HUD Distance Overlay Grid for Waypoint Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current navigation systems in transportation vehicles struggle to provide intuitive and contextually accurate distance information to drivers, especially in ambiguous environments like multiple freeway exits, as voice announcements and conventional displays are difficult to understand without real-world metric orientation points.
Innovation Solution
A method for calculating and superposing distance marks on a head-up display or smartglasses using a grid system, where individual grid elements are highlighted at regular intervals, allowing drivers to visually track distance to a waypoint without diverting their gaze, and integrating virtual distance beacons that align with the driving scenario and speed, enhancing spatial understanding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If voice announcements and conventional displays are used to provide distance information, then the navigation system can convey distance data, but the driver cannot understand the distance contextually without diverting gaze to check real-world metric orientation points
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces virtual distance beacons as an intermediary element that mediates between the navigation system's distance data and the driver's spatial understanding. These beacons are superimposed onto the real-world view through a head-up display, serving as visual reference points that bridge the gap between abstract distance information and concrete spatial context, allowing drivers to comprehend distance without diverting their gaze
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/physical system of real-world distance markers with a virtual display system. Instead of relying on physical orientation points in the environment or requiring the driver to physically check conventional displays, the system uses optical projection through a head-up display to present virtual distance beacons that appear to exist in the driver's field of view, substituting physical reference objects with their virtual counterparts
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple freeway exits are present in the environment, then navigation options increase, but driver orientation and distance understanding become ambiguous
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making specific grid elements distinctive through highlighting while keeping others uniform. Individual grid elements are emphasized with different visual properties (color, brightness, or animation) to mark specific distance intervals or important locations along the route, allowing drivers to quickly identify relevant distance information without being confused by the complexity of multiple exits
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the continuous navigation path into discrete, measurable intervals using a grid system. The grid divides the road ahead into segments with individual elements representing specific distance markers, making the continuous and ambiguous distance to multiple exits into discrete, easily comprehensible units that can be counted and compared
3Ease of operation
If a grid system with highlighted elements is superimposed on the display, then distance tracking becomes intuitive, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamics by making the grid system adaptable to changing driving conditions. The grid parameters (density, spacing, highlighting frequency) are not fixed but are dynamically adjusted based on the driving scenario, vehicle speed, and distance to the waypoint, allowing the system to maintain simplicity and intuitiveness across different operating conditions while adapting its complexity only when necessary
Data Source
AI summary
A method for calculating an overlay of additional information for a display on a display unit, in particular, a head-up display of a transportation vehicle or data glasses. The overlay of additional information supports the driver in the longitudinal control of a transportation vehicle. The position of an upcoming waypoint is detected, which is specified by the navigation system. When the observer transportation vehicle approaches the waypoint, an animation graphic is calculated, wherein the animation graphic has a grid shape. The animation graphic is calculated so that distance markers are inserted from the observer transportation vehicle to the waypoint, which permit estimation of the distance to the waypoint.