unit 102 and the HMI unit 103 via the communication network 104. In an embodiment, the fatigue prevention system 101 may communicate with each of the image capturing unit 102 and the HMI unit 103 via a dedicated communication network. In an embodiment, the communication network 104 may include, without limitation, a direct interconnection, Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), Controller Area Network (CAN), wireless network (e.g., using Wireless Application Protocol), the Internet, and the like.

Further, the fatigue prevention system 101 may include a processor 105, I/O interface 106, and a memory 107. In some embodiments, the memory 107 may be communicatively coupled to the processor 105. The memory 107 stores instructions, executable by the processor 105, which, on execution, may cause the fatigue prevention system 101 to prevent driver fatigue in the vehicle, as disclosed in the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the memory 107 may include one or more modules 108 and data 109. The one or more modules 108 may be configured to perform the steps of the present disclosure using the data 109, for preventing the driver fatigue in the vehicle. In an embodiment, each of the one or more modules 108 may be a hardware unit which may be present outside the memory 107 and coupled with the fatigue prevention system 101. The fatigue prevention system 101 may be implemented in a variety of computing systems, such as a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a Personal Computer (PC), a notebook, a smartphone, a tablet, e-book readers, a server, a network server, a cloud-based server and the like. In an embodiment, the fatigue prevention system 101 may be a dedicated server implemented inside the vehicle. In an embodiment, the fatigue prevention system 101 may be a cloud-based server. In an embodiment, the fatigue prevention system 101 may be associated with multiple vehicles. In such embodiment, the fatigue prevention system 101 may communicate with each of the multiple vehicles to prevent driver fatigue in respective vehicles.

Figure 2 shows a detailed block diagram of the fatigue prevention system 101 for preventing driver fatigue in the vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

The data 109 and the one or more modules 108 in the memory 107 of the fatigue prevention system 101 is described herein in detail.

In one implementation, the one or more modules 108 may include, but are not limited to, a monitoring module 201, a detection module 202, an option providing module 203, a speed detection module 204, an action initiation module 205, and one or more other modules 206, associated with the fatigue prevention system 101.

In an embodiment, the data 109 in the memory 107 may include image data 207, fatigue detection data 208, speed detection data 209, fatigue level data 210, speed level data 211, options data 212 (also referred to as plurality of options 212), predefined threshold value 213, predefined duration data 214, and other data 215 associated with the fatigue prevention system 101.

In an embodiment, the data 109 in the memory 107 may be processed by the one or more modules 108 of the fatigue prevention system 101. In an embodiment, the one or more modules 108 may be implemented as dedicated units and when implemented in such a manner, said modules may be configured with the functionality defined in the present disclosure to result in a novel hardware. As used herein, the term module may refer to an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), Programmable System-on-Chip (PSoC), a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide the described functionality.

One or more modules 108 of the fatigue prevention system 101 function to not only alert driver but to also provide plurality of options including an option to take a break from driving, an option to follow instructions to recover from the fatigue state and an option to skip recovery from the fatigue state in a vehicle, upon fatigue state detection. Also, the one or more modules 108 of the fatigue prevention system 101 function to prevent driver fatigue in the vehicle, by initiating the one or more actions based on an option selected by the driver from the plurality of options. The one or more modules 108 along with the data 109, may be implemented in any system, for preventing driver fatigue in the vehicle.

In an embodiment, the fatigue prevention system 101 comprises of the monitoring module 201 that may be configured to receive image data 207 as input. The image data 207 may be the images or video of the driver driving the vehicle. The monitoring module 201 monitors the driver continuously upon switching ON of ignition of the vehicle. For example, Figure 3 shows an exemplary embodiment for monitoring driver fatigue in a vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of present disclosure. The embodiment comprises of the image capturing unit 301 and a driver 302 in the vehicle. The image capturing unit 301 may be a camera that switches ON when the ignition of the vehicle is switched ON. The image capturing unit 301 may be configured to continuously capture images or videos of the driver until the ignition of the vehicle is switched OFF.

While monitoring, the detection module 202 may be configured to detect the fatigue state of the driver using the image data 207 of the driver. In an embodiment, machine learning technologies such as Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN), Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM) may be used for detecting the driver fatigue. In an embodiment, the detection module 202 may be configured to detect the fatigue state of the driver based on physiological behaviour of the driver. The physiological behaviour may include, but is not limited to, rapid blinking of eye, yawning, eye state and so on. In an embodiment, frequency and duration of state of eye to be in one of closed-state or open-state may be monitored to detect the fatigue state. In an embodiment, the frequency and the duration of the closed-state may be greater than the open-state, when the driver is in the fatigue state. In an embodiment, the machine learning algorithms may receive the image data 207 such as images of the driver face or video. The image data 207 may be analysed and classified based on comparing the images with various abnormal driving behaviour models in a database to identify the current driver fatigue state. One or more techniques, known to a person, skilled in the art, may be implemented in the detection module 202, to detect the driver to be in the fatigue state. In an embodiment, upon detection of the fatigue state, the speed detection module 204 may be configured to detect speed of the vehicle and then check if the detected speed of the vehicle is greater than zero or zero. When the ignition is ON and the vehicle is not moving, the speed of the vehicle may be detected to be zero. When the ignition is ON and the vehicle is moving, the speed of the vehicle may be detected to be greater than zero. The speed of the vehicle may be stored as the speed level data 211 in the memory 107.

The option providing module 203 may be configured to provide plurality of options for recovery from the fatigue state. In an embodiment, the plurality of options may be provided upon the detection of the fatigue state of the driver. In an embodiment, the plurality of options provided to the driver may vary based on the detected fatigue state and the speed of the vehicle. For example, Figure 4a, 4b and 4c show exemplary embodiments for preventing the driver fatigue in the vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of present disclosure. In an embodiment, when the fatigue state of the driver is detected and the speed is detected to be zero, the option providing module 203 may provide the plurality of options to the driver to recover from the fatigue state. The display unit of the HMI unit 401 shows the plurality of options to the driver. The plurality of options may include an option to take a break from driving 402, an option to follow audio instructions for eye exercise 403, and an option to skip recovery from the fatigue state 404.

In an embodiment, when the fatigue state of the driver is detected and the speed is detected to be greater than zero, the detection module 202 may be configured to calculate level of fatigue of the driver. The level of fatigue may be stored as fatigue level data 210 in the memory 107. Fatigue is a feeling of tiredness which is accompanied by drowsiness, lack of energy, or exhaustion. The level of fatigue is the measure of tiredness based on level of drowsiness, number of times the driver yawns or blinks his eyes. The fatigue level 210 is then compared with a predefined threshold level 213 to provide the plurality of options to the driver. Upon comparison, if the fatigue level 210 is lesser than the predefined threshold level 213, the option providing module 203 may provide the plurality of options via the HMI unit 401. The plurality of options in such environment may include the option to take a break from driving 402, the option to follow audio instructions for eye exercise 403, and the option to skip recovery from the fatigue state 404.
Upon detection of the speed of the vehicle to be greater than zero and the fatigue level 210 to be greater than the predefined threshold level 213, the option providing module 203 may provide the plurality of options via the HMI unit 401. The plurality of options in such scenario may include the option to stop the vehicle 405 and the option to skip recovery from the fatigue state 406 as shown in Figure 4b. Upon detecting stop of the vehicle i.e., when the speed of the vehicle becomes equal to zero, within the first predefined duration of time, the option providing module 203 provides the plurality of options to the driver to recover from the fatigue state. For example, if the vehicle stops within two minutes from the fatigue state detection, the display unit of the HMI unit 401 provides at least one of the options to take a break from driving 407 and to follow instructions to recover from the fatigue state 408 as shown in Figure 4b. The driver is alerted in the form of options provided by the fatigue prevention system 101 and also the driver can recover from the fatigue state based on the selected option from the plurality of options displayed.

Further, the action initiation module 205 may be configured to initiate the one or more actions based on the option selected by the driver. In an embodiment, when the option to skip recovery from the fatigue state 404 or 406 is selected, the action initiation module 205 aborts prevention of the driver fatigue for the second predefined duration of time from the predefined duration data 214. For example, the fatigue prevention system 101 stops the monitoring of the driver for five to ten minutes upon selection of skip recovery. In an embodiment, when the option to follow instructions to recover from the fatigue state 403 or 405 is selected, the action initiation module 205 provides one or more audio instructions via a speaker 409 to the driver as shown in Figure 4c to perform eye exercises. The eye exercises may be moving both your eyeballs to either left and right side for few minutes, moving both your eyeballs up and down for few minutes or rotating your eyeballs in the shape of number eight. In an embodiment, when the option to take a break is selected, the action initiation module 205 aborts prevention of the driver fatigue for the first predefined duration of time. For example, the fatigue prevention system 101 stops the monitoring of the driver and the driver can then stop the vehicle and relax before starting the vehicle again. The driver can relax by either closing his eyes for couple of minutes or may have a walk for couple of minutes.

The other data 215 may store data, including temporary data and temporary files, generated by modules for performing the various functions of the fatigue prevention system 101. The one or more modules 108 may also include other modules 206 to perform various miscellaneous functionalities of the fatigue prevention system 101. It will be appreciated that such modules may be represented as a single module or a combination of different modules.

Figure 5 illustrates a flowchart showing an exemplary method for preventing the driver fatigue in the vehicle, in accordance with some embodiments of present disclosure.

At block 501, the fatigue prevention system 101 monitors the driver continuously in the vehicle upon switching ON of ignition in the vehicle. The fatigue prevention system 101 monitors the driver until the ignition of the vehicle is switched OFF. The monitoring module 201 receives the image data 207 i.e., images or video frames of the driver as input to perform the monitoring.

At block 502, the fatigue prevention system 101 detects the driver fatigue state using images or video frames of the driver received during the monitoring, as shown in block 601 of Figure 6. In an embodiment, the fatigue prevention system 101 detects speed of the vehicle to be either greater than zero or zero as shown in block 602 of Figure 6. In block 603 of Figure 6, the fatigue prevention system 101 may be configured to check the speed to be greater than zero.

At block 503, the fatigue prevention system 101 provides the plurality of options for the driver to recover from the fatigue state. Upon detecting the speed of the vehicle to be either zero or greater than zero, the fatigue prevention system 101 provides the plurality of options to the driver to recover from the fatigue state. Step in block 604 of Figure 6 is performed when the speed is not greater than zero. At block 604, the fatigue prevention system 101 may provide options to either take a break from driving, follow audio instruction to perform eye exercises or skip recovery from the fatigue state.

When the speed of the vehicle to be greater than zero as show in Figure 6, the fatigue prevention system 101 calculates level of the fatigue state as indicated in block 605. Upon the calculation, the level of the fatigue state is compared with the predefined threshold level 213 at block 606. Upon comparison, the level of the fatigue state is checked to be less than or equal to the predefined threshold level 213. When the level of the fatigue state is less than or equal to the predefined threshold level 213, step at block 607 is performed. At block 607, the fatigue prevention system 101 may provide options to either take a break, follow audio instruction to perform eye exercises or skip recovery from the fatigue state. When the level of the fatigue state is not less than or equal to the predefined threshold level 213, step at block 608 is performed. At block 608, the fatigue prevention system 101 may provide options to either stop the vehicle or skip recovery from the fatigue state. In an embodiment, the option providing module 203 provides plurality of options like an option to stop the vehicle and an option to skip recovery from the fatigue state for the first predefined duration of time from the predefined duration data 214. Upon detecting the stop of the vehicle within the first predefined duration of time, step in block 610 is performed. At block 610, the fatigue prevention system 101 may provide options to either take a break or follow audio instructions to perform eye exercises. Upon detecting if the vehicle is not stopped even after expiry of the first predefined duration of time, step in block 611 is performed. At block 611, the fatigue prevention system 101 may abort prevention of the driver fatigue for predefined duration of time.

Referring back to Figure 5, at block 504, the fatigue prevention system 101 may initiate the one or more actions in the vehicle based on the options selected by the driver for preventing driver fatigue in the vehicle. Upon selecting the option to skip recovery from the fatigue state by the driver, the fatigue prevention system 101 aborts prevention of the driver fatigue for the second predefined duration of time. Upon selecting the option to follow instructions to recover from the fatigue state by the driver, the fatigue prevention system 101 provides one or more audio instructions to perform eye exercises. Upon selecting the option to take a break from driving by the driver, the fatigue prevention system 101 aborts prevention of the driver fatigue for the third predefined duration of time.

For example, consider a scenario where the driver is almost going to reach his destination point, the option to skip recovery from the fatigue state will be applicable. In this scenario, the driver can skip the recovery and reach his destination and then relax to overcome the fatigue state. In an embodiment, the option to stop the vehicle may be applicable only when the driver has already started to drive i.e., when the speed is greater than zero. In an embodiment, when the speed of the vehicle is zero i.e., the driver has not yet started to move, the option to stop the vehicle may not be displayed on the display unit of the HMI unit 103.

As illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, the methods 500 and 600 may include one or more blocks for executing processes in the fatigue prevention system 101. The methods 500 and 600 may be described in the general context of computer executable instructions. Generally, computer executable instructions can include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, and functions, which perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data types.

The order in which the methods 500 and 600 are described may not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the methods without departing from the scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, the method can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof.

Computing System
Figure 7 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computer system 700 for implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the computer system 700 is used to implement the fatigue prevention system 101. The computer system 700 may include a central processing unit (“CPU” or “processor”) 702. The processor 702 may include at least one data processor for executing processes in Virtual Storage Area Network. The processor 702 may include specialized processing units such as, integrated system (bus) controllers, memory management control units, floating point units, graphics processing units, digital signal processing units, etc.

The processor 702 may be disposed in communication with one or more input/output (I/O) devices 709 and 710 via I/O interface 701. The I/O interface 701 may employ communication protocols/methods such as, without limitation, audio, analog, digital, monaural, RCA, stereo, IEEE-1394, serial bus, universal serial bus (USB), infrared, PS/2, BNC, coaxial, component, composite, digital visual interface (DVI), high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), RF antennas, S-Video, VGA, IEEE 802.n /b/g/n/x, Bluetooth, cellular (e.g., code-division multiple access (CDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA+), global system for mobile communications (GSM), long-term evolution (LTE), WiMax, or the like), etc.

Using the I/O interface 701, the computer system 700 may communicate with one or more I/O devices 709 and 710. For example, the input devices 709 may be an antenna, keyboard, mouse, joystick, (infrared) remote control, camera, card reader, fax machine, dongle, biometric reader, microphone, touch screen, touchpad, trackball, stylus, scanner, storage device, transceiver, video device/source, etc. The output devices 710 may be a printer, fax machine, video display (e.g., cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diode (LED), plasma, Plasma display panel (PDP), Organic light-emitting diode display (OLED) or the like), audio speaker, etc.

In some embodiments, the computer system 700 may consist of the fatigue prevention system 101. The processor 702 may be disposed in communication with the communication network 711 via a network interface 703. The network interface 703 may communicate with the communication network 711. The network interface 703 may employ connection protocols including, without limitation, direct connect, Ethernet (e.g., twisted pair 10/100/1000 Base T), transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), token ring, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/x, etc. The communication network 711 may include, without limitation, a direct interconnection, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), wireless network (e.g., using Wireless Application Protocol), the Internet, etc. Using the network interface 703 and the communication network 711, the computer system 700 may communicate with image capturing unit 712 and HMI unit 713 for preventing driver fatigue in a vehicle. The network interface 703 may employ connection protocols include, but not limited to, direct connect, Ethernet (e.g., twisted pair 10/100/1000 Base T), transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), token ring, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/x, etc.

The communication network 711 includes, but is not limited to, a direct interconnection, an e-commerce network, a peer to peer (P2P) network, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), wireless network (e.g., using Wireless Application Protocol), the Internet, Wi-Fi, and such. The first network and the second network may either be a dedicated network or a shared network, which represents an association of the different types of networks that use a variety of protocols, for example, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), etc., to communicate with each other. Further, the first network and the second network may include a variety of network devices, including routers, bridges, servers, computing devices, storage devices, etc.

In some embodiments, the processor 702 may be disposed in communication with a memory 705 (e.g., RAM, ROM, etc. not shown in Figure 7) via a storage interface 704. The storage interface 704 may connect to memory 705 including, without limitation, memory drives, removable disc drives, etc., employing connection protocols such as, serial advanced technology attachment (SATA), Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE), IEEE-1394, Universal Serial Bus (USB), fibre channel, Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI), etc. The memory drives may further include a drum, magnetic disc drive, magneto-optical drive, optical drive, Redundant Array of Independent Discs (RAID), solid-state memory devices, solid-state drives, etc.

The memory 705 may store a collection of program or database components, including, without limitation, user interface 706, an operating system 707 etc. In some embodiments, computer system 700 may store user/application data 706, such as, the data, variables, records, etc., as described in this disclosure. Such databases may be implemented as fault-tolerant, relational, scalable, secure databases such as Oracle ® or Sybase®.

The operating system 707 may facilitate resource management and operation of the computer system 700. Examples of operating systems include, without limitation, APPLE MACINTOSH® OS X, UNIX®, UNIX-like system distributions (E.G., BERKELEY SOFTWARE DISTRIBUTIONTM (BSD), FREEBSDTM, NETBSDTM, OPENBSDTM, etc.), LINUX DISTRIBUTIONSTM (E.G., RED HATTM, UBUNTUTM, KUBUNTUTM, etc.), IBMTM OS/2, MICROSOFTTM WINDOWSTM (XPTM, VISTATM/7/8, 10 etc.), APPLE® IOSTM, GOOGLE® ANDROIDTM, BLACKBERRY® OS, or the like.

Furthermore, one or more computer-readable storage media may be utilized in implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. A computer-readable storage medium refers to any type of physical memory on which information or data readable by a processor may be stored. Thus, a computer-readable storage medium may store instructions for execution by one or more processors, including instructions for causing the processor(s) to perform steps or stages consistent with the embodiments described herein. The term “computer-readable medium” should be understood to include tangible items and exclude carrier waves and transient signals, i.e., be non-transitory. Examples include Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), volatile memory, non-volatile memory, hard drives, CD ROMs, DVDs, flash drives, disks, and any other known physical storage media.

Advantages

An embodiment of the present disclosure provisions a safety system for alerting the driver and also prevents the driver fatigue by providing options to driver to recover from fatigue state.

An embodiment of the present disclosure provisions audio instructions for performing eye exercises. The system monitors the driver while performing the eye exercises and provides feedback to driver accordingly which makes the system work in closed loop and thus prevent driver fatigue.

The described operations may be implemented as a method, system or article of manufacture using standard programming and/or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. The described operations may be implemented as code maintained in a “non-transitory computer readable medium”, where a processor may read and execute the code from the computer readable medium. The processor is at least one of a microprocessor and a processor capable of processing and executing the queries. A non-transitory computer readable medium may include media such as magnetic storage medium (e.g., hard disk drives, floppy disks, tape, etc.), optical storage (CD-ROMs, DVDs, optical disks, etc.), volatile and non-volatile memory devices (e.g., EEPROMs, ROMs, PROMs, RAMs, DRAMs, SRAMs, Flash Memory, firmware, programmable logic, etc.), etc. Further, non-transitory computer-readable media may include all computer-readable media except for a transitory. The code implementing the described operations may further be implemented in hardware logic (e.g., an integrated circuit chip, Programmable Gate Array (PGA), Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), etc.).

An “article of manufacture” includes non-transitory computer readable medium, and /or hardware logic, in which code may be implemented. A device in which the code implementing the described embodiments of operations is encoded may include a computer readable medium or hardware logic. Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications may be made to this configuration without departing from the scope of the invention, and that the article of manufacture may include suitable information bearing medium known in the art.

The terms “an embodiment”, “embodiment”, “embodiments”, “the embodiment”, “the embodiments”, “one or more embodiments”, “some embodiments”, and “one embodiment” mean “one or more (but not all) embodiments of the invention(s)” unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms “including”, “comprising”, “having” and variations thereof mean “including but not limited to”, unless expressly specified otherwise.

The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise.

The terms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expressly specified otherwise.

A description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. On the contrary a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the invention.

When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device/article (whether or not they cooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein (whether or not they cooperate), it will be readily apparent that a single device/article may be used in place of the more than one device or article or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead of the shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or the features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices which are not explicitly described as having such functionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of the invention need not include the device itself.

The illustrated operations of Figures 5 and 6 shows certain events occurring in a certain order. In alternative embodiments, certain operations may be performed in a different order, modified, or removed. Moreover, steps may be added to the above described logic and still conform to the described embodiments. Further, operations described herein may occur sequentially or certain operations may be processed in parallel. Yet further, operations may be performed by a single processing unit or by distributed processing units.

Finally, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based here on. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Referral numerals:
Reference Number Description
100 Environment
101 Fatigue Prevention System
102 Image Capturing Unit
103 HMI Unit
104 Communication Network
105 Processor
106 I/O interface
107 Memory
108 Modules
109 Data
201 Monitoring Module
202 Detection Module
203 Option Providing Module
204 Speed Detection Module
205 Action Initiation Module
206 Other Modules
207 Image Data
208 Fatigue Detection Data
209 Speed Detection Data
210 Fatigue Level Data
211 Speed Level Data
212 Options Data
213 Predefined Threshold level
214 Predefined Duration Data
215 Other Data
301 Driver
302 Image Capturing Unit
401 HMI Unit
402,…,408 Options
409 Speaker
700 Computer System
701 I/O Interface
702 Processor
703 Network Interface
704 Storage Interface
705 Memory
706 User Interface
707 Operating System
708 Web Server
709 Input Devices
710 Output Devices
711 Communication Network
712 Image Capturing Unit
713 HMI Unit