Vehicle Entry Collision Warning for Visually Impaired Riders

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Solution Overview

Problem

Visually impaired individuals may collide with a vehicle body when entering a vehicle due to lack of visual guidance.

Innovation Solution

A ride support device equipped with a processor that detects the behavior of a visually impaired user approaching a vehicle using a camera, predicts potential collisions, and provides warnings via a notification device on the vehicle.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If voice guidance processing is provided to visually impaired users, then guidance information can be communicated, but the user may still collide with the vehicle body due to lack of spatial awareness

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveguidance information communicationVSAvoidcollision with vehicle body

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of informationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies preliminary anti-action by detecting collision risk in advance through camera-based behavior analysis and issuing warnings before the user actually collides with the vehicle body. The processor monitors the user's approach trajectory and predicts potential collision points, enabling preventive warning rather than reactive response.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #9Preliminary anti-action

Solution Approach 2:

The notification device acts as an intermediary between the camera system's collision detection and the visually impaired user. It translates the detected behavioral data and collision risk into audible warning signals that the user can perceive and respond to, bridging the gap between visual detection and auditory communication.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If collision prediction conditions are tightened to improve detection accuracy, then false warnings may increase, but if relaxed, then false warnings decrease but detection accuracy reduces

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecollision prediction accuracyVSAvoidfalse collision warnings

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The collision prediction condition is made dynamic rather than static. The processor adjusts the collision prediction condition based on the user's behavioral patterns and historical data. As the system accumulates more information about a specific user's movement patterns, it adapts the threshold for triggering warnings, making the detection system both sensitive and specific to individual users.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback by using historical warning data and user response patterns to continuously refine collision prediction conditions. The processor analyzes whether previous warnings were appropriate and adjusts future prediction thresholds accordingly, creating a self-improving system that reduces false warnings while maintaining detection accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS20250187536A1Ride support device, method, and computer program for supporting ride

Publication Date: 2025.06.12 TOYOTA JIDOSHA KK

AI summary

A ride support device includes a processor configured to: detect behavior of a visually impaired user who is about to enter a vehicle, based on an image generated by a camera configured to be capable of taking a picture of an entrance position of the vehicle, determine whether the detected behavior satisfies a collision prediction condition that the user is predicted to collide with the vehicle, and warn the user of a collision via a notification device provided on the vehicle, when the collision prediction condition is satisfied.