Wearable Haptic Alert for Rear Occupant Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle occupant detection systems often fail to discreetly and efficiently alert users that someone or something has been left in the vehicle after key-off, as traditional alerts can be distracting and prone to false alarms.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle occupant alert system that uses a wearable device to receive presence information from sensors and transmit haptic alerts, ensuring alerts are discreet and difficult to ignore, while minimizing false alarms by only alerting when the user has walked away from the vehicle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If traditional audio alerts are used to notify users of occupants left in the vehicle, then the alert is easily detectable, but it becomes distracting and prone to false alarms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional audio alert systems with a haptic feedback system delivered through a wearable device. The controller transmits alert signals that cause the wearable device to provide tactile feedback to the user, substituting acoustic notification with mechanical vibration-based notification. This resolves the contradiction by eliminating distracting audio alerts while maintaining reliable user notification through distinctive haptic patterns.
2Speed
If alerts are triggered immediately upon detecting an object in the rear seat, then the alert is timely, but it increases false alarms when users temporarily leave the vehicle
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary monitoring of door sensor status before triggering an alert. When an object is detected in the rear seat, the controller waits to confirm that the driver's door has closed before activating the haptic alert through the wearable device. This preliminary verification action prevents false alarms by ensuring the user has actually departed the vehicle, while still maintaining timely notification by alerting as soon as departure is confirmed.
3Reliability
If the system uses multiple sensors and verification steps to reduce false alarms, then reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system leverages the wearable device's existing haptic feedback capability, which was originally designed for other purposes, and repurposes it for occupant detection alerts. By using a multi-functional component already present in the system, the patent achieves reliable alert delivery without adding significant complexity. The controller integrates door sensor data and occupant detection data through existing communication protocols, minimizing the need for additional dedicated hardware.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle occupant alert system may include an in-vehicle sensor configured to detect an object in a rear seat of a vehicle, and a controller configured to receive, from the sensor, an indication of an object in the rear seat, and to transmit, in response to the indication, presence information to a mobile device to cause the mobile device to transmit a command to a wearable device including instructions for an alert at the wearable device.