In-Vehicle Gesture Interface With Supported Display Pointing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing user-vehicle interfaces face challenges in providing intuitive and precise interaction with content on displays, particularly in ensuring that the interface is tailored to the specific vehicle or use conditions, and in maintaining user engagement without causing fatigue.

Innovation Solution

A user-vehicle interface featuring a gesture control system that senses the direction of a user's gesture and controls the location of an indicator on a display in accordance with that direction, ensuring the indicator moves within the plane of the content, and optionally includes a gesture control support to physically support the user's body part involved in the gesture.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If gesture control is used to interact with display content, then ease of operation is improved, but measurement precision deteriorates due to difficulty in determining exact interaction points

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveease of interactionVSAvoidgesture direction accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

A virtual representation of the user's hand or pointing digit is introduced as an intermediary between the physical gesture and the display content. This virtual representation is projected onto the display plane, serving as a precise mediator that translates imprecise physical gestures into accurate interaction points on the display surface.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system transforms three-dimensional physical gestures in space into two-dimensional interaction points on the display plane. By projecting the gesture direction onto the display surface, the system converts spatial movement into precise planar coordinates, resolving the precision issue while maintaining gesture-based operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Ease of operation

If the indicator moves in the plane of content, then ease of operation is improved through intuitive interaction, but device complexity increases due to additional processing requirements

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveintuitiveness of interactionVSAvoidprocessing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The virtual representation of the user's hand or pointing digit serves multiple functions simultaneously: it indicates gesture direction, provides visual feedback to the user, and determines the interaction point on the display. This self-service approach consolidates multiple functions into a single mechanism, reducing overall system complexity while improving intuitiveness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Ease of operation

If gesture control support is added to physically support body parts, then user fatigue is reduced, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveuser comfortVSAvoidinterface complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The gesture control support structure is designed to serve multiple functions: it provides physical support to reduce user fatigue, houses the sensors for detecting gestures, and potentially provides visual feedback. By making the support structure multi-functional, the system reduces overall complexity rather than increasing it, as separate components would be needed for each function.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP4025979B1User-vehicle interface
Publication Date: 2025.04.09 BAE SYSTEMS PLC
  • EP4025979B1 patent drawingFigure 1A~3B
  • EP4025979B1 patent drawingFigure 4A~5B
  • EP4025979B1 patent drawingFigure 6A~8B

AI summary

There is provided a user-vehicle interface, comprising: a gesture control system, arranged to sense a gesture of a user of the vehicle; the gesture control system being arranged to process the sensed gesture to control interaction with content on a display, in accordance with that sensed gesture; the vehicle comprising a physical actuator for controlling the vehicle, and the gesture control system is arranged to facilitate interaction with content on the display, when a body part of the user associated with a provision of the gesture is engaged with the actuator.