In-Vehicle Occupant Display for Gaze-Aware Conversation Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing conversation technologies in vehicles fail to maintain a smooth conversation between occupants when one party does not respond, leading to unease and potential discontinuation of the conversation.
Innovation Solution
A conversation apparatus that uses cameras to capture images of vehicle occupants, detects their gazes and utterances, and projects the image of the non-speaking occupant on a display or projection unit within the field of view of the speaking occupant, ensuring both parties can see each other's reactions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If voice is output from a speaker positioned away from the utterer to allow conversation between occupants, then communication reach is improved, but the speaking side feels uneasy when the listening side does not respond
Solution Approach 1:
The system displays the captured image of the listening occupant to the speaking occupant, providing visual feedback about the other party's presence and reactions. This feedback mechanism allows the speaker to confirm the listener is present and potentially responsive, reducing the unease of not knowing if the conversation is being received, thereby maintaining conversation continuity while preserving communication reach.
2Ease of operation
If occupants are seated apart to provide personal space, then comfort is improved, but conversation smoothness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system captures the image of the listening occupant and displays it to the speaking occupant, creating a visual copy of the other party's presence. This allows occupants to maintain physical distance for comfort while simultaneously providing visual presence that facilitates smooth conversation, effectively decoupling the need for physical proximity from conversational flow.
3Productivity
If visual display is provided during conversation to show reactions, then conversation promotion is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system utilizes existing in-vehicle components (camera, display device, microprocessor) that serve multiple functions. The camera captures images for both safety and conversation purposes, the display device shows both navigation information and occupant reactions, and the microprocessor handles various vehicle functions plus conversation analysis. This multi-functionality approach enables conversation promotion without significantly increasing overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A conversation apparatus configured to support a conversation between occupants of a vehicle. The apparatus includes a microprocessor connected to: a camera configured to capture images of a first occupant and a second occupant of the vehicle, an audio input device, and a display device. The microprocessor is configured to perform: outputting an image of the second occupant captured by the camera to the first occupant via the display device; detecting an utterance of the first occupant by the audio input device; detecting a gaze of the first occupant based on an image of the first occupant captured by the camera; and outputting the image of the second occupant to the display device while the gaze of the first occupant directed toward the display device is being detected.