Voice-controlled haptic interface

Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to assigning one or more functions to one or more haptic control units. An indication of a requested machine control (MC) operation determined based on processing one or more voice commands received via one or more microphones using voice recognition may be received from a voice recognition system. One or more functions associated with the MC operation may be allocated to one or more haptic control devices via the MC system and based on the requested MC operation.

Description

[0002] Cross - Reference to Related Applications

[0003] This patent application claims priority to U.S. Non - Provisional Application 18 / 974,461, titled "Voice - Controlled Tactile Interface", filed on December 9, 2024, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 63 / 609,210, titled "Voice - Defined User Interface", filed on December 12, 2023. Technical Field

[0004] Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to user interfaces, and more particularly to interfaces for controlling other systems. Background Art

[0006] As in - vehicle functions of vehicles become more complex and internal controls become more minimalist, it has become a trend to use touchscreens to control many aspects of a vehicle. The touchscreen provides a human - machine interface (HMI) to allow configuration of various settings or controls of the vehicle (e.g., in real - time), including heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), rear - view mirror control, seat control, window or sunroof control, cruise control, performance settings, multimedia access, and configuration of various other automotive systems. However, due to various factors, there is increasing resistance to these touch - only systems, such as complex menu trees leading to confusing menu navigation, inconvenience, and user frustration, delays in realizing passenger intent, "eyes off the road" situations when navigating complex menu trees, and endangering safety in the name of minimalist aesthetics. Voice recognition can be used to speak commands for the vehicle to execute to improve functional safety, but it is not always accurate or reliable. Summary of the Invention

[0008] A simplified overview of one or more aspects is presented below to provide a basic understanding of these aspects. This overview is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, nor is it intended to identify key or important elements of all aspects or to describe the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description presented later.

[0009] In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method that includes performing speech recognition on a voice signal received by a microphone and, after a speech recognition event, assigning certain functions to a tactile control unit to perform certain actions consistent with the speech recognition result.

[0010] In some aspects, a voice-controlled haptic interface (VCHI) for a machine control (MC) system is provided, including one or more memories and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories. The one or more processors are configured, individually or in combination, to execute the instructions to cause the VCHI to receive an indication of a requested MC operation from a speech recognition system, the indication being determined based on processing of one or more voice commands received via one or more microphones using speech recognition, and to assign one or more functions associated with the MC operation to one or more haptic control devices via the MC system and based on the requested MC operation.

[0011] In another aspect, a method for assigning one or more functions to one or more haptic control units is provided, including: receiving an indication of a requested MC operation from a speech recognition system, the indication being determined based on processing of one or more voice commands received via one or more microphones using speech recognition, and assigning one or more functions associated with the MC operation to one or more haptic control devices via the MC system and based on the requested MC operation.

[0012] In another aspect, one or more computer-readable media are provided, having instructions stored thereon, wherein the instructions are executable by one or more processors for assigning one or more functions to one or more haptic control units, including receiving an indication of a requested MC operation from a speech recognition system, the indication being determined based on processing of one or more voice commands received via one or more microphones using speech recognition, and assigning one or more functions associated with the MC operation to one or more haptic control devices via the MC system and based on the requested MC operation.

[0013] In another aspect, a device for wireless communication is provided, including a transceiver, a memory configured to store instructions, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory. The one or more processors are configured to execute the instructions to perform the operations of the methods described herein. In another aspect, a device for wireless communication is provided that includes means for performing the operations of the methods described herein. In another aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided that includes code executable by one or more processors to perform the operations of the methods described herein.

[0014] To achieve the above and related purposes, one or more aspects include the features fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims below. The following description and the drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of one or more aspects. However, these features are only indicative of a few of the various ways in which the principles of the various aspects may be employed, and this description is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015] Aspects disclosed herein will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are used for illustration and not limitation of the disclosed aspects, where like reference numerals represent like elements, and where:

[0016] Figure 1 An example of a vehicle cab that can utilize a voice-controlled haptic interface (VCHI) in accordance with aspects described herein is shown.

[0017] Figure 2 An example of a voice processing unit in accordance with aspects described herein is shown.

[0018] Figure 3 An example of a method for assigning human-machine interface (HMI) operations to haptic control devices in accordance with aspects described herein is shown.

[0019] Figure 4 An example of a method for assigning HMI operations to haptic control devices based on voice directions or person recognition in accordance with aspects described herein is shown.

[0020] Figure 5 is a diagram of an example of a computing environment in accordance with aspects described herein. Detailed Description

[0021] Aspects will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of one or more aspects. However, it is apparent that these aspects may be practiced without these specific details.

[0022] Aspects described herein relate to a voice-controlled haptic interface (VCHI) for operating a machine control (MC) system, which may include a human-machine interface (HMI). The VCHI can be used to assign functions to haptic control devices based on received voice commands. For example, voice recognition can be performed to determine the requested MC operation, and the VCHI can assign the corresponding MC function to a haptic control device based on the requested MC operation. For example, the MC can include one or more microphones for receiving one or more voice commands (e.g., as spoken by a user), a voice recognition system for processing the one or more voice commands to determine the requested MC operation, and / or one or more haptic control devices to which one or more functions are assigned based on the requested MC operation, or can otherwise communicate or be communicatively coupled with these microphones. For example, one or more haptic control devices can include knobs, buttons or a set of buttons, displays, etc., to which one or more functions can be assigned to control the requested MC operation.

[0023] Thus, VCHI can provide a single, highly tactile control for each or multiple vehicle passengers in the form of a tactile control device, which can reduce or replace the need for touchscreen navigation, while maintaining the quality of aesthetic minimalism and providing a satisfactory and intuitive control interface for each user. VCHI can also utilize speech understanding technologies (e.g., spoken language understanding (SLU) systems) and / or acoustic echo cancellation / noise reduction / beamforming (AEC / NR / BF) expertise for microphone signal transmission to improve the performance and robustness of the overall system. In some examples, the aspects described herein can allow identification of the passenger requesting an operation and determination of whether the passenger has the privilege to perform the required action, or otherwise assign the corresponding function to the tactile control device associated with the passenger. In some examples, the aspects described herein can also be extended to applications other than automotive, such as industrial or consumer domains.

[0024] As the complexity of the set of vehicle functions accessible to users is increasing, the problem of drivers needing to keep their eyes and attention on the road while controlling the vehicle they are driving is becoming increasingly common. The aspects described herein provide a VCHI that can combine voice input and localization with a user interface that can be manipulated to control multiple in-cabin subsystems without taking the eyes off the road. By using speech recognition to determine the function of the tactile interface and then performing the required action, full functional safety can be achieved, as described in some examples herein.

[0025] Figure 1 An example of a vehicle cab 100 that can utilize VCHI 104 in accordance with the aspects described herein is shown. The vehicle cab 100 can include multiple seats for the driver and passengers, such as a left front seat 114, a rear seat 116, a right front seat 118, etc. For example, the cab 100 can be equipped with an MC system 102 for controlling various functions of the cab 100 or the vehicle itself. For example, the MC system 102 can control heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, seat position, steering wheel position, mirror position, cruise control, driveline performance, multimedia access, navigation, etc. In one example, the MC system 102 can use one or more actuators 120 to control some functions to affect changes to the mechanical components of the vehicle cab 100 or the vehicle itself, or the function of the MC system 102 itself can be controlled by software modification. The MC system 102 can include a central control unit 122 to modify vehicle settings by communicating with the actuators 120 or the software of the MC system 102 itself.

[0026] In one example, the MC system 102 may also include a display, such as a touchscreen display / HMI 108, for displaying information related to the operation of the MC system 102 and allowing a user (e.g., a vehicle passenger) to interact with the MC system 102 to control functions of the vehicle cab 100 or the vehicle itself. For example, the touchscreen display / HMI 108 may display information about current settings, which may be modified by interacting with the touchscreen display-HMI 108, such as HVAC settings, multimedia settings, such as audio for play, pause, skip track, adjust volume, etc. The touchscreen display / HMI 108 may also provide menu options for modifying settings of the MC system 102 itself or other functions within the vehicle cab 100, as described above. The MC system 102 may also include a haptic control unit 112, which may be a haptic feedback device, including a knob having a rotatable outer surface, a knob fixed to an axial bearing, a touchpad, etc., which axial bearing may move in various directions under applied pressure.

[0027] The menu of the MC system 102 may be nested, and navigating the menu by touching the touchscreen display / HMI 108 or using the haptic control unit 112 may be cumbersome and may distract the driver from operating the vehicle. Thus, aspects described herein relate to the VCHI 104, which may be used to process speech to modify functions of MC operations controlled by the haptic control unit 112. For example, the MC system 102 may also include a microphone array 110 for receiving voice commands from one or more vehicle passengers (e.g., passengers located in the left front seat 114, rear seat 116, and / or right front seat 118), and the VCHI 104 may process the voice commands to determine the requested MC operation or related function, the location from which the voice command was received, the person identified as speaking the voice command, etc. The MC operation or related function may be a function supported by the MC system 102 (e.g., a function available by interacting with the touchscreen display / HMI 108 of the MC system 102). In another example, the MC operation may involve navigating an option menu in the MC system 102 such that a voice command may request a menu, and the haptic control unit 112 may be assigned the function of navigating the requested menu, as shown on the touchscreen display / HMI 108.

[0028] However, the VCHI 104 can determine the requested MC operation or related function via a voice command and can assign that function to the haptic control unit 112 so that the haptic control unit 112 can be used to operate that function (e.g., change settings related to the MC operation) rather than requiring navigation of the menu of the MC system 102 to reach the MC operation or associated function. For example, the requested MC operation may relate to changing settings, such as HVAC control. In this example, the VCHI 104 can cause the central control unit 122 to assign the HVAC control function to the haptic control unit 112 such that a user (e.g., a vehicle passenger) can use the haptic control unit 112 to control the HVAC system of the vehicle cab 100 after requesting the MC operation via a voice command. For example, the haptic control unit 112 can receive commands from a user's use, such as rotating a knob or the outer surface of a knob, shaking a knob mounted on an axial bearing, sliding on a touchpad, etc., and can control the HVAC system accordingly based on the commands received on the haptic control unit 112.

[0029] In one example, the MC operation or function assigned to the haptic control unit 112 can be displayed on the touchscreen display / HMI 108. In this example, the central control unit 122 can display an indicator associated with the MC operation or function based on the MC operation or function specified by the VCHI 104 to notify (e.g., a vehicle passenger) by displaying the MC operation or function modified by the assigned haptic control unit 112. In another example, the haptic control unit 112 can include a display and the central control unit 122 can operate the display to display an indicator associated with the MC operation or function. In any case, displaying the indicator in this regard can allow a vehicle passenger to verify that the requested MC operation or function is what is desired by the voice command to prevent an accidental function of modifying the vehicle cab 100 or the vehicle itself. Additionally, displaying the indicator can prevent an additional confirmation that is typically associated with a voice command since the vehicle passenger can verify the requested MC operation on the display without having to receive a confirmation request from the MC system 102.

[0030] The VCHI 104 can include a voice processing unit 106 for performing speech recognition, direction detection, person recognition, etc. on voice commands received via the microphone array 110. Figure 2An example of the voice processing unit 106 in accordance with aspects described herein is shown. For example, the voice processing unit 106 may include one or more of a direction detection unit 202 for detecting the direction of a received voice command, a voice recognition unit 204 for performing voice recognition on the received voice command, a function control unit 206 for controlling one or more functions of the MC system 102 (e.g., via a central control unit 206), and / or a voice recognition module 208 for identifying the person speaking the received voice command.

[0031] In one example, the voice processing unit 106 may receive a voice command (signal M) from the microphone array 110, and the voice recognition unit 204 may process the voice command to determine the requested MC operation or related function. For example, the voice recognition unit 204 may indicate the requested MC operation to the function control unit 206. In one example, the function control unit 206 may communicate (signal D) with the touchscreen display / HMI 108 or the haptic control unit 112, e.g., via the central control unit 122, to modify the associated display to show an indicator of the MC operation. In another example, the function control unit 206 may communicate (signal H) with the haptic control unit 112, e.g., via the central control unit 122, to assign the MC operation or related function to the haptic control unit 112 to allow operation thereof via the haptic control unit 112 (e.g., setting modification). In another example, the function control unit 206 may communicate (signal A) with one or more actuators 120, e.g., via the central control unit 122, to modify the actuator settings.

[0032] In another example, the direction detection unit 202 can detect the direction of the received voice command by performing beamforming on the voice commands (signal M) received at multiple microphones in the microphone array 110 or by using other direction or arrival detection techniques. In this example, the direction detection unit 202 can determine the region where the voice command is received, such as the left front seat 114, the rear seat 116, or the right front seat 118. The voice recognition unit 204 can provide this information to the function control unit 206. In one example, the function control unit 206 can use this information to determine whether the requested MC operation or related function is allowed for the passengers in that region. For example, some MC operations may only be accessible to the driver of the vehicle, and such MC operations requested from other regions may be rejected, such that the function control unit 206 does not communicate with the touch screen display / HMI 108 or the haptic control unit 112 based on the received voice command. In another example, the MC system 102 can include multiple haptic control units 112 for multiple vehicle passengers. In this example, the function control unit can use the direction / region information to determine which haptic control unit 112 to modify to perform the MC operation or related function. For example, if a vehicle passenger in the right front seat 118 utters a voice command to control the seat position, the function control unit 206 can communicate with the haptic control unit 112 of the passenger in the right front seat 118, so that the haptic control unit 112 can be used to perform the MC operation or related function to control the seat position of the right front seat 118.

[0033] In another example, the speech recognition unit 208 may detect a specific person who has received a voice command by biometric detection of the voice command (signal M) received at the microphone array 110. In this example, the speech recognition unit 208 may provide this information to the function control unit 206. In one example, the function control unit 206 may use this information to determine whether the requested MC operation or related function is allowed for the specific person who requests the MC operation or associated function. For example, certain MC operations may be accessible only to a person designated as the vehicle owner or primary driver, or detected as the driver based on the key used to access the vehicle or other indication of the person as the driver, and such MC operations requested from other areas may be rejected, such that the function control unit 206 does not communicate with the touch screen display / HMI 108 or the haptic control unit 112 based on the received voice command. In another example, the MC system 102 may include multiple haptic control units 112 for multiple vehicle passengers. In this example, the function control unit may use the identified person to determine which haptic control unit 112 to modify to perform the MC operation or related function. For example, if the person identified according to the voice command was previously indicated as the driver, the function control unit 206 may communicate with the haptic control unit 112 to obtain the haptic control unit 112 associated with the driver's position, so that the haptic control unit 112 can be used to perform the MC operation or related function.

[0034] In the examples described herein, an MC system, an HMI, and / or related methods may be provided that include one or more haptic control units (e.g., buttons, joysticks, trackballs, touchpads, knobs, and / or touchscreens, etc.), one or more microphone units, one or more speech processing units capable of performing speech recognition, an optional feedback unit (e.g., including a display, haptic feedback, voice feedback, or other modalities), etc. In some examples, the system and / or method may be characterized by performing speech recognition on the voice signals received by the microphone and, after a speech recognition event, assigning certain functions to the haptic control units to perform certain actions consistent with the speech recognition results.

[0035] In some examples, the human-machine interface system or method described herein may also be characterized by, after a speech recognition event, adjusting the content on the feedback unit in response to the speech recognition and assigning certain functions to the haptic control units to perform certain actions selectable by the feedback device.

[0036] In some examples, the features of the MC system or method described herein may also be to perform speech processing on audio signals from at least two microphones for direction-of-arrival detection of the audio signals and / or microphone beamforming, and after a speech recognition event, adjust the content on a display in a display area assigned to the detected direction of arrival of the speech signal (e.g., at an auto show on the passenger side of the display, after recognizing a command such as "display (my) air conditioning settings" spoken from the passenger seat, the air conditioning settings of the passenger seat), assign certain optional direction-specific functions of a haptic control unit to the said display area (in the above example, controlling the passenger-side air conditioning settings with the haptic control unit), distinguish the permissions of control functions in different directions, for example, in a vehicle, certain control functions can only be achieved by a verbal command from the driver's seat (e.g., "adjust the wiper speed"), and / or attenuate the audio signal, where the audio signal includes speech signals from other directions in the audio signal processed by speech recognition on the speech signal arriving from a specific direction (e.g., in a vehicle, the speech from the passenger seat will be removed in the audio signal for speech recognition at the driver's seat).

[0037] In some examples, the features of the human-machine interface system or method described herein may also be a speech processing unit capable of performing biometric speech recognition, and after a speech recognition event, recognize the speech of the speaking individual previously recognized and assigned a personalized user profile, and adjust the content on the display according to the said user profile (e.g., for media playback control, display a personalized playlist after recognizing a command such as "display (my) playlist").

[0038] In some examples, the features of the human-machine interface system or method described herein may also be a speech recognition system, where the assignment of control functions is defined in one or more languages, and for speech recognition, the supported languages may be different from the languages defining the assignment of control functions.

[0039] For example, based on a speech recognition event, the haptic control unit 112 can operate in a specific mode and / or perform a specific function. This can include the haptic control unit 112 displaying an image indicating the mode or function, interpreting inputs from interactions with the haptic control unit 112 based on the mode or function, etc. For example, if a speech recognition event recognizes a phrase related to music, the haptic control unit 112 can modify the displayed interface to include pictures or icons, or optional features related to controlling music (e.g., play / pause, next or previous song buttons), and / or can modify interaction elements (e.g., a dial) to control features related to music (e.g., volume). In another example, if a speech recognition event recognizes a phrase related to HVAC control, the haptic control unit 112 can modify the displayed interface to include pictures or icons, or optional features related to controlling HVAC (e.g., HVAC mode buttons such as A / C, heat, defrost, etc., or fan speed buttons), and / or can modify interaction elements (e.g., a dial) to control features related to HVAC (e.g., automatic temperature and / or fan speed). In another example, if a speech recognition event recognizes a phrase related to cruise control, the haptic control unit 112 can modify the displayed interface to include pictures or icons, or optional features related to controlling cruise control (e.g., set, resume or cancel buttons, buttons to increase or decrease speed, buttons to enable or disable adaptive cruise control, etc.), and / or can modify interaction elements (e.g., a dial) to control features related to cruise control (e.g., cruise control speed, etc.).

[0040] Figure 3 An example of a method 300 for assigning MC operations to a haptic control device in accordance with aspects described herein is shown. For example, method 300 can be performed by the VCHI 104, the associated MC system 102, or corresponding components, as Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown.

[0041] In method 300, at action 302, an indication of a requested MC operation can be received from a speech recognition system, which is determined based on processing one or more voice commands received via one or more microphones using speech recognition. In one aspect, for example, according to the speech processing unit 106, the speech recognition unit 204, one or more associated processors, and / or memories, etc., the VCHI 104 can receive an indication of the requested MC operation from a speech recognition system (e.g., the speech processing unit 204), which is determined based on processing (e.g., by the speech recognition unit 204) using speech recognition of one or more voice commands received via one or more microphones (e.g., in the microphone array 110). For example, the requested MC operation can include MC operations supported by the MC system, and its functions (e.g., settings can be modified) can be performed using the haptic control unit.

[0042] In one example, when receiving an indication of the requested MC operation at action 302, optionally at action 304, one or more voice commands can be translated from a first language to a second language to determine the requested MC operation. In one aspect, for example, according to the speech processing unit 106, the speech recognition unit 204, one or more associated processors, and / or memories, etc., the VCHI 104 can translate the one or more voice commands from a first language to a second language to determine the requested MC operation. In this regard, for example, the VCHI can support the processing of voice commands in multiple languages by translating the voice commands into the language used by the MC to define MC operations.

[0043] In method 300, optionally at action 306, the content on the display of the MC system or one or more haptic control devices can be adjusted to indicate the MC operation or the related functions assigned to the haptic control devices. In one aspect, for example, according to the central control unit 122, the touch screen display / HMI 108, the haptic control unit 112, one or more associated processors, and / or memories, etc., the VCHI 104 can adjust the content on the display of the MC system (e.g., the touch screen display / HMI 108) or one or more haptic control devices (e.g., the haptic control unit 112) to indicate the MC operation or the related functions assigned to the haptic control devices. This can allow vehicle passengers to verify whether the requested MC operation has been assigned to the haptic control unit 112 before performing the related functions using the haptic control unit 112.

[0044] In method 300, at action 308, one or more functions associated with the MC operation can be assigned to one or more haptic control devices based on the requested MC operation. In one aspect, for example, according to the central control unit 122, the haptic control unit 112, one or more associated processors, and / or memories, etc., the VCHI 104 can, based on the requested MC operation (e.g., determined based on speech recognition processing), assign one or more functions associated with the MC operation to one or more haptic control devices (e.g., the haptic control unit 112), such that the haptic control unit 112 can be used to perform one or more functions, such as changing the settings of the vehicle cab 100 or the vehicle itself, as described herein.

[0045] Figure 4 An example of method 400 for assigning an MC operation to a haptic control device based on voice direction or person recognition according to aspects described herein is shown. For example, method 400 can be executed by the VCHI 104, the associated MC system 102, or corresponding components, as Figure 1 and Figure 2 shown.

[0046] In method 400, at action 302, an indication of the requested MC operation determined based on processing one or more voice commands received via one or more microphones using speech recognition can be received from a speech recognition system, as described above with reference to Figure 3 method 300 in

[0047] In method 400, at action 308, one or more functions associated with the MC operation can be assigned to one or more haptic control devices based on the requested MC operation, as described above with reference to Figure 3 method 300 in

[0048] In method 400, optionally at action 402, the detected direction of arrival of one or more voice commands can be determined based on performing direction-of-arrival detection or microphone beamforming on the audio signals of the one or more voice commands. In one aspect, for example, according to the VCHI 104, the speech processing unit 106, one or more associated processors, and / or memories, etc., the direction detection unit 202 can determine the detected direction of arrival of one or more voice commands based on performing direction-of-arrival detection or microphone beamforming on the audio signals of the one or more voice commands. For example, based on detecting a voice command, the direction detection unit 202 can determine the direction of arrival and can determine the region associated with the direction of arrival, such as the left front seat 114, the rear seat 116, the right front seat 118, etc. As described above, the direction of arrival can be used to verify the voice command, determine which haptic control unit 112 to assign the MC operation to, etc.

[0049] In method 400, optionally at action 404, the person recognized as speaking one or more voice commands may be determined based on performing biometric recognition. In one aspect, for example, according to the VCHI 104, the voice processing unit 106, one or more associated processors, and / or memories, etc., the voice recognition unit 208 may determine the person recognized as speaking one or more voice commands based on performing biometric voice recognition. For example, the person may train the voice recognition unit 208 to detect their voice based on speech cues of theirs via the microphone array 110. The voice recognition unit 208 may recognize the person in subsequent voice commands. As described above, the recognized person may be used to verify voice commands, determine the tactile control unit 112 to which the MC operation is assigned, determine what to adjust via the tactile control unit 112 (e.g., a song on a playlist associated with the person), etc.

[0050] In method 400, optionally at action 406, one or more functions to be assigned to one or more tactile control devices may be selected as direction-specific functions based on the detected direction of arrival or the recognized person. In one aspect, for example, according to the function control unit 206 of the VCHI 104, the voice processing unit 106, one or more associated processors, and / or memories, etc., one or more functions may be selected as specific direction functions based on the detected direction of arrival or the recognized person. For example, the function control unit 206 may determine a specific direction function as a function for a specific HVAC zone, a specific seat, etc., to be adjusted by using the tactile control unit 112.

[0051] In method 400, optionally at action 408, the privilege level of one or more functions may be selected based on the detected direction of arrival or the recognized person. In one aspect, the function control unit 206, for example, according to the VCHI 104, the voice processing unit 106, one or more associated processors, and / or memories, etc., may select the privilege level of one or more functions based on the detected direction of arrival or the recognized person. In one example, the function control unit 206 may determine whether certain directions (e.g., zones) or the recognized person are able to control certain functions via the tactile control unit 112 based on the privilege level, and may accordingly assign or not assign the MC operation to the tactile control unit 112.

[0052] In method 400, optionally at action 410, one or more haptic control devices can be selected from a plurality of haptic control devices to assign one or more functions based on a detected arrival direction or an identified person. In one aspect, the function control unit 206, for example, according to the VCHI 104, the speech processing unit 106, one or more associated processors, and / or memories, etc., can select one or more haptic control devices from a plurality of haptic control devices based on a detected arrival direction or an identified person to assign one or more functions. As described above, for example, in the case where the vehicle cab 100 or its MC system 102 includes a plurality of haptic control units 112 assigned to a plurality of regions, the function control unit 206 can select a haptic control unit for assigning functions of MC operations based on the region or person from which a voice command is received.

[0053] Referring to Figure 5 , an example of a computing environment 500 according to aspects described herein is shown. The computing environment 500 can be an in-vehicle computing system having an MC system 102, a VCHI 104, a speech processing unit 106, a central control unit 122, a touchscreen display / HMI 108, actuators 120, haptic control units 112, microphones 110, speakers, and / or other components as described.

[0054] The computing environment 500 includes an example of an environment that includes a client computer 501 configured to execute at least some of the program code 577 involved in performing the methods described herein related to providing an MC system, an associated VCHI, etc. In addition to the computer code 577, the computing environment 500 can also include, for example, a client computer 501, a wide area network (WAN) 502, a remote server 504, and a cloud 506. In this regard, the computer 501 includes a processor group 510 (including processing circuitry 520 and a cache 521), a communication fabric 511, a volatile memory 512, a persistent memory 513 (including an operating system 522 and a block 577 as described above), a peripheral group 514 (including a user interface (UI), a device group 523, a memory 524), and a network module 515. The remote server 504 includes a remote database 530.

[0055] The computer 501 can take the form of a computer or mobile device or MC that is currently known or will be developed in the future and is capable of running programs, accessing a network, or querying a database such as the remote database 530. Alternatively, the performance of the computer-implemented methods described herein can be distributed among multiple computers and / or multiple locations. For simplicity, in this demonstration of the computing environment 500, the following detailed discussion focuses on a single computer, specifically the computer 501. The computer 501 can be located in the cloud, even if the computer 501 isFigure 5 is not shown in the cloud. On the other hand, computer 501 does not need to be in the cloud unless it can be definitely indicated.

[0056] Processor group 510 includes one or more computer processors of any type. Processing circuit 520 can be distributed over multiple packages, e.g., multiple coordinated integrated circuit chips. Processing circuit 520 can implement multiple processor threads and / or multiple processor cores. Cache 521 is a memory located within the processor chip package and can be used for data or code that is quickly accessible to the threads or cores running on processor group 510. Depending on the relative proximity to the processing circuit, the cache memory can be organized into multiple levels. Alternatively, some or all of the cache for the processor group can be located "off-chip". In some computing environments, processor group 510 can be designed to work with qubits and perform quantum computing.

[0057] Computer-readable program instructions can be loaded onto computer 501 to cause the processor group 510 of computer 501 to perform a series of operational steps and implement a computer-implemented method such that the instructions so executed can instantiate the methods specified in the flowcharts and / or narrative descriptions of the computer-implemented methods described herein. These computer-readable program instructions can be stored in various types of computer-readable storage media, such as cache 521 and other storage media discussed below. The program instructions and associated data can be accessed by processor group 510 to control and direct the performance of the aspects described herein. In computing environment 500, at least some of the instructions for performing the aspects described herein can be stored in block 577 in persistent memory 513.

[0058] Communication structure 511 can be a signal conduction path that allows the various components of computer 501 to communicate with each other. The structure can be made up of switches and conductive paths, such as the switches and conductive pathways that make up a bus, a bridge, a physical input / output port, etc. Other types of signal communication paths can be used, such as fiber optic communication paths and / or wireless communication paths.

[0059] Volatile memory 512 can be any type of volatile memory known now or developed in the future. Examples include dynamic random access memory (RAM) or static RAM. Volatile memory can be characterized by random access. In computer 501, volatile memory 512 can be located within a single package and / or can be located inside computer 501. However, alternatively or additionally, the volatile memory can be distributed over multiple packages and / or be located external to computer 501.

[0060] The persistent memory 513 can be a form of non-volatile memory of a computer that is known now or developed in the future. The non-volatility of this memory involves the stored data being maintained regardless of whether power is supplied to the computer 501 and / or directly to the persistent memory 513. The persistent memory 513 can be read-only memory (ROM), but can at least be part of the persistent memory that allows data to be written, deleted, and / or rewritten. Some example forms of persistent storage include magnetic disks and solid-state storage devices. The operating system 522 can take various forms, such as various known proprietary operating systems or operating systems of the open-source portable operating system interface type that employ a kernel. The code included in block 577 can include at least some of the computer code involved in performing the aspects described herein.

[0061] The peripheral device group 514 can include the peripheral device group of the computer 501. The data communication connection between the peripheral devices and other components of the computer 501 can be implemented in various ways, such as a Bluetooth connection, a near-field communication (NFC) connection, a connection via a cable (such as a universal serial bus (USB)-type cable), a plug-in connection (such as a Secure Digital (SD) card), a connection via a local area network, or even a connection via a wide area network such as the Internet. In various aspects, the UI device group 523 can include one or more components such as a display screen, a speaker or speaker array, a microphone or microphone array, wearable devices (such as goggles and smartwatches), a keyboard, a mouse, a printer, a touchpad, virtual reality goggles, augmented reality goggles, mixed reality goggles, a game controller, a voice user interface (VUI), an automatic speech recognition system (ASR), a text-to-speech (TTS) system, a camera, and a haptic device. The memory 524 can include an external memory, such as an external hard drive, or a plug-in memory, such as an SD card. The memory 524 can be persistent and / or volatile. In some aspects, the memory 524 can take the form of a quantum computing storage device for storing data in the form of qubits. In aspects where the computer 501 has a large amount of storage (for example, the computer 501 stores and manages a large database locally), the storage can be provided by a peripheral storage device designed to store a very large amount of data, such as a storage area network (SAN) shared by multiple geographically distributed computers.

[0062] The network module 515 may include a collection of computer software, hardware, and firmware that allows the computer 501 to communicate with other computers via the WAN 502. The network module 515 may include hardware such as a modem or a Wi-Fi signal transceiver, software for packetizing and / or depacketizing data transmitted over a communication network, and / or web browser software for transmitting data over the Internet. In some aspects, the network control function and the network forwarding function of the network module 515 are performed on the same physical hardware device. In other aspects (e.g., aspects utilizing software-defined networking (SDN)), the control function and the forwarding function of the network module 515 are performed on physically separate devices such that the control function manages several different network hardware devices. The computer-readable program instructions for performing the methods of the present invention may be downloaded to the computer 501 from an external computer or an external storage device via a network adapter card or a network interface included in the network module 515.

[0063] The WAN 502 is any wide area network (e.g., the Internet) capable of communicating computer data over non-local distances via any technology for communicating computer data that is currently known or developed in the future. In certain aspects, the wide area network (WAN) may be replaced and / or supplemented by a local area network (LAN) designed to transmit data between devices located within the local area network (such as a Wi-Fi network). The wide area network and / or the local area network typically include computer hardware such as copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmissions, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers, and edge servers.

[0064] The remote server 504 is any computer system that provides at least some data and / or functionality to the computer 501. The remote server 504 may be controlled and used by the same entity operating the computer 501. The remote server 504 represents a machine that collects and stores useful data for use by other computers such as the computer 501.

[0065] The following numbered clauses describe various embodiments of the present disclosure:

[0066] Clause 1. A human-machine interface system or method, comprising: one or more tactile control units; one or more microphone units; one or more voice processing units capable of performing voice recognition; optionally, one or more feedback units, wherein the system or method is configured to: perform voice recognition on voice signals received by the microphone, and after a voice recognition event, assign certain functions to the tactile control units to perform certain actions consistent with the voice recognition result.

[0067] Clause 2. The human-machine interface system or method described in Clause 1 is configured to, after a voice recognition event, adjust the content on the feedback unit in response to the voice recognition and assign certain functions to the haptic control unit to perform certain actions that can be selected by the feedback device.

[0068] Clause 3. The human-machine interface system or method described in Clause 1 is configured to: perform voice processing on audio signals from at least two microphones for arrival direction detection of the audio signals and / or microphone beamforming; and, after a voice recognition event, one or more of the following: adjust the content on the display in the display area assigned to the detected arrival direction of the voice signal; assign certain functions of the haptic control unit to the display area, optionally direction-specific; distinguish control function privileges in different directions; or attenuate the audio signal, including voice signals from other directions in the audio signal, which is processed by performing voice recognition on the voice signal from a certain direction.

[0069] Clause 4. The human-machine interface system or method described in Clause 1 further includes: a voice processing unit capable of performing biometric voice recognition; and is also configured to, after a voice recognition event, one or more of the following: recognize the voice of a speaking individual who has been previously recognized and assigned a personalized user profile; or adjust the content on the display in accordance with the user profile.

[0070] Clause 5. The human-machine interface system or method described in Clause 1 further includes: a voice recognition system, wherein the assignment of control functions is defined in one or more languages, and for voice recognition, the supported languages may be different from the languages defining the assignment of control functions.

[0071] Clause 6 is a method for assigning one or more functions to one or more haptic control units, including: receiving an indication of the requested MC operation from a voice recognition system, the indication being determined based on processing one or more voice commands received via one or more microphones using voice recognition, and assigning, via the MC system and based on the requested MC operation, one or more functions associated with the MC operation to one or more haptic control devices.

[0072] In Clause 7, the method described in Clause 6 includes where the requested MC operation corresponds to a menu option in the MC system for modifying a parameter value set in the MC system, wherein the one or more functions are associated with using the one or more haptic control devices to modify the parameter value.

[0073] In Clause 8, the method described in Clause 7 further includes adjusting the content on the display of the one or more haptic control devices via the MC system to indicate the settings in the MC system.

[0074] In clause 9, the method according to any one of clauses 6 to 8 includes providing the one or more voice commands to the speech recognition system to process the one or more voice commands received via the one or more microphones using speech recognition.

[0075] In clause 10, the method according to any one of clauses 6 to 9 includes: determining the direction of arrival of the detected one or more voice commands based on performing direction-of-arrival detection or microphone beamforming on the audio signals of the one or more voice commands, and selecting one or more functions as specific direction functions based on the detected direction of arrival.

[0076] In clause 11, the method according to any one of clauses 6 to 9 includes: determining the direction of arrival of the detected one or more voice commands based on performing direction-of-arrival detection or microphone beamforming on the audio signals of the one or more voice commands, and selecting a privilege level for the one or more functions based on the detected direction of arrival.

[0077] In clause 12, the method according to any one of clauses 6 to 9 includes: determining the direction of arrival of the detected one or more voice commands based on performing direction-of-arrival detection or microphone beamforming on the audio signals of the one or more voice commands, and selecting one or more haptic control devices from the plurality of haptic control devices based on the detected direction of arrival to assign the one or more functions.

[0078] In clause 13, the method according to any one of clauses 6 to 9 includes: determining the person identified as speaking the one or more voice commands based on performing biometric voice recognition, and selecting the one or more functions as specific direction functions based on the person identified as speaking the one or more voice commands.

[0079] In clause 14, the method according to any one of clauses 6 to 9 includes: determining the person identified as speaking the one or more voice commands based on performing biometric voice recognition, and selecting a privilege level for the one or more functions based on the person identified as speaking the one or more voice commands.

[0080] In clause 15, the method according to any one of clauses 6 to 9 includes: determining the person identified as speaking the one or more voice commands based on performing biometric voice recognition, and selecting one or more haptic control devices from the plurality of haptic control devices based on the person identified as speaking the one or more voice commands to assign the one or more functions.

[0081] In clause 16, the method described in any one of clauses 6 to 15 includes: translating the one or more voice commands from a first language into a second language to determine the requested MC operation.

[0082] Clause 17. An apparatus, comprising: one or more memories; one or more processors coupled to the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured, individually or in combination, to perform the method described in any one of clauses 6 to 17.

[0083] Clause 18. A computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, wherein the instructions are executable by one or more processors, individually or in combination, to perform the method described in any one of clauses 6 to 17.

[0084] Aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of all or part of a hardware aspect, all or part of a software aspect, or a combination of software and hardware. In addition, as described herein, aspects of the present disclosure (e.g., systems and methods) may take the form of a computer program product that includes a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium having computer-accessible instructions (e.g., computer-readable and / or computer-executable instructions), such as computer software encoded or otherwise embodied in such a storage medium. These instructions may be read or otherwise accessed and executed by one or more processors to perform or permit the performance of the operations described herein. The instructions may be provided in any suitable form, such as source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, assembly code, combinations of the above, etc. Any suitable computer-readable non-transitory storage medium may be utilized to form a computer program product. For example, a computer-readable medium may include any tangible non-transitory medium for storing information in a form readable or otherwise accessible by one or more computers or processors functionally coupled thereto. Non-transitory storage media may include read-only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; flash memory, etc.

[0085] Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference to block diagrams and flowcharts of methods, systems, apparatuses, and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowcharts, respectively, can be implemented by computer-accessible instructions. In certain implementations, the computer-accessible instructions may be loaded or otherwise incorporated into a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or another programmable information processing device to produce a particular machine such that the operations or functions specified in the flowchart blocks can be implemented in response to execution by the computer or processing device.

[0086] Unless otherwise expressly stated, no device protocol, procedure, process, or method described herein shall be construed as requiring that its acts or steps be performed in a particular order. Accordingly, if a process or method claim does not actually recite the order in which its acts or steps are to be performed, or if no particular order is otherwise specifically recited in the claims or description of the present disclosure, no order shall be inferred in any respect. This applies to any possible basis of non-explicit interpretation, including: logical issues related to the arrangement of steps or the flow of operations; simple meanings derived from grammatical organization or punctuation; the number or type of aspects described in the specification or drawings; or the like.

[0087] As used in this disclosure, including the drawings, the terms "component", "module", "system", etc. are intended to refer to a computer-related entity or an entity related to a device having one or more specific functions. The entity can be hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. One or more such entities are also referred to as "functional elements". For example, a component can be a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable file, an execution thread, a program, and / or a computer. For example, an application running on a server or a network controller and the server or network control program can both be components. One or more components can reside within a process and / or an execution thread, and a component can be localized on one computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer-readable media on which various data structures are stored. These components can communicate via local and / or remote processes, such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component that interacts with another component in a local system, a distributed system, and / or interacts with other systems via a network such as the Internet through a signal). As another example, a component can be a device having a specific function provided by a mechanical component operated by an electrical or electronic circuit, which can be controlled or otherwise operated by program code executed by a processor. As yet another example, a component can be a device that provides a specific function through an electronic component without the need for a mechanical component, and the electronic component can include a processor to execute program code that at least partially provides the function of the electronic component. As yet another example, an interface can include an I / O component or an application programming interface (API) component. Although the above examples are directed to aspects of components, aspects or features of the examples also apply to systems, modules, etc.

[0088] In addition, the word "or" is intended to mean inclusive or rather than exclusive or. That is, unless otherwise stated or the context clearly indicates, "X uses A or B" is intended to mean any natural inclusive arrangement. That is, if X uses A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B simultaneously, then in any of the above cases, "X employs A or B" holds. Further, the articles "a" and "an" as used in this specification and the drawings shall be construed to mean "one or more" unless otherwise specified or the context clearly dictates a singular form.

[0089] In addition, the terms "example" and "for example" and "such as" are used herein to denote something used as an instance or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as an "example" or related to a "for example" clause or "such as" is not necessarily to be construed as being superior to other aspects or designs described herein. Rather, the use of terms such as "example" or "such as" or "for example" is to present concepts in a concrete manner. Unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. as used in the claims and the specification are for clarity only and do not necessarily denote or imply any temporal or spatial order.

[0090] The term "processor" as used in this disclosure may refer to any computing processing unit or device, including processing circuitry that can operate on data and / or signaling. The computing processing unit or device may include, for example, a single-core processor; a single processor with software multithreading execution capabilities; a multi-core processor; a multi-core processor with software multithreading execution capabilities; a multi-core processor employing hardware multithreading techniques; a parallel platform; and a parallel platform with distributed shared memory. Further, the processor may include an integrated circuit, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic controller (PLC), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. In some cases, the processor may utilize nanoscale architectures such as molecule- and quantum dot-based transistors, switches, and gates to optimize space usage or improve the performance of the user equipment. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

[0091] In addition, terms such as "memory", "data storage", "database", and any other information storage components related to the operation and function of a component refer to a "memory component" or an entity contained within a "memory" or a component that constitutes a memory. It should be understood that the memory components described herein may be volatile memory or non-volatile storage, or may include both volatile and non-volatile storage. Further, the memory components may be removable or attached to a functional element (e.g., a device, a server).

[0092] As a simple example, non-volatile memory can include read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can include random access memory (RAM) used as an external cache. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM comes in various forms such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM). In addition, the memory components of the systems or methods disclosed herein are intended to include, but not be limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0093] The various aspects described herein can be implemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture using the special programming described herein. In addition, the various aspects disclosed herein can also be implemented by program modules or other types of computer program instructions that are specially configured and stored in a memory device as described herein and executed by one or more processors alone or in combination, or by other combinations of hardware and software or hardware and firmware. As described herein, such specially configured program modules or computer program instructions can be loaded onto a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or another type of programmable data processing device to produce a machine such that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable data processing device create a means for implementing the functions disclosed herein.

[0094] The term "article of manufacture" as used herein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any non-transitory computer-readable device, carrier, or medium. For example, computer-readable media can include, but are not limited to, magnetic storage devices (such as hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic strips, etc.), optical disks (such as compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVDs), Blu-ray discs (BDs), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (such as cards, sticks, key drives, etc.).

[0095] The detailed description set forth herein in connection with the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of various configurations or implementations and is not intended to represent the only configuration or implementation in which the concepts described herein can be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that these concepts can be practiced without these specific details or with variations of these specific details. In some instances, well-known components are shown in block diagram form, and some blocks may represent one or more well-known components.

[0096] The previous description of the present disclosure is provided to enable those skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure. Various modifications to the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the common principles defined herein can be applied to other variations without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Additionally, although the elements of the described aspects may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural form may be contemplated unless explicitly stated to the contrary. Further, unless otherwise stated, all or part of any aspect may be used in conjunction with all or part of any other aspect. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein, but should be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A voice controlled tactile interface (VCHI) for a machine control (MC) system, comprising: one or more memories for storing instructions; and One or more processors communicatively coupled to the one or more memories, wherein the one or more processors are configured, individually or in combination, to execute the instructions to cause the VCHI to: receiving, from a speech recognition system, an indication of a requested MC operation, the indication determined based on processing one or more speech commands received via the one or more microphones using speech recognition; and One or more functions associated with the MC operation are assigned, via the MC system and based on the requested MC operation, to one or more haptic control devices.

2. The VCHI of claim 1, wherein the requested MC operation corresponds to a menu option in the MC system for modifying a parameter value set in the MC system, wherein the one or more functions are associated with modifying the parameter value using the one or more haptic control devices.

3. The VCHI of claim 2, wherein the one or more processors are configured, individually or in combination, to execute the instructions so that the VCHI adjusts content on a display of the one or more tactile control devices via the MC system to indicate settings in the MC system.

4. The VCHI of claim 1 , wherein the MC system comprises one or more microphones, and wherein the one or more processors are configured, individually or in combination, to execute the instructions so that the VCHI provides the speech recognition system to process the one or more voice commands received via the one or more microphones using speech recognition.

5. The VCHI of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured, alone or in combination, to execute the instructions so that the VCHI: determining a direction of arrival of the one or more voice commands detected based on performing direction of arrival detection or microphone beamforming on an audio signal of the one or more voice commands; and Based on the detected direction of arrival, one or more functions are selected as direction-specific functions.

6. The VCHI of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured, alone or in combination, to execute the instructions so that the VCHI: determining a direction of arrival of the one or more voice commands detected based on performing direction of arrival detection or microphone beamforming on an audio signal of the one or more voice commands; and A privilege level is selected for the one or more functions based on the detected direction of arrival.

7. The VCHI of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured, alone or in combination, to execute the instructions so that the VCHI: determining a direction of arrival of the one or more voice commands detected based on performing direction of arrival detection or microphone beamforming on an audio signal of the one or more voice commands; and Based on the detected direction of arrival, one or more haptic control devices are selected from the plurality of haptic control devices to assign one or more functions.

8. The VCHI of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured, alone or in combination, to execute the instructions so that the VCHI: determining, based on performing biometric voice recognition, a person identified as speaking the one or more voice commands; and The one or more functions are selected as specific direction functions based on the person identified as speaking the one or more voice commands.

9. The VCHI of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured, alone or in combination, to execute the instructions so that the VCHI: determining, based on performing biometric voice recognition, a person identified as speaking the one or more voice commands; and A privilege level is selected for the one or more functions based on the person identified as speaking the one or more voice commands.

10. The VCHI of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured, alone or in combination, to execute the instructions so that the VCHI: determining, based on performing biometric voice recognition, a person identified as speaking the one or more voice commands; and Based on the person identified as speaking the one or more voice commands, one or more haptic control devices are selected from the plurality of haptic control devices to assign the one or more functions.

11. The VCHI of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are configured, individually or in combination, to execute the instructions to cause the VCHI to translate the one or more voice commands from a first language into a second language to determine the requested MC operation.

12. The VCHI of claim 1, wherein the VCHI, the MC system, the one or more microphones, and the one or more haptic control devices are coupled to one another within a vehicle, and wherein the MC system supports a plurality of MC operations associated with operating one or more systems of the vehicle.

13. A method for assigning one or more functions to one or more haptic control units, comprising: receiving an indication of a requested human-machine interface (MC) operation from a speech recognition system, the indication determined based on one or more speech commands received via one or more microphones using speech recognition processing; and One or more functions associated with the MC operation are assigned to one or more haptic control devices via the MC system and based on the requested MC operation.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the requested MC operation corresponds to a menu option in the MC system for modifying a parameter value set in the MC system, wherein the one or more functions are associated with modifying the parameter value using the one or more haptic control devices. 15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising adjusting, via the MC system, content on a display of the one or more haptic control devices to indicate a setting in the MC system.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising providing the one or more voice commands to the voice recognition system to process the one or more voice commands received via the one or more microphones using voice recognition.

17. The method according to claim 13, further comprising: determining a detected direction of arrival of the one or more voice commands based on performing direction of arrival detection or microphone beamforming on an audio signal of the one or more voice commands; And one or more of the following: Based on the detected arrival direction, one or more functions are selected as direction-specific functions; selecting a privilege level for the one or more functions based on the detected direction of arrival; or Based on the detected arrival direction, one or more haptic control devices are selected from the plurality of haptic control devices to assign the one or more functions.

18. The method according to claim 13, further comprising: determining a person identified as speaking the one or more voice commands based on performing biometric voice recognition; And one or more of the following: selecting the one or more functions as specific direction functions based on the person identified as speaking the one or more voice commands; selecting a privilege level for the one or more functions based on the person identified as speaking the one or more voice commands; or Based on the person identified as speaking the one or more voice commands, one or more haptic control devices are selected from the plurality of haptic control devices to assign the one or more functions.

19. One or more computer-readable media having stored thereon instructions executable by one or more processors for assigning one or more functions to one or more haptic control units, comprising: receiving an indication of a requested human-machine interface (MC) operation from a speech recognition system, the indication determined based on one or more speech commands received via one or more microphones using speech recognition processing; and One or more functions associated with the MC operation are assigned to one or more haptic control devices via the MC system and based on the requested MC operation.

20. One or more computer-readable media according to claim 19, wherein the requested MC operation corresponds to a menu option in an MC system for modifying a parameter value set in the MC system, wherein the one or more functions are associated with modifying the parameter value using the one or more tactile control devices.

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