Vehicle HMI Controller Anticipating User Inputs

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Solution Overview

Problem

System failures in automotive applications can lead to poor user experiences, increased warranty claims, and potential safety issues due to driver distraction, as the root causes of these failures may not be known at the time of vehicle production.

Innovation Solution

A vehicle system that includes a human-machine interface (HMI) and a controller circuit capable of receiving user inputs, anticipating potential subsequent inputs, determining potential system failures based on operating states and historical data, and enacting countermeasures to prevent or reduce the impact of these failures, such as modifying the HMI display, processing inputs through alternate paths, and preloading data to reduce latency.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the system processes all user inputs through standard pathways, then the system operation is simple, but system failures occur due to unanticipated input sequences

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem reliabilityVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The controller circuit performs preliminary actions by anticipating potential user inputs before they occur. It determines probable next inputs based on current system state and historical data, then proactively evaluates potential system failures associated with these anticipated inputs. This allows the system to prepare countermeasures in advance, preventing failures before they happen rather than reacting after failures occur.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback mechanisms by continuously monitoring current system state, comparing it against historical data from multiple vehicles, and using this information to refine its predictions of potential user inputs and system failures. The controller learns from actual user behavior patterns and adjusts its anticipation algorithms, creating a closed-loop system that improves reliability over time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Reliability

If the system disables HMI inputs to prevent failures, then system reliability improves, but user experience deteriorates due to restricted interactions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem reliabilityVSAvoiduser experience
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

Rather than disabling all potentially problematic inputs, the system applies partial action by selectively preventing only those specific input sequences that have been identified as likely to cause system failures. The controller evaluates each anticipated input against learned failure patterns and applies restrictions only when necessary, allowing normal user interactions to proceed uninterrupted while blocking only the harmful sequences.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Measurement precision

If the system collects and processes extensive historical data from multiple vehicles, then prediction accuracy improves, but data processing complexity and time increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprediction accuracyVSAvoiddata processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system leverages universal patterns of user behavior that are common across multiple vehicles and users. By collecting data from a fleet of vehicles and identifying recurring input sequences and failure patterns, the system develops generalized prediction models that apply universally. This multi-functionality approach allows the controller to learn from aggregate fleet data and apply these lessons to individual vehicle predictions, improving accuracy without requiring extensive processing of every individual data point.

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

Data Source

PatentEP3792092B1Vehicle system
Publication Date: 2022.11.16 APTIV TECHNOLOGIES LTD
  • EP3792092B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3792092B1 patent drawingFigure 3
  • EP3792092B1 patent drawingFigure 4

AI summary

A vehicle system includes a human machine interface (HMI) and a controller circuit. The HMI accepts inputs from a user. The controller circuit is configured to receive a first input from the user via the HMI, anticipate a potential second input from the user via the HMI, determine potential system failures based on at least one of an operating state of the system and the potential second input, determine, based on historical data, whether an input sequence comprising the first input from the user and the potential second input from the user is likely to impact performance of the system and or one or more components of the system, and if the input sequence is likely to result in the impact to the performance of the system and or the one or more components of the system, enact at least one countermeasure to avoid or reduce the impact.