Vehicle External Display Flicker Control for Machine Communication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle systems lack an effective method to communicate and respond to adjacent vehicles using visual information, particularly in situations requiring immediate attention, as existing visual cues are limited by human-readable thresholds and do not efficiently convey complex data.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle equipped with an image sensor, sensors for detecting vehicle and surrounding conditions, and an external display capable of adjusting flicker frequency and pattern to convey information to adjacent vehicles, using cameras to recognize and interpret these visual cues beyond human-readable thresholds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If visual cues are adjusted to exceed human-readable thresholds, then information transmission efficiency to vehicles is improved, but readability for human drivers deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making different parts of the visual signal serve different functions: the flicker frequency exceeds human-readable thresholds to efficiently transmit information to vehicle systems, while the overall visual pattern remains detectable by human drivers. This allows simultaneous optimization for both machine recognition and human awareness without requiring complete separation of the two functions.
2Measurement precision
If flicker frequency is increased beyond human-readable thresholds, then data transmission precision to adjacent vehicles is improved, but human perception capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary approach where the visual display system acts as a mediator between vehicle data and communication targets. The flicker frequency serves as an intermediary parameter that can be optimized for machine detection while maintaining a baseline level of human detectability through the overall visual presence and pattern recognition, rather than relying solely on frequency-based perception.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle includes an image sensor configured to acquire a surrounding image; a sensor configured to detect at least one of a vehicle state or a surrounding condition of the vehicle; an external display disposed on an outer side of the vehicle; and a controller configured to identify whether a predetermined situation occurs based on at least one of the acquired surrounding image or an output value of the sensor, and configured to control at least one of a flicker frequency or a flicker pattern of the external display to display information on the occurring situation when the predetermined situation occurs.