Occupant Field of Vision Detection via Smart Glasses Camera
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing driver assistance and comfort systems in vehicles face challenges in accurately determining the viewing direction and head pose of occupants, particularly with spectacle or contact lens wearers, and require user-dependent calibration, which is inconvenient and often inaccurate, especially during changes in seating position or driver shifts.
Innovation Solution
A method using a camera-mounted on a carrying device, such as smart glasses, to record the occupant's field of vision and determine if relevant objects in the vehicle's surroundings have been noticed, without the need for calibration, by analyzing the probability of object detection within the occupant's central viewing area and providing alerts or guidance to adjust their gaze.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If eye-tracking systems with cameras are used to detect viewing direction and head pose, then driver assistance and comfort system performance can be improved, but the systems require user-dependent calibration which reduces reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/optical eye-tracking system with a camera-based field-of-view recording system. Instead of using cameras to track eye position and calculate viewing direction through complex calibration, the invention records the actual field of vision using a camera mounted on the occupant's carrying device (e.g., smart glasses), eliminating calibration requirements while maintaining measurement capability.
2Measurement precision
If calibration procedures are implemented to improve tracking quality, then measurement precision improves, but ease of operation deteriorates due to disruptive recalibration requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the calibration step from the system operation. By recording the field of vision directly through a camera mounted on the occupant's carrying device rather than tracking eye movements, the system removes the calibration requirement entirely, allowing continuous operation without disruptive recalibration procedures.
3Adaptability or versatility
If eye-tracking systems are used to determine viewing direction, then system functionality is enhanced, but adaptability deteriorates when occupants wear spectacles or change seating positions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the eye-tracking mechanism with a direct field-of-view recording approach using a camera mounted on the occupant's carrying device. This substitution makes the system adaptable to different occupants regardless of whether they wear spectacles or contact lenses, as it directly records what the occupant sees rather than attempting to calculate viewing direction from eye position.
4Measurement precision
If recalibration is performed to maintain accuracy after seat adjustments, then measurement precision can be maintained, but productivity deteriorates due to difficulty and time requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the recalibration step from the system operation. By using a camera mounted on the occupant's carrying device to directly record the field of vision, the system eliminates the need for recalibration after seat adjustments, maintaining measurement precision without the time and complexity losses associated with recalibration procedures.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for determining whether a vehicle occupant has noticed one or more relevant objects in the area surrounding the vehicle, having the following steps: receiving descriptions of objects in the area surrounding the vehicle, said objects having been detected using a surroundings sensor system of the vehicle; determining one or more relevant objects in the area surrounding the vehicle from the objects detected using the surroundings sensor system of the vehicle; receiving one or more images captured by a camera mounted on a support device, in particular eyeglasses, which capture images comprising regions of the area surrounding the vehicle in the current field of view of an occupant when the vehicle occupant is wearing said eyeglasses as intended; detecting objects in the image(s) captured by the camera; determining whether the one or more relevant objects in the area surrounding the vehicle were captured in the one or more images captured by the camera; and determining whether each of the one or more relevant objects in the area surrounding the vehicle has been noticed by the occupant on the basis of whether the one or more relevant objects in the area surrounding the vehicle were captured in the one or more images captured by the camera on the condition that the occupant is wearing the support device as intended.