AR Head-Up Display Intensity Control to Reduce Road Occlusion

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Solution Overview

Problem

Augmented reality head-up displays in vehicles often suffer from occlusion issues, where critical driving information is masked or obscured, particularly due to increased clutter and the accumulation of display elements, which can lead to dangerous situations by hiding important road objects or obstacles.

Innovation Solution

A method and device that dynamically adjust the intensity and opacity of display elements based on safety-relevant parameters such as distance to a target element or time to collision, reducing the display elements to contour lines to minimize occlusion while maintaining sufficient saliency, ensuring critical information remains visible and comprehensible.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If display elements are presented with high intensity and full visibility in augmented reality head-up display, then information saliency and driver awareness are improved, but occlusion of critical driving information and road objects increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevisibility of display informationVSAvoidocclusion of road objects
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by differentiating the visual properties of display elements based on their spatial location and safety relevance. Display elements are rendered with varying opacity, intensity, and detail levels depending on their position in the field of view and their importance, allowing critical information to remain visible while reducing occlusion of road objects in other areas.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements dynamics by continuously adjusting the properties of display elements in real-time based on changing driving conditions, vehicle speed, distance to road objects, and safety-relevant parameters. This dynamic adaptation ensures that display information remains sufficiently visible while minimizing occlusion as the driving situation evolves.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Loss of information

If multiple display elements are accumulated to provide comprehensive navigation and safety information, then driver support and information completeness are improved, but display clutter and occlusion of driving-relevant information increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecompleteness of driving informationVSAvoidclutter of display elements
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the most essential visual features and information from display elements that are safety-relevant. Non-critical details are omitted or simplified, and display elements are selectively rendered or hidden based on their importance to safe driving, reducing overall clutter while maintaining necessary information completeness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments display information into hierarchical levels of importance, with safety-critical elements receiving full visibility and less critical elements being simplified or hidden. This segmentation allows comprehensive navigation and safety information to be provided without presenting all elements simultaneously, thereby reducing display clutter.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Object-affected harmful factors

If display elements are reduced to contour lines to minimize occlusion, then visibility of road objects is improved, but information comprehensibility and saliency may be reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveocclusion of road objectsVSAvoidcomprehensibility of display information
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by rendering display elements as contour lines or simplified shapes only in regions where they would otherwise occlude road objects, while maintaining full detail and visibility for display elements in less critical areas. This selective simplification preserves information comprehensibility where needed while minimizing occlusion elsewhere.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent uses color and intensity variations to compensate for the simplification of display elements to contour lines. By adjusting color saturation, brightness, and contrast of the simplified elements, the system maintains their saliency and comprehensibility even when detailed graphical representations are reduced to outlines.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #32Color changes

Data Source

PatentEP3922501B1Control of a display of an augmented reality head-up display device for a method of transport
Publication Date: 2024.12.18 VOLKSWAGEN AG
  • EP3922501B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3922501B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP3922501B1 patent drawingFigure 5

AI summary

The present invention relates to a method, a computer program with instructions, and a device for controlling the display of an augmented reality head-up display for a means of transportation. The invention further relates to a means of transportation in which a method or a device according to the invention is used. In a first step, at least one safety-relevant parameter is determined (10). If two or more safety-relevant parameters are determined (10), one of the determined parameters can optionally be selected as the more critical parameter (11). Subsequently, the intensity of a display element to be presented by the augmented reality head-up display is adjusted depending on the at least one safety-relevant parameter (12). Finally, the display element to be presented is output for display by the augmented reality head-up display (13).