Head-Up Gap Marker Display for Driver-Aware Longitudinal Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automated longitudinal control systems in vehicles often fail to effectively communicate their activities to drivers, leading to reduced trust and increased cognitive burden, as the driver's ability to monitor these systems is hindered by minimal distraction and unclear recognition of assistance functions.
Innovation Solution
The system uses a head-up display to visually represent a gap marker relative to the vehicle in front, allowing the driver to intuitively understand the current and set gap through continuous, stable visualization, with the gap marker appearing in a contact-analogous manner to the road surface, enabling easy monitoring with minimal distraction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If automated longitudinal control systems are implemented, then vehicle automation and safety are improved, but driver awareness and trust in the system deteriorate due to poor communication of system activity
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides continuous visual feedback to the driver through a head-up display, showing a gap marker that represents the current distance to the vehicle in front. This feedback loop allows the driver to monitor the automated system's activity and understanding, maintaining awareness while the system operates autonomously.
Solution Approach 2:
A visual intermediary element (the gap marker displayed on the head-up display) is introduced to mediate between the automated longitudinal control system and the driver. This intermediary translates complex system states into intuitive visual information that the driver can easily perceive and understand.
2Loss of information
If traditional display systems are used to show gap information, then information can be conveyed to the driver, but driver distraction and cognitive burden increase due to complex monitoring requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The gap marker is displayed at a visual position that corresponds to the actual spatial relationship between the ego vehicle and the vehicle in front. This creates an equipotential display where the visual representation matches the physical reality, allowing the driver to understand gap information intuitively without cognitive translation or additional monitoring effort.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a visual copy of the real-world spatial relationship by displaying the gap marker at a position that replicates the actual distance to the vehicle in front. This optical copy allows the driver to perceive gap information directly through visual inspection rather than requiring cognitive processing of abstract data.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the gap marker display position changes dynamically, then the display can reflect current vehicle state, but visualization stability and driver focus deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The gap marker is displayed at a specific local position on the head-up display that corresponds to the spatial relationship with the vehicle in front. This localized display maintains stability while adapting to changing vehicle states, as the marker's position is determined by the physical spatial relationship rather than arbitrary display coordinates.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure relates to a method for automatic longitudinal control of a motor vehicle and to a corresponding assistance system and a motor vehicle equipped therewith or, alternatively, configured accordingly. In the method, within the scope of user-side setting of a gap for the longitudinal control, a display position for displaying a relevant gap marker by means of a head-up display is determined proceeding from the position of a vehicle in front. In response to a user input for setting a changed new gap, the previous gap marker and the new gap marker are then initially displayed simultaneously by means of the head-up display at the corresponding display positions. When the longitudinal control has achieved the new gap, the head-up display is actuated to only display the new gap marker and not the previous gap marker anymore.