Vehicular Navigation Projection for Ground Route Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users often face challenges in navigating the final distance between their vehicle and a destination, especially in unfamiliar locations, as existing navigation systems do not provide clear directions once the user exits the vehicle.
Innovation Solution
Equipping vehicles with projection devices that project a visual representation of directions from the vehicle's current location to the destination onto the ground, adjusting the image based on the user's position and orientation, allowing for easy navigation upon exiting the vehicle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a user parks the vehicle or is dropped off at a destination, then the vehicle reaches its intended location, but the user cannot easily navigate the remaining distance to the final destination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions navigation information from a two-dimensional map display on a screen to a ground-projected visual representation in three-dimensional space. By projecting the route map directly onto the ground surface, the system creates an immersive, spatially-aware navigation experience that naturally guides the user's movement from the vehicle to the destination, eliminating the need to interpret abstract map displays.
Solution Approach 2:
The projection device serves as an intermediary between the navigation system and the user. Instead of requiring the user to look at a screen or hold a mobile device, the system projects directional information directly onto the ground in front of the user, creating a seamless intermediate layer that guides movement without requiring the user to shift attention between multiple devices or interfaces.
2Loss of information
If navigation directions are displayed on a screen or mobile device, then route information is provided, but the user must interpret the directions and manually navigate to the destination
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a visual copy of the route information by projecting the map and directional data directly onto the ground surface. This ground-based projection serves as a physical replica of the digital map, allowing the user to see their current position and intended path overlaid on the actual terrain, eliminating the need to mentally translate between abstract map coordinates and physical surroundings.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having the user look down at a handheld device or up at a dashboard screen, the system inverts the traditional navigation display by projecting information onto the ground in front of the user. This inversion allows the user to naturally view directions while maintaining their forward-facing orientation and walking posture, making navigation more intuitive and less cognitively demanding.
3Reliability
If the user exits the vehicle in an unfamiliar location, then the user can reach the destination, but the user may not know which direction to walk
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by projecting the complete route map and directional information onto the ground before the user begins walking. This advance projection of navigation data allows the user to immediately understand their current position, destination, and the path to follow, eliminating the confusion that would otherwise arise from being in an unfamiliar location without clear directional guidance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables users to find their destination more quickly and reliably by providing clear, adjustable, and visible walking directions from the vehicle to the destination.
Implementation Method 1
projecting an image of the route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination onto ground nearby the vehicle using a projection device
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes: receiving an indication of a destination from a user; determining a route from a current position of a vehicle to the destination; detecting whether the user has exited the vehicle; and projecting an image of the route from the current position of the vehicle to the destination onto ground nearby the vehicle using a projection device equipped in the vehicle, such that the projected image is viewable by the user upon exiting the vehicle, in response to detecting that the user has exited the vehicle.