Steering Wheel Multimodal Alerts for Indicator Light Awareness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional information notification systems for movable bodies, such as vehicles, face challenges in providing effective notifications due to restricted operator line of sight and difficulty in understanding displayed indicator lights or warning lights, especially when the driver's focus is diverted from the landscape ahead.
Innovation Solution
An information notification system that combines tactile and visual stimuli using an actuator to vibrate the steering wheel and a light emitter to emit light, along with a control device to output sound related to the displayed information, thereby enhancing the operator's awareness of indicator lights.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a display is provided on the steering wheel to notify the operator, then information notification capability is improved, but the operator's line of sight becomes restricted and understanding difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The notification function is segmented into multiple independent components: vibration actuator for tactile feedback, light emitter for visual attention, and sound output for information delivery. Each component operates independently to address different aspects of the notification problem, allowing the operator to receive information through multiple sensory channels without requiring visual focus on a single display location.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines multiple notification modalities (tactile vibration, visual light emission, and acoustic sound output) into a unified notification system. This merging of sensory channels creates a comprehensive notification approach that overcomes the limitations of single-modal displays, enabling effective information delivery while maintaining operator situational awareness.
2Loss of information
If visual display is used for notification, then information delivery is improved, but operator attention is diverted from the landscape ahead
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by using vibration and light emission before sound output to immediately capture the operator's attention. The vibration actuator and light emitter activate first to alert the operator, creating a preparatory state that ensures the operator will notice and process the subsequent sound-based information delivery without delaying response.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs mechanical vibration through the actuator to provide tactile feedback that directly stimulates the operator's sense of touch. This vibration mechanism operates independently of visual attention, allowing information notification to proceed without requiring the operator to divert gaze from the road, thereby maintaining both information delivery effectiveness and rapid response capability.
3Reliability
If multiple notification methods are combined, then notification effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The actuator serves multiple functions: it generates vibration for tactile notification and simultaneously functions as a sound output device. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity despite the combination of multiple notification methods. The light emitter and sound output work together with the actuator to create a coordinated multi-modal notification system.
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
The system effectively notifies the operator of indicator lights by combining tactile and visual stimuli, allowing the operator to understand the information without diverting their gaze, thereby improving situational awareness and response time.
Implementation Method 1
an actuator configured to vibrate a main body of a steering wheel
Implementation Method 2
a light emitter provided to the steering wheel and configured to emit light
Data Source
AI summary
An information notification system includes: an actuator that vibrates a body of a steering wheel for operating a movable body and is configured to output sound through vibration; a light emitter provided to the steering wheel and configured to emit light; and a control device that is electrically connected to the actuator and the light emitter, controls the actuator and the light emitter, and receives display information related to an indicator light displayed to an operator of the movable body. When receiving the display information, the control device causes the body to vibrate using the actuator and the light emitter to emit light, and subsequently outputs, using the actuator, sound related to the display information received.