Holographic Human-Machine Interface for Vehicle Cab Comfort Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current head-up displays in vehicles are limited to projecting information outside the vehicle and cannot control on-board comfort equipment, requiring expensive modifications to the windshield and being costly to implement.
Innovation Solution
A holographic human-machine interface that uses a camera to track the occupant's gaze, generates digital holographic images to control comfort equipment, and includes a spatial light modulator, coherent light source, and a reflector to project the images between the windshield and seat, allowing control of comfort equipment through recognized gestures and providing a tactile feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a head-up display projects images onto a semi-transparent blade or windshield, then safety information can be displayed outside the vehicle, but the system becomes expensive and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a camera to capture images of the external environment and projects these copied images onto the windshield via a head-up display. This allows safety information to be displayed without requiring the windshield itself to have special properties, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining the safety display function
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a camera as an intermediary device to capture external scenes and a projector to display them on the windshield. This intermediary approach allows the standard windshield to function as the display medium, avoiding the need for expensive semi-transparent blades or specially manufactured windshields with non-parallel geometry
2Manufacturing precision
If a head-up display uses a retractable semi-transparent blade or specific windshield geometry, then double images can be avoided, but manufacturing costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of modifying the windshield geometry to prevent double images, the system captures a single image via camera and projects it digitally. This copying approach allows for precise image control without requiring complex windshield manufacturing, thereby maintaining image quality while significantly reducing manufacturing costs
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces expensive, permanently installed optical components (such as retractable semi-transparent blades or specially manufactured windshields) with a more economical solution: a standard windshield combined with a camera and projector system. This substitution uses cheaper components that can be easily installed and replaced
3Adaptability or versatility
If a head-up display only projects images outside the vehicle, then the display function is limited, but the system remains simple and inexpensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends the head-up display from a single-function safety information display to a multi-functional interface. The same projector and windshield setup is used not only to display external scene images but also to present control interfaces for comfort equipment. This universal use of the display system increases adaptability without requiring separate control interfaces, thereby enhancing functionality while maintaining relative system simplicity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables cost-effective control of comfort equipment within the vehicle without the need for specialized windshields, allowing users to interact with holographic images to manage heating, infotainment, and other systems with ease and precision.
Implementation Method 1
a spatial light modulator connected to the computer to receive said at least one generated digital holographic image, (c) a coherent light source capable of illuminating the spatial light modulator, the spatial light modulator emitting light beams
Implementation Method 2
a reflector adapted to reflect the light beams emitted by the spatial light modulator into a visualizing window in order to form said at least one holographic image
Data Source
AI summary
A cab having a human-machine interface to generate a holographic image in order to control comfort equipment installed in the cab. The human-machine interface includes: a camera capable of capturing images representing a gaze of an occupant, one image generation unit having (a) a computer capable of calculating the position of the location of the occupant's gaze from the captured images, the computer being adapted to generate the digital holographic image according to the position of the occupant's gaze, (b) a spatial light modulator receiving the generated digital holographic image, and (c) a light source illuminating the spatial light modulator. The human-machine interface also includes a reflector reflecting the light beams emitted by the spatial light modulator into a visualizing window to form a holographic image positioned between the windscreen and the seat.