Conversation Agent for In-Vehicle and Pedestrian Assistant Handoffs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Communication between occupants of autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles and external individuals, such as pedestrians, is challenging due to limited visibility, positioning of occupants, and window tinting, making interactions difficult and unsafe.
Innovation Solution
A system with internal and external bidirectional communication systems and intelligent virtual assistants, mediated by a conversation agent, facilitates communication between vehicle occupants and external individuals, enabling concurrent interaction with the vehicle control system without interruption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If autonomous vehicle control systems control most vehicle operations, then driving safety and ease are improved, but communication between occupants and external pedestrians becomes difficult and unsafe
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an external-facing intelligent virtual assistant as an intermediary that mediates communication between the vehicle control system and external pedestrians. This virtual assistant can detect pedestrian presence, initiate communications, and convey information to both the control system and external parties, resolving the communication barrier created by autonomous operation without compromising safety.
2Ease of operation
If occupants are positioned facing inward or in passenger compartments away from the front windshield, then privacy and comfort are improved, but visibility and detectability of external pedestrians deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs sensors (cameras, LIDAR, microphones) to create digital copies or representations of the external environment and pedestrian information. These sensory copies are then processed and transmitted to the intelligent virtual assistant, which can convey this information to occupants without requiring them to be positioned where they can directly see or detect pedestrians, thus maintaining comfort while overcoming visibility limitations.
3Productivity
If multiple communication channels (internal and external) are simultaneously active, then communication efficiency is improved, but system complexity and information management difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the internal-facing and external-facing intelligent virtual assistant functions into a single integrated conversation agent. This unified agent manages both communication channels, coordinates information flow between them, and prevents conflicts, thereby maintaining high communication efficiency while reducing system complexity through consolidation rather than separate independent systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A system includes an internal bidirectional communication system configured for communication with a first person disposed in a vehicle; an internal-facing intelligent virtual assistant communicatively coupled to the internal bidirectional communication system; an external bidirectional communication system configured for communication with a second person disposed outside the vehicle; an external-facing intelligent virtual assistant communicatively coupled to the external bidirectional communication system; and a conversation agent that controls information exchanged between the internal-facing intelligent virtual assistant and the external-facing intelligent virtual assistant.