Eye Gaze Based Notification Placement in Windshield Displays

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Solution Overview

Problem

Drivers experience distraction and increased accident risk due to delays in refocusing between the road and vehicle displays when viewing notifications, as they need to accommodate and stabilize their gaze at different distances, leading to prolonged focal plane changes.

Innovation Solution

A computer-implemented method that monitors a driver's eye gaze direction and determines the optimal location for displaying notifications within the driver's focal plane, using onboard cameras and visual analysis, to minimize the need for the driver to look away from the road, considering factors like notification importance, diversion time, and vehicle conditions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If notifications are displayed on the vehicle dashboard, then the driver can view important information, but the driver's attention is diverted from the road causing distraction and increased accident risk

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenotification visibilityVSAvoiddriving safety

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The notification display is moved from the traditional 2D dashboard plane to the 3D space above the windshield, utilizing the vertical dimension and the driver's peripheral vision area. This allows notifications to be displayed in the driver's focal plane without requiring attention diversion from the road.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Loss of information

If the driver redirects focus from the road to the dashboard to view notifications, then the driver can review vehicle information, but additional time is lost due to refocusing delays

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenotification review capabilityVSAvoidrefocusing time

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The notification display is positioned at the same focal distance as the road scene, creating an equipotential visual field where the driver can view notifications without changing the accommodation state of the eyes. This eliminates the refocusing time penalty associated with traditional dashboard displays.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #12Equipotentiality

3Reliability

If notifications are displayed in the driver's line of sight, then driver distraction is reduced, but the notification may obstruct the driver's view of the road

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedriver attentionVSAvoidroad view obstruction

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The notification display utilizes the peripheral vision area and upper visual field, leaving the central foveal vision area clear for road observation. Different regions of the visual field serve different functions: peripheral area for notifications, central area for road monitoring.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS10600390B2Displaying a vehicle notification in a location determined based on driver eye gaze direction and other criteria

Publication Date: 2020.03.24 KYNDRYL INC

AI summary

A computer-implemented method includes: monitoring, by a computing device, a driver's eye gaze direction; receiving, by the computing device, a notification; determining, by a computing device, a location to display the notification based on the driver's eye gaze direction; and generating, by the computing device, display instructions to display the notification in the determined location.