Vehicle Visual Alert Control to Reduce Driver Annoyance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing notification systems in vehicles, such as those described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2019-159711, provide intense sound stimuli that annoy drivers and passengers due to their intensity, despite being effective.
Innovation Solution
A notification method and system that utilizes visual notifications from multiple visual devices positioned strategically within the vehicle cabin to provide varying levels of stimulus intensity, adjusting between visual-only, strong visual, and sound notifications based on driver reaction and alertness levels, ensuring appropriate strength is delivered without relying solely on sound.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sound notifications are used to maintain driver alertness, then the notification effectiveness is improved, but driver and passenger annoyance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The notification system is segmented into multiple independent visual notification channels (instrument panel, windshield, side windows) with different attention-grabbing strengths. This allows the system to deliver notifications in a distributed manner, providing effective alertness maintenance while reducing the intensity and annoyance compared to single-channel sound notifications.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes acoustic notification mechanisms with optical/visual notification mechanisms. By replacing sound-based alerts with visual displays across multiple vehicle surfaces, the system maintains notification effectiveness while eliminating the harmful side effect of driver and passenger annoyance associated with sound stimuli.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If visual notifications are used instead of sound, then driver annoyance is reduced, but notification strength may be insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple visual notification devices located at different positions in the vehicle (instrument panel, windshield, side windows) into a unified notification system. By combining these visual channels, the system achieves cumulative notification strength that rivals sound notifications while maintaining the advantage of reduced driver annoyance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-dimension sound notification approach to a multi-dimensional visual notification approach by distributing notifications across multiple spatial locations and device types within the vehicle cabin. This dimensional expansion provides sufficient overall notification strength while allowing each individual visual element to remain less intrusive than sound.
3Reliability
If multiple visual devices are strategically positioned, then notification coverage is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The visual notification devices are designed with multi-functionality, serving both as primary notification channels and as complementary elements to existing vehicle display systems. This universality allows the system to achieve comprehensive notification coverage while reusing existing infrastructure, thereby limiting the increase in overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A notification method for giving a notification to a driver sitting in a driver's seat of a vehicle includes: setting a target level of strength of the notification; when the target level is a first level, giving a visual notification from a visual device of the vehicle without giving a sound notification from a speaker of the vehicle; and when the target level is higher than the first level, giving a strong visual notification from the visual device or the sound notification from the speaker. The strong visual notification is stronger than the visual notification that is given when the target level is the first level.