Adaptive Illumination for Driver Visual Attention Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle driving assistance systems require drivers to shift their visual focus from the road to on-vehicle displays to recognize surrounding conditions, which can be unsafe and inconvenient.
Innovation Solution
A system with multiple illumination devices and a controller that detects attention-required objects and changes their state (lighting, color, or blinking) to notify the driver without requiring them to move their visual line, using cameras and image recognition to identify objects like rear lamps, traffic lights, pedestrians, and obstacles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If video recording and display on on-vehicle display unit is used to notify surrounding conditions, then the driver can recognize surrounding conditions, but the driver needs to move visual line from traveling direction to display unit
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of illumination devices and a controller that translates detector information into visual notifications within the driver's field of view. The controller acts as a mediator between the detector (which captures surrounding conditions) and the driver (who needs information), converting detected objects into directional lighting cues that appear naturally in the driver's vision without requiring display unit interaction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional display unit requiring lateral visual movement to a three-dimensional spatial notification system using directional illumination. By projecting light in specific directions corresponding to detected object locations, the system embeds information vertically and spatially within the driver's existing field of view, eliminating the need for horizontal visual scanning to the display unit.
2Loss of information
If on-vehicle display unit is used to show surrounding conditions, then the driver can obtain information, but the driver's visual attention is diverted from the road
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates an equipotential visual field where information about surrounding conditions is made available at the same visual level as the road itself. By using illumination devices that project into the driver's existing field of view rather than requiring separate visual attention to a display unit, the system ensures that neither the road nor the surrounding condition information requires prioritized visual attention, thereby maintaining driving safety while providing comprehensive information.
3Ease of operation
If multiple illumination devices are added to notify driver of surrounding conditions, then the driver can recognize conditions without moving visual line, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal controller that manages multiple illumination devices with a single integrated system. The controller serves multiple functions: detecting objects, determining their directions, selecting appropriate illumination devices, and controlling their operation. This multi-functional approach consolidates what could be separate complex systems into a single coordinated unit, reducing overall system complexity while achieving the goal of directional visual notifications.
Data Source
AI summary
This system for detecting the surrounding conditions of a moving body forcibly changes the state of at least one of a plurality of lighting devices (change from an unlit state to a lighting state or a blinking state, change in the emission color, or change in the luminance) installed inside the moving body, if an object to which attention must be paid during traveling of the moving body is detected in the surroundings of the moving body.