Vehicle Gesture Control via Circular Motion Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing number of vehicle systems to be operated in vehicles, combined with the limitations of rotary/push switches and ambient noise interference, makes conventional methods of controlling vehicle systems impractical and unreliable.
Innovation Solution
A method that uses sensor data from cameras to identify circular gestures made by users, determining positions and angles to control vehicle systems intuitively, reducing the need for complex menu structures and improving reliability in noisy environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If rotary/push switches are used to control vehicle systems, then the number of controllable systems is limited, but the device structure remains simple
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical rotary/push switches with a sensor system that detects circular gestures of body parts (e.g., fingers, wrist). This substitution enables control of multiple vehicle systems through intuitive circular motions detected by optical or infrared sensors, eliminating the need for complex menu structures while maintaining simple device architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor system serves multiple functions: detecting circular gestures, determining rotation direction (clockwise/anticlockwise), and controlling various vehicle systems (light, music, navigation, telephone, velocity control, distance control, lane departure warning). This multi-functional approach allows a single sensor system to replace multiple dedicated switches.
2Adaptability or versatility
If voice inputs are used to control vehicle systems, then the number of input possibilities increases, but reliability decreases in noisy environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes voice-based acoustic control with optical/infrared sensor systems that detect circular gestures. This replacement eliminates the reliability issues of voice recognition in noisy environments (e.g., convertible vehicles in tunnels) while maintaining versatile control capabilities through intuitive circular motions that can be reliably detected regardless of ambient noise.
3Measurement precision
If sensor data is received at high frequency, then control precision improves, but noise in sensor data increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic sampling of sensor data at optimized intervals (e.g., every 20 ms or 12 ms). This periodic action balances control precision with noise reduction by capturing sufficient motion information for accurate circular gesture recognition while avoiding excessive sampling that would amplify noise in the sensor data.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a sequence of positions from sensor data to determine circumferential angles, employing partial information (selected positions from the sequence) rather than processing all available data points. This approach achieves sufficient control precision while reducing the impact of noise by focusing on key positional information.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for controlling a vehicle system by a user is provided. A series of sensor data is received, where a series of positions is generated and the position of a body part is determined from each element of the series of sensor data. A first position, a second position, and a third position are selected from the series of positions, and a first circumferential angle is determined, the angle being defined by the first, second, and third positions. A first circular direction in the clockwise direction is detected if the first circumferential angle lies between a first lower threshold value and a first upper threshold value, and a first circular direction in the counter clockwise direction is detected if the first circumferential angle lies between a second lower threshold value and a second upper threshold value. The vehicle system is controlled depending on the first circular direction detected.