An occupant sensor system is configured to collect physiological data associated with occupants of a vehicle and then use that data to generate driving decisions. The occupant sensor system includes physiologic sensors and processing systems configured to estimate the cognitive and/or emotional load on the vehicle occupants at any given time. When the cognitive and/or emotional load of a given occupant meets specific criteria, the occupant sensor system generates modifications to the navigation of the vehicle. In this manner, under circumstances where a human occupant of an autonomous vehicle recognizes specific events or attributes of the environment with which the autonomous vehicle maybe unfamiliar, the autonomous vehicle is nonetheless capable of making driving decisions based on those events and/or attributes.
CONTROLLING AN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE BASED ON PASSENGER BEHAVIOR