Method and system for personalizing vehicle interactive music system

Abstract

The invention provides a method and a system for personalizing a vehicle interactive music system. A method for providing an interactive music system in a vehicle includes estimating a travel time of the vehicle based at least on a learned travel behavior of a user of the vehicle; obtaining data relating to at least one driving condition; detecting that a travel time of the vehicle is within a duration threshold and satisfies at least one driving condition; in response to the travel time being within the duration threshold and satisfying the at least one driving condition, defining a playlist based at least on the travel time; and causing, using one or more speakers in the vehicle, sound to be made in an interactive mode based on the audio signal indicative of the songs from the playlist.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle entertainment system, and more particularly to an interactive music feature for a vehicle entertainment system. Background Art

[0002] The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

[0003] Advances in vehicle technology include not only improving the user's driving experience, but also providing an overall entertainment and convenient user experience that allows the user to stay focused while driving. For example, an infotainment system can allow the user to listen to personalized audio, including music, podcasts, and talk radio programs. Summary of the invention

[0004] This section provides a general summary of the disclosure and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.

[0005] In one form, the present disclosure is directed to a method for providing an interactive music system in a vehicle. The method includes: estimating a driving time of a vehicle based at least on learned driving behavior of a user of the vehicle; obtaining data related to at least one driving condition; detecting that the driving time of the vehicle is within a duration threshold and satisfies at least one driving condition; in response to the driving time being within the duration threshold and satisfying at least one driving condition, defining a playlist based at least on the driving time; and causing one or more speakers in the vehicle to emit a sound based on an audio signal indicating a song from the playlist in an interactive mode.

[0006] In one form, the present disclosure is directed to a vehicle infotainment system. The system includes one or more computing devices of a vehicle, the one or more computing devices being configured to: estimate a driving time of the vehicle based at least on learned driving behavior of a user of the vehicle; obtain data related to at least one driving condition; detect that the driving time of the vehicle is within a duration threshold and satisfies at least one driving condition; in response to the driving time being within the duration threshold and satisfying at least one driving condition, define a playlist based at least on the driving time; and cause one or more speakers in the vehicle to emit a sound based on an audio signal indicating a song from the playlist in an interactive mode.

[0007] Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein.It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] In order that the present disclosure may be better understood, various forms of the present disclosure will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0009] Figure 1 A vehicle having an interactive music system according to the present disclosure is shown;

[0010] Figure 2 According to the present disclosure Figure 1 A block diagram of an interactive music system; and

[0011] Figure 3 is a flow chart of an exemplary interactive music program according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] As required, detailed embodiments are disclosed herein; however, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary and may be embodied in various alternative forms. The drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale; some features may be enlarged or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, the specific structural details and functional details disclosed herein should not be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching those skilled in the art to adopt the present disclosure in different ways.

[0013] In providing a good experience, the vehicle infotainment system of the present disclosure provides an interactive music system (i.e., a karaoke system) in which a customized song playlist is presented to the user for the user to sing along. More specifically, when the vehicle is in a parked state, the interactive music system can freely allow the use of interactive mode, however, in a mobile state, the interactive music system analyzes various driving conditions as part of a situational assessment to evaluate whether the interactive mode can be adopted. When the interactive mode is enabled, the user is presented with a personalized playlist that adapts to the driving time of the vehicle and is based on the learned user preferences.

[0014] refer to Figure 1 , the vehicle 100 is configured to communicate with various external devices / systems that employ systems integrated into the vehicle 100, as well as devices that are brought into the vehicle 100 and communicate with the vehicle. Specifically, in one form, the vehicle 100 includes a vehicle communication interface (VCI) system 102, which is configured to communicate with external systems via one or more wireless communication networks 104. In a non-limiting example, the wireless communication network 104 can be established via cellular, WI-FI, Bluetooth, and / or broadband communications. Therefore, the VCI system 102 may include hardware components (e.g., computing devices, routers, transceivers, modems, antennas, etc.) and is configured to operate via one or more software protocols that can be executed by the computing device.

[0015] In another example, a user, or in other words, a passenger of the vehicle 100 may bring in a portable computing device 106 with wireless communication capabilities, such as a tablet computer, a cell phone, a smart watch, etc. The portable computing device 106 may communicate with the VCI system 102 via wireless communication (e.g., Bluetooth, WI-FI, cellular) and / or wired communication by connecting to an auxiliary port in the vehicle 100, such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port.

[0016] In some applications, the portable computing device 106 is operable to provide access to various services / tools to the vehicle 100 via one or more software applications stored and executed therein. In a non-limiting example, the software applications include a vehicle original equipment manufacturer (V-OEM) application 108A and an audio-visual (AV) service application 108B (collectively referred to as "software applications 108"). The V-OEM application 108A is configured to communicate with a V-OEM platform 110, which may be a cloud-based server that communicates with the portable computing device 106 via the network 104.

[0017] In one form, the V-OEM platform 110 is configured to store information related to the user of the vehicle 100, such as, but not limited to, vehicle identification information of the vehicle 100 associated with the user, the use and service history of the vehicle 100, and identification information of the user (e.g., the user's name, contact information, photo). The V-OEM platform 110 may also provide various convenient accessories, such as, but not limited to, a music library of various songs available to the user via the V-OEM or second-party platform. In addition to or in lieu of the portable computing device 106, the vehicle 100 may also include a V-OEM application 108A that allows the vehicle 100 to communicate directly with the V-OEM platform 110 via the VCI system 102.

[0018] AV service application 108B is an audio-visual entertainment service that provides users with access to a library of AV files, such as but not limited to music, videos, and podcasts, as well as other AV-type files. In a non-limiting example, AV service application 108B communicates with AV service platform 112, which is a cloud-based server that provides access to the library of AV files.

[0019] The vehicle 100 includes, among other systems, a navigation system 114, a driving condition detection (DCD) system 116, an occupant detection system 118, and an infotainment system 120 having an interactive music system 122. Among other components, the navigation system 114, the driving condition detection system 116, the occupant detection system 118, and the infotainment system 120 include one or more computing devices for performing the functions described herein. In addition, the VCI system 102, the navigation system 114, the driving condition detection system 116, the occupant detection system 118, and the infotainment system 120 communicate via a vehicle network 123 (e.g., a controller area network (CAN) or a local interconnect network (LIN)).

[0020] In a non-limiting example, the navigation system 114 is configured to: track the location of the vehicle 100; define a driving route based on a desired destination; provide directions to the desired destination based on the defined driving route; and estimate the driving time of the vehicle 100 to the desired destination. In one form, the navigation system 114 includes a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), a map library, and / or a navigation algorithm for defining the driving route.

[0021] Driving condition detection system 116 is configured to detect various driving conditions of vehicle 100, such as, but not limited to, road conditions, traffic conditions, and / or weather conditions. As described herein, driving conditions are used to determine whether an interactive mode supported by interactive music system 122 is available to the user.

[0022] The road conditions provide information related to whether the road is paved or unpaved, and may be provided by the navigation system 114. For example, a map provided in a map library may indicate which roads are paved / unpaved, and once a driving route is defined or when monitoring the location of the vehicle 100, the navigation system 114 indicates whether the road being driven is paved or unpaved. In another example, images from a camera arranged to capture the external environment of the vehicle 100 may be analyzed to determine whether the road conditions are paved or unpaved, which may be used with or without information from the navigation system 114.

[0023] Information related to traffic conditions and / or weather conditions may be provided by other vehicles or roadside units 124 that are in communication with the vehicle 100. In a non-limiting embodiment, the vehicle 100 may be configured to communicate via vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) or more generally vehicle-to-external (V2X) protocols. Under the V2X protocol, the vehicle 100 exchanges vehicle driving information (e.g., time, location of the vehicle 100, moving speed, vehicle heading, steering wheel angle, and / or vehicle braking status) and traffic information (e.g., traffic light status, reported traffic accidents, construction information) with, for example, a roadside unit 124.

[0024] In one form, the roadside unit 124 is configured to monitor traffic and environmental conditions (e.g., weather) around the area of ​​the roadside unit 124. The roadside unit 124 broadcasts messages including traffic / environmental conditions to V2I-enabled vehicles. The roadside unit 124 may include one or more computing devices, sensors (e.g., weather sensors; object detection sensors such as, but not limited to, lidar, cameras, infrared sensors), and communication devices such as, but not limited to, antennas, transceivers, modems.

[0025] In addition to or in lieu of V2X-based messages, the driving condition detection system 116 may receive information about environmental conditions from sensors disposed around the vehicle 100, such as temperature sensors, humidity sensors, etc. In yet another example, the driving condition detection system 116 may receive information about driving conditions from the navigation system 114. For example, the navigation system 114 may provide data indicating complex road terrain, such as many curves / turns, frequent signals, accident-prone areas, etc.

[0026] The occupant detection system 118 is configured to detect and monitor users in the passenger compartment of the vehicle 100 using object detection sensors such as, but not limited to, one or more cameras 125 disposed in the vehicle 100. The cameras 125 may include video cameras (monochrome and / or color), infrared cameras, and / or passive infrared sensors.

[0027] In one form, the occupant detection system 118 is configured to detect and identify occupants within the vehicle 100 using known image processing techniques. For example, the occupant detection system 118 obtains an image of the passenger compartment and uses an image processing software application to determine whether an occupant is present in the passenger compartment. In a non-limiting example, the image processing software application includes a facial detection algorithm for detecting the occupant and obtaining facial characteristics of the occupant. In some variations, the image processing software application may also be configured to determine whether the detected occupant is a child or an adult, which may further be used to customize the playlist for the interactive mode.

[0028] The occupant detection system 118 may be configured to use audio signals from the microphone 132 to detect occupants in the vehicle 100 in addition to or in lieu of images from the camera 125. In yet another example, the vehicle 100 may be equipped with occupant detection sensors (e.g., weight or pressure sensors) in the seats that may be used to detect occupants with or without audio signals from the microphone 132 and / or images from the camera 125. Using known techniques, the data from the occupant detection sensors may be compared to different thresholds to further determine whether the occupant is an adult or a child.

[0029] The infotainment system 120 is configured to provide information and access to various auxiliary features, such as the navigation system 114, the radio 126, one or more auxiliary devices 128 (if connected), and the interactive music system 122. In one form, the auxiliary devices 128 may include a storage medium for storing media files accessible by the infotainment system 120, such as, but not limited to, a USB drive (not shown) and / or a portable media player (not shown).

[0030] The infotainment system 120 includes an interface device for interacting with a user, such as an audio device (e.g., a speaker 130 and / or a microphone 132), a display device 134 (e.g., a head-up display and / or a liquid crystal display with a touch screen), and / or other suitable input devices (e.g., buttons, knobs). For example, a user can communicate with a vehicle assistant via an audio device to access and control various auxiliary features, such as an interactive music system 122. In another example, the display device 134 can present various graphical user interfaces that can have selectable icons to control features of the vehicle 100.

[0031] As described herein, the interactive music system 122 provides a customizable karaoke experience via an interactive mode in which a user sings along to songs played via the speakers 130. In a non-limiting example, the songs available for the interactive mode may be provided by the V-OEM application 108A, the AV service application 108B, the radio 126, and / or the auxiliary device 128, and may be collectively referred to as a music platform.

[0032] refer to Figure 2 The interactive music system 122 includes a driving monitoring module 202 , a user monitoring module 204 , a user preference module 205 , a playlist generation module 206 and an interactive control module 208 .

[0033] The travel monitoring module 202 is configured to obtain information about one or more of the driving time and driving conditions of the vehicle 100, which is provided to the interactive control module 208 to determine whether the interactive control module 208 should be provided to the user. In one form, when the user provides a desired destination, the driving time of the vehicle 100 can be provided by the navigation system 114, and one or more of the driving conditions (such as road conditions, weather conditions, and / or traffic conditions) can be provided by the driving condition detection system 116.

[0034] In some variations, the travel time may be estimated based at least on the learned travel behavior of the user. In a non-limiting example, the travel monitoring module 202 is configured to store travel information about a user detected by the occupant detection system 118 and identified by the user monitoring module 204, as described herein. The travel information for a trip performed by the user may include: travel time, a starting location of the vehicle 100 (e.g., the location of the vehicle 100 when the vehicle 100 is turned on), a destination of the vehicle 100 (e.g., the location of the vehicle 100 when the vehicle 100 is turned off), and a travel time. Using machine learning techniques (e.g., cluster analysis, neural networks, regression analysis), the travel monitoring module 202 is configured to define a travel destination predictor 210, which is configured to identify a potential destination of the user based on the current travel state of the vehicle 100, which may include, but is not limited to: the current time, the current location of the vehicle 100, and the driving state (e.g., whether the vehicle 100 is turned on or off). Once a potential destination is identified, the travel monitoring module 202 is configured to estimate a travel route and travel time to the potential destination based on the current location of the vehicle 100 , the current time, and traffic information from the driving condition detection system 116 .

[0035] In one form, the travel monitoring module 202 is configured to adjust the driving route and re-determine potential destinations while the vehicle 100 is traveling based on the location of the vehicle 100, which may be provided by the navigation system 114. For example, if a user is driving home from a particular location (e.g., work) at approximately 6:00 p.m. on Monday, the travel monitoring module 202 may initially identify the home address as a potential destination. However, the vehicle 100 may begin to deviate from the driving route to the potential destination, and the travel monitoring module 202 may identify another potential destination based on, for example, the current location and heading of the vehicle 100.

[0036] In an exemplary embodiment, features of the travel monitoring module 202 may be implemented external to the vehicle 100. For example, the V-OEM platform 110 may be configured to learn the user's travel behavior or pattern based on data from the navigation system 114 and provide the travel destination predictor 210 to the travel monitoring module 202.

[0037] The user monitoring module 204 is configured to identify an occupant of the vehicle 100 as a user and detect whether the user is singing. More specifically, in one example, if an occupant of the vehicle 100 is detected, the user monitoring module 204 is configured to identify the user based on facial features from the occupant detection system 118, which can be compared with pre-stored data of previous users of the interactive music system 122. In another example, if an occupant is detected, the user monitoring module 204 is configured to use an interface (e.g., speaker 130, microphone 132, and / or display device 134) to obtain identification information from the user, such as a name. Although specific examples are provided, the user monitoring module 204 can use other methods to identify the occupant.

[0038] In order to detect whether the user is singing, the user monitoring module 204 is configured to monitor the user's body posture / movement and / or audio data from the passenger. More specifically, in a non-limiting example, body movements associated with singing may include nodding, moving lips, snapping fingers, and / or clapping. Such movements indicate that the user is singing or is in the mood to sing, and may therefore be interested in the interactive mode. In an exemplary embodiment, the user monitoring module 204 is configured to identify the movement of the user's selected body parts, and interpret the identified body movement as the user's current state of mind to recommend an interactive mode. In one form, the user monitoring module 204 is configured to receive data about the user's current posture, gesture, and / or movement from the occupant detection system 118, and identify predefined postures, gestures, and / or movements associated with the user's selected state of mind.

[0039] Instead of or in addition to body movement, the user monitoring module 204 can also use the audio data detected by the microphone 132 to use known speech recognition techniques to identify the selected words or tunes. Therefore, the user monitoring module 204 is able to detect whether the user is singing and can recommend an interactive mode to the interactive control module 208.

[0040] Instead of or in addition to detecting the body movement of a particular user, the user monitoring module 204 is configured to detect selected events in the passenger compartment of the vehicle 100. That is, if multiple users, including the driver, are in the vehicle 100, the user monitoring module 204 may be notified of the presence of other occupants by the occupant detection system 118. Using data indicating facial features of other occupants and predefined associations between facial features and moods, the user monitoring module 204 is configured to determine whether an interactive mode can be recommended. In a non-limiting example, if the user is moving their lips and / or the audio data indicates multiple voices, the user monitoring module 204 is configured to determine that the user is talking and therefore an interactive mode is not needed. Alternatively, if the passenger compartment is quiet and / or other users appear to be sleeping, the user monitoring module 204 may suggest that the interactive control module 208 provide an interactive mode to keep other passengers busy.

[0041] Although specific examples are provided, the user monitoring module 204 may be configured to monitor different movements of the user to determine whether the user may be interested in singing. Additionally, the user monitoring module 204 may be configured to recommend interaction modes based on other events in the vehicle 100. For example, if the user monitoring module 204 detects that a baby is sleeping in the passenger compartment, the user monitoring module 204 may not recommend an interaction mode to the interactive control module 208.

[0042] The user preference module 205 is configured to store information related to the user in a profile record stored in the profile data storage area 212. The profile record may include identification information for identifying the user (e.g., the user's name, data for facial recognition, and / or voice samples) and music preference information indicating the type of music the user likes to listen to (e.g., artists, genres, and / or station settings). The identification information and / or music preference information may be added by the user during the profile creation process. After the profile is created, the user preference module 205 may continue to learn and store information related to the user's music preferences. For example, when an occupant is identified as a user of the interactive music system 122, the user preference module 205 may obtain information related to the type of music being played and update the profile record associated with the user.

[0043] In some variations, the user preference module 205 is also configured to learn the user's interaction habits or patterns. In a non-limiting example, the user preference module 205 is configured to store information and also learn when the user adopts the interaction mode. The information captured as part of the interaction mode may include the time of day (i.e., usage time) when the interaction mode is adopted, information related to other users / passengers in the vehicle 100, the destination being traveled when the interaction mode is adopted, and other suitable information for identifying the mode. For example, a user may adopt the interaction mode when going home on Friday instead of Monday. In another example, a user may adopt the interaction mode when they are alone in the vehicle 100, but not adopt the interaction mode when other passengers are in the vehicle 100.

[0044] The playlist generation module 206 is configured to define a playlist based at least on the travel time. In a non-limiting example, the playlist generation module 206 is configured to access songs available for the interactive mode from a music platform. Based on the duration of the available songs and the travel time to the destination, the playlist generation module 206 selects from the available songs to generate a playlist. The number of songs listed can be set based on a total duration that can be provided by the user, so that the total duration of the songs on the playlist is greater than the travel time or less than the travel time.

[0045] In a non-limiting example, the total duration of the songs provided in the playlist is shorter than the total duration of the driving time, and is as close to the driving time as possible without exceeding it. Thus, if the driving time to the destination is 10 minutes and the available songs include song 1 with a duration of 3 minutes and 30 seconds, song 2 with a duration of 4 minutes and 25 seconds, and song 3 with a duration of 6 minutes, the playlist generation module 206 generates a playlist with song 1 and song 3. Alternatively, if the playlist is to have enough songs to at least reach the destination, the playlist may include song 2 and song 3, or all three songs.

[0046] In some variations, the playlist generation module 206 is configured to adjust the playlist in response to a change in the travel time. For example, if the travel time was originally 12 minutes, but is adjusted to 7 minutes, the playlist generation module 206 can remove one or more songs from the playlist. Similarly, if the travel time increases, the playlist generation module 206 can add songs.

[0047] In one form, the types of songs to be added to the playlist are defined based on a music preference profile associated with the user. More specifically, the playlist generation module 206 can access the profile data store 212 to obtain information indicating the preferred types of music listened to by the user, and populate the playlist based on songs associated with the preferred types of music available on the music platform. The information about the preferred types of music can identify specific artists, music genres, and / or similar artists, as well as other information used to identify preferences.

[0048] The interactive control module 208 is configured to determine whether to allow the interactive mode based on at least the driving information, and if allowed, the song from the playlist is played in the vehicle 100. In the interactive mode, a sound is emitted based on an audio signal indicating the song, and the audio signal may include the instrumental part of the song, the background vocals of the song, the main vocals of the song, or a combination thereof. In a non-limiting example, the interactive control module 208 is configured to use an audio signal processing board (e.g., SHARC) to process the audio signal from the music platform to separate the vocal part of the song from the instrumental part. The audio signal processing board can be combined with a machine learning model, which will also remove the vocals with a fine output, and provide the instrumental part of the song and the lyrics to be displayed on the screen (if applicable). The audio signal processing board can also provide the vocal part when requested.

[0049] In one form, to determine whether to provide the interactive mode, the interactive control module 208 is configured to detect whether the driving time of the vehicle is within a duration threshold and whether at least one driving condition is satisfied. With respect to the driving time, the interactive control module 208 determines whether the driving time of the vehicle 100 is greater than or equal to the duration threshold. In one example, the duration threshold is selected based on the duration of the shortest or alternatively the longest song that can be used for the interactive mode. In yet another example, the duration threshold may also be defined by the user and be a set value (e.g., 10 minutes, 20 minutes, etc.).

[0050] With respect to the driving condition, the interactive control module 208 is configured to determine whether the environment around the vehicle 100 is suitable for providing the interactive mode. In one example, the driving condition may be based on road conditions, and the interactive control module 208 may determine that the interactive mode is not appropriate when the road is unpaved because the user may be focused on guiding the vehicle 100 through the unpaved road.

[0051] In another example, the driving condition may be based on traffic conditions, and the interactive control module 208 may determine that the interactive mode is appropriate when traffic is moving at a set speed (i.e., free moving) and is inappropriate when traffic is slowing down or stopped. Additionally, the interactive control module 208 may also determine that the interactive mode is inappropriate when the vehicle 100 is traveling through a construction zone.

[0052] In yet another example, driving conditions may be based on weather. In a non-limiting example, if there is no precipitation (e.g., snow, rain) and / or the visibility range is acceptable (i.e., no fog or mist), the interactive control module 208 may allow the interactive mode.

[0053] In some implementations, the interactive control module 208 may provide access to the interactive mode when the travel time and all driving conditions are met.

[0054] Although specific examples of driving conditions and how to evaluate the conditions to determine whether to select an interactive mode are provided, other driving conditions and / or evaluations may be employed. For example, the driving conditions may include a driving mode of the vehicle 100, which may include park, reverse, neutral, autopilot, manual, all-wheel drive, four-wheel drive, and / or off-road. When the vehicle 100 is in park mode, the interactive control module 208 may provide access to the interactive mode without evaluating travel time and / or other driving conditions. In another example, when the vehicle 100 is in an off-road state, the interactive control module 208 may not provide access to the interactive mode.

[0055] In some variations, in addition to the driving conditions, the interactive control module 208 determines whether to allow the interactive mode based on the recommendation from the user monitoring module 204 and / or the user's preferences from the user preference module 205 (e.g., the interactive control module 208 determines whether the user uses the interactive mode at the current time / date based on the user's profile record). For example, if the driving conditions are met, the interactive control module 208 may still not allow the interactive mode if the user monitoring module 204 indicates that the interactive mode is not allowed (e.g., there is no recommendation because the baby is sleeping or the user is not singing). In yet another example, if the driving conditions are met, the interactive control module 208 may allow the interactive mode if the user typically uses the interactive mode under the same conditions as determined by the user preference module 205.

[0056] When at least one or more of the driving conditions are met, the interactive control module 208 initiates the interactive mode based on the user's body movement. In a non-limiting example, if the user monitoring module 204 detects that the user is singing as discussed above, the interactive control module 208 can activate the interactive control module 208 and provide an audio signal to play the instrumental part of the song in the vehicle 100.

[0057] In addition to or in lieu of detecting the user's physical movement, the interactive control module 208 presents the interactive mode as a selectable feature via the interface. For example, one or more icons may be displayed on the display device 134, a discrete button in the passenger compartment associated with the interactive mode may be illuminated, and the vehicle assistant may notify the user via the speaker 130 that the interactive mode is available and whether the user wants to activate it.

[0058] In a non-limiting example, the interactive control module 208 is configured to activate the interactive mode and provide selectable features using one or more interfaces (e.g., the speaker 130, the microphone 132, and / or the display device 134). The selectable features may include, but are not limited to: activating / deactivating the interactive mode when available; an interactive level, wherein the user is able to select whether the song being played includes an instrumental portion of the song, vocals of the song, or a combination thereof; a duet feature (described below); and / or a song selection feature, wherein a playlist is provided to the user.

[0059] In some variations, for the interaction level, the user can switch between different levels via the input interface. For example, a button may be provided on the steering wheel or other suitable location for switching between different interaction levels, so that the interactive control module 208 first plays a song with an instrumental part, and provides a vocal part when the button is pressed. When the button is pressed again, the vocal part is removed. This allows the user to initiate a request for vocal support via a button, thereby customizing the interactive experience.

[0060] In some variations, the interactive control module 208 may display the lyrics of the song on the display device 134 of the vehicle 100 .

[0061] In some variations, the interactive control module 208 is configured to provide a duet feature in which vocal support is provided to the user. Specifically, during the interactive mode, the interactive control module 208 detects via the user monitoring module 204 whether the user is singing along with the song, and provides an audio signal with the vocal portion of the song in response to the user not singing along with the song; and provides an audio signal without the vocal portion of the song in response to the user singing along with the song. The unsung vocal portion may be the original vocal portion from the song and / or may be a digital sound created by the interactive control module 208 based on the lyrics.

[0062] In an exemplary scenario, with the duet feature active, the interactive music system 122 is configured to act as a partner with the user to sing along. Thus, the user can sing a segment associated with a first voice / singer, and the interactive music system 122 can provide vocal sounds for a segment associated with a second voice / singer. Thus, once the second voice's segment ends, the vocal sounds are stopped to allow the user to sing the segment associated with the first voice.

[0063] In one exemplary embodiment, the Duet feature may be automatically provided by the interactive control module 208 and may be turned off by the user via an interface (eg, verbal command and / or button on the display device 134 ).

[0064] refer to Figure 3 , an exemplary interactive music program 300 is provided and may be executed by an infotainment system 120 having an interactive music system 122 of the present disclosure. Additional details regarding various operations of the program 300 are provided above.

[0065] At operation 302, the driving time of the vehicle 100 is estimated and data related to driving conditions is obtained. In one form, the driving time can be estimated based at least on the learned driving behavior of the user of the vehicle 100, and the driving conditions can include road conditions, traffic conditions, and / or weather conditions. At operation 304, the system 120 determines whether the driving conditions are met. For example, the system 120 determines whether the driving time of the vehicle 100 is within a duration threshold and whether at least one driving condition is met.

[0066] If the driving condition is satisfied, the system 120 defines a playlist based at least on the driving time at operation 306. Using the speaker 130, at operation 308, sounds are emitted using the interactive mode based on an audio signal indicating a song from the playlist.

[0067] The infotainment system 120 with the interactive music system 122 may be configured in a variety of suitable ways and is not limited to Figure 3 300 of the program. In a non-limiting example, the program may include operations for identifying a user and defining a playlist based on a profile record associated with the user. In another example, the program may detect whether the user is singing to determine whether to provide an interactive mode to issue a song.

[0068] Unless otherwise expressly indicated herein, all numerical values ​​indicating mechanical / thermal properties, composition percentages, dimensions and / or tolerances or other properties when describing the scope of the present disclosure should be understood to be modified by the word "about" or "approximately". Such modifications are desirable for a variety of reasons, including: industrial practice; material, manufacturing and assembly tolerances; and testing capabilities.

[0069] In this application, the term "module" may refer to, be part of, or include an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC); a digital, analog, or mixed analog / digital discrete circuit; a digital, analog, or mixed analog / digital integrated circuit; a combinatorial logic circuit; a field programmable gate array (FPGA); a processor circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes code; a memory circuit (shared, dedicated, or group) that stores code executed by the processor circuit; other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality; or a combination of some or all of the above, such as in a system on a chip.

[00134] The term "memory" is a subset of the term "computer-readable medium". The term "computer-readable medium" as used herein does not cover transient electrical or electromagnetic signals propagated through a medium (such as on a carrier wave); therefore, the term "computer-readable medium" may be considered to be tangible and non-transitory. Non-limiting examples of non-transitory tangible computer-readable media are nonvolatile memory circuits (such as flash memory circuits, erasable programmable read-only memory circuits, or mask read-only circuits), volatile memory circuits (such as static random access memory circuits or dynamic random access memory circuits), magnetic storage media (such as analog or digital magnetic tape or a hard drive), and optical storage media (such as CDs, DVDs, or Blu-ray discs).

[0070] The apparatus and methods described in this application may be implemented partially or completely by a special-purpose computer, which is created by configuring a general-purpose computer to perform one or more specific functions embodied in a computer program. The functional blocks, flow chart components, and other elements described above are used as software specifications, which can be translated into a computer program by routine work of a technician or programmer.

[0071] As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A or B or C), using a non-exclusive logical "or", and should not be construed to mean "at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C."

[0072] The description of the present disclosure is merely exemplary in nature, and therefore, variations that do not depart from the essence of the present disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure. Such variations should not be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

[0073] According to the present invention, a method for providing an interactive music system in a vehicle includes: estimating a driving time of a vehicle based at least on learned driving behavior of a user of the vehicle; obtaining data related to at least one driving condition; detecting that the driving time of the vehicle is within a duration threshold and satisfies at least one driving condition; defining a playlist based at least on the driving time in response to the driving time being within the duration threshold and satisfying at least one driving condition; and causing one or more speakers in the vehicle to emit sound in an interactive mode based on an audio signal indicating a song from the playlist.

[0074] In one aspect of the present invention, estimating the driving time of a vehicle also includes: obtaining data indicating a current driving state of at least one of the vehicle or a user; and identifying a potential destination of the user based on the current driving state and a driving destination predictor defined based on previous destinations traveled by the user, wherein the driving time is estimated based on the potential destination.

[0075] In one aspect of the present invention, the at least one driving condition includes at least one of a road condition, a traffic condition, or a weather condition.

[0076] In one aspect of the present invention, the at least one driving condition includes each of a road condition, a traffic condition, and a weather condition, and each of the at least one driving condition is to be satisfied before providing the interactive mode.

[0077] In one aspect of the invention, the method includes: monitoring a travel time to a destination after defining a playlist; and adjusting the playlist in response to a change in the travel time.

[0078] In one aspect of the invention, in the interactive mode, the audio signal indicates the instrumental portion of the song.

[0079] In one aspect of the invention, in the interactive mode, the method further comprises displaying the lyrics of the song on a display of the vehicle.

[0080] In one aspect of the invention, the method includes detecting and identifying an occupant in a vehicle, wherein the identified occupant is a user, and wherein a playlist is defined based on a music preference profile associated with the user.

[0081] In one aspect of the invention, the method includes obtaining a profile record associated with a user, wherein the profile record includes information related to usage time when an interactive mode is employed, wherein a playlist is further defined in response to the current time being associated with the usage time.

[0082] In one aspect of the invention, the method includes, in an interactive mode, providing an audio signal having a vocal portion of a song in response to receiving a vocal support request; and providing an audio signal having an instrumental portion of a song in the absence of a vocal support request.

[0083] In one aspect of the present invention, the method includes: during an interactive mode, detecting whether a user is singing along with a song; providing an audio signal with a vocal portion of the song in response to the user not singing along with the song; and providing an audio signal without a vocal portion of the song in response to the user singing along with the song.

[0084] According to the present invention, a vehicle infotainment system is provided, which has one or more computing devices of the vehicle, and the one or more computing devices are configured to: estimate the driving time of the vehicle based at least on the learned driving behavior of the user of the vehicle; obtain data related to at least one driving condition; detect that the driving time of the vehicle is within a duration threshold and satisfies at least one driving condition; in response to the driving time being within the duration threshold and satisfying at least one driving condition, define a playlist based at least on the driving time; and cause one or more speakers in the vehicle to emit sound in an interactive mode based on an audio signal indicating a song from the playlist.

[0085] According to one embodiment, in order to estimate the driving time of a vehicle, one or more computing devices are also configured to: obtain data indicating a current driving state of at least one of the vehicle or the user; and identify a potential destination of the user based on the current driving state and a driving destination predictor defined based on previous destinations traveled by the user, wherein the driving time is estimated based on the potential destination.

[0086] According to one embodiment, the at least one driving condition includes at least one of a road condition, a traffic condition or a weather condition.

[0087] According to one embodiment, the at least one driving condition includes each of a road condition, a traffic condition, and a weather condition, and each of the at least one driving condition is to be satisfied before providing the interactive mode.

[0088] According to one embodiment, the one or more computing devices are further configured to: monitor the travel time to the destination after the playlist is defined; and adjust the playlist in response to changes in the travel time.

[0089] According to one embodiment, for the interactive mode, the audio signal indicates the instrumental part of the song.

[0090] According to one embodiment, one or more computing devices are configured to detect and identify an occupant in a vehicle, wherein the identified occupant is a user, and a playlist is defined based on a music preference profile associated with the user.

[0091] According to one embodiment, the one or more computing devices are further configured to: obtain a profile record associated with the user, wherein the profile record includes information related to usage time when the interactive mode is adopted, wherein the playlist is further defined in response to the current time being associated with the usage time.

[0092] According to one embodiment, for the interactive mode, one or more computing devices are further configured to: provide an audio signal having a vocal portion of a song in response to receiving a vocal support request; and provide an audio signal having an instrumental portion of a song in the absence of a vocal support request.

Claims

1. A method for providing an interactive music system in a vehicle, comprising: estimating a driving time of the vehicle based at least on the learned driving behavior of a user of the vehicle; obtaining data related to at least one driving condition; detecting that the travel time of the vehicle is within a duration threshold and satisfies the at least one driving condition; responsive to the travel time being within the duration threshold and satisfying the at least one driving condition, defining a playlist based at least on the travel time; as well as Using one or more speakers in the vehicle is caused to emit sounds based on audio signals indicative of songs from the playlist in an interactive mode.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the estimating the travel time of the vehicle further comprises: obtaining data indicating a current driving state of at least one of the vehicle or the user; as well as A potential destination for the user is identified based on the current driving state and a travel destination predictor defined based on previous destinations traveled by the user, wherein the travel time is estimated based on the potential destination. 3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one driving condition comprises at least one of a road condition, a traffic condition, or a weather condition.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein: The at least one driving condition includes each of the road condition, the traffic condition, and the weather condition, and Each of the at least one driving condition is satisfied before providing the interaction mode.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: monitoring said travel time to a destination after defining said playlist; as well as The playlist is adjusted in response to the travel time change.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein in the interactive mode, the audio signal indicates an instrumental portion of the song.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein in the interactive mode, the method further comprises displaying lyrics of the song on a display of the vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising detecting and identifying an occupant in the vehicle, wherein the identified occupant is the user, and wherein the playlist is defined based on a music preference profile associated with the user.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising: obtaining a profile record associated with the user, wherein the profile record includes information related to usage time when the interaction mode is employed, The playlist is further defined in response to a current time associated with the usage time.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: In the interactive mode, providing the audio signal having a vocal portion of the song in response to receiving a request for vocal support; as well as The audio signal having an instrumental portion of the song is provided without the vocal support request.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: In the interactive mode, detecting whether the user sings along with the song; providing the audio signal having a vocal portion of the song in response to the user not singing along with the song; as well as The audio signal is provided without the vocal portion of the song in response to the user singing along with the song.

12. A vehicle infotainment system, comprising: One or more computing devices of a vehicle, the one or more computing devices being configured to: estimating a driving time of the vehicle based at least on the learned driving behavior of a user of the vehicle; obtaining data related to at least one driving condition; detecting that the travel time of the vehicle is within a duration threshold and satisfies the at least one driving condition; responsive to the travel time being within the duration threshold and satisfying the at least one driving condition, defining a playlist based at least on the travel time; and Using one or more speakers in the vehicle is caused to emit sounds based on audio signals indicative of songs from the playlist in an interactive mode.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein to estimate the travel time of the vehicle, the one or more computing devices are further configured to: obtaining data indicating a current driving state of at least one of the vehicle or the user; and A potential destination for the user is identified based on the current driving state and a travel destination predictor defined based on previous destinations traveled by the user, wherein the travel time is estimated based on the potential destination.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the at least one driving condition comprises at least one of a road condition, a traffic condition, or a weather condition.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein: The at least one driving condition includes each of the road condition, the traffic condition, and the weather condition, and Each of the at least one driving condition is satisfied before providing the interaction mode.

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