Controlling an autonomous vehicle based on passenger behavior

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program instructions that, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to operate an autonomous vehicle by performing the steps of:

• determining a first physiological response of a first occupant of an autonomous vehicle based on first sensor data;
• determining that the first physiological response is related to a first event;
• and
• modifying at least one operating characteristic of the autonomous vehicle based on second sensor data corresponding to the first event.

A system, comprising:

• a memory storing a software application;
• and
• a processor that, upon executing the software application, is configured to perform the steps of:
• determining a first physiological response of a first occupant of an autonomous vehicle based on first sensor data;
• determining that the first physiological response is related to a first event outside of the autonomous vehicle;
• and
• modifying at least one operating characteristic of the autonomous vehicle based on second sensor data that corresponds to the first event.