Touch Interface Cooling for Driver Wakefulness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wakefulness inducing systems for vehicles, like those described in JP2013-015993A, are ineffective in self-driving vehicles where the driver's hands are not on the steering wheel, as they cannot blow cool air on the driver's hands, thus failing to induce a wakeful state.
Innovation Solution
A wakefulness inducing system comprising a wakefulness degree sensing apparatus, a touch operation apparatus with a touch operation interface, and a self-driving apparatus that instructs the driver to move their hand to the interface and lowers the hand's temperature upon contact, using a system control apparatus to manage the self-driving and touch operation apparatus to induce wakefulness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cool air is blown on the driver's hands holding the steering wheel to induce wakefulness, then the driver's wakefulness is improved, but the system becomes ineffective in self-driving vehicles where hands are not on the steering wheel
Solution Approach 1:
The touch operation interface serves multiple functions: it is both the operational interface for self-driving control and the cooling target for wakefulness induction. By integrating the cooling function into the existing touch interface rather than requiring a separate steering wheel mechanism, the system achieves universality across different driving modes (manual and self-driving).
Solution Approach 2:
The touch operation interface acts as an intermediary element between the driver and the vehicle control system. It mediates both the operational interaction (touch inputs for self-driving control) and the physiological stimulation (cooling effect for wakefulness), replacing the steering wheel as the common interaction point in self-driving mode.
2Reliability
If the system blows cool air on the steering wheel to rouse the driver, then the driver is awakened, but the system cannot locate and cool the driver's hands in self-driving mode
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the cooling function from the steering wheel context and relocates it to the touch operation interface. By separating the cooling mechanism from the steering wheel and attaching it to the touch interface instead, the system eliminates the need to track hand positions on the steering wheel while maintaining effective wakefulness induction.
Solution Approach 2:
The touch operation interface serves as a functional copy of the steering wheel interaction point in self-driving mode. Just as the steering wheel was the primary hand-contact point in manual driving, the touch interface becomes the equivalent interaction surface in self-driving, allowing the cooling system to target the same type of interaction point regardless of driving mode.
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
Effectively induces a wakeful state in drivers of self-driving vehicles by cooling the operating hand on the touch operation interface, ensuring the driver remains alert and capable of monitoring the vehicle's self-driving functions.
Implementation Method 1
a temperature of the operating hand is lowered in the touch operation interface upon detection of contact of the operating hand by the touch operation interface
Data Source
AI summary
A wakefulness inducing system is capable of appropriately inducing a wakeful state in a driver even in a self-driving vehicle. A wakefulness inducing system includes a wakefulness degree sensing apparatus that senses the degree of wakefulness of a driver, a touch operation apparatus including a touch operation interface that detects contact by the operating hand of the driver, and a self-driving apparatus that controls self-driving of a vehicle. When the wakefulness degree sensing apparatus senses a reduction in the degree of wakefulness of the driver, the self-driving apparatus provides an instruction to the driver to move the operating hand to the touch operation interface, and the temperature of the operating hand is lowered in the touch operation interface upon detection of contact of the operating hand by the touch operation interface.