SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING HANDS-OFF STATE OF STEERING WHEEL

A system and method for detecting a hands-off state of a steering wheel may include acquiring, by a controller, a steering torque, a steering angle and a steering angular speed while driving of a vehicle, determining, by the controller, a variance value of the steering angular speed through cumulation for a designated time, determining, by the controller, a difference value between a steering angular speed estimated through a steering system model determined on an assumption that the steering wheel is in the hands-off state and a measured steering angular speed through cumulation for a designated time, when the variance value of the steering angular speed is less than a first threshold value, and divisionally determining, by the controller, whether or not the steering wheel is in the hands-off state or in the hands-on state according to the difference value between the measured and estimated steering angular speeds.