Vision-based positioning system for a vehicle head restraint

A method for adjusting a position of a head restraint in a vehicle by a vision-based positioning system, the method comprising:

• continually monitoring, by one or more processors of one or more controllers, one or more interior-facing cameras for image data representative of a head position of an occupant of the vehicle;
• determining the head position of the occupant based on the image data received from the one or more interior-facing cameras;
• determining a position of the head restraint relative to the head position of the occupant;
• in response to determining the position of the head restraint falls outside of a bounding box defined relative to a position of the head of the occupant, instructing one or more head restraint actuators to adjust the position of the head restraint to fall within the bounding box, wherein the head restraint is moveable relative to a seat by the one or more head restraint actuators and the occupant is located in the seat;
• assessing a risk associated with the vehicle deviating from a normal, controlled vehicle trajectory, wherein deviating from the normal, controlled vehicle trajectory includes vehicle slippage along a roadway;
• and
• in response to determining the risk associated with the vehicle deviating from the normal, controlled vehicle trajectory exceeds a predetermined threshold value, instructing the one or more head restraint actuators to cease continually adjusting the position of the head restraint.

A vision-based positioning system for a head restraint in a vehicle, the vision-based positioning system comprising:

• one or more head restraint actuators, wherein the head restraint is moveable relative to a seat by the one or more head restraint actuators;
• one or more interior-facing cameras that capture image data representative of a head position of an occupant relative to the head restraint, wherein the occupant is located within the seat;
• and
• one or more controllers in electronic communication with the one or more head restraint actuators and the one or more interior-facing cameras, wherein the one or more controllers include one or more processors that execute instructions to:
• continually monitor the one or more interior-facing cameras for the image data representative of the head position of the occupant;
• determine the head position of the occupant based on the image data received from the one or more interior-facing cameras;
• determine a position of the head restraint relative to the head position of the occupant;
• and
• in response to determining the position of the head restraint falls outside of a bounding box defined relative to a position of the head of the occupant, instruct the one or more head restraint actuators to adjust the position of the head restraint to fall within the bounding box, wherein a size of the bounding box is dynamically updated based on a plurality of head restraint positioning factors;
• determine a risk associated with the vehicle deviating from a normal, controlled vehicle trajectory, wherein the plurality of head restraint positioning factors are indicative of the risk associated with the vehicle deviating from the normal, controlled vehicle trajectory, and wherein deviating from the normal, controlled vehicle trajectory includes vehicle slippage along a roadway;
• in response to determining the risk associated with the vehicle deviating from the normal, controlled vehicle trajectory is increasing, decrease a size of the bounding box;
• and
• in response to determining the risk associated with the vehicle deviating from the normal, controlled vehicle trajectory is decreasing, increase the size of the bounding box.