Apparatus for switching driving mode of vehicle and method thereof

An apparatus configured to switch a driving mode of a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

• at least one sensing unit configured to sense at least one of information related to the vehicle or information related to a driver of the vehicle;
• an intention detecting unit configured to, using the information related to the driver of the vehicle, detect whether the driver intends to switch the driving mode of the vehicle, the driving mode being one of an autonomous driving mode or a manual driving mode;
• an operation detecting unit configured to detect whether the driving mode of the vehicle is to be switched, based on at least one of the information related to the vehicle, the information related to the driver, or the intention detecting unit detecting that the driver intends to switch the driving mode;
• a driving state predicting unit configured to, based on the operation detecting unit detecting that the driving mode able to be switched, predict a driving state of the vehicle operating in the switched driving mode;
• and
• a control unit configured to:
• determine whether the predicted driving state of the vehicle meets a preset condition;
• and
• based on a determination that the predicted driving state of the vehicle meets the preset condition, switch the driving mode of the vehicle.