Steering Wheel Gesture Mapping for Eyes-On-Road Vehicle Controls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing in-vehicle control systems, such as touchscreens and gesture-based controls, require drivers to take their hands off the wheel and divert their gaze, leading to safety and usability issues.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that segments the steering wheel into virtual regions, allowing drivers to perform hand-on-wheel gestures and voice commands to control vehicle functions, eliminating the need to remove hands from the wheel and maintain gaze on the road.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional physical buttons and knobs are used for in-vehicle controls, then ease of operation is maintained, but driving safety deteriorates due to hands-off-wheel and gaze diversion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical buttons and knobs with a camera-based gesture recognition system. The camera captures hand gestures in the driver's field of view and translates them into control commands, eliminating the need for physical contact with control elements while maintaining operational capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary system consisting of a camera and gesture recognition algorithm that translates natural hand gestures into control commands. This intermediary layer allows the driver to interact with the vehicle system without direct manual contact, keeping hands on the wheel and gaze on the road.
2Shape
If touch screen interaction is adopted to replace traditional buttons, then appearance elegance is improved, but driving safety deteriorates as hands must be taken off the wheel
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the touchscreen interface with a gesture-based control system. Instead of requiring physical contact with the screen, the camera captures and interprets hand gestures in the air, eliminating the need to remove hands from the steering wheel while maintaining modern aesthetic appearance.
3Reliability
If mid-air gestures are used for vehicle control, then hands can remain on the wheel, but gesture complexity increases requiring memorization of multiple gestures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent simplifies gesture complexity by changing the parameters of gesture recognition from complex multi-dimensional gestures to simple hand position detection within specific angular ranges. The system maps horizontal and vertical angular positions to different control functions, reducing the cognitive load on drivers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the field of view into specific angular regions, each corresponding to a particular control function. By assigning different functions to different spatial locations, the system provides intuitive control without requiring memorization of complex gesture sequences.
4Loss of time
If mid-air gestures are implemented, then button location search is eliminated, but hand movement freedom is limited while holding the steering wheel
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional 2D touchscreen interaction to 3D spatial gesture recognition. By utilizing the third dimension (depth/distance from camera) and angular position, the system enables control functions without requiring hand movement away from the steering wheel, as gestures are detected in the spatial field in front of the driver.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, devices, and processor-readable media for hand-on-wheel gesture controls are described. A steering wheel is virtually segmented into a plurality of radial segments. Each segment is assigned a semantic meaning. Control commands related to control functions are mapped to different virtual segments of the steering wheel. When a user performs a gesture on the steering wheel, the system recognizes the gesture and selects a control function based on the location of the hand relative to the steering wheel. In various embodiments, on-wheel hand gestures, on-wheel hand location, and voice commands may be used in various combinations to enable a user to perform a wide selection of functions using a small number of unique commands.