Automated Driving Vehicle Functionality as Guardian Angel

The concept of the Guardian Angel system represents a pivotal advancement in vehicular safety, with a focus on enhancing the driving experience for individuals with diminished driving skills, particularly elderly drivers seeking to retain their mobility. This system functions as an unobtrusive co-pilot, intervening only when necessary, and empowering drivers to maintain control while ensuring their safety. By actively monitoring both the external environment and the interior of the vehicle, the Guardian Angel system adeptly identifies potential hazards and triggers interventions in response to imminent collisions, road departures, or internal factors such as driver distraction or drowsiness. Through a comprehensive array of Human–Machine Interfaces (HMIs), the Guardian Angel system communicates critical information to the driver, enhancing situational awareness and facilitating seamless cooperation between humans and machine. The holistic design ensures that the system operates unobtrusively in the background, engaging only in safety–critical situations and providing clear explanations for its interventions. This paper presents a detailed exposition of the Guardian Angel system's architecture, its controller design, and the diverse range of HMIs employed to relay information to the driver. The focus here lies in articulating the system's conceptual foundation, design principles, and the potential it holds for transforming the driving experience into a safer and more empowering endeavor for drivers of varying skills.