Method for blocking the display of distracting content on a screen surface of a motor vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for blocking the display of distracting content on a screen surface (6) of a motor vehicle (80), comprising the steps of recording (100) data in order to determine content displayed on the screen surface (6) by means of a sensor unit (20), determining (200) the content displayed on the screen surface (6) by means of a processing unit (22), classifying (300) the content displayed on the screen surface (6) in respect of distraction potential by means of the processing unit (22), and blocking (400) the displayed content by means of a control unit (24) if the displayed content is classified as being potentially distracting.

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] Method for blocking the display of distracting content on a screen surface of a motor vehicle

[0003] The present invention relates to a method and a system for blocking the display of distracting content on a screen surface of a motor vehicle. Furthermore, the invention relates to a motor vehicle with such a system.

[0004] To ensure a high level of user comfort within a motor vehicle, it is known to transmit mobile communications applications wirelessly or wired to a screen surface, such as a motor vehicle display. To avoid compromising driving safety, potentially distracting applications, such as applications for transmitting films and video games, are blocked so that they cannot be transmitted to the screen surface of a motor vehicle. However, it has recently become possible to circumvent such blocking of distracting programs and display the programs on the screen surface of a motor vehicle. The driver of a motor vehicle can therefore, for example, watch videos or play games on the screen surface of a motor vehicle. This can distract a motor vehicle driver from the traffic and negatively affect road safety.

[0005] Although methods and systems are known from the prior art that prevent the transmission of potentially distracting content to screen surfaces of a motor vehicle, the display of potentially distracting screen content on a screen surface of a motor vehicle cannot be prevented either reliably enough or selectively enough using the known methods and systems.

[0006] It is therefore an object of the present invention to at least partially remedy the disadvantages described above. In particular, it is the object of the present invention to provide a method and a system for blocking the display of distracting content on a screen surface of a motor vehicle, which ensures reliable and selective blocking of the display of potentially distracting content on a screen surface of a motor vehicle in a simple and cost-effective manner. The above object is solved by the patent claims. Accordingly, the object is solved by a method having the features of independent claim 1, by a system having the features of the independent claim 10 and by a motor vehicle according to claim 11. Further features and details of the invention can be found in the subclaims, the description and the drawings.Features and details that are described in connection with the method according to the invention naturally also apply in connection with the system according to the invention or the motor vehicle according to the invention and vice versa, so that with regard to the disclosure of the individual aspects of the invention, reference is or can always be made to each other.

[0007] According to the invention, a method for blocking the display of distracting content on a screen surface of a motor vehicle is provided. The method according to the invention comprises the steps of acquiring data for determining content displayed on the screen surface using a sensor unit, determining the content displayed on the screen surface using a processing unit, classifying the content displayed on the screen surface with regard to distracting potential using the processing unit, and blocking the displayed content using a control unit if the displayed content is classified as potentially distracting.

[0008] According to the invention, the subject method, in particular by combining the inventive steps of determining a content displayed on a screen surface of a motor vehicle by means of a processing unit and classifying the content displayed on the screen surface with regard to a distracting potential, is designed to ensure, in a simple and cost-effective manner, a reliable and selective blocking of a display of potentially distracting content on a screen surface of a motor vehicle.

[0009] The method according to the invention can advantageously be carried out in motor vehicles, such as cars or trucks. However, it is understood that the method can also be applied to commercial vehicles, ships, trains, or even flying objects. Within the scope of the invention, content displayed on a screen surface can be understood in particular as an image or a sequence of images or a series of images. Classifying content displayed on the screen surface with regard to distracting potential can preferably be understood according to the invention as classifying or grouping content displayed on a screen surface with regard to a disruption of a driver's attention to traffic.For example, content displayed on a motor vehicle screen in the form of a non-changing image generally has no distracting potential for the driver of the vehicle, whereas a film or video game can have a significant distracting potential for the driver. Blocking the display of distracting content can also be understood, in particular, as fading out or overlaying the displayed content. It is understood that the sensor units, the processing unit, and the control unit in question can also be integrated together in a control unit. Likewise, a processing unit can also perform the tasks of a sensor unit and / or a control unit, and vice versa.

[0010] Within the scope of a simple yet reliable determination of content displayed on a screen surface, the invention can advantageously further provide for the determination of the displayed content to be carried out via an analysis of a change rate of the displayed content, wherein the analysis preferably comprises a quantification of the change rate of the displayed content, wherein the quantified change rate is evaluated, in particular, within a sliding time window. By analyzing a change rate of displayed content, it is possible, in particular, to distinguish between uniform movements of an updating navigation map with occasional large content changes based on lane recommendations and the blocking of potentially distracting playbacks of films or TV broadcasts.Image changes due to operator actions or occasionally changing album covers to match a playing playlist should also not lead to false positive blocking of a mirrored screen content. A detected high and persistent change rate with changing dynamics is characteristic of a potentially distracting film sequence. Change rates can be determined, for example, using definable pixel analyses of a screen content, where a change can be determined by a change in the color and / or brightness of one or more pixels on the screen.

[0011] With a view to a simple, fast, and reliable determination of content displayed on a screen surface, it can advantageously be further provided that the determination of the displayed content is carried out based on a comparison with known displayed content, wherein the known displayed content is preferably stored in a database. Thus, a determination of displayed content can be carried out, in particular, based on a comparison of certain change rates with change rates of known content stored in a database.

[0012] For fast, reliable, and precise determination of the displayed content, the invention can advantageously further provide for the determination of the displayed content to include a temporal recording and evaluation of touch interactions, wherein a recorded touch interaction is preferably correlated with a rate of change of the displayed content. Through the additional recording and evaluation of touch interactions on a screen, screen changes due to operating sequences with possibly different view changes can be excluded from the content lock. A screen change during an operating process can preferably always be permitted.

[0013] For fast, reliable, and precise determination of the displayed content, it can further be provided that the determination of the displayed content includes a temporal recording and evaluation of a displayed color space, wherein a recorded change in a color space is preferably correlated with a rate of change of the displayed content. A changing map for displaying a vehicle position generally has little variance in the color space and, due to map rotation or translation, a more uniform rate of change. In contrast to the compliant content, a TV signal or film would lead to comparably high change dynamics and changes in the color space used (e.g., due to frequent cuts or different camera perspectives), but without accompanying operator interaction over longer periods of time.

[0014] To further improve the reliability of detecting potentially distracting screen content, it is also conceivable for the analysis of the change rate of the displayed content to include the detection and deletion of individual, short-term image changes that appear and disappear in less than 2 seconds, preferably less than 1 second. Such individual peaks can be ignored when analyzing the change rate of the displayed content, as event-based updates to a display are often to be expected, such as the cover art of the next song when playing a playlist that should not be locked. A changing map used to display a vehicle position typically has little variance in color space and, due to map rotation or translation, a more uniform change rate.To further improve the reliability of the detection of a display of potentially distracting screen content, it is further conceivable that the determination of the displayed content comprises object detection, wherein the object detection is preferably trained to detect faces and / or humanoid figures.

[0015] Within the scope of a convenient, yet reliable and secure method for detecting and blocking the display of distracting content on a screen surface of a motor vehicle, it can be particularly advantageous if the displayed content is determined within a defined evaluation period and / or the displayed content is blocked within a defined blocking period, wherein the defined evaluation period and / or the defined blocking period is preferably between 2 and 30 seconds, wherein the defined evaluation period in particular correlates with a defined blocking period. Within the scope of a particularly reliable overall analysis, in addition to a change rate, a visual flow and / or an operation and / or a content filter can be recorded or determined in a current time window of, for example, 1 to 5 seconds, in particular 4 seconds. In addition, a history filter can be used, with which, for example,It can be determined whether a recorded or specific event occurred sporadically or continuously over a longer time interval, for example, 20 to 30 seconds. Thus, while an operation or configuration, such as the display of a potentially distracting video, may exhibit a high rate of change, it usually occurs only sporadically over a longer time interval—in contrast to the potentially distracting video.

[0016] To ensure maximum comfort while maintaining a high level of safety, it may also be provided that the classification of the content displayed on the screen surface with regard to distraction potential includes a correlation with the current vehicle state, preferably based on the current vehicle state. Changing the screen while the vehicle is stationary should preferably always be permitted.

[0017] Within the framework of a structurally simple yet reliable method for blocking the display of distracting content on a screen surface of a motor vehicle, the invention can advantageously further provide for blocking the displayed content by displaying a blocking pop-up window. The pop-up window preferably includes an explanation to better understand the blocking. The explanation can preferably serve to explain improper use, in particular by pointing to a suspected hacked, non-standard AppConnect interface.

[0018] It is also understood in the present case that individual, several or all of the mandatory and / or optional steps of the method according to the invention can be carried out in the proposed order, but also deviating from the proposed order. In this case, individual, several or all of the mandatory and / or optional steps of the method according to the invention can be carried out repeatedly, for example cyclically. It is further understood that individual, several or all of the mandatory and optional steps of the method according to the invention can also be carried out at least partially automatically or automated and / or in a self-learning manner, in particular can be implemented by a computer, preferably via computer-implemented simulation methods.

[0019] The invention also further relates to a system for blocking the display of distracting content on a screen surface of a motor vehicle, preferably for carrying out a method described above. The system according to the invention comprises a sensor unit for acquiring data to determine content displayed on the screen surface, a processing unit for determining the content displayed on the screen surface and for classifying the content displayed on the screen surface with regard to distracting potential, and a control unit for blocking the displayed content if the displayed content is classified as potentially distracting. The system according to the invention thus offers the same advantages as those already described in detail with regard to the method according to the invention.

[0020] The invention furthermore relates to a motor vehicle comprising a system as described above. Thus, the motor vehicle according to the invention offers the same advantages as those already described in detail with regard to the method and system according to the invention.

[0021] Further advantages, features, and details of the invention will become apparent from the following description, which describes embodiments of the invention in detail with reference to the drawings. The features mentioned in the claims and in the description may be essential to the invention individually or in any combination. They show schematically:

[0022] Figure 1 shows the individual steps of a method according to the invention for blocking the display of distracting content on a screen surface of a motor vehicle,

[0023] Figure 2 shows a system according to the invention for blocking the display of distracting content on a screen surface of a motor vehicle according to a first embodiment,

[0024] Figure 3 shows an exemplary example for carrying out a method according to the invention for blocking the display of distracting content on a screen surface of a motor vehicle according to a first exemplary embodiment.

[0025] Figure 1 shows the individual steps of a method according to the invention for blocking the display of distracting content on a screen surface 6 of a motor vehicle 80.

[0026] As can be seen from Figure 1, the method according to the invention comprises the steps of capturing 100 data for determining a content displayed on the screen surface 6 by means of a sensor unit 20, determining 200 the content displayed on the screen surface 6 by means of a processing unit 22, classifying 300 the content displayed on the screen surface 6 with regard to a distracting potential by means of the processing unit 22 and blocking 400 the displayed content by means of a control unit 24 if the displayed content is classified as potentially distracting.

[0027] The determination 200 of the displayed content can be carried out by analyzing a rate of change of the displayed content, wherein the analysis preferably comprises a quantification of the rate of change of the displayed content.

[0028] Furthermore, the determination 200 of the displayed content can be performed based on a comparison with known displayed content, which is stored, for example, in a database. Likewise, the determination 200 of the displayed content can include a temporal recording and evaluation of touch interactions or an additional temporal recording and evaluation of a displayed color space.

[0029] Determining 200 the displayed content may also include object recognition, which is trained, for example, to recognize faces and / or humanoid figures.

[0030] Furthermore, the determination 200 of the displayed content within a defined evaluation period and / or the blocking 400 of the displayed content can take place within a defined blocking period, wherein the defined evaluation period and / or the defined blocking period is between 2 and 30 seconds and the defined evaluation period correlates with a defined blocking period.

[0031] The classification 300 of the content displayed on the screen surface 6 can further be carried out with regard to a distracting potential based on a current vehicle state.

[0032] Blocking 400 the displayed content can also be done by displaying a blocking pop-up window that includes an explanation to make the blocking easier to understand.

[0033] Figure 2 shows a system 2 according to the invention for blocking the display of distracting content on a screen surface 6 of a motor vehicle 80 according to a first exemplary embodiment.

[0034] As can be seen from Fig. 2, with the aid of the device 4, mobile radio applications 8 can be transmitted to a screen surface 6 of the motor vehicle 80, including applications that can potentially distract the driver of the motor vehicle 80, such as video streaming applications or gaming applications, which can be blocked via the system 2 according to the invention.

[0035] For this purpose, the system 2 has a sensor unit 20 for acquiring 100 data for determining content displayed on the screen surface 6, a processing unit 22 for determining 200 the content displayed on the screen surface 6 and for classifying 300 the content displayed on the screen surface 6 with regard to distracting potential, as well as a control unit 24 for blocking 400 the displayed content if the displayed content is classified as potentially distracting. Fig. 3 shows an exemplary example for implementing a method according to the invention for blocking the display of distracting content on a screen surface 6 of a motor vehicle 80 according to a first exemplary embodiment.

[0036] As can be seen from Fig. 3, in the first image on the left side, a mobile radio application for playing films is called up by means of the device 4.

[0037] In the image in the middle, the system 2 according to the invention then collects 100 data for determining a content displayed on the screen surface 6 by means of a sensor unit 20, determines 200 the content displayed on the screen surface 6 by means of a processing unit 22, and classifies 300 the content displayed on the screen surface 6 with regard to a distracting potential by means of the processing unit 22.

[0038] Since the content displayed on the screen surface 6 is classified as video content and therefore as potentially distracting for the driver of the motor vehicle 80, the content is blocked by the system 2 according to the figure on the right by displaying a pop-up window.

[0039] The above explanation of the embodiments describes the present invention exclusively by way of examples. Of course, individual features of the embodiments can be freely combined with one another, provided they are technically feasible, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0040] List of reference symbols

[0041] System for blocking the display of distracting content on a screen surface of a motor vehicle

[0042] Device for transmitting mobile applications to a screen surface of a motor vehicle

[0043] Screen surface of a motor vehicle

[0044] Mobile applications

[0045] Sensor unit

[0046] processing unit

[0047] Control unit

[0048] Motor vehicle

[0049] Collecting data to determine a signal displayed on a screen surface of a

[0050] Motor vehicle displayed content

[0051] Determining the content displayed on the screen interface

[0052] Classify the content displayed on the screen interface

[0053] Locking the displayed content using a control unit

Claims

Patent claims 1. A method for blocking the display of distracting content on a screen surface (6) of a motor vehicle (80), comprising the steps: Capturing (100) data for determining a content displayed on the screen surface (6) by means of a sensor unit (20), Determining (200) the content displayed on the screen surface (6) by means of a processing unit (22), Classifying (300) the content displayed on the screen surface (6) with regard to a distracting potential by means of the processing unit (22), Blocking (400) the displayed content by means of a control unit (24) if the displayed content is classified as potentially distracting.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the determination (200) of the displayed content is carried out via an analysis of a change rate of the displayed content, wherein the analysis preferably comprises a quantification of the change rate of the displayed content, wherein the quantified change rate is evaluated in particular within a sliding time window.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the determination (200) of the displayed content is carried out on the basis of a comparison with known displayed contents, wherein the known displayed contents are preferably stored in a database.

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the determining (200) of the displayed content comprises a temporal detection and evaluation of touch interactions, wherein a detected touch interaction is preferably temporally correlated with a rate of change of the displayed content.

5. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the determination (200) of the displayed content comprises a temporal detection and evaluation of a displayed color space, wherein a detected change in a color space is preferably temporally correlated with a rate of change of the displayed content.

6. Method according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the analysis of the rate of change of the displayed content comprises the detection and deletion of individual short-term image changes which appear and disappear in less than 2 seconds, preferably in less than 1 second.

7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the determination (200) of the displayed content comprises object recognition, wherein the object recognition is preferably trained to recognize faces and / or humanoid figures.

8. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the determination (200) of the displayed content takes place within a defined evaluation period and / or the blocking (400) of the displayed content takes place within a defined blocking period, wherein the defined evaluation period and / or the defined blocking period is preferably between 2 and 30 seconds, wherein the defined evaluation period correlates in particular with a defined blocking period.

9. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the classification (300) of the content displayed on the screen surface (6) with regard to a distracting potential comprises a correlation with a current vehicle state, preferably on the basis of a current vehicle state.

10. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the blocking (400) of the displayed content takes place via the display of a blocking pop-up window, wherein the pop-up window preferably includes an explanation for better comprehensibility of the blocking.

11. System (2) for blocking the display of distracting content on a Screen surface (6) of a motor vehicle (80), comprising: a sensor unit (20) for detecting (100) data for determining content displayed on the screen surface (6), a processing unit (22) for determining (200) the content displayed on the screen surface (6) and for classifying (300) the content displayed on the screen surface (6) with regard to a distracting potential, a control unit (24) for blocking (400) the displayed content if the displayed content is classified as potentially distracting.

12. Motor vehicle (80) comprising a system (2) according to claim 11.

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