Heads-Up Display Gaze Redirection for Driver Awareness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Drivers often focus on distracting objects in their environment, causing them to divert attention from more critical situations, such as pedestrians or other vehicles, due to the conventional placement of vehicle information displays requiring them to look away from the road.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle system that includes an object detection system, driver gaze monitoring system, and heads-up display, which generates visual indicators to redirect the driver's gaze towards objects of interest by comparing detected objects with the driver's gaze direction and displaying indicators on the windshield to attract attention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If vehicle information is displayed on the instrument cluster or center console display, then the information is presented to the driver, but the driver needs to direct gaze away from the road
Solution Approach 1:
The display is moved from the traditional instrument cluster or center console to the windshield surface, utilizing a different spatial dimension. The heads-up display projects information onto the windshield in the driver's forward view, allowing information access without changing the driver's gaze direction from the road ahead.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an eye tracking system as an intermediary that monitors driver gaze direction and uses this information to dynamically control what information is displayed and where it is positioned on the windshield. This intermediary system enables the display to adapt to the driver's attention state and redirect focus to critical information.
2Measurement precision
If the driver focuses on distracting objects in the environment, then the driver may notice certain objects, but the driver becomes unaware of other critical objects or situations
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors the driver's gaze direction using eye tracking technology and uses this feedback to determine when the driver is focused on distracting objects. Based on this feedback, the system dynamically adjusts the display to present alerts or information about critical objects that the driver has missed, such as pedestrians or vehicles in blind spots.
Solution Approach 2:
The system proactively identifies critical objects and prepares alert information before the driver notices them. When the eye tracking system detects that the driver is focused on a non-critical object, the system has already processed and is ready to present information about critical objects that require the driver's attention.
3Ease of operation
If conventional displays are used, then the driver can access vehicle information, but the driver must divert attention away from the road
Solution Approach 1:
The display interface is relocated from horizontal surfaces (instrument cluster or center console) to the vertical windshield surface, positioning information within the driver's natural forward viewing zone. This dimensional change allows the driver to access vehicle information while maintaining their gaze on the road ahead, eliminating the need to divert attention.
Solution Approach 2:
The heads-up display system serves multiple functions simultaneously: it presents vehicle operation information, provides navigation directions, issues safety alerts about critical objects, and adapts its content based on driver gaze patterns. This multi-functionality consolidates various information delivery mechanisms into a single integrated system that enhances both ease of operation and safety.
Data Source
AI summary
Vehicle systems and methods for redirecting the direction of gaze of a driver towards an object are disclosed. In one embodiment, a vehicle includes an object detection system configured to output an object signal in response to detecting an object, a driver gaze monitoring system configured to output a direction signal, a heads-up display configured to generate a visual indicator, one or more processors and one or more non-transitory memory modules communicatively coupled to the one or more processors and storing machine-readable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform at least at the following: determine an object and a respective location of the object based at least in part on the object signal from the object detection system, and determine a direction of gaze of a driver based at least in part on the direction signal from the driver gaze monitoring system.