Visual lane recommendation for a vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for displaying a lane recommendation for a driver of a vehicle, wherein one or more symbols are displayed in the driver's field of vision by a display unit, which symbols move away from the vehicle within a predetermined corridor when displayed, wherein the corridor encloses a trajectory curve that can be followed by the vehicle and runs at least in sections in a contact-analog manner along a lane currently occupied by the vehicle and at least in sections in a contact-analog manner along a recommended lane, and wherein the corridor forms a constant width over a distance coordinate from the vehicle, so that the respective symbol becomes smaller in the display over the distance coordinate with increasing distance from the vehicle.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for displaying a lane recommendation for a driver of a vehicle.

[0002] It is known from the state of the art to use a vehicle's head-up display to display objects, driving recommendations, information, etc. to the driver in a manner analogous to the surroundings. Contact analogue means that the displayed elements are positioned, resized, and possibly distorted and / or rotated over time as if they were fixed in the vehicle's surroundings.

[0003] In this context, DE 10 2006 054 323 A1 relates to a method for locating an object, in which first image features are extracted from 3D navigation and second image features are extracted from video data, and in which these image features are processed together. It further shows how a driving recommendation, a so-called driving path, is superimposed on the surroundings in color, similar to contact. Based on this driving recommendation, the vehicle driver is graphically shown, via the display device installed in the vehicle, the route he or she can take to reach a desired destination.

[0004] The contact-analog representation of a recommended driving path is further developed in DE 10 2011 006 347 A1 in such a way that various driving instructions are displayed, either overlapping or consecutively, which can merge into one another with the aid of an animation. It is also known from this that such graphic elements can be displayed as a hybrid of contact-analog and non-contact-analog, for example, that an instruction can be displayed in the correct position (e.g., approximately at the boundary of two lanes), but not in the correct orientation (e.g., vertically from the driver's perspective). DE 10 2011 006 347 A1 relates to a method for outputting graphic driving instructions to assist the driver of a motor vehicle when performing a driving maneuver.in which the graphic driving instructions are output via a head-up display provided in the motor vehicle and in which the following steps are carried out one after the other: output of a first graphic driving instruction in the form of a lane change instruction, which shows the driver the direction from a lane used at the start of the maneuver to a target lane, output of a second graphic driving instruction in the form of a contact-analog lane marking, which graphically highlights the target lane compared to other lanes, output of a third graphic driving instruction in the form of a contact-analog maneuver impulse, which includes a driving path emanating from the target lane and corresponding to the driving maneuver, output of a fourth graphic driving instruction in the form of a symbolic maneuver display instruction,which symbolically indicates the driving maneuver that has begun after the vehicle enters the driving lane.

[0005] Typically, however, such a contact-analog display cannot be displayed at any desired proximity to the driver's vehicle. This is due to the design of a typical head-up display.

[0006] To solve this problem, DE 10 2017 212 367 A1 relates to a method for displaying the course of a trajectory in front of a vehicle or an object with the aid of a display unit, in particular a head-up display or data glasses, wherein the trajectory is displayed in the field of vision of the driver or the object, wherein the trajectory course is displayed in grid form.

[0007] It is also known in the prior art that the display of a lane change recommendation may depend on a check to determine whether the change can be made without a collision. Specifically, it is known that when a lane change occurs and no hazard is detected in the adjacent lane, a simple arrow is discreetly displayed on the head-up display. However, if a vehicle is in the adjacent lane, the graphic can be changed to display a message to stop the lane change, for example, by flashing the indicator or changing it to red.

[0008] DE 10 2010 013 398 A1 relates to a method for displaying graphic images on a transparent windscreen head-up display of a vehicle, which graphic images describe the travel of the vehicle with respect to a lane, the method comprising: monitoring information inputs describing an operating environment of the vehicle, comprising monitoring a desired lane and monitoring a current position of the vehicle; determining a relationship of the desired lane to the current position of the vehicle; determining a graphic describing the relationship of the desired lane to the current position of the vehicle; and displaying the graphic describing the relationship of the desired lane to the current position of the vehicle on the substantially transparent windscreen head-up display;and wherein the substantially transparent windshield head-up display comprises light-emitting particles or microstructures over a predefined area of the windshield that permit a luminescent display while permitting a view through the windshield.;

[0009] Further display devices for vehicles are known from DE 11 2019 006 171 T5, US 2015 / 0 204 687 A1, EP 1 967 821 A1 and DE 11 2018 003 345 T5.

[0010] The object of the invention is to improve a display on a head-up display for visually guiding the driver to a given lane.

[0011] The invention is based on the features of the independent claims. Advantageous developments and refinements are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0012] A first aspect of the invention relates to a method for displaying a lane recommendation for a driver of a vehicle, wherein one or more symbols are displayed in a field of vision of the driver by a display unit, which symbols move away from the vehicle along a predetermined corridor when displayed, wherein the corridor envelops a trajectory curve that can be followed by the vehicle and runs at least in sections in a contact-analog manner along a lane currently occupied by the vehicle and at least in sections in a contact-analog manner along a recommended lane, and wherein the corridor forms a constant width over a distance coordinate from the vehicle, so that the respective symbol decreases in size over the distance coordinate with increasing distance from the vehicle when displayed.

[0013] The lane recommendation can be a recommendation to maintain the currently occupied lane, but can also include a recommendation to change lanes. Accordingly, the design of the corridor as at least partially contact-analogous to the lane currently occupied by the vehicle and as at least partially contact-analogous to the recommended lane depends on whether the corridor remains on one and the same lane or extends over two lanes, namely from the currently occupied lane to a recommended lane that deviates from the currently occupied lane. In both cases, however, the property of the corridor of at least partially contact-analogous to both lanes is fulfilled. In other words, the recommended lane can be the same as the currently occupied lane, or the two can deviate from each other.

[0014] The recommendation to take a specific lane is preferably determined by a control unit in the vehicle. The control unit can be a navigation system or rely on one to determine suitable lanes for driving a given route. A driver assistance system can also be implemented with the help of the control unit, which supports the avoidance of obstacles, especially to avoid dangerous situations.

[0015] The term "contact analog" means that a virtual, static reference to the vehicle's surroundings is taken into account on a vehicle's display unit for overlaying into the driver's field of vision. If a displayed element is displayed in a contact analog manner, it is presented on the display unit as if it were a real, stationary object in the environment. In this case, the element's displayed size, view, and orientation are adjusted according to the relative position of the vehicle and the associated location in the environment with the virtual element.

[0016] However, by defining only the corridor in a contact-analog manner, while the displayed symbols are not contact-analogous to the surroundings, the displayed symbols can execute a virtual relative movement from the driver's perspective relative to the surroundings and away from the vehicle. However, by binding the displayed movement of the symbols to the geometric restrictions of the corridor, which encloses a contact-analogously defined trajectory that the vehicle can follow, the movement of the symbols away from the driver's own vehicle creates the impression that they are geometrically immutable real symbols moving away from the vehicle and following a recommended trajectory that the vehicle should follow.

[0017] From the driver's perspective, the symbols therefore exhibit a relative speed to their own vehicle by moving away from the vehicle in the overlay, and thus naturally a relative speed to the ground. The movement of the symbols therefore appears very natural to the driver. The size of the displayed symbols is adjusted accordingly depending on the virtual distance from the own vehicle, so that they appear, for example, like a real vehicle ahead, dictating a trajectory.

[0018] The corridor is preferably provided without a vertical distance from a respective lane. By specifying the corridor with a constant width defined in a contact-analog manner, which preferably defines the dimensions of the symbols in their respective widths, the symbols decrease in size, at least in their width, preferably in all dimensions, with increasing distance from the vehicle to be displayed, in order to lie within the corridor. In the area of the corridor along exactly one lane without a transition area, the corridor can thus be defined, for example, within the lane markings with parallels to them, at least if the lane markings for delimiting the edges of a lane are ideally parallel and consistently equidistant from one another.Therefore, the respective symbol decreases in size as the distance from the vehicle increases over the distance coordinate in the overlay to create the impression that the symbol has real geometric dimensions that appear to decrease with increasing distance from the viewer.

[0019] The display unit is preferably a head-up display, but can alternatively be a screen or augmented reality glasses. Preferably, the corridor itself is not displayed in the overlay, but the symbols are. In other words, only the symbols are displayed to recommend taking a specific lane. The corridor can thus be defined in relation to the surroundings, and it is calculated how the symbols must be displayed on the display unit in terms of their size and speed relative to the field of vision, giving the driver the impression that the symbols are moving along this corridor as real, physical objects in the environment.

[0020] This advantageously achieves the goal of presenting a vehicle driver with an intuitively understandable display to provide information about the recommended lane(s). Because the corridor encloses a followable trajectory, the vehicle driver can indirectly follow the waypoints displayed in the display.

[0021] A followable trajectory is characterized in particular by a curve that is so smooth and soft that only limited lateral acceleration occurs when the vehicle follows the trajectory. An intuitive and clear display makes it easy for the driver to follow the recommended lane. Accidents can thus be more easily avoided. By adjusting the symbols online, the driver can receive feedback in near real time about changes in the calculation results, for example, from a driver assistance system.

[0022] According to an advantageous embodiment, in the case of several recommended lanes, the respective symbol is duplicated in the transition from the lane currently traveled by the vehicle to the recommended lanes, wherein the duplicated symbols run along branches of the corridor branching into the branches at this transition, wherein the branches correspond at least in sections in a contact-analogous manner to the recommended lanes.

[0023] Accordingly, the driver can see the movement of symbols along the corridor, which divides into branches—in other words, two corridors. This applies both to the case where the currently used lane is one of several recommended lanes, and to the case where several lanes deviating from the currently used lane are recommended. The symbols always extend from the driver's own vehicle along a single corridor into the branches into which the corridor divides in front of the vehicle.

[0024] According to a further advantageous embodiment, a control unit of the vehicle checks during the display of the symbols whether a safe lane change is possible in the event of a deviation of the currently traveled lane from the recommended lane, and if this is no longer the case, a color, a shape, a transparency, a color fill, an orientation and / or a position of the respective symbol is changed.

[0025] According to an advantageous embodiment, by changing a color, a shape, an orientation, a transparency, a color fill and / or a position of the respective symbol, feedback is given to the driver of the vehicle as to whether the lane he is driving in or the lane he has changed to corresponds to a recommendation.

[0026] A corresponding change in color, shape, fill color, line thickness, symbol dimension (2D or 3D), or similar can be used as feedback to indicate to the driver whether the vehicle's current lane corresponds to the recommended lane. For example, a symbol displayed as a rectangle or trapezoid can be converted to a parallelepiped.

[0027] According to a further advantageous embodiment, when a predetermined virtual distance of the respective symbol from the user's own vehicle is reached, the symbol is faded out. Fading means that a respective symbol is displayed with increasing transparency until it is no longer displayed at all.

[0028] According to a further advantageous embodiment, after at least one symbol or after all symbols have been hidden, an optical indication moving in the corridor is displayed, which has a higher virtual relative speed away from the vehicle than that of the respective symbol when displayed.

[0029] The visual indication is represented, for example, as a green tail that is virtually moved along the corridor along the lane taken, if this corresponds to the recommended one, at a very high speed compared to the symbols.

[0030] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the respective symbol is represented as a flat object whose plane is at least partially parallel to the plane of the lane currently being traveled by the vehicle or the recommended lane.

[0031] Due to the driver's perspective on the ground of the environment, these elements, which are represented as flat symbols, are shown in perspective.

[0032] According to a further advantageous embodiment, in the event of a lane change recommendation from the vehicle, a respective symbol begins to move along the lane currently being traveled in the display in a horizontal orientation, is rotated from the horizontal in the transition to a recommended lane that is different from the lane currently being traveled in, and is rotated back to the recommended lane when entering the corridor, in order to then move away from the vehicle again in a horizontal orientation in the display along the recommended lane.

[0033] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the color of a respective symbol is temporarily changed in its path in the display away from the vehicle within the predetermined corridor where the corridor is located in a danger area.

[0034] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the speed of a respective symbol in its path away from the vehicle is displayed in relation to the contact-analog corridor depending on a maximum permissible speed for the vehicle valid along the corridor or a recommended speed determined by a control unit of the vehicle.

[0035] Further advantages, features and details emerge from the following description, in which - if necessary with reference to the drawing - at least one embodiment is described in detail.

[0036] They show: Fig. 1: A vehicle in its interior with a display unit according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2: The display on the display unit of the Fig. 1 according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 3: An overlay on the display unit according to a further embodiment of the invention. Fig. 4: An overlay on the display unit according to a further embodiment of the invention. Fig. 5: An overlay on the display unit according to a further embodiment of the invention.

[0037] The representations in the figures are schematic and not to scale.

[0038] Fig. 1 shows an interior of a vehicle 1 from the perspective of the driver of the vehicle 1. A head-up display is arranged in the vehicle 1 as a display unit 5 in order to be able to display overlays in the driver's field of vision when looking at the surroundings in front of the vehicle 1. The head-up display is designed to display overlays so that, from the driver's perspective, these appear superimposed on the surroundings. In order to correctly reference the displayed symbols to the surroundings, the vehicle determines its own position relative to the road surface and thus to lanes. This allows a processing unit connected to the head-up display to specify a display for the head-up display in order to move displayed elements in a contact-analog corridor.

[0039] Fig. 2 shows the driver's view of the surroundings superimposed by virtual and superimposed symbols 3 and thus enlarges a section of the Fig. 1. A number of symbols 3 are displayed along your own and recommended lane, of which, for the sake of clarity, Fig. 2 only two are designated as such. The symbols 3 have a relative speed relative to the corridor along the lane which is analogous to the contact surface of the roadway but not shown, as well as a relative speed relative to the driver's own vehicle 1, so that from the driver's perspective they appear to be moving away from the driver's own vehicle 1. Accordingly, the line thickness of the border of the flatter symbols 3 decreases with increasing apparent distance from the driver's own vehicle 1 and the dimensions of the symbols 3 also decrease, as if these symbols 3 were rigid bodies moving ahead of the vehicle 1. The direction of movement of the symbols 3 relative to the recommended lane, which in this case corresponds to the driver's own lane, is indicated by dashed arrows in the Fig. 2. The symbols 3 are represented as trapezoids, which represent virtual real rectangles whose plane appears parallel to the surface of the lane.

[0040] Fig. 3 shows another example of a head-up display in which symbols 3 indicate a recommended lane change. Along a trajectory followable by vehicle 1, symbols 3 appear to move away from the vehicle 1 itself. Starting from the lane currently occupied by vehicle 1, they move to an adjacent lane to recommend the lane change to the driver. If vehicle 1 follows the recommended lane change, the color of symbols 3 changes to provide feedback to the driver of vehicle 1 that they are actually following the desired lane change as intended by vehicle 1. This is positive feedback for the driver. In principle, it is also possible to change the shape or fill color of the symbols as feedback to the driver instead of or in addition to the color, for example, to change from a hollow shape to a filled shape.Similarly, a different color change can be used to indicate to the driver when they are not following the recommended lane guidance, for example, when they are entering a lane of oncoming traffic. By frequently reassessing the safety of changing lanes according to the recommendation or the safety of staying in the lane as recommended, the display can be adjusted in near real time to keep the driver informed of the reassessment results.

[0041] Fig. Figure 4 shows another example of a head-up display. Since a control unit of the host vehicle 1 determines that there are two equally navigable lanes, both the lane currently occupied by the vehicle 1 and the lane to the right of it, the symbols 3 split in their apparent path across the lanes from a certain distance in front of the vehicle 1 in order to follow corridors that are arranged in a contact-analogous manner on the lanes.

[0042] Fig.Figure 5 shows another possible display via the head-up display of vehicle 1. To better attract the driver's attention, the symbols 3 are rotated as they extend from vehicle 1 with increasing distance coordinates toward the lane for which a lane recommendation exists. The symbols 3 are rotated clockwise as they extend toward a lane boundary between the currently occupied lane and the lane to be occupied, and are rotated counterclockwise back to a horizontal orientation when crossing the lane. This symbolizes the centrifugal force of vehicle 1 during local cornering during a lane change and therefore particularly appeals to the intuitive understanding of the driver of vehicle 1.

Claims

[1] Method for displaying a lane recommendation for a driver of a vehicle (1), wherein one or more symbols (3) are displayed in a field of vision of the driver by a display unit (5), which symbols move away from the vehicle (1) within a predetermined corridor when displayed, wherein the corridor envelops a trajectory curve that can be followed by the vehicle (1) and runs at least in sections in a contact-analog manner along a lane currently occupied by the vehicle (1) and at least in sections in a contact-analog manner along a recommended lane, and wherein the corridor forms a constant width over a distance coordinate from the vehicle (1), so that the respective symbol (3) decreases in size over the distance coordinate with increasing distance from the vehicle (1). [2] Method according to claim 1, wherein, in the case of a plurality of recommended lanes, the respective symbol (3) is duplicated in the transition from the lane currently traveled by the vehicle (1) to the recommended lanes, and the duplicated symbols (3) run in branches of the corridor branching into the branches at this transition, wherein the branches run at least in sections in a contact-analogous manner along the recommended lanes. [3] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a control unit of the vehicle (1) checks during the display of the symbols (3) whether a safe lane change is possible in the event of a deviation of the currently traveled lane from the recommended lane, and if this is no longer the case, a colour, a shape, a transparency, a colour fill, an orientation and / or a position of the respective symbol (3) is changed. [4] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein by changing a color, a shape, an orientation, a transparency, a color fill and / or a position of the respective symbol (3), feedback is given to the driver of the vehicle (1) as to whether the lane he is driving in or the lane he has changed to corresponds to a recommendation. [5] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein when a predetermined virtual distance of the respective symbol (3) from the own vehicle (1) is reached, the symbol (3) is faded out. [6] Method according to claim 5, wherein after at least one symbol (3) or after all symbols (3) have been hidden, an optical indication moving in the corridor is displayed, which has a higher virtual relative speed away from the vehicle (1) than that of the respective symbol (3). [7] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the respective symbol (3) is represented as a flat object whose plane is at least partially parallel to the plane of the lane currently traveled by the vehicle (1) or the recommended lane. [8] Method according to claim 7, wherein a respective symbol (3) in the case of a lane change recommendation from the vehicle (1) begins to run along the lane currently traveled by the vehicle (1) in a horizontal orientation in the display, is rotated from the horizontal in the transition to a recommended lane different from the currently traveled lane and is rotated back to the recommended lane when entering the corridor in order to then move away from the vehicle (1) again in a horizontal orientation in the display along the recommended lane. [9] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the color of a respective symbol (3) is temporarily changed in its path in the display away from the vehicle (1) within the predetermined corridor where the corridor lies in a danger area. [10] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the speed of a respective symbol (3) in its run away from the vehicle (1) in the display in relation to the contact-analog corridor is displayed as a function of a maximum permissible speed valid along the corridor or a recommended speed for the vehicle (1) determined by a control unit of the vehicle (1).

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