In-Cabin Gesture Control for Fine Onboard Equipment Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing onboard equipment operating devices are inefficient in handling operations that require fine adjustments, such as air conditioner settings, as they primarily process simple on/off operations and lack the capability for efficient fine-tuned control.
Innovation Solution
An onboard equipment operating device equipped with a processor, in-cabin camera, display unit, and operation unit that detects predetermined actions from a vehicle occupant's face or body, allowing for the input of instructions to onboard equipment without manual operation of the unit, enabling fine adjustments through gestures or sight line movements, and notifies the occupant of the input instruction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual operation of the operation unit is used for simple on/off operations, then the operation is reliable and easy to implement, but the operation efficiency for fine adjustments is low and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical manual operation system with an optical recognition system. The in-cabin camera captures images of the driver's face and body, and the processor recognizes gestures and sight line movements to convert them into control instructions, eliminating the need for manual mechanical operation and significantly improving operation efficiency for fine adjustments
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary recognition system between the driver and the operation unit. The in-cabin camera and processor act as intermediaries that translate the driver's natural gestures and sight line movements into control commands, allowing efficient fine adjustments without direct manual operation of the physical buttons
2Ease of operation
If the in-cabin camera and gesture recognition system are added, then hands-free operation is enabled and operation efficiency is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The in-cabin camera serves multiple functions: it captures driver monitoring data for safety purposes and simultaneously captures gesture data for control operations. The processor also performs multiple tasks including gesture recognition, sight line movement detection, and control instruction generation, reducing the need for dedicated separate components and minimizing system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the driver's own natural movements and gestures as the control interface, eliminating the need for separate control devices. The driver's face and body movements serve as both the input signal source and the control mechanism, simplifying the overall system architecture while enabling hands-free operation
3Speed
If gesture recognition is used for fine adjustments, then operation speed is improved, but the precision and reliability of gesture detection may be insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the gesture recognition into multiple segments: face image capture, body image capture, face action detection, body action detection, and control instruction generation. This segmentation allows each component to focus on a specific task, improving the overall precision and reliability of the gesture detection system while maintaining fast operation speed
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides feedback by displaying information about the detected gesture and the corresponding control instruction on the display unit. This allows the driver to confirm that the gesture was correctly recognized and the intended operation will be executed, enhancing the reliability of the gesture recognition system
Data Source
AI summary
An onboard equipment operating device includes a memory, a processor, a display unit, an operation unit, and an in-cabin camera. The display unit displays information regarding onboard equipment, instruction to the onboard equipment displayed at the display unit is configured to be received as a result of manual operation of the operation unit. The in-cabin camera captures images of a vehicle occupant. The processor is configured to: detect a predetermined action from actions of a face or a body of the vehicle occupant, the actions of the face or the body of the vehicle occupant being imaged by the in-cabin camera; input an instruction corresponding to the predetermined action to the onboard equipment; and display the information regarding the onboard equipment in an operatable state at the display unit, in a case in which the instruction corresponding to the predetermined action has been input to the onboard equipment.