Driver authentication apparatus and method for identifying automatically-extracted driver's operation feature data with already-registered feature data

摘要

A driver authentication apparatus and method permits a vehicle driver to be identified using a simpler method without using an ID card or the like, and without performing any special operation. The apparatus has a feature amount storing section for storing preset feature data of each registered driver; an operation detecting section for detecting an operation performed by the driver, and outputting data indicating details of the operation; and a feature data managing section for storing the data output from the operation detecting section and generating operation feature data of the driver based on the stored data, and comparing the operation feature data with the preset feature data stored in the feature amount storing section and determining any identity between the compared operation and preset feature data.