System and method for facilitating visit in vehicle

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a system and method for facilitating visit in a vehicle. A vehicle is disclosed that includes a transceiver, a telematics control unit, and a processor. The transceiver may be configured to receive touring information associated with a touring, and the telematics control unit may be configured to determine a real-time vehicle geographic location. The processor may be configured to obtain a trigger signal and obtain the touring information and the real-time vehicle geographic location in response to obtaining the trigger signal. The processor may also be configured to determine that a predefined condition may be satisfied based on the touring information and the real-time vehicle geographic location. In response to determining that the predefined condition may be satisfied, the processor may modify a first vehicle component setting associated with a vehicle component to a second vehicle component setting.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for facilitating touring in a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] When on vacation or visiting a new city, users may want to take a tour based on their interests. For example, users may want to take a local tour related to nature, history, food, science, etc. Many users prefer to hire a tour guide to make their tour engaging and informative. As we all know, experienced and skilled tour guides are difficult to find and expensive. In addition, users may have to spend a lot of time and effort to find a good tour guide, which may cause inconvenience to users.

[0003] Therefore, a system is needed to facilitate users to conveniently conduct tours without having to find a tour guide. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present disclosure describes a vehicle configured to facilitate a user to take a tour. The tour may be associated with one or more areas of interest associated with the user, such as nature, food, science, haunted places, etc. The vehicle may be communicatively coupled to a server, which may store tour information associated with a plurality of tours. The server may be a crowdsourcing server, to which a plurality of tour operators, companies, tour guides, individuals, etc. may transmit tour information associated with a plurality of tours. The tour information may include, for example, geographic locations associated with a plurality of points of interest (POIs) in a geographic area where the tour or vehicle may be located, audio, video, and / or text messages or content associated with each POI, settings associated with one or more vehicle components associated with each POI, etc. When a user transmits a request to view the tour information to the server via a vehicle infotainment system or a user device, the server may transmit the tour information associated with a plurality of tours to the vehicle. In response to obtaining the tour information from the server, the vehicle may display the tour information on the infotainment system, and the user may select a tour to take or join based on the displayed tour information. In response to obtaining the user's tour selection, the vehicle may assist the user in navigating on a route associated with the tour based on the tour information obtained from the server.

[0005] In some aspects, the vehicle may be configured to track real-time vehicle location when the vehicle may be traveling on a tour. In response to tracking the real-time vehicle location, the vehicle may determine when the vehicle arrives near a geographic location associated with a POI ("POI geographic location"). When the vehicle arrives near the POI geographic location, the vehicle may cause the infotainment system to output audio, video and / or text messages or content associated with the POI. In other aspects, when the vehicle arrives near the POI geographic location, the vehicle may modify the settings of one or more vehicle components based on the tour information. For example, when the vehicle arrives near the POI geographic location, the vehicle may activate one or more vehicle interior lights or flash the vehicle interior lights. In other aspects, when the vehicle arrives near the POI geographic location, the vehicle may raise or vibrate the driver's seating area.

[0006] In some aspects, the vehicle may cause the infotainment system to output audio, video, and / or text messages or content associated with the POI and / or modify vehicle component settings based on the vehicle's motion state. For example, when the vehicle may be in motion near the POI geographic location, the vehicle may cause the infotainment system to output only audio messages, and when the vehicle may be stationary near the POI geographic location, the vehicle may cause the infotainment system to output video and / or text messages or content. As another example, when the vehicle may be stationary near the POI geographic location, the vehicle may cause the vehicle interior lights to flash, and when the vehicle may be in motion near the POI geographic location, the vehicle may cause the vehicle interior lights to dim (or reduce the illumination intensity of the lights).

[0007] The present disclosure discloses a vehicle that can assist a user in taking a tour without requiring the user to find a tour guide. While the user may be sitting inside the vehicle, the user may browse information associated with multiple tours available in a geographic area where the vehicle may be located by using the vehicle's infotainment system, thereby enhancing the convenience of the user finding a tour according to the user's requirements. In addition, the vehicle assists the user in navigating the tour and outputs audio, video and / or text messages to enhance the user's tour experience. Additional tactile feedback and / or visual or auditory feedback provided by one or more vehicle components further enhances the user's tour experience in the vehicle.

[0008] These and other advantages of the present disclosure are provided in detail herein. The systems and methods of the present disclosure should not be enabled unless the vehicle is parked, turned off, not in motion, and / or otherwise in a safe operating mode for enjoying the systems and methods of the present disclosure, which, by way of example, may include fully autonomous vehicle operation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings. The use of the same reference numerals may indicate similar or identical items. Various embodiments may utilize elements and / or components other than those shown in the accompanying drawings, and some elements and / or components may not be present in various embodiments. The elements and / or components in the accompanying drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Throughout this disclosure, singular and plural terms may be used interchangeably, depending on the context.

[0010] Figure 1 An exemplary environment is depicted in which techniques and structures for providing the systems and methods disclosed herein may be implemented.

[0011] Figure 2 A block diagram of an exemplary system for facilitating touring in a vehicle according to the present disclosure is depicted.

[0012] Figure 3 Depicted are exemplary views of a user interface for configuring vehicle settings for a tour in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0013] Figure 4 An exemplary first view of a vehicle infotainment system screen in accordance with the present disclosure is depicted.

[0014] Figure 5 An exemplary second view of a vehicle infotainment system screen in accordance with the present disclosure is depicted.

[0015] Figure 6 An exemplary third view of a vehicle infotainment system screen in accordance with the present disclosure is depicted.

[0016] Figure 7 A flow chart is depicted of an exemplary method for facilitating touring in a vehicle according to the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which example embodiments of the disclosure are shown and which are not intended to be limiting.

[0018] Figure 1 An exemplary environment 100 is depicted in which techniques and structures for providing the systems and methods disclosed herein may be implemented. Environment 100 may include a vehicle 102 and a server 104 that may be communicatively coupled to one another. Vehicle 102 may take the form of any passenger or commercial vehicle, such as, for example, a car, a work vehicle, a crossover, a truck, a van, a minivan, a taxi, a bus, etc. Vehicle 102 may be a manually driven vehicle and / or may be configured to operate in a partially or fully autonomous mode. Figure 1 In the exemplary aspect depicted in , user 106 may be sitting in and / or driving vehicle 102 .

[0019] The server 104 may be configured to store information associated with a plurality of tours available in a geographic area where the vehicle 102 may be located. The tours may be associated with different types of areas of interest that the user 106 may have, including, but not limited to, nature, food, history, science, culture, etc. For example, a first tour may be associated with a museum or historical place in the geographic area where the vehicle 102 may be located, a second tour may be associated with a famous bar in the geographic area, a third tour may be associated with a haunted place (or spooky story) in the geographic area, and so on.

[0020] In some aspects, the server 104 may obtain information associated with a plurality of tours (or “tour information”) from a plurality of user devices, databases, etc. (not shown), which may be associated with a plurality of tour operating companies, personal tour guides, local experts, etc. The tour operating companies, tour guides, local experts, etc. may share the corresponding tour information to the server 104 to facilitate a plurality of users (including the user 106) who may be visiting the geographic area to conveniently select and conduct or join one or more tours.

[0021] In an exemplary aspect, the tour information may include a plurality of geographic locations associated with a plurality of points of interest (POIs) associated with the tour in the geographic area where the vehicle 102 may be located, an audio message and / or a video message associated with each POI, text content associated with each POI, one or more vehicle component settings associated with each POI, etc. For example, if the tour is associated with a haunted place (or spooky story), the tour information may include the geographic locations of a plurality of haunted places in the geographic area where the vehicle 102 may be located, an audio / video message and / or text content associated with each haunted place explaining / describing the history of the haunted place, details of past paranormal activity associated with the haunted place, etc., and expected vehicle component settings when the vehicle 102 passes by or stops at the haunted place. As an example, the tour information may indicate that when the vehicle 102 passes by a haunted place, the vehicle lights may flash or their intensity may be automatically reduced, or that the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system of the vehicle 102 may blow cold air when the vehicle 102 passes by a haunted place, etc. Such audio / video messages, text content, and / or vehicle component settings may enable the user 106 to have an immersive tour experience.

[0022] In some aspects, the server 104 may be a crowdsourcing server to which multiple individuals or companies may transmit information associated with tours for which they are experts and for which they may provide content. In exemplary aspects, a server operator (which may be an artificial intelligence-based system or a human operator) may screen the tour information submitted / transmitted to the server 104 and may store only the tour information on the server 104 that meets preset quality and / or quantity threshold criteria (which may be set by the server operator).

[0023] User 106 may access the tour information stored on server 104, for example, via a vehicle infotainment system ( Figure 2 Infotainment system 240) and / or user device (shown in Figure 2 106 may wish to take / join a tour. In an exemplary aspect, to select a tour to join, the user 106 may first access the server 104 via the vehicle infotainment system and may transmit / input one or more of the user's areas of interest to the server 104. For example, the user 106 may input "nature" and "spooky stories" as the user's areas of interest.

[0024] In response to receiving the user's area of ​​interest, the server 104 may transmit tour information associated with one or more tours that are available in the geographic area where the vehicle 102 may be located and that may be associated with the user's area of ​​interest. In response to receiving the tour information from the server 104, the vehicle infotainment system may display the tour information. In some aspects, the server 104 may not transmit the entire or complete tour information associated with each tour, but may transmit a preview or a portion (or fragment) of the tour information. For example, instead of transmitting the geographic location and text content associated with all POIs on the tour, the server 104 may transmit a preview of the text content and geographic location of a subset of POIs associated with each tour, so that the user 106 can obtain an indication of the content that the user 106 may encounter in the tour.

[0025] Based on the tour information (specifically, previews of the tour information) that may be displayed on the vehicle infotainment system, the user 106 may select a tour to take or join.

[0026] In other aspects, the user 106 may not input any particular user's areas of interest when accessing the server 104. In such cases, the server 104 itself may identify and recommend different types of tours that the user 106 may take based on the geographic area in which the vehicle 102 may be located, historical data indicating tours that the user 106 may have taken in the past, and the like. Figure 1An exemplary view 108 of a vehicle information system screen is depicted in which one or more recommended tours are displayed for a user 106. The recommended tours may be associated with, for example, hidden gems, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, spooky stories, street art, etc. The user 106 may browse the recommended tours (and view corresponding previews of tour information) on the vehicle infotainment system and may select a tour to take or join. In some aspects, the vehicle 102 may be stationary when the user 106 selects a tour.

[0027] In response to the user 106 selecting a tour, the server 104 may transmit tour information (e.g., all or the entire tour information) associated with the selected tour to the vehicle 102. In other aspects, the server 104 may transmit the tour information to the vehicle 102 when the user 106 selects a tour and when the vehicle 102 begins traveling / moving (i.e., when the vehicle 102 begins moving).

[0028] Based on the obtained tour information, the vehicle 102 (or the "tour management system" of the vehicle 102) Figure 2 The tour management system 214 (shown as tour management system 214 in FIG. 1 ) can assist the user 106 in starting or conducting a tour by outputting turn-by-turn navigation instructions from the vehicle infotainment system while the user 106 is driving the vehicle 102 or while the vehicle 102 is moving. In some aspects, the tour management system (“system”) can determine or obtain turn-by-turn navigation instructions based on the geographic locations of the POIs included in the tour information and a digital map of the geographic area in which the vehicle 102 may be located (which the system can obtain from the server 104 or any other server that provides navigation services to the vehicle 102). In an exemplary aspect, the system can first navigate the vehicle 102 to a first POI that may be closest to the current vehicle geographic location, then to a second POI that may be next in a route associated with the tour, and so on.

[0029] In some aspects, when the vehicle 102 arrives at a geographic location associated with a POI ("POI geographic location") or is located at a POI geographic location, the system may determine whether the vehicle 102 is stationary (e.g., parked or traveling at a speed less than 4-5 miles per hour) or in motion. Based on the determination of the vehicle's motion state, the system may cause the vehicle infotainment system to output a message / content associated with the POI based on the tour information obtained from the server 104. For example, when the system determines that the vehicle 102 may be in motion, the system may cause the vehicle infotainment system to output an audio message / content associated with the POI instead of a video or text message / content. On the other hand, when the system determines that the vehicle 102 may be stationary, the system may cause the vehicle infotainment system to output a video and / or text message / content. In another aspect, when the system determines that the vehicle 102 may be stationary, the system may enable the user 106 to purchase additional (and paid) content associated with the POI from the server 104 (e.g., additional stories, movies, etc.).

[0030] In additional aspects, based on the tour information, when the system determines that the vehicle 102 may be located at a POI geographic location, the system may modify the settings of one or more vehicle components. For example, when the vehicle 102 may be located at a POI geographic location, the system may automatically flash or dim the vehicle interior lights (which may correspond to the vehicle component settings included in the tour information associated with the POI). As another example, when the vehicle 102 may be located at a POI geographic location, the system may automatically vibrate the user's seating area.

[0031] In some aspects, as described above, the system may modify the settings of one or more vehicle components based on the vehicle motion state (e.g., whether the vehicle 102 is stationary or in motion). For example, when the system determines that the vehicle 102 may be in motion, the system may not vibrate the user seating area or flash the vehicle interior lights. In this case, the system may only dim the lights. On the other hand, when the vehicle 102 may be stationary, the system may enable user seating area vibration and / or light flashing operations. In additional aspects, the system may modify vehicle component settings based on user preferences. For example, if the user has disabled the seating area vibration feature on the vehicle 102, the system may not enable user seating area vibration, even if the tour information indicates that the user seating area should vibrate when the vehicle 102 arrives at the POI geographic location.

[0032] In this way, the system enables users 106 to have an immersive and informative tour experience without hiring any external tour guides. In some aspects, users 106 can provide ratings, comments, feedback, etc. on the tour to the server 104 after the tour can be completed. The server 104 can publish the feedback / comments for reference by other users.

[0033] Combined with the following Figure 2 Details of a system for facilitating touring in vehicle 102 are described.

[0034] The vehicle 102, server 104, and tour management system implement and / or perform operations as described herein in the present disclosure in accordance with the vehicle owner's manual and safety guidelines. In addition, any actions taken by the user 106 based on recommendations or notifications provided by the vehicle 102, server 104, and tour management system should comply with all rules (e.g., federal, state, country, city, etc.) specific to the location and operation of the vehicle 102. Recommendations or notifications provided by the vehicle 102, server 104, and tour management system should be considered suggestions and followed only in accordance with any rules specific to the location and operation of the vehicle 102.

[0035] Figure 2 A block diagram of an exemplary system 200 for facilitating touring in a vehicle 202 according to the present disclosure is depicted. The vehicle 202 may be the same as the vehicle 102 described above. Figure 2 When Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 and Figure 6 .

[0036] System 200 may include a vehicle 202, a user device 204, and one or more servers 206 that are communicatively coupled to each other via one or more networks 208. User device 204 may be associated with user 106. User device 204 may be, for example, a mobile phone, a laptop, a computer, a tablet, a wearable device, or any other similar device with communication capabilities. Server 206 may be combined with the above Figure 1 In additional aspects, server 206 may be part of a cloud-based computing infrastructure and may be associated with and / or include a telematics service delivery network (SDN) that provides services to vehicle 202 and other vehicles that may be part of a commercial vehicle fleet ( Figure 2 In another aspect, the server 206 may be associated with a navigation service company and may be configured to provide the vehicle 202 with a digital map of a geographic area where the vehicle 202 may be located. The server 206 may also be configured to store information associated with historical tours conducted by the user 106.

[0037] As described above, server 206 may be a crowdsourcing server to which multiple individuals or companies may transmit information associated with tours for which they are experts and for which they may provide content. In some aspects, in order to upload / transmit information associated with a tour (or tour information, as described above in connection with Figure 1As described above, the operator may first create an account on the server 206. In response to creating the account, the server 206 may provide the operator with access to one or more guides, and the operator viewing the one or more guides may understand the process of "creating a tour instance" on the server 206 and transmitting tour information to the server 206.

[0038] In response to understanding the process, the operator may enter a name for a tour associated with the geographic area (e.g., a "Spooky Tales" tour) and upload / transmit the tour information to the server 206. In some aspects, the tour information may include, but is not limited to, the geographic locations of a plurality of POIs in the geographic area associated with the tour, one or more images or videos associated with each POI, an audio message and / or a video message associated with each POI, text content associated with each POI, one or more vehicle component settings associated with each POI, user interest keywords associated with the tour (e.g., whether the tour is associated with nature, food, science, haunted places, etc.), and the like.

[0039] Figure 3 An exemplary view of a user interface 300 of a user device associated with an operator (which may be communicatively coupled with server 206) is depicted in FIG. Figure 3 Specifically depicted is a view of a user interface 300 in which an operator can add one or more vehicle component settings (which can be part of the tour information) associated with a POI on the server 206. For example, when the vehicle 202 may be located at a geographic location associated with a POI (POI geographic location), the operator can input that audio should be played in the vehicle 202 via the front vehicle speakers and the rear vehicle speakers (e.g., using the vehicle speakers), such as Figure 3 302. In addition, as shown in view 304, when the vehicle 202 is likely to be located at a POI geographic location, the operator can input that the vehicle seating area (e.g., the driver seating area) should vibrate and the driver seating area should be raised or retracted to a height of 60%. When the vehicle 202 is likely to be located at a POI geographic location, the operator can further input that the vehicle's second row dome light can be activated, while the driver dome light and glove box light can be inactivated, as shown in view 306. In addition, the operator can upload / add one or more images associated with the POI, which can be displayed on the vehicle infotainment system screen when the vehicle 202 is likely to be located at the POI geographic location, as shown in view 308. When the vehicle 202 is likely to be located at a POI geographic location, the operator can additionally input whether a display screen associated with the vehicle infotainment system should flash and the associated display color.

[0040] Server 206 may receive the tour information in response to the operator's user device adding / transmitting the tour information to server 206. In some aspects, the server operator may screen the received tour information for quality and / or quantity checks before enabling server 206 to store the tour information, as described above.

[0041] In a manner similar to that described above, the server 206 may receive tour information associated with a plurality of tours from a plurality of operators and companies, and the server 206 may store the received tour information. When the vehicle 202 or the user device 204 transmits a request to obtain tour information to the server 206 via the network 208, the server 206 may transmit the tour information to the vehicle 202.

[0042] The network 208 illustrates an exemplary communication infrastructure in which the connected devices discussed in the various embodiments of the present disclosure may communicate. The network 208 may be and / or include the Internet, a private network, a public network, or other configurations operating using any one or more known communication protocols, such as, for example, Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP / IP), Wi-Fi, Ultra-Wideband (UWB) based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 802.11, and cellular technologies such as Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPDA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and Fifth Generation (5G), to name a few examples.

[0043] The vehicle 202 may include a plurality of units including, but not limited to, a vehicle computer 210, a vehicle control unit (VCU) 212, and a tour management system 214 (or system 214). The VCU 212 may include a plurality of electronic control units (ECUs) 216 arranged to communicate with the vehicle computer 210.

[0044] The user device 204 may be connected to the vehicle computer 210 and / or the system 214 via a network 208, which may communicate via one or more wireless connections, and / or the user device may communicate using a near field communication (NFC) protocol, Protocol, Wi-Fi, ultra-wideband (UWB), and other possible data connection and sharing technologies to connect directly with the vehicle 202.

[0045] In some aspects, according to the present disclosure, the vehicle computer 210 and / or the system 214 can be installed anywhere in the vehicle 202. In addition, the vehicle computer 210 can operate as a functional part of the system 214. The vehicle computer 210 can be or include an electronic vehicle controller having one or more processors 218 and a memory 220. In addition, the system 214 can be separate from the vehicle computer 210 (e.g., Figure 2 ), or may be integrated as part of the vehicle computer 210.

[0046] The processor 218 may be configured to communicate with one or more memory devices (eg, memory 220 and / or memory 220) configured to communicate with a corresponding computing system. Figure 2 The processor 218 may utilize the memory 220 to store programs and / or store data in code for performing aspects according to the present disclosure. The memory 220 may be a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium or memory that stores tour management program code. The memory 220 may include any one or combination of volatile memory elements (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), etc.), and may include any one or more non-volatile memory elements (e.g., erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), etc.).

[0047] According to some aspects, the VCU 212 can share a power bus with the vehicle computer 210 and can be configured and / or programmed to communicate between vehicle systems, connected servers (e.g., server 206), and other vehicles operating as part of a vehicle fleet (e.g., Figure 2The VCU 212 may include or communicate with any combination of ECUs 216, such as, for example, a body control module (BCM) 222, an engine control module (ECM) 224, a transmission control module (TCM) 226, a telematics control unit (TCU) 228, a driver assistance technology (DAT) controller 230, etc. The VCU 212 may also include and / or communicate with a vehicle perception system (VPS) 232, which may be connected to and / or control one or more vehicle sensing systems 234. The vehicle sensing system 234 may include one or more vehicle sensors, including but not limited to radio detection and ranging (RADAR or "radar") sensors configured to use radio waves to detect and locate objects inside and outside the vehicle 202, seating area lock sensors, seating area sensors, light detection and ranging (LiDAR or "laser radar") sensors, door sensors, proximity sensors, temperature sensors, wheel sensors, one or more ambient weather or temperature sensors, interior and exterior vehicle cameras, steering wheel sensors, inertial measurement units (IMUs), etc.

[0048] In some aspects, VCU 212 may control aspects of vehicle operation and implement one or more instruction sets received from user device 204 , from one or more instruction sets stored in memory 220 , including instructions to operate as part of system 214 .

[0049] The TCU 228 may be configured and / or programmed to provide vehicle connectivity to wireless computing systems on and off the vehicle 202 and may include a navigation (NAV) receiver 236 for receiving and processing GPS signals, module (BLEM) 238, a Wi-Fi transceiver, a UWB transceiver, and / or may be configured to communicate between the vehicle 202 and other systems (e.g., a vehicle key fob, Figure 2 Other wireless transceivers (not shown) for wireless communication (including cellular communication) between the computer and the module Figure 2 2). The TCU 228 may be configured to communicate with the ECU 216 via a bus. In some aspects, the TCU 228 may be configured to determine real-time vehicle geographic location, for example, via a NAV receiver 236.

[0050] ECU 216 may control various aspects of vehicle operation and communications using input from a human driver, input from vehicle computer 210 , system 214 , and / or via wireless signal input received over a wireless connection from other connected devices (such as user device 204 , server 206 , etc.).

[0051] The BCM 222 typically includes an integration of sensors, vehicle performance indicators, and varactors associated with vehicle systems, and may include processor-based power distribution circuits that control functions associated with the vehicle body (such as lights, windows, security devices, cameras, audio systems, speakers, wipers, door locks and entry controls, various comfort controls, seating area vibration, seating area height, etc.). The BCM 222 may also operate as a gateway for bus and network interfaces to communicate with remote ECUs ( Figure 2 (not shown) interaction.

[0052] The DAT controller 230 may provide Level 1 to Level 3 automated driving and driver assistance functions, which may include, for example, active park assist, vehicle back-up assist, adaptive cruise control, and / or lane keeping, among other features. The DAT controller 230 may also provide aspects of user and environmental input that may be used for user authentication.

[0053] In some aspects, the vehicle computer 210 may be connected to an infotainment system 240. The infotainment system 240 may include a touch screen interface portion, and may include a voice recognition feature, a biometric recognition capability that may recognize a user based on facial recognition, voice recognition, fingerprint recognition, or other biometric recognition means. In other aspects, the infotainment system 240 may also be configured to receive user commands via the touch screen interface portion, and / or output or display notifications, navigation maps, tour information, etc. on the touch screen interface portion.

[0054] The computing system architecture of the vehicle computer 210, VCU 212 and / or system 214 may omit certain computing modules. It should be readily understood that Figure 2 The computing environment depicted in FIG. 1 is an example of possible implementations according to the present disclosure and, therefore, should not be considered limiting or exclusive.

[0055] According to some aspects, system 214 can be integrated with and / or executed as part of ECU 216. System 214, whether integrated with vehicle computer 210 or ECU 216, or operating as a standalone computing system in vehicle 202, can include transceiver 242, processor 244, and computer readable memory 246.

[0056] The transceiver 242 may be configured to receive information / input from one or more external devices or systems (e.g., user device 204, server 206, etc.) via network 208. For example, the transceiver 242 may be configured to receive a user request from the user 106 to view tour information on the infotainment system 240 or user device 204 via the user device 204. The transceiver 242 may also be configured to receive tour information, a digital map of a geographic area where the vehicle 202 may be located, information associated with historical user tour selections, etc. from the server 206. In addition, the transceiver 242 may transmit notifications, requests, signals, etc. to external devices or systems. In addition, the transceiver 242 may be configured to receive information / input from vehicle components (such as the infotainment system 240, the vehicle sensing system 234, one or more ECUs 216, etc.). In addition, the transceiver 242 may transmit signals (e.g., command signals) or notifications to vehicle components such as the infotainment system 240, the BCM 222, etc.

[0057] The processor 244 and the memory 246 may be the same or similar to the processor 218 and the memory 220, respectively. In some aspects, the processor 244 may utilize the memory 246 to store programs and / or store data in code form to perform various aspects according to the present disclosure. The memory 246 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or memory that stores the tour management program code. In some aspects, the memory 246 may additionally store instructions / information / data obtained from the server 206, the user device 204, etc.

[0058] In operation, a user 106 may input a request on the infotainment system 240 or the user device 204 to view tour information associated with a plurality of tours available in a geographic area where the vehicle 202 may be located. In some aspects, the user 106 may input the request when the vehicle 202 is stationary. As described herein in the present disclosure, a stationary vehicle may indicate a vehicle that is parked or moving at a speed less than 4-5 miles per hour.

[0059] In some aspects, along with the request, the user 106 may also input one or more user interest areas associated with places that the user 106 may desire to visit, such as natural or haunted places. In response to the user 106 inputting the request, the processor 244 may obtain a trigger signal from the infotainment system 240 or the user device 204. The trigger signal may include the request and the user interest areas (if provided by the user 106).

[0060] In response to obtaining the trigger signal and the user's area of ​​interest, the processor 244 may obtain, via the transceiver 242, a preview of tour information associated with a plurality of tours that are available in the geographic area where the vehicle 202 may be located and that may be associated with the user's area of ​​interest. In a scenario where the user 106 does not provide any area of ​​interest, the processor 244 may obtain a preview of tour information associated with all tours available in the geographic area where the vehicle 202 may be located, and may filter a plurality of recommended tours from all tours based on information associated with historical tours taken by the user 106 (which the processor 244 may obtain from the server 206 via the transceiver 242). In other aspects, when the user 106 does not provide any area of ​​interest, the server 206 itself may identify a plurality of recommended tours for the user 106 based on information associated with historical tours, and may send (via the transceiver 242) a preview of the tour information associated with the plurality of recommended tours to the processor 244.

[0061] In some aspects, if the user 106 is traveling on a route from a source location to a destination location, the user 106 may provide the source location and the destination location to the processor 244 (via the transceiver 242 and the infotainment system 240 or the user device 204), and request the processor 244 to provide tour information associated with tours available in the route between the source location and the destination location. In this case, the processor 244 may obtain a preview of the tour information associated with such available tours in the user's route from the server 206.

[0062] In response to obtaining previews of tour information associated with a plurality of tours from the server 206 as described above, the processor 244 may cause the infotainment system 240 to display the names of the tours (eg, Figure 1 In some aspects, when the user 106 inputs a request on the infotainment system 240 to view a preview of tour information associated with a tour (e.g., by clicking on a tour name or tour icon displayed on the infotainment system 240), the processor 244 can display a preview of the tour information. Figure 4 An exemplary preview of tour information associated with a tour ("Spooky Tales" tour) is depicted. Figure 4 Specifically depicted is a user interface 400 of the infotainment system 240 on which a preview of tour information associated with the "Spooky Tales" tour is displayed. Figure 4As depicted, the preview may include a portion of route 402 associated with the tour overlaid on a digital map of the geographic area where route 402 may exist, a geographic location icon 404 associated with one or more POIs present on route 402, and / or a fragment of image and / or text content 406 associated with one or more POIs, an audio (or video) preview 408 configured to audibly output a summary or overview of the tour, and the like.

[0063] In response to viewing a preview of the tour names associated with the plurality of tours and / or tour information associated with one or more tours on the infotainment system 240, the user 106 may select a tour to take or join. In some aspects, the user 106 may select a tour by clicking on an “add to route” icon 410 on the user interface 400 or by inputting a tour selection through any other means available on the infotainment system 240 or user device 204. If the user 106 does not wish to select a tour, but may be interested in joining a tour in the future, the user 106 may click on an “save” icon 412 on the user interface 400 to cause the server 206 to save the tour in the user account on the server 206 for future reference.

[0064] In response to the user 106 selecting a tour (e.g., when the user 106 clicks on the icon "Add to route" 410), the processor 244 may obtain another trigger signal from the infotainment system 240 (or the user device 204) indicating to the processor 244 that the user 106 wishes to take or join the selected tour. The trigger signal may include the user's selection of the tour. In response to obtaining the above trigger signal, the processor 244 may obtain (via the transceiver 242) the "complete" tour information associated with the selected tour from the server 206 and obtain the real-time vehicle geographic location from the TCU 228.

[0065] Although the above description describes the aspect that the processor 244 obtains a trigger signal to obtain complete tour information when the user 106 selects a tour on the infotainment system 240 (or the user device 204), in other aspects, the processor 244 can obtain a trigger signal when the vehicle 102 moves or starts a trip in a tour. In this case, the processor 244 can obtain a trigger signal from one or more ECUs 216, and can obtain complete tour information from the server 206 when the vehicle 202 starts to move.

[0066] In some aspects, the user 106 can configure the vehicle settings before starting a selected tour. Figure 5As shown, the user 106 can adjust the volume 502 of audio messages that can be output from the infotainment system 240 or vehicle speakers (not shown) when the vehicle 202 passes through multiple POIs during a tour, enable or disable a seating area vibration feature 504, enable or disable a climate control feature 506 (i.e., whether the processor 244 can be allowed or prohibited from changing the vehicle HVAC settings based on the tour information), enable or disable an ambient lighting control feature 508 (i.e., whether the processor 244 can be allowed or prohibited from changing the light settings based on the tour information), enable or disable an automatic charging route selection feature 510 (i.e., whether the processor 244 can be allowed or prohibited from automatically changing the route of the tour to add chargers / gas stations on the route based on the vehicle battery state of charge (SOC) or vehicle fuel level), enable or disable a community tag feature 512 (i.e., whether the processor 244 can be allowed or prohibited from displaying social community tags on the infotainment system 240 when the vehicle 202 may be traveling on a tour), etc.

[0067] In response to the user 106 configuring the vehicle settings, the user 106 / vehicle 202 can start the trip in the tour. In some aspects, the user 106 / vehicle 202 can directly start the trip in the tour after selecting the tour, and can skip configuring the vehicle settings.

[0068] In some aspects, when the vehicle 202 begins a trip in a tour or when the user 106 selects a tour on the infotainment system 240, in addition to obtaining the complete tour information, the processor 244 may also obtain a digital map of the geographic area including a plurality of POIs associated with the selected tour from the server 206 (or any other server providing navigation services) (e.g., as shown in FIG. Figure 6 602). The digital map 602 may include location icons associated with the geographic locations of the plurality of POIs. When the vehicle 202 begins a journey in a tour, the processor 244 may cause the infotainment system 240 to display the digital map 602. When the vehicle 202 may be traveling in a tour, the processor 244 may also determine (or obtain from the server 206) turn-by-turn navigation instructions based on the digital map 602. The processor 244 may cause the infotainment system 240 to output turn-by-turn navigation instructions to assist the user 106 / vehicle 202 in traveling in the tour.

[0069] In another aspect, the processor 244 may obtain the real-time vehicle geographic location from the TCU 228 when the vehicle 202 may be traveling in a tour. In response to obtaining the real-time vehicle geographic location, the processor 244 may check or determine whether a predefined condition can be satisfied based on the obtained tour information and the real-time vehicle geographic location. In some aspects, the processor 244 may determine that the predefined condition can be satisfied when the real-time vehicle geographic location is equivalent to the geographic location of a POI in a plurality of POIs associated with the tour (or the POI geographic location). In other words, the processor 244 may determine that the predefined condition can be satisfied when the vehicle 202 may be located near or at the POI geographic location.

[0070] In response to determining that the predefined condition can be satisfied, the processor 244 causes the audio or video message and / or text content associated with the POI to be played / displayed on the infotainment system 240 (eg, Figure 6 ), and / or the setting of the vehicle component (or one or more vehicle components) may be modified from a first setting to a second setting based on the tour information, as described below.

[0071] In some aspects, in response to determining that the predefined condition may be satisfied, the processor 244 may first determine whether the vehicle 202 is in motion or stationary based on input obtained from one or more ECUs 216. When the processor 244 determines that the vehicle 202 is likely in motion, the processor 244 may cause the infotainment system 240 to output an audio message associated with the POI (as determined based on the "complete" tour information). On the other hand, when the processor 244 determines that the vehicle 202 is likely stationary, the processor 244 may cause the infotainment system 240 to output a video message and / or text content. In this way, based on the vehicle's motion state, the processor 244 may determine the best type of content / message to display or output from the infotainment system 240, and may cause the infotainment system 240 to display / output audio, video, or text messages / content accordingly.

[0072] In a similar manner, in response to determining that the predefined conditions may be met, the processor 244 may modify the settings of one or more vehicle components based on the vehicle's motion state and the tour information. Examples of vehicle components include, but are not limited to, vehicle lights, vehicle seating areas, vehicle fragrance systems, infotainment systems 240, vehicle speaker systems, and vehicle HVAC systems. In a first exemplary aspect, in response to determining that the predefined conditions may be met and the vehicle 202 may be stationary, the processor 244 may determine the settings of one or more vehicle components based on the tour information and modify them from a first setting to a second setting. For example, when the vehicle 202 may be stationary, the processor 244 may change one or more interior lights from a fully lit state ("first setting") to a flashing state ("second setting") via the BCM 222 based on the tour information. As another example, when the vehicle 202 may be stationary, the processor 244 may change the volume setting of the vehicle speaker system or the infotainment system 240 from a low volume state ("first setting") to a high volume state ("second setting") based on the tour information. As yet another example, when the vehicle 202 may be stationary, the processor 244 may cause the driver's seating area to move from a non-vibrating state ("first setting") to a vibrating state ("second setting") based on the tour information via the BCM 222. In other words, the processor 244 may cause the driver's seating area to vibrate when predefined conditions may be met and when the vehicle 202 may be stationary.

[0073] In a second exemplary aspect, in response to determining that the predefined conditions may be satisfied and the vehicle 202 may be in motion, the processor 244 may determine the settings of one or more vehicle components based on the tour information and modify them from the first setting to the third setting. For example, when the vehicle 202 may be in motion, the processor 244 may change one or more interior lights from a fully lit state ("first setting") to a dimmed state ("third setting") via the BCM 222 based on the tour information. As another example, when the vehicle 202 may be in motion, the processor 244 may change the activation state of the vehicle fragrance system from a deactivated state ("first setting") to an activated state ("third setting") based on the tour information via the BCM 222. As yet another example, when the vehicle 202 may be in motion, the processor 244 may increase the heating or cooling effect or fan speed associated with the vehicle HVAC system via the BCM 222 based on the tour information.

[0074] In this way, in response to determining that the predefined condition can be met, the processor 244 can modify the settings associated with one or more vehicle components based on the tour information and the motion state of the vehicle. In another aspect, when the vehicle 202 can be traveling in the tour, the processor 244 can enable the user 106 to request additional information associated with one or more POIs from the server 206 via the infotainment system 240 (which can be paid). The processor 244 can also enable the user 106 to add / upload photos, comments, content, etc. associated with one or more POIs on a social community hosted on the server 206, interact with content provided by other users, provide suggestions / feedback about tour information associated with the tour, etc. In addition, if the vehicle 202 deviates from the route associated with the tour, the processor 244 can be configured to pause the tour and resume the tour when the vehicle 202 returns to the route associated with the tour (after skipping one or more POIs that the vehicle 202 may have missed due to the deviation from the route).

[0075] When the vehicle 202 completes travel on the tour and becomes stationary, the processor 244 may additionally enable the user 106 to provide comments, feedback, suggestions, etc. associated with the tour to the server 206 via the infotainment system 240 .

[0076] In some aspects, the processor 244 may also be configured to obtain one or more guides related to tour information and use of vehicle tour features (i.e., features that enable selection of tours, configuration of vehicle settings, etc.) from the server 206 and display them on the infotainment system 240 for user reference. The user 106 may view the guides at any time when the vehicle 202 may be stationary to understand how to use the tour features of the vehicle described above.

[0077] Figure 7 A flow chart depicts an exemplary method 700 for facilitating touring in a vehicle 202 according to the present disclosure. Figure 7 The following process is exemplary and is not limited to the steps described below. Furthermore, alternative embodiments may include more or fewer steps than shown or described herein, and may include the steps in an order different from that described in the example embodiments below.

[0078] The method 700 begins at step 702. At step 704, the method 700 may include obtaining, by the processor 244, a trigger signal from the infotainment system 240, the VCU 212, and / or the user device 204. As described above, the processor 244 may obtain the trigger signal when the user 106 selects a tour from a plurality of tours, or when the vehicle 202 begins a trip in a tour.

[0079] At step 706, the method 700 may include obtaining, by the processor 244, the tour information from the server 206 and obtaining the real-time vehicle geographic location from the TCU 228. At step 708, the method 700 may include determining, by the processor 244, that a predefined condition may be satisfied based on the tour information and the real-time vehicle geographic location. As described above, the predefined condition may be satisfied when the real-time vehicle geographic location may be equivalent to the POI geographic location.

[0080] At step 710 , method 700 may include modifying, by processor 244 , settings associated with one or more vehicle components based on the tour information in response to determining that the predefined condition may be satisfied as described above.

[0081] At step 712, method 700 may end.

[0082] In the above disclosure, reference has been made to the accompanying drawings that form a part of the above disclosure, which illustrate specific embodiments in which the present disclosure can be practiced. It should be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. References to "one embodiment," "embodiment," "example embodiment," etc. in this specification indicate that the described embodiment may include specific features, structures, or characteristics, but each embodiment may not necessarily include the specific features, structures, or characteristics. In addition, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, when features, structures, or characteristics are described in conjunction with an embodiment, whether or not explicitly described, those skilled in the art will recognize such features, structures, or characteristics in conjunction with other embodiments.

[0083] In addition, where appropriate, the functions described herein may be performed in one or more of the following: hardware, software, firmware, digital components, or analog components. For example, one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) may be programmed to perform one or more of the systems and programs described herein. Certain terms are used throughout the specification and claims to refer to specific system components. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, components may be referred to by different names. This document is not intended to distinguish between components that have different names but the same function.

[0084] It should also be understood that the word "example" as used herein is intended to be non-exclusive and non-limiting in nature. More specifically, the word "example" used herein indicates one of several examples, and it should be understood that no undue emphasis or preference is placed on the specific example described.

[0085] Computer-readable media (also referred to as processor-readable media) include any non-transitory (e.g., tangible) media that participate in providing data (e.g., instructions) that can be read by a computer (e.g., by a processor of a computer). Such media may take many forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. A computing device may include computer-executable instructions, where the instructions may be executable by one or more computing devices (such as those listed above) and stored on a computer-readable medium.

[0086] With respect to the processes, systems, methods, heuristics, etc. described herein, it should be understood that although the steps of such processes, etc. have been described as occurring according to a certain ordered sequence, such processes may be practiced by performing the described steps in an order different from the order described herein. It should also be understood that certain steps may be performed simultaneously, other steps may be added, or certain steps described herein may be omitted. In other words, the descriptions of processes herein are provided for the purpose of illustrating various embodiments and should in no way be construed as limiting the claims.

[0087] Therefore, it should be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Upon reading the above description, many embodiments and applications other than the examples provided will be apparent. The scope should not be determined with reference to the above description, but should be determined with reference to the entire scope of the appended claims and equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is expected and anticipated that the technology discussed herein will develop in the future, and the disclosed systems and methods will be incorporated into such future embodiments. In short, it should be understood that the present application is capable of modification and change.

[0088] Unless otherwise expressly indicated to the contrary, all terms used in the claims are intended to be given their ordinary meanings as understood by the skilled person described herein. Specifically, unless the claims state an express limitation to the contrary, the use of singular articles such as "one", "the", "said" and the like should be interpreted as describing one or more of the elements indicated. Unless otherwise specifically stated, or otherwise understood in the context of use, conditional language such as "can", "may", "possibly" or "may" is generally intended to express that although some embodiments may include, other embodiments may not include certain features, elements and / or steps. Therefore, such conditional language is generally not intended to imply that one or more embodiments require each feature, element and / or step in any way.

[0089] In one aspect of the present invention, the tour information includes at least one of the following: a plurality of geographic locations associated with a plurality of points of interest (POIs) in the tour, an audio message or a video message associated with one or more of the plurality of POIs, text content associated with one or more of the plurality of POIs, and one or more vehicle component settings associated with one or more of the plurality of POIs.

[0090] In one aspect of the invention, the predefined condition is satisfied when the real-time vehicle geographic location is identical to a geographic location associated with a first POI of the plurality of POIs.

[0091] In one aspect of the invention, the vehicle component includes at least one of: a vehicle light, a vehicle seating area, a vehicle fragrance system, a vehicle infotainment system, a vehicle speaker system, and a vehicle heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system.

[0092] In one aspect of the present invention, obtaining the trigger signal includes obtaining the trigger signal when the vehicle starts a trip in the tour.

[0093] According to the present invention, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which instructions are stored, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: obtain a trigger signal; obtain tour information associated with a tour and a real-time vehicle geographic location associated with a vehicle in response to obtaining the trigger signal; determine that a predefined condition is satisfied based on the tour information and the real-time vehicle geographic location; and modify a first vehicle component setting associated with a vehicle component to a second vehicle component setting in response to determining that the predefined condition is satisfied.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising: a transceiver configured to receive tour information associated with a tour; a telematics control unit configured to determine a real-time vehicle geographic location; as well as a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the telematics control unit, wherein the processor is configured to: Get a trigger signal; In response to obtaining the trigger signal, obtaining the tour information and the real-time vehicle geographic location; Determining based on the tour information and the real-time vehicle geographic location that a predefined condition is satisfied; as well as In response to determining that the predefined condition is satisfied, a first vehicle component setting associated with the vehicle component is modified to a second vehicle component setting. 2 . The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the transceiver receives the tour information from a server, and wherein the processor obtains the trigger signal from a vehicle infotainment system, a vehicle control unit, or a user device.

3. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the tour information comprises at least one of: a plurality of geographic locations associated with a plurality of points of interest (POIs) in the tour, an audio message or a video message associated with one or more of the plurality of POIs, text content associated with one or more of the plurality of POIs, and one or more vehicle component settings associated with one or more of the plurality of POIs. 4 . The vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the predefined condition is satisfied when the real-time vehicle geographic location is equivalent to a geographic location associated with a first POI of the plurality of POIs. 5 . The vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the processor is further configured to determine whether the vehicle is in motion or stationary in response to determining that the predefined condition is satisfied.

6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to: In response to determining that the vehicle is in motion, determining the second vehicle component setting associated with the first POI based on the tour information; and In response to determining the second vehicle component setting, the first vehicle component setting is modified to the second vehicle component setting.

7. The vehicle of claim 6, wherein the processor is further configured to: In response to determining that the vehicle is stationary, determining a third vehicle component setting associated with the first POI based on the tour information; and In response to determining the third vehicle component setting, the first vehicle component setting is modified to the third vehicle component setting.

8. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to: In response to determining that the vehicle is in motion and the predefined condition is satisfied, causing a vehicle infotainment system to output the audio message associated with the first POI; and In response to determining that the vehicle is stationary and the predefined condition is satisfied, causing the vehicle infotainment system to output at least one of the video message and the text content.

9. The vehicle of claim 3, wherein the processor is further configured to: obtaining from a server a digital map of a geographic area including the plurality of POIs; and A vehicle infotainment system is caused to display the digital map, wherein the digital map includes a plurality of location icons associated with the plurality of POIs.

10. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to: determining turn-by-turn navigation instructions based on the digital map while the vehicle is traveling on the tour; and Output the segment-by-segment navigation instruction.

11. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle components include at least one of: vehicle lights, a vehicle seating area, a vehicle fragrance system, a vehicle infotainment system, a vehicle speaker system, and a vehicle heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system.

12. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processor obtains the trigger signal when the vehicle begins a trip in the tour.

13. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to: obtaining information associated with a plurality of tours from a server; causing a vehicle infotainment system to display said information associated with a plurality of tours; and A selection of a tour from the plurality of tours is obtained from a user.

14. The vehicle of claim 13, wherein the processor obtains the trigger signal when the tour is selected.

15. A method comprising: A trigger signal is obtained by the processor; In response to obtaining the trigger signal, obtaining, by the processor, tour information associated with the tour and a real-time vehicle geographic location associated with the vehicle; Determining, by the processor, that a predefined condition is satisfied based on the tour information and the real-time vehicle geographic location; as well as In response to determining that the predefined condition is satisfied, a first vehicle component setting associated with a vehicle component is modified, by the processor, to a second vehicle component setting.

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