Perimeter Halo Alert Lights for Driver Attention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing driver assistance systems rely on audible and dashboard/windshield visual cues, which are ineffective when the driver is not attentive or looking elsewhere, as they assume the driver is forward-facing and attentive.
Innovation Solution
A driver assistance system featuring a halo alert system with linearly arranged lights around the vehicle's interior perimeter, controlled by a controller that illuminates specific lights based on hazard detection, and a driver analyzer to determine the driver's gaze direction, ensuring warnings are visible regardless of the driver's focus.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If dashboard/windshield mounted visual cues are used, then the warning system is simple to implement, but the effectiveness deteriorates when the driver is not attentive or looking elsewhere
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional 2D dashboard/windshield mounted visual cues to a 3D perimeter lighting system that surrounds the driver in multiple dimensions. The lights are mounted on the vehicle perimeter and can illuminate from various angles and positions, creating a spatial dimension that captures the driver's attention regardless of their gaze direction or seating position.
Solution Approach 2:
The warning system is divided into multiple segmented light units distributed around the vehicle perimeter rather than a single centralized display. Each light segment can be independently controlled to provide directional warnings, allowing the system to target the driver's attention from different locations based on hazard position and driver orientation.
2Device complexity
If the system assumes the driver is forward-facing and attentive, then the system design is simplified, but the adaptability deteriorates when the driver is looking elsewhere
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adapts its warning strategy based on real-time detection of driver position and gaze direction. Sensors continuously monitor whether the driver is forward-facing, looking left, right, or elsewhere, and the control system adjusts which perimeter lights are activated accordingly. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to maintain effectiveness across varying driver positions without requiring complex mechanical adjustments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback loops where driver monitoring sensors provide continuous information about driver position and attention state to the control system. Based on this feedback, the control system intelligently selects and activates appropriate perimeter lights to ensure the driver receives warnings even when not in a standard forward-facing attentive position.
Data Source
AI summary
A driver assistance system for a vehicle includes a plurality of lights linearly arranged substantially around an interior perimeter of the vehicle. A controller is controllably coupled to the plurality of lights, such that the controller is operable to control the plurality of lights. A hazard detection system is communicatively coupled to the controller. The controller includes a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions for causing the controller to illuminate at least one of the plurality of lights corresponding to a location of a hazard detected by the hazard detection system.