Wearable terminal

Abstract

This wearable terminal comprises: a terminal sensor that detects a behavior of a wearable terminal or a force acting on the wearable terminal; and a control device that has one or more processors and one or more memories connected to the processor. The processor executes processing including information presentation control for causing an information presentation device to present information on the basis of a detection result of the terminal sensor.

Description

Wearable devices

[0001] The present invention relates to a wearable terminal.

[0002] Conventionally, there is a technology for presenting information regarding the steering state of a steering wheel to a driver so that the driver can understand the steering state of the steering wheel. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for displaying information regarding the steering angle and steering direction of the steering wheel on an instrument panel.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-62706

[0004] In Patent Document 1, an information display device that displays information related to the driver's steering state is mounted on the instrument panel of a vehicle. Therefore, if the driver changes vehicles and the new vehicle does not have the information display device, the information display device will not be able to display information to the driver.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to make it possible to present information regardless of changes in the vehicle.

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the wearable terminal of the present invention is a wearable terminal comprising: a terminal sensor that detects the behavior of the wearable terminal or a force acting on the wearable terminal; and a control device having one or more processors and one or more memories connected to the processors, wherein the processor executes processing including: performing information presentation control to cause an information presentation device to present information based on the detection results of the terminal sensor.

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to present information regardless of the change of vehicle.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vehicle-side control device according to this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a vehicle-side control device according to this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the system configuration of an information presentation device according to this embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing first and second examples of vibration waveforms according to this embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the pressure of a stimulus applied to a human and time, the relationship between the time and an electrical pulse generated when Merkel cells are stimulated, the relationship between the time and an electrical pulse generated when Meissner's corpuscles are stimulated, and the relationship between the time and an electrical pulse generated when Pacinian corpuscles are stimulated. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the frequency sensitivity distribution of Pacinian corpuscles and Meissner's corpuscles. FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically showing an example of gain adjustment in a first gain adjustment unit. FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a microphone output history. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the correlation between the sound pressure and frequency of environmental sound. FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing an example of gain adjustment in a second gain adjustment unit. Fig. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the terminal-side control device according to this embodiment. Fig. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the terminal-side control device according to this embodiment. Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram of the configuration of the driving simulator according to this embodiment.

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Specific dimensions, materials, numerical values, etc. shown in the embodiments are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In this specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same functions and configurations are designated by the same reference numerals to avoid redundant explanation, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown.

[0010] 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle 100 according to this embodiment. In FIG. 1, the Z direction indicates the vertical direction, the X direction indicates a predetermined horizontal direction, and the Y direction indicates a horizontal direction perpendicular to the X direction. The X direction is, for example, the forward / rearward direction of the vehicle 100, and the Y direction is, for example, the left / right direction of the vehicle 100.

[0011] The vehicle 100 is, for example, an electric vehicle equipped with a motor (not shown) as a drive source. However, the vehicle 100 is not limited to this, and may be an engine vehicle equipped with an engine (not shown) as a drive source. The vehicle 100 may also be a hybrid vehicle equipped with two drive sources, an engine and a motor. The vehicle 100 travels on a road surface by transmitting driving force generated from the drive source to the wheels 110 via a power transmission mechanism (not shown). Here, configurations related to the features of this embodiment will be described in detail, and configurations unrelated to the features of this embodiment will not be described.

[0012] The vehicle 100 includes an operation unit 200, an operation unit sensor 300, and a vehicle-side control device 400. The operation unit 200 is an operation unit used to operate the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the operation unit 200 includes a first operation unit 210 and a second operation unit 220.

[0013] The first operating unit 210 is a steering wheel. The steering wheel receives an input of an operation by the driver to control the traveling direction of the vehicle 100. The steering wheel is connected to the wheels 110 via a steering mechanism (not shown). The steering mechanism changes the direction of the wheels 110 in accordance with the rotation of the steering wheel. Hereinafter, the operation of the steering wheel is also referred to as a handle operation.

[0014] The second operation unit 220 is an accelerator pedal or a brake pedal. The accelerator pedal receives input of an operation by the driver to control the driving force of the vehicle 100. The brake pedal receives input of an operation by the driver to control the braking force of the vehicle 100. Hereinafter, the operation of the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal will also be referred to as a pedal operation.

[0015] The operation unit sensor 300 is a sensor provided in the operation unit 200, and detects the operation state of the operation unit 200. In this embodiment, the operation unit sensor 300 includes a first operation unit sensor 310 and a second operation unit sensor 320. The first operation unit sensor 310 is provided in the first operation unit 210. The second operation unit sensor 320 is provided in the second operation unit 220.

[0016] The first operation unit sensor 310 is a steering angle sensor that detects the amount of steering wheel operation. Information indicating the amount of steering wheel operation detected by the steering angle sensor is transmitted to the vehicle-side control device 400. However, without being limited to this, the first operation unit sensor 310 may be a contact sensor that detects the contact state of the steering wheel. Information indicating the contact state of the steering wheel detected by the contact sensor is transmitted to the vehicle-side control device 400. The information indicating the contact state of the steering wheel includes information indicating a state in which a human hand is in contact with the steering wheel and information indicating a state in which a human hand is not in contact with the steering wheel. In this embodiment, the operation state of the operation unit 200 includes the amount of steering wheel operation and the contact state of the steering wheel.

[0017] The second operation unit sensor 320 is an accelerator position sensor that detects the amount of accelerator pedal operation, or a brake position sensor that detects the amount of brake pedal operation. Information indicating the amount of accelerator pedal operation detected by the accelerator position sensor is transmitted to the vehicle-side control device 400. Information indicating the amount of brake pedal operation detected by the brake position sensor is transmitted to the vehicle-side control device 400. However, without being limited thereto, the second operation unit sensor 320 may be a contact sensor that detects the contact state of the accelerator pedal, or a contact sensor that detects the contact state of the brake pedal. Information indicating the contact state of the accelerator pedal detected by the contact sensor is transmitted to the vehicle-side control device 400. Information indicating the contact state of the brake pedal detected by the contact sensor is transmitted to the vehicle-side control device 400. The information indicating the contact state of the accelerator pedal includes information indicating a state in which a person's foot is in contact with the accelerator pedal and information indicating a state in which the person's foot is not in contact with the accelerator pedal. The information indicating the contact state of the brake pedal includes information indicating a state in which a person's foot is in contact with the brake pedal and information indicating a state in which the person's foot is not in contact with the brake pedal. In this embodiment, the operation state of the operation unit 200 includes the operation amount of the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal and the contact state of the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the vehicle-side control device 400 according to this embodiment. The vehicle-side control device 400 controls the entire vehicle 100. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle-side control device 400 includes an I / F 410, a storage device 420, a system bus 430, one or more processors 440, and one or more memories 450. The I / F 410 is an interface for communicating with the first operation unit sensor 310, the second operation unit sensor 320, and the terminal-side control device 900 (described later). For example, the I / F 410 acquires data transmitted from the first operation unit sensor 310 and the second operation unit sensor 320. The I / F 410 also transmits data to the terminal-side control device 900.

[0019] The storage device 420 is composed of RAM, flash memory, HDD, etc., and holds various information necessary for the processing of the processor 440 described below. The system bus 430 electrically connects the I / F 410, storage device 420, processor 440, and memory 450, and is a transmission path for transmitting data among them.

[0020] The processor 440 includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The memory 450 includes, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The ROM is a storage element that stores programs and calculation parameters used by the CPU. The RAM is a storage element that temporarily stores data such as variables and parameters used in processing executed by the CPU.

[0021] 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the vehicle-side control device 400 according to this embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the vehicle-side control device 400 includes an acquisition unit 400a and a transmission unit 400b.

[0022] The processor 440 cooperates with the programs contained in the memory 450 and executes the programs contained in the memory 450 to realize various processes including the processes described below that are performed by the acquisition unit 400a and transmission unit 400b.

[0023] The acquisition unit 400a acquires information about the operation state of the operation unit 200. The information about the operation state of the operation unit 200 includes, for example, information about the operation amount or contact state of the steering wheel, accelerator pedal, and brake pedal.

[0024] The transmitting unit 400b transmits information relating to the operation state of the operating unit 200 acquired by the acquiring unit 400a to the terminal-side control device 900. For example, the transmitting unit 400b transmits information relating to the operation amount or contact state of the steering wheel, accelerator pedal, or brake pedal to the terminal-side control device 900.

[0025] 1 , a wearer 600 wearing a wearable terminal 500 rides in the vehicle 100. The wearer 600 is a passenger in the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the wearer 600 is a driver who drives the vehicle 100. The wearable terminal 500 includes a terminal sensor 700, an information presentation device 800 (described later), and a terminal-side control device 900.

[0026] The wearable terminal 500 is a terminal worn on a part of the body of the wearer 600. In the present embodiment, the wearable terminal 500 includes a first wearable terminal 510 and a second wearable terminal 520. The first wearable terminal 510 is worn on the arm of the wearer 600. Therefore, the first wearable terminal 510 moves integrally with the arm of the wearer 600 in accordance with the movement of the arm of the wearer 600. Specifically, the first wearable terminal 510 is worn on the wrist of the wearer 600. However, without being limited thereto, the first wearable terminal 510 may be worn on the hand of the wearer 600. In that case, the first wearable terminal 510 moves integrally with the hand of the wearer 600 in accordance with the movement of the hand of the wearer 600. Furthermore, the first wearable terminal 510 may be worn on the forearm of the wearer 600. In this case, the first wearable terminal 510 moves integrally with the forearm of the wearer 600 in accordance with the movement of the forearm of the wearer 600. The first wearable terminal 510 may also be worn on the upper arm of the wearer 600. In this case, the first wearable terminal 510 moves integrally with the upper arm of the wearer 600 in accordance with the movement of the upper arm of the wearer 600.

[0027] The second wearable terminal 520 is worn on the foot of the wearer 600. Therefore, the second wearable terminal 520 moves integrally with the foot of the wearer 600 in accordance with the movement of the foot of the wearer 600. Specifically, the second wearable terminal 520 is worn on the sole of the foot of the wearer 600. However, without being limited thereto, the second wearable terminal 520 may be worn on the instep of the foot of the wearer 600. In that case, the second wearable terminal 520 moves integrally with the instep of the foot of the wearer 600 in accordance with the movement of the instep of the foot of the wearer 600. Furthermore, the second wearable terminal 520 may be worn on the lower leg of the wearer 600. In that case, the second wearable terminal 520 moves integrally with the lower leg of the wearer 600 in accordance with the movement of the lower leg of the wearer 600. Furthermore, the second wearable terminal 520 may be worn on the thigh of the wearer 600. In this case, the second wearable terminal 520 moves integrally with the thigh of the wearer 600 in accordance with the movement of the thigh of the wearer 600 .

[0028] The terminal sensor 700 is a sensor provided in the wearable terminal 500 and detects the behavior of the wearable terminal 500. However, without being limited to this, the terminal sensor 700 may also detect a force acting on the wearable terminal 500. In this embodiment, the terminal sensor 700 includes a first terminal sensor 710 and a second terminal sensor 720. The first terminal sensor 710 is provided in the first wearable terminal 510. The second terminal sensor 720 is provided in the second wearable terminal 520.

[0029] The first terminal sensor 710 is a sensor that detects the behavior of the first wearable terminal 510. For example, the first terminal sensor 710 is a gyro sensor, which is an angular velocity sensor that detects the angular velocity of the first wearable terminal 510 when the wearer 600 rotates the steering wheel, or an acceleration sensor. If the first terminal sensor 710 is an acceleration sensor, the first terminal sensor 710 calculates the angular velocity of the first wearable terminal 510 by integrating the acceleration of the first wearable terminal 510 over time. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the first terminal sensor 710 is configured from a gyro sensor. Information indicating the angular velocity of the first wearable terminal 510 detected by the first terminal sensor 710 is transmitted to the terminal-side control device 900.

[0030] The second terminal sensor 720 is a sensor that detects the behavior of the second wearable terminal 520. For example, the second terminal sensor 720 is a gyro sensor, which is an angular velocity sensor that detects the angular velocity of the second wearable terminal 520 when the wearer 600 depresses the accelerator pedal or brake pedal, or an acceleration sensor. If the second terminal sensor 720 is an acceleration sensor, the second terminal sensor 720 calculates the angular velocity of the second wearable terminal 520 by integrating the acceleration of the second wearable terminal 520 over time. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the second terminal sensor 720 is configured from a gyro sensor. Information indicating the angular velocity of the second wearable terminal 520 detected by the second terminal sensor 720 is transmitted to the terminal-side control device 900. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the second terminal sensor 720 may also be a sensor that detects a force acting on the second wearable terminal 520. For example, the second terminal sensor 720 may be a pressure sensor that detects the pressure acting on the second wearable terminal 520 when the wearer 600 depresses the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal. In this case, the second terminal sensor 720 transmits information indicating the pressure acting on the second wearable terminal 520 detected by the second terminal sensor 720 to the terminal-side control device 900.

[0031] 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating the system configuration of an information display device 800 according to this embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 4 , the information display device 800 includes a waveform generation unit 810, a first gain adjustment unit 830, a microphone 840, a sensing value calculation unit 850, a second gain adjustment unit 860, and an output unit 870.

[0032] The information presentation device 800 presents information to the wearer 600. The information presentation device 800 presents to the wearer 600 a sign that a behavior of the vehicle 100 will occur, for example, by a sound or vibration output from the output unit 870. However, without being limited to this, the information presentation device 800 may present information to a passenger on board the vehicle 100, or may present to the passenger a sign that a behavior of the vehicle 100 will occur. The waveform generation unit 810 generates a vibration waveform, which is the waveform of the vibration output by the output unit 870.

[0033] 5 is a diagram showing a first example and a second example of the excitation waveform according to the present embodiment, in which the horizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents voltage, which is the amplitude of the excitation waveform.

[0034] The excitation waveform may be, for example, a sine wave, as shown in the first example in the upper part of Fig. 5. Furthermore, the excitation waveform may be, for example, a waveform obtained by combining a plurality of sine waves with different wavelengths, as shown in the second example in the lower part of Fig. 5. However, the excitation waveform is not limited to this, and may be, for example, a rectangular wave, a triangular wave, a waveform simulating the running sound of the vehicle 100, or any other waveform. Furthermore, the excitation waveform may be a waveform obtained by combining a variety of waveforms.

[0035] In this embodiment, the frequency of the excitation waveform is, for example, in the range of 100 to 400 Hz. More preferably, the frequency of the excitation waveform is in the range having a dominant frequency of 150 to 300 Hz. Here, the occupants of the vehicle 100 have sensory receptors such as Merkel cells, Meissner's corpuscles, and Pacinian corpuscles.

[0036] Figure 6 shows the relationship between the pressure of a stimulus applied to a human and time, the relationship between the electrical pulse generated when Merkel cells are stimulated and time, the relationship between the electrical pulse generated when Meissner's corpuscles are stimulated and time, and the relationship between the electrical pulse generated when Pacinian corpuscles are stimulated and time. In the top row of Figure 6, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents pressure. In all rows except the top row of Figure 6, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents the state of electrical pulse generation.

[0037] As shown in Figure 6, Merkel cells have a slower response than Meissner's corpuscles and Pacinian corpuscles, and are highly sensitive to low-frequency stimuli ranging from direct current to a few Hz. Meissner's corpuscles also have a faster response than Merkel cells, and are highly sensitive to stimuli with frequencies ranging from a few Hz to 200 Hz. Meissner's corpuscles emit electrical pulses when there is a rate of change in contact pressure. Pacinian corpuscles have a faster response than Merkel cells and Meissner's corpuscles, and are highly sensitive to stimuli with frequencies ranging from 70 Hz to 1000 Hz. Pacinian corpuscles emit electrical pulses at the moment of a transient change in contact pressure. Among Merkel cells, Meissner's corpuscles, and Pacinian corpuscles, Pacinian corpuscles are considered to have the highest sensitivity. Therefore, Pacinian corpuscles are considered to be the most sensitive receptors for passengers to perceive minute vibrations as combined auditory and tactile information.

[0038] Figure 7 shows the frequency sensitivity distribution of Pacinian corpuscles and Meissner corpuscles. In Figure 7, the dashed line shows the sensitivity distribution of Meissner corpuscles, and the solid line shows the sensitivity distribution of Pacinian corpuscles. In Figure 7, the horizontal axis shows frequency, and the vertical axis shows amplitude above threshold, with smaller values ​​indicating better sensitivity.

[0039] As shown in Figure 7, Pacinian corpuscles exhibit good sensitivity in the range of 100 to 400 Hz, and even better sensitivity in the range of 150 to 300 Hz. This range is included in the range of 20 Hz to 20 kHz, which is generally considered to be the human audible range. The dominant frequency of the excitation waveform can be set to 250 Hz, for example.

[0040] 4 , the terminal sensor 700 sequentially transmits information about the angular velocities of the first wearable terminal 510 and the second wearable terminal 520 to the first gain adjustment unit 830. Specifically, the first terminal sensor 710 sequentially transmits information about the angular velocity of the first wearable terminal 510 to the first gain adjustment unit 830. Furthermore, the second terminal sensor 720 sequentially transmits information about the angular velocity of the second wearable terminal 520 to the first gain adjustment unit 830. For example, the first terminal sensor 710 sequentially transmits information about the angular velocity of the first wearable terminal 510 when the wearer 600 rotates the steering wheel to the first gain adjustment unit 830. Furthermore, the second terminal sensor 720 sequentially transmits information about the angular velocity of the second wearable terminal 520 when the wearer 600 depresses the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal to the first gain adjustment unit 830.

[0041] The first gain adjustment unit 830 performs a first gain adjustment on the fundamental wave of the excitation waveform generated by the waveform generation unit 810. The first gain adjustment changes the gain G1, which is a first gain by which the voltage of the excitation waveform is multiplied, in accordance with information related to the angular velocity transmitted from the terminal sensor 700. For example, the first gain adjustment changes the gain G1 by which the voltage of the excitation waveform is multiplied in accordance with the angular velocity of the first wearable terminal 510. Furthermore, the first gain adjustment changes the gain G1 by which the voltage of the excitation waveform is multiplied in accordance with the angular velocity of the second wearable terminal 520.

[0042] FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of gain adjustment in the first gain adjuster 830. In FIG. 8, the horizontal axis represents angular velocity, and the vertical axis represents gain G1 by which the voltage of the excitation waveform is multiplied. Note that the voltage of the excitation waveform is a value that depends on the amplitude of the excitation waveform. Therefore, the larger the voltage of the excitation waveform, the larger the amplitude of the excitation waveform. Also, the smaller the voltage of the excitation waveform, the smaller the amplitude of the excitation waveform.

[0043] 8, the gain G1 increases as the angular velocity increases. The rate of increase of the gain G1 is maximum in a region where the angular velocity is small, and decreases as the angular velocity increases.

[0044] The gain G1 can be calculated from the angular velocity using a logarithmic function. For example, the gain G1 is expressed by the following equation 1: Gain G1=log(angular velocity×coefficient k) (Equation 1)

[0045] Here, the coefficient k is a value set during the development stage of the vehicle 100 in accordance with the characteristics of the vehicle 100. The characteristics of the vehicle 100 include, for example, yaw gain relative to the steering angle of the steering wheel, driving force characteristics relative to changes in accelerator pedal stroke, braking force characteristics relative to changes in brake pedal stroke, and the center of gravity position. The first gain adjustment unit 830 sets the gain G1 based on the angular velocity with reference to the graph shown in FIG. 8. Note that the first gain adjustment unit 830 may set the gain G1 based on the pressure acting on the second wearable terminal 520 instead of or in addition to the angular velocity. Setting the gain G1 based on pressure is similar to setting the gain G1 based on angular velocity, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0046] The microphone 840 is a sound collection device that acquires environmental sounds of the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the microphone 840 collects environmental sounds inside the vehicle cabin. The microphone 840 is provided, for example, in the first wearable terminal 510. However, without being limited to this, the microphone 840 may be provided in the second wearable terminal 520, or may be provided in both the first wearable terminal 510 and the second wearable terminal 520. The output of the microphone 840 is transmitted to the sensing value calculation unit 850.

[0047] The sensing value calculation unit 850 extracts components of a predetermined frequency band from the environmental sound of the vehicle 100 acquired by the microphone 840, and transmits the sound pressure of the extracted components to the second gain adjustment unit 860 as a sensing value.

[0048] 9 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of the output history of the microphone 840. In FIG. 9, the horizontal axis represents time, and the vertical axis represents the sound pressure of the environmental sound acquired by the microphone 840.

[0049] The sensing value calculation unit 850 performs a fast Fourier transform (FFT) on the acoustic signal of the environmental sound acquired by the microphone 840 to convert it into the frequency domain. The sensing value calculation unit 850 also performs band-pass filtering to extract components of a predetermined frequency band from the converted frequency domain. Here, the frequency band to be extracted is set so as to include the dominant frequency of the excitation waveform output by the waveform generation unit 810. The sensing value calculation unit 850 sets the average sound pressure of the extracted frequency band as the sensing value to be used for the second gain adjustment.

[0050] Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the correlation between sound pressure and frequency of environmental sound. In Fig. 10, the horizontal axis represents frequency and the vertical axis represents sound pressure. The band-pass filter extracts, for example, a frequency band near 250 Hz, which is the dominant frequency of the excitation waveform in the waveform generation unit 810. The average value of the sound pressure in the extracted frequency band is provided to the second gain adjustment unit 860 as a sensing value.

[0051] The second gain adjustment unit 860 performs a second gain adjustment on the excitation waveform after the first gain adjustment. The second gain adjustment changes the gain of the excitation waveform in accordance with the sensed value of cabin noise in order to adjust the output amplitude of the excitation waveform in accordance with changes in environmental noise while the vehicle 100 is traveling. Examples of environmental noise while the vehicle 100 is traveling include drivetrain noise, aerodynamic noise, and road noise. The second gain adjustment unit 860 performs the second gain adjustment based on the output of the sensing value calculation unit 850. Specifically, the second gain adjustment unit 860 sets a gain G2, which is a second gain, based on the sensing value output by the sensing value calculation unit 850.

[0052] FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of gain adjustment by the second gain adjustment unit 860. In FIG. 11 , the horizontal axis represents the sensed value, and the vertical axis represents the gain G2 multiplied by the voltage of the excitation waveform. As shown in FIG. 11 , the gain G2 increases as the sensed value increases. The gain G2 is set, for example, so that the sound pressure of the sound generated by the excitation amplitude output from the output unit 870 does not dominate the sound pressure of the environmental sound at the ear of the wearer 600. Preferably, the gain G2 is set so that the sound generated by the excitation amplitude blends in with the environmental sound of the vehicle and reaches a sound pressure level that the wearer 600 can unconsciously hear. The second gain adjustment unit 860 sets the gain G2 based on the sensed value of the interior noise with reference to the graph shown in FIG. 11 .

[0053] The output value A, which is the voltage of the vibration waveform after the first gain adjustment and the second gain adjustment, is expressed by the following equation 3: Output value A = Waveform generator output value × Gain G1 × Gain G2 = Waveform generator output value × log (angular velocity × coefficient k) × Gain G2 (Equation 3)

[0054] The output unit 870 includes a vibration device. The output unit 870 vibrates the surroundings of the wearer 600 using the output value A, generating vibrations. The output unit 870 includes, for example, a speaker that generates sound, a vibrator that generates vibrations, etc.

[0055] FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the terminal-side control device 900 according to this embodiment. The terminal-side control device 900 controls the entire wearable terminal 500. As shown in FIG. 12 , the terminal-side control device 900 includes an I / F 910, a storage device 920, a system bus 930, one or more processors 940, and one or more memories 950. The I / F 910 is an interface for communicating with the terminal sensor 700, the information presentation device 800, and the vehicle-side control device 400. For example, the I / F 910 acquires data transmitted from the terminal sensor 700 and the vehicle-side control device 400. The I / F 910 also transmits a control signal to the information presentation device 800.

[0056] The storage device 920 is composed of RAM, flash memory, HDD, etc., and holds various information necessary for the processing of the processor 940 described below. The system bus 930 electrically connects the I / F 910, storage device 920, processor 940, and memory 950, and is a transmission path for transmitting data among them.

[0057] The processor 940 includes, for example, a CPU. The memory 950 includes, for example, a ROM and a RAM. The ROM is a storage element that stores programs and calculation parameters used by the CPU. The RAM is a storage element that temporarily stores data such as variables and parameters used in processing executed by the CPU.

[0058] 13 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the terminal-side control device 900 according to this embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, the terminal-side control device 900 includes an acquisition unit 900a and a control unit 900b.

[0059] The processor 940 cooperates with the programs contained in the memory 950 and executes the programs contained in the memory 950 to realize various processes including the processes described below that are performed by the acquisition unit 900a and control unit 900b.

[0060] The acquisition unit 900a acquires information about the behavior of the wearable terminal 500 or about the force acting on the wearable terminal 500 from the terminal sensor 700. The acquisition unit 900a also acquires information about the operation state of the operation unit 200, which is the detection result of the operation unit sensor 300, from the vehicle-side control device 400. The information about the behavior of the wearable terminal 500 includes information about the angular velocity of the first wearable terminal 510 and the angular velocity of the second wearable terminal 520. The information about the force acting on the wearable terminal 500 includes information about the pressure acting on the second wearable terminal 520. The information about the operation state of the operation unit 200, which is the detection result of the operation unit sensor 300, includes, for example, information about the operation amount of the steering wheel, accelerator pedal, and brake pedal, and the contact state of the steering wheel, accelerator pedal, and brake pedal.

[0061] In this embodiment, the control unit 900b executes a process of identifying the amount of steering operation as a driving operation of the vehicle 100 based on the detection result of the first terminal sensor 710. For example, the control unit 900b identifies the amount of steering operation by the wearer 600 based on the angular velocity that is the detection result of the first terminal sensor 710. Then, the control unit 900b performs information presentation control to cause the information presentation device to present information according to the amount of steering operation. For example, as described above with reference to FIGS. 4 to 11 , the control unit 900b determines an output according to the amount of steering operation and outputs the output to a speaker or a vibrator.

[0062] The control unit 900b executes a process of identifying the amount of pedal operation as a driving operation of the vehicle 100 based on the detection result of the second terminal sensor 720. For example, the control unit 900b identifies the amount of pedal operation by the wearer 600 based on the angular velocity that is the detection result of the second terminal sensor 720. The control unit 900b then performs information presentation control to cause the information presentation device to present information according to the amount of pedal operation. For example, as described above with reference to FIGS. 4 to 11 , the control unit 900b determines an output according to the amount of pedal operation and outputs the output to a speaker or a vibrator.

[0063] Here, the control unit 900b may execute information presentation control based on the detection result of the operation unit sensor 300 of the vehicle 100. For example, when the detection result of the first operation unit sensor 310 indicates that the steering wheel is in contact or the amount of steering operation is greater than a first threshold, the control unit 900b presents information based on the detection result of the first terminal sensor 710. Here, the first threshold is, for example, 0. However, the first threshold is not limited to this, and may be a value close to 0, for example, a value slightly greater than 0.

[0064] On the other hand, when the detection result of the first operation unit sensor 310 indicates that the steering wheel is not being touched or the amount of steering wheel operation is equal to or less than the first threshold, the control unit 900b does not present information based on the detection result of the first terminal sensor 710. However, without being limited to this, the control unit 900b may reduce the presentation of information based on the detection result of the first terminal sensor 710 when the detection result of the first operation unit sensor 310 indicates that the steering wheel is not being touched or the amount of steering wheel operation is equal to or less than the first threshold. Specifically, the control unit 900b may execute a control process to reduce the volume of sound or vibration as information presented by the information presentation control. For example, the control unit 900b executes a control process to reduce the volume of sound or vibration by multiplying the output value A output by the output unit 870 by a first multiplying factor that is less than 1. This allows the information presented by the information presentation control to be changed depending on the operation state of the operation unit 200.

[0065] When the detection result of the second operation unit sensor 320 indicates that the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal is in contact, or the amount of pedal operation is greater than a second threshold, the control unit 900b presents information based on the detection result of the second terminal sensor 720. Here, the second threshold is, for example, 0. However, the second threshold is not limited to this, and may be a value close to 0, for example, a value slightly greater than 0.

[0066] On the other hand, if the detection result of the second operation unit sensor 320 indicates that the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal is not in contact or that the pedal operation amount is small, the control unit 900b does not present information based on the detection result of the second terminal sensor 720. However, without being limited to this, the control unit 900b may reduce the presentation of information based on the detection result of the second terminal sensor 720 when the detection result of the second operation unit sensor 320 indicates that the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal is not in contact or the pedal operation amount is equal to or less than a second threshold. Specifically, the control unit 900b may execute a control process to reduce the volume of sound or vibration as information presented by the information presentation control. For example, the control unit 900b executes a control process to reduce the volume of sound or vibration by multiplying the output value A output by the output unit 870 by a second multiplying factor that is less than 1. This allows the information presented by the information presentation control to be changed depending on the operation state of the operation unit 200.

[0067] As described above, the wearable terminal 500 according to this embodiment includes the terminal sensor 700 that detects the behavior of the wearable terminal 500 or the force acting on the wearable terminal 500. The control unit 900b of the wearable terminal 500 performs information presentation control to cause the information presentation device 800 to present information based on the detection result of the terminal sensor 700. Because the wearable terminal 500 performs information presentation control, information can be presented to the wearer 600 even if the information presentation device 800 is not installed in the vehicle 100. As a result, information can be presented regardless of whether the vehicle 100 is changed.

[0068] Furthermore, the control unit 900b identifies the amount of operation of the vehicle 100 by the wearer 600 of the wearable terminal 500 based on the detection result of the terminal sensor 700. Then, the control unit 900b changes information according to the amount of operation of the driving operation in the information presentation control. As a result, information according to the amount of operation of the vehicle 100 by the wearer 600 can be presented to the wearer 600. For example, if the output unit 870 is a speaker, the speaker can be used to emit to the wearer 600 a sound with an amplitude according to the amount of operation of the vehicle 100 by the wearer 600. Furthermore, if the output unit 870 is a vibrator, the vibrator can be used to emit to the wearer 600 a vibration with an amplitude according to the amount of operation of the vehicle 100 by the wearer 600. As a result, the wearer 600 can predict the occurrence of vehicle behavior accompanied by lateral acceleration, longitudinal acceleration, yaw rate, and pitch angle. As a result, the wearer 600 is able to predict vehicle behavior more easily, and the wearer 600 is prevented from feeling abrupt about the vehicle behavior.

[0069] Furthermore, the amplitude of the sound and vibration emitted from the output unit 870 is adjusted by a gain G1 that changes according to the angular velocity of the amount of driving operation of the vehicle 100 by the wearer 600, and therefore the magnitude of the lateral acceleration, longitudinal acceleration, yaw rate, and pitch angle can be predicted for the wearer 600. Furthermore, the amplitude of the sound and vibration emitted from the output unit 870 is adjusted by a gain G2 that changes according to the sensed value of the noise inside the vehicle, and therefore the sound and vibration emitted from the output unit 870 can be easily recognized by the wearer 600 regardless of the magnitude of the noise inside the vehicle.

[0070] The wearable terminal 500 is worn on the arm of the wearer 600, and the control unit 900b identifies the amount of steering wheel operation as a driving operation based on the detection result of the terminal sensor 700. By wearing the wearable terminal 500 on the arm of the wearer 600, the detection accuracy of the amount of steering wheel operation by the terminal sensor 700 can be improved compared to when the wearable terminal 500 is worn somewhere other than the arm of the wearer 600.

[0071] The wearable terminal 500 is worn on the foot of the wearer 600, and the control unit 900b identifies the amount of pedal operation as a driving operation based on the detection result of the terminal sensor 700. By wearing the wearable terminal 500 on the foot of the wearer 600, the accuracy of detection of the amount of pedal operation by the terminal sensor 700 can be improved compared to when the wearable terminal 500 is worn on a part other than the foot of the wearer 600.

[0072] The acquisition unit 900a acquires the detection result of the operation unit sensor 300 that is mounted on the vehicle 100 and detects the operation state of the operation unit 200 used for driving operations. The control unit 900b also controls information presentation based on the detection result of the operation unit sensor 300. This makes it possible to suppress the presentation of information to the wearer 600 in accordance with the detection result of the terminal sensor 700 when the wearer 600 is not operating the operation unit 200.

[0073] Furthermore, since the excitation waveform has a dominant frequency included in the frequency band of 100 to 400 Hz, it becomes possible to use Pacinian corpuscles, which are in the audible range and highly sensitive to skin sensation, and improve the sound recognition of the wearer 600. Therefore, information can be transmitted to the wearer 600 more reliably.

[0074] Furthermore, when the output unit 870 is a speaker, in the information presentation control, sound vibrations can be presented as information to the wearer 600 using the speaker. Furthermore, information can be presented to passengers of the vehicle 100 other than the wearer 600 of the vehicle 100.

[0075] Furthermore, when the output unit 870 is a vibrator, in the information presentation control, the vibrator can be used to present vibration as information to the wearer 600. When a vibrator is used as the output unit 870, it is possible to present information only to the wearer 600, without presenting the information to passengers of the vehicle 100 other than the wearer 600.

[0076] While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such embodiments. It is clear that those skilled in the art can conceive of various modifications and alterations within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that such modifications and alterations also fall within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0077] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the wearable terminal 500 is provided with a speaker or a vibrator as the output unit 870. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the speaker or the vibrator as the output unit 870 may be provided outside the wearable terminal 500. For example, the speaker as the output unit 870 may be an existing speaker mounted on the vehicle 100. Furthermore, the vibrator as the output unit 870 may be provided on the steering wheel. In this case, the calculation of the output value A may be performed by the wearable terminal 500, and information based on the output value A may be presented by an existing speaker provided on the vehicle 100 or a vibrator provided on the steering wheel.

[0078] 14 is a schematic diagram of a driving simulator 100A according to this embodiment. The driving simulator 100A is a device that simulates driving a vehicle.

[0079] In the example shown in Fig. 14, the driving simulator 100A includes the above-described operation unit 200, operation unit sensor 300, vehicle-side control device 400, wearable terminal 500, terminal sensor 700, information presentation device 800, and terminal-side control device 900. Here, the terminal sensor 700 detects the operating state of the driving operation of the driving simulator 100A. Furthermore, the wearer 600 is a person who performs a simulation of vehicle driving using the driving simulator 100A. Note that the driving simulator 100A may be, for example, a game console that performs a simulation of vehicle driving. In this case, the operation unit 200 may be a controller connected to the game console.

[0080] In the driving simulator 100A, a simulation of vehicle driving is performed by the wearer 600 operating the operation unit 200. For example, the wearer 600 can simulate steering of the vehicle by operating the steering wheel, which is the first operation unit 210. In addition, the wearer 600 can simulate acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle by operating the accelerator pedal or brake pedal, which is the second operation unit 220.

[0081] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the control unit 900b identifies the operating state of the driving operation of the vehicle 100 based on the detection result of the terminal sensor 700. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the control unit 900b may identify the operating state of the driving operation of the driving simulator 100A based on the detection result of the terminal sensor 700, as shown in FIG.

[0082] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the operation unit sensor 300 is provided in the vehicle 100. However, this is not limiting, and the operation unit sensor 300 may be mounted on the driving simulator 100A as shown in FIG. 14 and detect, for example, the operation state of an operation unit used to drive the driving simulator 100A. In this case, the acquisition unit 900a of the wearable terminal 500 may acquire information regarding the operation state of the operation unit 200 used to drive the driving simulator 100A from the driving simulator 100A. In other words, the acquisition unit 900a acquires the detection result of the operation unit sensor 300 mounted on the driving simulator 100A and detecting the operation state of the operation unit 200 used to drive the driving simulator 100A. Then, the control unit 900b performs information presentation control based on the detection result of the operation unit sensor 300.

[0083] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the wearable terminal 500 is worn on the arms and legs of the wearer 600. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the wearable terminal 500 may be worn on a part of the wearer 600 other than the arms and legs.

[0084] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the frequency of the sound or vibration presented by the information presentation device 800 is in the range of 100 to 400 Hz. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the frequency of the sound or vibration presented by the information presentation device 800 may be outside the range of 100 to 400 Hz.

[0085] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Vehicle 200 Operation unit 300 Operation unit sensor 400 Vehicle-side control device 500 Wearable terminal 700 Terminal sensor 800 Information presentation device 900 Terminal-side control device

Claims

1. A wearable terminal comprising: a terminal sensor that detects the behavior of the wearable terminal or a force acting on the wearable terminal; and a control device having one or more processors and one or more memories connected to the processors, wherein the processor executes processing including: performing information presentation control to cause an information presentation device to present information based on the detection results of the terminal sensor.

2. The wearable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the processor executes processing including: determining the amount of driving operation of a vehicle or a driving simulator performed by a wearer of the wearable terminal based on the detection results of the terminal sensor; and, in the information presentation control, changing the information according to the amount of driving operation.

3. The wearable terminal according to claim 2, wherein the wearable terminal is worn on the arm of the wearer, and the processor executes processing including identifying the amount of steering operation as the driving operation based on the detection results of the terminal sensor.

4. The wearable terminal according to claim 2, wherein the wearable terminal is worn on the wearer's foot, and the processor executes processing including identifying the amount of pedal operation as the driving operation based on the detection result of the terminal sensor.

5. The wearable terminal according to claim 2, wherein the processor executes processing including: acquiring a detection result from an operation unit sensor that is mounted on the vehicle or the driving simulator and detects the operation state of an operation unit used for the driving operation; and performing the information presentation control based on the detection result from the operation unit sensor.

6. The wearable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the information presentation device includes a speaker, and the processor executes processing in the information presentation control that includes presenting vibration as the information using the speaker.

7. The wearable terminal according to claim 1, wherein the information presentation device includes a vibrator, and the processor executes processing in the information presentation control that includes presenting vibrations as the information using the vibrator.

8. The wearable terminal according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the processor executes processing including controlling the frequency of the vibration to be in the range of 100 to 400 Hz in the information presentation control.

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