JP2016203850A - Information providing device, information providing method and control program for providing information - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide various useful effects by changing a perception distance of a driver by motion parallax regarding an information image provided to a driver according to movement information and positional information of a movable body.SOLUTION: An information providing device 200 includes: viewpoint position detection means 500 for detecting a viewpoint position of a driver; and display control means 250 for performing display control for changing a perception distance of the driver by motion parallax regarding an information image provided to a driver by changing the display position of the information image provided to a driver according to the detection result of the viewpoint position detection means. The display control means performs display control so that the perception distance of the driver by the motion parallax changes regarding the information image provided to a driver, according to at least one of movement information and positional information of a movable body.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing apparatus, an information providing method, and an information providing control program.

  As this type of information providing device, an image display means for displaying an image for providing information to a driver of a moving body such as a vehicle, a ship, an aircraft, an industrial robot, etc. that moves with a driver is used. Is known.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a head-up display that projects image light onto a windshield or the like (light transmissive member) and displays an image superimposed on a front landscape viewed by a driver of a vehicle (moving body) through the windshield ( HUD) devices are disclosed. This HUD device displays a display object indicating an arrow indicating the traveling direction, speed, attention, warning, and the like as a virtual image superimposed on the front landscape. This HUD device includes a position detection unit (viewpoint position detection means) that detects the position of one eye of the driver by imaging the driver, and determines the position of each display object in the virtual image according to the detection result. Process to change. In this process, when the driver moves his / her head and the viewpoint position (the position of one eye) moves, the amount of movement in the virtual image of each display object is changed, so that the display object in the depth direction is moved by motion parallax. The driver is made to perceive the display position (subjective depth position) to be different.

  The inventor changes the display position of an image displayed by an image display unit such as a HUD device or a liquid crystal display in accordance with the detection result of the viewpoint position detection unit, so that the driver's due to motion parallax for the image is displayed. We are developing an information provision device that changes the perceived distance. And in providing information to the driver, it is effective to change the perceived distance according to the movement information and position information of the moving body driven by the driver, even when displaying images of the same information content. I found it. Specifically, the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image is changed according to movement information such as speed and acceleration of the moving body driven by the driver or position information such as GPS (Global Positioning System) information of the moving body. By executing the display control, various useful effects can be brought about.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an information providing apparatus including an image display unit that displays a driver providing information image indicating driver providing information to be provided to a driver of a mobile body, An acquisition means for acquiring at least one of body movement information and position information of the mobile body, a viewpoint position detection means for detecting the driver's viewpoint position, and the detection result of the viewpoint position detection means Display control means for performing display control to change the perceived distance of the driver due to motion parallax for the driver provided information image by changing the display position of the driver provided information image, and the display control means The display control is performed so that the perceived distance of the driver due to motion parallax for the driver-provided information image changes according to the at least one information acquired by the acquiring means. It is characterized in.

  According to the present invention, the perceived distance of the driver due to motion parallax for the driver-provided information image can be changed according to the movement information and position information of the moving body, and various useful effects can be brought about. Become.

In embodiment, it is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the virtual image displayed on a display area so that it may overlap with the front scenery of the own vehicle seen from a driver | operator through a windshield. It is the schematic diagram which represented typically the structure of the motor vehicle carrying the HUD apparatus for motor vehicles in embodiment. It is the schematic diagram which represented typically the internal structure of the HUD apparatus for the vehicles. It is a hardware block diagram of the control system in the same HUD device for vehicles. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the driver | operator information provision system in embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the hardware constitutions of the object recognition apparatus in the driver | operator information provision system. It is a hardware block diagram which shows the main hardware of the image control apparatus in the HUD apparatus for motor vehicles. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the image processing method of the virtual image which gave the feeling of depth by the motion parallax in embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the display control about the inter-vehicle distance presentation image in the display control example 1. In display control example 1, it is a display example of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image when the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is slow. In display control example 1, it is a display example of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image when the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is high. It is explanatory drawing which shows the difference in the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image between the display example shown in FIG. 10, and the display example shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the display control about the inter-vehicle distance presentation image in the display control example 2. (A) is a display example of a normal inter-vehicle distance presentation image when the host vehicle is traveling on an expressway. (B) is a display example of an inter-vehicle distance presentation image when passing through a sag portion (congestion point) in the expressway. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the display control about the inter-vehicle distance presentation image in the display control example 3. (A) is a display example of an inter-vehicle distance presentation image when the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is slow. (B) is a display example of an inter-vehicle distance presentation image when the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is high.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a driver information providing system including an automotive head-up display (HUD) device as an information providing device will be described.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a virtual image G displayed in the display area 700 so as to be superimposed on the front landscape of the host vehicle 301 viewed from the driver 300 through the windshield 302.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the configuration of an automobile equipped with the automobile HUD device in the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of the automotive HUD device in the present embodiment.

  The automobile HUD device 200 according to the present embodiment is installed, for example, in a dashboard of the host vehicle 301 that is a traveling body as a moving body. The projection light L, which is image light emitted from the automotive HUD device 200 in the dashboard, is reflected by the windshield 302 as a light transmitting member and travels toward the driver 300. As a result, the driver 300 can visually recognize a HUD display image such as a navigation image described later as a virtual image G. A combiner as a light transmitting member may be installed on the inner wall surface of the windshield 302 so that the driver can visually recognize a virtual image by the projection light L reflected by the combiner.

  In the present embodiment, the optical system of the automotive HUD device 200 is configured such that the distance from the driver 300 to the virtual image G is 5 m or more. In the conventional general automobile HUD device, the distance from the driver 300 to the virtual image G is about 2 m. The driver 300 is usually gazing at a point at infinity ahead of the vehicle or gazing at a preceding vehicle several tens of meters ahead. When the driver 300 focusing on such a distant place wants to visually recognize the virtual image G that is 2 m ahead, the focal length is greatly different, and thus the lens of the eyeball needs to be moved greatly. Therefore, the focus adjustment time until focusing on the virtual image G becomes long, and it takes time to recognize the contents of the virtual image G, and the eyeball of the driver 300 is easily fatigued. In addition, it is difficult for the driver to notice the contents of the virtual image G, and it is difficult to appropriately provide information to the driver by the virtual image G.

  If the distance to the virtual image G is 5 m or more as in the present embodiment, the amount of movement of the eyeball lens is reduced compared to the prior art, and the focus adjustment time for the virtual image G is shortened to recognize the contents of the virtual image G early. It is possible to reduce the fatigue of the eyeball of the driver 300. Furthermore, it becomes easy for the driver to notice the contents of the virtual image G, and it becomes easy to appropriately provide information to the driver by the virtual image G.

  Furthermore, when the distance to the virtual image G is about 2 m, when trying to focus the eyeball on the virtual image G at such a close distance, normally the eyeball needs to converge. Convergence motion is a factor that greatly affects the sense of distance and depth to the visual target. In the present embodiment, as will be described later, display control is performed in which the perceived distance of an image displayed as a virtual image G is perceived by motion parallax. In this case, if the eyeball converges to focus on the virtual image G, the effect of perceiving a sense of distance (change in perceived distance) or a sense of depth (difference in perceived distance) due to motion parallax diminishes. The information recognition effect of the driver, which will be described later, using the difference or change in the perceived distance is reduced.

  If the distance to the virtual image G is 5 m or more, it is possible to focus on the virtual image G with almost no converging movement of the eyeball. Therefore, the effect of using the motion parallax to perceive a sense of distance (change in perceived distance) or a sense of depth (difference in perceived distance) is suppressed from fading due to the eyeball's convergence motion. Therefore, the information perception effect of the driver using the sense of distance and the sense of depth of the image can be effectively exhibited.

  The automotive HUD device 200 includes red, green, and blue laser light sources 201R, 201G, and 201B, collimator lenses 202, 203, and 204 provided for the laser light sources, and two dichroic mirrors 205 in the HUD main body 230. , 206, a light amount adjusting unit 207, an optical scanning device 208 as an optical scanning unit, a free-form curved mirror 209, a microlens array 210 as a light diverging member, and a projection mirror 211 as a light reflecting member. ing. In the light source unit 220 in this embodiment, laser light sources 201R, 201G, and 201B, collimator lenses 202, 203, and 204, and dichroic mirrors 205 and 206 are unitized by an optical housing.

  As the laser light sources 201R, 201G, and 201B, an LD (semiconductor laser element) can be used. The wavelength of the light beam emitted from the red laser light source 201R is, for example, 640 nm, the wavelength of the light beam emitted from the green laser light source 201G is, for example, 530 nm, and the wavelength of the light beam emitted from the blue laser light source 201B is, for example, 445 nm. .

  The automobile HUD device 200 according to the present embodiment projects an intermediate image formed on the microlens array 210 onto the windshield 302 of the host vehicle 301, and thereby enlarges an intermediate image of the intermediate image to the driver 300. Make it visible. Each color laser light emitted from the laser light sources 201R, 201G, and 201B is made into substantially parallel light by the collimator lenses 202, 203, and 204, and is synthesized by the two dichroic mirrors 205 and 206. The combined laser light is two-dimensionally scanned by the mirror of the optical scanning device 208 after the light amount is adjusted by the light amount adjusting unit 207. The scanning light L ′ that has been two-dimensionally scanned by the optical scanning device 208 is reflected by the free-form surface mirror 209 and corrected for distortion, and then condensed on the microlens array 210 to draw an intermediate image.

  In the present embodiment, the microlens array 210 is used as a light diffusing member that individually diverges and emits a light beam for each pixel of the intermediate image (one point of the intermediate image), but other light diffusing members are used. May be. Further, as a method of forming the intermediate image G ′, a method using a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a fluorescent display tube (VFD) may be used.

However, in order to display a large virtual image G with high luminance, the laser scanning method is preferable as in this embodiment.
Further, in a method using a liquid crystal display (LCD), a fluorescent display tube (VFD) or the like, a slight amount of light is irradiated to a non-image portion in the display area where the virtual image G is displayed, and this is completely blocked. Is difficult. Therefore, there is a demerit that visibility of the front landscape of the host vehicle 301 through the non-image portion is poor. On the other hand, according to the laser scanning method as in the present embodiment, the non-image portion in the display area of the virtual image G is irradiated with light by turning off the laser light sources 201R, 201G, and 201B. Can be completely blocked. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the visibility of the forward scenery of the host vehicle 301 through the non-image portion is reduced by the light emitted from the automobile HUD device 200, and there is an advantage that the visibility of the forward scenery is high.

  Furthermore, when the degree of warning is increased by gradually increasing the brightness of the warning image for warning the driver, etc., only the brightness of the warning image among the various images displayed in the display area 700 is displayed. It is necessary to perform display control that raises step by step. As described above, the laser scanning method is also suitable when performing display control for partially increasing the luminance of a partial image in the display area 700. In a method using a liquid crystal display (LCD), a fluorescent display tube (VFD), etc., the brightness of images other than the warning image displayed in the display area 700 is increased, and the warning image and other images are not displayed. This is because the brightness difference cannot be widened, and the effect of increasing the level of warning by increasing the brightness of the warning image in stages cannot be obtained sufficiently.

  The optical scanning device 208 tilts the mirror in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction with a known actuator drive system such as MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems), and performs two-dimensional scanning (raster scanning) with the laser light incident on the mirror. . The drive control of the mirror is performed in synchronization with the light emission timing of the laser light sources 201R, 201G, and 201B. The optical scanning device 208 is not limited to the configuration of the present embodiment. For example, the optical scanning device 208 may be configured by a mirror system including two mirrors that swing or rotate around two axes orthogonal to each other.

FIG. 4 is a hardware block diagram of a control system in the automotive HUD device 200 of the present embodiment.
The control system of the automotive HUD device 200 mainly includes an FPGA 251, a CPU 252, a ROM 253, a RAM 254, an I / F 255, a bus line 256, an LD driver 257, and a MEMS controller 258. The FPGA 251 controls the operation of the laser light sources 201R, 201G, and 201B of the light source unit 220 by the LD driver 257, and controls the operation of the MEMS 208a of the optical scanning device 208 by the MEMS controller 258. The CPU 252 controls each function of the automotive HUD device 200. The ROM 253 stores various programs such as an image processing program executed by the CPU 252 to control each function of the automotive HUD device 200. The RAM 254 is used as a work area for the CPU 252. The I / F 255 is an interface for communicating with an external controller or the like. For example, the I / F 255 is connected to an object recognition device 100, a vehicle navigation device 400, various sensors 500, and the like described later via a CAN (Controller Area Network) of the host vehicle 301. Connected.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the driver information providing system in the present embodiment.
In the present embodiment, an object recognition device 100, a vehicle navigation device 400, a sensor device 500, and the like are provided as information acquisition means for acquiring driver provision information to be provided to the driver by a virtual image G. The automotive HUD device 200 in the present embodiment is mainly composed of a HUD main body 230 constituting image light projection means as image display means and an image control device 250 as display control means. The information acquisition means in this embodiment is mounted on the host vehicle 301, but the information acquired by the information acquisition means is input via the communication means using the information acquisition means installed outside the host vehicle 301. It may be a configuration.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the object recognition apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.
The object recognition apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment exists in an imaging region based on a stereo camera unit 110 as an imaging unit that captures an image of a front region of the host vehicle 301 as an imaging region, and captured image data captured by the stereo camera unit 110. And an information processing unit 120 as image processing means for executing image processing for recognizing a predetermined recognition target object. Instead of the stereo camera unit 110, a configuration in which a monocular camera as an imaging unit and a laser radar (millimeter wave radar) as a ranging unit may be employed.

  The stereo camera unit 110 is configured by assembling two camera units in parallel, a first camera unit 110A for the left eye and a second camera unit 110B for the right eye. Each of the camera units 110A and 110B includes a lens 115, an image sensor 116, and a sensor controller 117, respectively. As the image sensor 116, for example, an image sensor constituted by a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) can be used. The sensor controller 117 performs exposure control of the image sensor 116, image readout control, communication with an external circuit, image data transmission control, and the like. Stereo camera unit 110 is installed in the vicinity of the room mirror of windshield 302 of host vehicle 301.

  The information processing unit 120 includes a data bus line 121, a serial bus line 122, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 123, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) 124, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 125, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 126, A serial IF (Interface) 127 and a data IF 128 are included.

  Stereo camera unit 110 is connected to information processing unit 120 via data bus line 121 and serial bus line 122. The CPU 123 executes and controls the control of each sensor controller 117 of the stereo camera unit 110, the overall operation of the information processing unit 120, image processing, and the like. Luminance image data of captured images captured by the image sensors 116 of the camera units 110A and 110B is written to the RAM 126 of the information processing unit 120 via the data bus line 121. Sensor exposure value change control data, image readout parameter change control data, various setting data, and the like from the CPU 123 or FPGA 124 are transmitted and received via the serial bus line 122.

  The FPGA 124 generates a parallax image by performing processing that requires real-time processing on the image data stored in the RAM 126, for example, gamma correction, distortion correction (parallelization of left and right images), and parallax calculation by block matching. Write again to the RAM 18. The ROM 125 has a recognition program for recognizing a predetermined recognition object such as a three-dimensional object such as a vehicle or a pedestrian, a lane boundary line such as a white line on the road surface, a curb or a median strip located on the side of the road surface. Is remembered. The recognition program is an example of an image processing program.

  The CPU 123 acquires CAN information such as vehicle speed, acceleration, steering angle, and yaw rate from the sensor device 500 via the data IF 128, for example, via the CAN of the host vehicle 301. Then, the CPU 123 executes image processing using the luminance image and the parallax image stored in the RAM 126 according to the recognition program stored in the ROM 125, and recognizes a recognition target object such as a preceding vehicle 350 or a lane boundary line, for example. I do.

  The recognition result data of the recognition object is supplied to an external device such as an image control device 250 or a vehicle travel control unit via the serial IF 127, for example. The vehicle travel control unit performs the brake control, the speed control, the steering control, etc. of the host vehicle 301 using the recognition result data of the recognition target object, and for example, sets the host vehicle 301 so as to maintain a preset inter-vehicle distance. It realizes cruise control that automatically tracks the preceding vehicle and automatic brake control that avoids and reduces collisions with obstacles ahead.

  As the vehicle navigation apparatus 400 in the present embodiment, a known vehicle navigation apparatus mounted on an automobile or the like can be widely used. Information necessary for generating a route navigation image to be displayed on the virtual image G is output from the vehicle navigation device 400, and this information is input to the image control device 250. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the number of lanes (travel lanes) on the road on which the host vehicle 301 is traveling, the distance to the point where the next route should be changed (right turn, left turn, branch, etc.), and the next route change An image indicating information such as a direction to perform is included. By inputting these pieces of information from the vehicle navigation device 400 to the image control device 250, the vehicle HUD device 200 under the control of the image control device 250, the driving lane instruction image 711, the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712, the course designation Navigation images such as an image 721, a remaining distance image 722, and an intersection name image 723 are displayed in the upper display area A of the display area 700.

  In the image example shown in FIG. 1, an image indicating road specific information (road name, speed limit, etc.) is displayed in the lower display area B of the display area 700. This road specific information is also input from the vehicle navigation device 400 to the image control device 250. The image control device 250 displays the road name display image 701, the speed limit display image 702, the overtaking prohibition display image 703, and the like corresponding to the road specific information in the lower display area B of the display area 700 by the automobile HUD device 200. .

  The sensor device 500 according to the present embodiment includes one or more sensors for detecting various types of information indicating the behavior of the host vehicle 301, the state of the host vehicle 301, the situation around the host vehicle 301, and the like. Sensing information necessary for generating an image to be displayed as a virtual image G is output from the sensor device 500, and this sensing information is input to the image control device 250. For example, in the image example shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle speed display image 704 (character image “83 km / h” in FIG. 1) indicating the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 301 is displayed in the lower display area B of the display area 700. Therefore, vehicle speed information included in the CAN information of the host vehicle 301 is input from the sensor device 500 to the image control device 250. Under the control of the image control device 250, a character image indicating the vehicle speed is displayed in the display area by the automobile HUD device 200. 700 is displayed in a lower display area B.

  In addition to the sensor that detects the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 301, the sensor device 500 includes, for example, other vehicles, pedestrians, buildings (guardrails, utility poles, etc.) existing around the host vehicle 301 (front, side, rear). Laser radar device and imaging device for detecting the distance to the vehicle, sensors for detecting external environment information (external temperature, brightness, weather, etc.) of the vehicle, driving operation of the driver 300 (brake scanning, accelerator opening / closing degree, etc.) ), A sensor for detecting the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank of the host vehicle 301, a sensor for detecting the state of various in-vehicle devices such as an engine and a battery, and the like. By detecting such information by the sensor device 500 and sending it to the image control device 250, the information can be displayed as a virtual image G by the automobile HUD device 200 and provided to the driver 300.

FIG. 7 is a hardware block diagram showing main hardware of the image control apparatus 250.
In the image control device 250, a CPU 251, a RAM 252, a ROM 253, an input data IF 254, and an output data IF 255 are connected to each other by a data bus line. The input data IF 254 receives various recognition result data output from the object recognition device 100, sensing information output from the sensor device 500, various information output from the vehicle navigation device 400, and the like. From the output data IF 255, a control signal for the automobile HUD device 200 is output. The CPU 251 executes various computer programs such as an information providing control program stored in the ROM 253 and the like, and causes the image control apparatus 250 to perform various controls and various processes described later.

Next, the virtual image G displayed by the automobile HUD device 200 will be described.
In the automotive HUD device 200 according to the present embodiment, the driver providing information provided to the driver 300 by the virtual image G may be any information as long as it is useful information for the driver 300. In the present embodiment, the driver-provided information is roughly divided into passive information and active information.

  Passive information is information passively recognized by the driver 300 at a timing when a predetermined information provision condition is satisfied. Therefore, information provided to the driver 300 at the setting timing of the automotive HUD device 200 is included in the passive information, and information having a certain relationship between the timing at which the information is provided and the content of the information is included. Included in passive information. Examples of the passive information include information related to safety during driving, route navigation information, and the like. Information related to safety during driving includes, for example, inter-vehicle distance information (an inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712) between the host vehicle 301 and the preceding vehicle 350, and urgent information related to driving (instructing the driver to perform an emergency operation). Warning information such as emergency operation instruction information or alert information). The route navigation information is information for guiding a travel route to a preset destination, and is provided to the driver by a known vehicle navigation device. The route navigation information includes travel lane instruction information (travel lane instruction image 711) for instructing a travel lane to travel at the nearest intersection, and a route change operation at an intersection or branch point where the course should be changed from the next straight direction. The route changing operation instruction information to be instructed is exemplified. Specifically, the route change operation instruction information includes route designation information (route designation image 721) for designating which route should be taken at the intersection, etc., and remaining information until the intersection where the route change operation is performed. Examples include distance information (remaining distance image 722), name information such as the intersection (name image 723 such as an intersection), and the like.

  The active information is information that is actively recognized by the driver 300 at a timing determined by the driver himself. The active information is sufficient information if provided to the driver at a timing desired by the driver 300, for example, information that has low or no relationship between the timing at which the information is provided and the content of the information. Is included in the active information. The active information is information that the driver 300 acquires at a timing desired by the driver 300, and is information that is continuously displayed for a long period of time or constantly. For example, specific information of the road on which the host vehicle 301 is traveling, vehicle speed information of the host vehicle 301 (vehicle speed display image 704), current time information, and the like can be given. As specific information of the road, for example, the road name information (road name display image 701), restriction content information such as the speed limit of the road (speed limit display image 702, overtaking prohibition display image 703), and other related to the road Information useful for the driver 300 is listed as information.

  In the present embodiment, the passive information and the active information which are roughly classified in this way are displayed in the corresponding display areas in the display area 700 where the virtual image G can be displayed. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the display area 700 is divided into two display areas in the vertical direction, and a passive information image corresponding to passive information is mainly displayed in the upper display area A, and the lower display area In B, an active information image corresponding to active information is mainly displayed. When a part of the active information image is displayed in the upper display area A, the active information image is displayed so as to give priority to the visibility of the passive information image displayed in the upper display area A.

  In the present embodiment, a stereoscopic image expressed using stereoscopic vision is used as the virtual image G displayed in the display area 700. Specifically, perspective images expressed by perspective are used as the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 and the travel lane instruction image 711 displayed in the upper display area A of the display area 700.

  Specifically, the distance drawn by the perspective projection method so that the distance between the five horizontal lines constituting the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is shortened toward the upper side and the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is directed to one vanishing point. Legal images. In particular, in the present embodiment, the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is displayed so that the vanishing point is determined in the vicinity of the gazing point of the driver 300, so that the driver 300 during driving feels the depth of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712. Easy to perceive. Further, in the present embodiment, the perspective image is such that the thickness of the horizontal line becomes thinner as it goes upward, and the brightness of the horizontal line becomes lower as it goes upward. This makes it easier for the driver 300 who is driving to perceive the sense of depth of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712.

Next, a method for producing a sense of distance and depth by making the distance to the virtual image G perceived using motion parallax will be described.
In this embodiment, a motion parallax image expressed by motion parallax is used as the virtual image G. The motion parallax means parallax caused by the movement of the eye position (viewpoint position) of the driver 300. The sense of distance and depth due to motion parallax is based on the difference in movement that is visually recognized so that the closer the object in the front landscape moves, the farther the object moves, and the farther the object moves, when the driver's 300 eyes move. The person 300 perceives a sense of distance and depth to each object.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the driver camera 150 as a viewpoint position detecting means for observing the eye position (viewpoint position) of the driver 300 is located near the room mirror of the windshield 302 of the host vehicle 301. is set up. The installation position of the driver camera 150 is preferably close to the midline of the driver 300 sitting in the driver's seat in order to accurately acquire the vertical and horizontal movements of the driver 300. However, for example, it is preferable that the driver 300 is disposed at an upper position so as not to obstruct the view of the driver 300.

  The driver camera 150 is a monocular camera that is set so as to capture, as an imaging region, a range in which the driver 300 sitting in the driver's seat moves his / her head during driving. As with the camera units 110A and 110B, the camera unit 110A includes a lens, an image sensor, a sensor controller, and the like. A stereo camera may be used as the driver camera 150, and the front-rear direction position of the driver's eyes may be grasped.

  The luminance image data of the captured image captured by the driver camera 150 is input to the image control device 250. The image control device 250 recognizes the position of the eyes of the driver 300 based on the luminance image data from the driver camera 150 by the CPU 251 executing the information providing control program stored in the ROM 253 or the like. In the present embodiment, the head position of the driver 300 is simply recognized based on the luminance image data from the driver camera 150, and the eye position of the driver 300 is estimated from the recognition result. As a method for recognizing the head position of the driver 300, a general recognition processing method can be widely adopted.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an image processing method of the virtual image G that gives a sense of depth by motion parallax in the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 8, when the head of the driver 300 moves by Dd, the visual recognition position of the object Oa located at a distance La near the driver 300 moves by Da and is located at a distance Lb far from the driver 300. The viewing position of the object Ob to be moved moves by Db less than Da, and the viewing position of the object Ob positioned at a distance Lc farther from the driver 300 moves by Dc smaller than Db. Due to the difference in the movement amounts Da, Db, Dc of the visual recognition position among these objects Oa, Ob, Oc, the driver 300 exists at a position where the object Oa is separated by a distance La, and the object Ob is separated by a distance Lb. It can be perceived that the object Oc exists at a position and the object Oc exists at a position separated by a distance Lc.

  The virtual image G in the present embodiment is displayed at a position 5 m from the driver 300, and any image portion on the virtual image G is displayed at a position 5 m from the driver 300. In the present embodiment, by using the motion parallax described above, the driver 300 is made to perceive as if a plurality of image portions on the virtual image G are displayed at different distances.

  Specifically, the image control device 250 recognizes the head position of the driver 300 based on the luminance image data of the captured image captured by the driver camera 150 at predetermined time intervals. Then, the image control device 250 calculates the driver head movement amount Dd that the head of the driver 300 has moved during the time interval. At this time, the visual recognition position of the virtual image G displayed at a distance of 5 m moves by Da.

  In the present embodiment, the display position of the image portion displayed in the lower display area B is fixed in the display area 700. Therefore, the visual recognition position of the image portion displayed in the lower display area B moves by the same movement amount Da as the movement amount of the virtual image G. Therefore, the image portion displayed in the lower display area B is perceived by the driver 300 as being displayed at the distance La (5 m).

  On the other hand, the image control device 250 determines the driving lane instruction image 711 and the inter-vehicle distance among the image portions displayed in the upper display area A of the display area 700 of the virtual image G according to the calculated driver head movement amount Dd. The distance presentation image 712 is moved within the display area 700 by Da-Db in the direction opposite to the driver's head movement direction. As a result, for the travel lane instruction image 711 and the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 displayed in the upper display area A, the visual recognition position viewed from the driver 300 moves by the movement amount Db. As a result, the driving lane instruction image 711 and the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 are perceived by the driver 300 as being displayed at the distance Lb.

  Similarly, the image control device 250 determines the course of the image portion of the image portion displayed in the upper display area A of the display area 700 of the virtual image G according to the calculated driver head movement amount Dd. The designated image 721, the remaining distance image 722, and the name image 723 such as an intersection are moved within the display area 700 by Da-Dc in the direction opposite to the driver's head movement direction. As a result, among the image portions displayed in the upper display area A, for the route designation image 721, the remaining distance image 722, and the name image 723 such as an intersection, the visual recognition position viewed from the driver 300 moves by the movement amount Dc. become. As a result, the course designation image 721, the remaining distance image 722, and the intersection name image 723 are perceived by the driver 300 as being displayed at the distance Lc.

  As described above, by projecting the virtual image G while controlling the movement amounts Db and Dc of the viewing position of the image portion displayed in the upper display area A according to the driver head movement amount Dd, the driver 300 Is displayed at a position farther from the image portion of the lower display area B (road name display image 701, speed limit display image 702, overtaking prohibition display image 703, etc.), and further, an inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is displayed. It is perceived that course change operation instruction images 721, 722, and 723 are displayed at distant positions. In this way, the image portions on the virtual image G displayed at the same distance can be perceived by the driver 300 as if they are displayed at different distances, so that the depth of the virtual image G can be given.

Next, display control for changing the perceived distance of the image portion displayed in the upper display area A of the virtual image G display area 700 according to the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 301 will be described.
When the distance to the image displayed by the virtual image G projected from the automotive HUD device 200 is perceived as a distance different from the distance to the virtual image G by using motion parallax, the perceived distance is usually constant. Will not be changed. However, as a result of the inventor's research, changing the perceived distance of the image in accordance with movement information such as speed and acceleration of the own vehicle 301 or position information such as GPS information of the own vehicle 301 has various points. And found useful.

  For example, when quickly and reliably providing information to the driver 300 during driving, a driver-provided information image indicating the information is displayed in the vicinity of the gazing point area where the driver 300 is gazing. Is effective. The reason is that the driver 300 who is looking at the gazing point area is easily aware of the presence of the driver providing information image, and the driver 300 is focusing on the vicinity of the gazing point area because the focal distance is short. For example, it is easy to focus on an image and it can be quickly viewed. However, in general, the driver 300 tends to watch a farther point as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 301 increases. Therefore, the distance of the gazing point area of the driver 300 can change according to the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 301. Therefore, if the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image is constant, the driver-provided information may not be provided promptly and reliably to the driver 300 depending on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 301. In such a case, if display control is performed such that the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image increases as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle increases, the driver-provided information is sent to the driver 300 even if the vehicle speed of the host vehicle changes. It becomes possible to provide promptly and reliably.

  On the contrary, since the driver 300 tends to gaze at a distant point when the vehicle speed of the own vehicle 301 is high as described above, the vehicle speed of the own vehicle 301 is changed when the driver's 300 gaze point is changed far. When the speed is increased and the gazing point of the driver 300 is changed closer, the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 301 tends to be reduced. On the other hand, when the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image changes, the driver 300 often changes the distance of the point of interest (focal distance) so as to follow the driver-provided information image. Therefore, by changing the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image, the driver can be accelerated or decelerated. If this is used, for example, when the own vehicle 301 reaches a point where a car decelerates and traffic congestion occurs like a sag portion on a highway, the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image becomes long. By performing such display control, it is possible to prompt the driver 300 to increase the speed of the host vehicle 301 and contribute to alleviating traffic congestion. In addition, for example, when the speed of the host vehicle 301 is increased without the driver 300 noticing while the host vehicle 301 is traveling on a gentle downhill, the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image is reduced. By performing the display control, it is possible to encourage the driver 300 to decelerate the own vehicle 301 and contribute to the suppression of accidents.

[Display control example 1]
Next, an example of display control in the present embodiment (hereinafter, this example is referred to as “display control example 1”) will be described.
In the present display control example 1, the perceived distance of the driver-provided information is longer as the vehicle speed of the own vehicle is faster so that the driver-provided information can be provided to the driver 300 quickly and reliably even if the vehicle speed of the own vehicle 301 changes. The display of the driver-provided information is controlled so that the perceived distance of the driver-provided information is closer as the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is slower. In the following description, an inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 will be described as an example of the driver providing information.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of display control for the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 in the present display control example 1.
FIG. 10 is a display example of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 when the host vehicle 301 has a slow vehicle speed.
FIG. 11 is a display example of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 when the host vehicle 301 has a high vehicle speed.
12 is an explanatory diagram showing a difference in perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 between the display example shown in FIG. 10 and the display example shown in FIG.

  In this display control example 1, when the image control device 250 obtains the vehicle speed information of the host vehicle 301 by acquiring the CAN information from the sensor device 500 (S1), the image control device 250 performs a predetermined high speed travel based on the vehicle speed information of the host vehicle 301. It is determined whether or not the condition is satisfied (S2). The predetermined high-speed driving condition includes, for example, a condition that the vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined threshold, a condition that a specified time elapses while the vehicle speed exceeds the predetermined threshold, and the driver 300 sets the distant gaze area E2 Conditions that can determine that the vehicle speed is higher as the user gazes are appropriately set.

  When the predetermined high-speed driving condition is satisfied (Yes in S2), the image control device 250 determines that the driver 300 is gazing at a distant gaze area E2, and as illustrated in FIGS. The display control is performed so that the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is a long distance Lc (S3, S6). Specifically, the inter-vehicle distance presentation displayed in the upper display area A on the virtual image G according to the driver head movement amount Dd calculated based on the luminance image data of the captured image captured by the driver camera 150. Display control (motion parallax control) is performed so that the amount of movement of the viewing position of the image 712 becomes the amount of movement Dc corresponding to the perceived distance Lc. Accordingly, the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is displayed at a position near the gazing point area E2 at which the driver 300 is gazing at this time, as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. As a result of being displayed at the perceived distance close to the distance, the inter-vehicle distance information (driver-provided information) can be provided quickly and reliably to the driver 300 during driving.

  On the other hand, when the predetermined high-speed traveling condition is not satisfied (No in S2), the image control device 250 determines whether or not a predetermined low-speed traveling condition is satisfied based on the vehicle speed information of the host vehicle 301 (S4). Examples of the predetermined low speed driving condition include a condition that the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold value (at least set to a value equal to or lower than the threshold value of the high speed driving condition described above), or a specified time while the vehicle speed remains equal to or lower than the predetermined threshold value. For example, a condition that allows the driver 300 to determine that the vehicle speed is low as the driver 300 gazes at a nearby gazing point area E1 is appropriately set.

  When the predetermined low-speed traveling condition is satisfied (Yes in S4), the image control device 250 determines that the driver 300 is gazing at the nearby gazing point area E1, and as illustrated in FIGS. The display control is performed so that the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is the short distance Lb (S5, S6). Specifically, the inter-vehicle distance presentation displayed in the upper display area A on the virtual image G according to the driver head movement amount Dd calculated based on the luminance image data of the captured image captured by the driver camera 150. Display control (motion parallax control) is performed so that the amount of movement of the viewing position of the image 712 becomes the amount of movement Db corresponding to the perceived distance Lb. Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 12, the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is displayed at a position near the gazing point area E1 that the driver 300 is gazing at this time. As a result of being displayed at the perceived distance close to the distance, the inter-vehicle distance information (driver-provided information) can be provided quickly and reliably to the driver 300 during driving.

  Here, in this display control example 1, when the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is switched between the near distance Lb shown in FIG. 10 and the far distance Lc shown in FIG. For 1 second or longer. That is, for example, when switching from the near distance Lb shown in FIG. 10 to the far distance Lc shown in FIG. 11, the perceived distance is such that it takes 1 second or more for the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 to change from Lb to Lc. Display is controlled so as to change slowly. If the time is less than 1 second, the driver perceives the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 as if it has instantaneously moved from the position of the perceived distance Lb to the position of the perceived distance Lc, which is unnecessary for the driver who is driving. It will give a visual stimulus. In order to avoid giving such a visual stimulus, it is preferable that the time required for switching the perceptual distance is 1 second or more.

  As described above, according to the present display control example 1, when the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 301 is high, the perceived distance Lc of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is also increased in conjunction with the distance of the gazing point area E2 of the driver 300 being increased. Thus, when the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 301 is low, the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is also shortened in conjunction with the driver's 300 gaze area E1 being near. As a result, even if the distance of the gazing point area watched by the driver 300 changes in accordance with the change in the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 301, the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 can be displayed in the vicinity of the gazing point area. Information can be provided to the driver 300 quickly and reliably.

  In this display control example 1, the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is changed in two stages, but the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is changed in three or more stages according to the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 301. It may be changed. In particular, if display control is performed such that the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 changes continuously according to the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 301, the gazing point area that the driver 300 watches in accordance with the change in the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 301 Even when the distance changes, the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is always displayed in the vicinity of the gazing point area, and the inter-vehicle distance information can be provided to the driver 300 quickly and reliably.

Further, in the first display control example, the example in which the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is changed according to the vehicle speed of the own vehicle 301 has been described. The same effect can be obtained by changing the distance.
Specifically, for example, when it is determined that the host vehicle is traveling on a highway or the like that generally travels at high speed based on route navigation information input from the vehicle navigation device 400, the vehicle is shown in FIG. If the perceived distance Lc of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is increased as described above, and it is determined that the host vehicle 301 is traveling on other roads (such as urban roads that generally travel at low speed), FIG. As shown, display control is performed to reduce the perceived distance Lb of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712.

  However, only the position information causes display control so that the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is increased even when the vehicle is actually traveling at a low speed due to traffic congestion on an expressway or the like. There is a possibility that the effect of providing information promptly and reliably cannot be obtained sufficiently. In addition, in the situation where the vehicle speed frequently increases or decreases near the threshold only by the vehicle speed information, the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is frequently switched, which hinders prompt and reliable information provision to the driver. There is also a fear. Therefore, it is also effective to change the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 using both position information and vehicle speed information.

[Display control example 2]
Next, another example of display control in the present embodiment (hereinafter, this example is referred to as “display control example 2”) will be described.
In this display control example 2, the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is long when the host vehicle 301 approaches a traffic jam occurrence point where a car decelerates and traffic jam occurs like a sag portion on an expressway. Display control is performed as described above.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of display control for the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 in the second display control example.
FIG. 14A is a display example of a normal inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 when the host vehicle 301 is traveling on a highway, and FIG. 14B is a sag portion (congestion occurrence) in the highway. It is an example of a display of an inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 when passing a point.

  In this display control example 2, the image control device 250 acquires route navigation information (position information of the host vehicle 301) input from the vehicle navigation device 400 (S11), and a predetermined deceleration congestion based on the route navigation information. It is determined whether or not a condition (speed reduction caution condition) is satisfied (S12). Examples of the predetermined deceleration congestion condition include a condition that the current position of the host vehicle 301 is a sag portion in an expressway where congestion is likely to occur due to deceleration of a passing vehicle.

  When the predetermined deceleration congestion condition is satisfied (Yes in S12), the image control device 250 suppresses the deceleration of the host vehicle or promotes the acceleration of the host vehicle. Display control is performed so that a distance obtained by adding a predetermined distance α to the currently set perceptual distance. For example, when the host vehicle 301 is traveling on an expressway, the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 due to motion parallax is the far distance Lc shown in FIG. The display is controlled. At this time, if a predetermined deceleration congestion condition is satisfied (Yes in S12), display control is performed so that the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 due to motion parallax changes from Lc to Lc + α. As a result, the driver 300 changes the distance of the point of interest (focal length) so as to follow the driver-provided information image whose perceived distance has changed to Lc + α, and increases the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 301 accordingly. And

According to this display control example 2, when the own vehicle 301 approaches a traffic jam occurrence point such as a sag portion in an expressway where traffic jam is likely to occur due to deceleration of the passing vehicle, a predetermined deceleration traffic jam condition is satisfied and the inter-vehicle distance Display control is performed so that the perceived distance of the presentation image 712 changes. As a result, the driver 300 is prompted to increase the speed of the host vehicle 301. As a result, the deceleration of the host vehicle 301 is suppressed or the host vehicle 301 is increased, and the occurrence of traffic jam at the traffic jam occurrence point is suppressed. , The elimination of the traffic jam occurring at the traffic jam occurrence point is promoted.
When the predetermined deceleration congestion condition is not satisfied (No in S12), the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 due to motion parallax is controlled to be the original perceived distance (S14).

  Also in this display control example 2, when the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is switched, it is preferable that the time required for the switching is 1 second or more as in the case of the display control example 1 described above.

  Contrary to this display control example 2, by performing display control so that the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is closer, the driver's point of interest area is guided closer to the driver 300. On the other hand, it is also possible to promote suppression of acceleration of the own vehicle 301 or deceleration of the own vehicle. Such display control is executed, for example, when the host vehicle 301 travels at a vehicle acceleration point where the vehicle speed increases without the driver 300 noticing while traveling on a gentle downhill. Thus, it is possible to encourage the driver 300 to suppress acceleration of the host vehicle 301 or to decelerate the host vehicle, thereby contributing to suppression of accidents due to overspeed. In such display control, the host vehicle 301 passes the vehicle acceleration point as described above by the image control device 250 based on route navigation information (position information of the host vehicle 301) input from the vehicle navigation device 400. It can be realized by grasping that it is.

  In the second display control example, the example in which the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is changed according to the position information of the own vehicle 301 has been described. However, the inter-vehicle distance presentation is performed according to movement information such as the vehicle speed of the own vehicle 301. The same effect can be obtained by changing the perceived distance of the image 712. Specifically, for example, based on the vehicle speed information obtained from the sensor device 500, display control is performed to change the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 when the speed of the host vehicle falls below a specified speed. Thus, when the own vehicle 301 decelerates at a traffic jam occurrence point such as a sag portion on an expressway where traffic jam is likely to occur due to deceleration of the passing vehicle, the driver 300 is given a speed increase of the own vehicle 301. It is possible to promote traffic congestion relief.

[Display control example 3]
Next, still another example of display control in the present embodiment (hereinafter, this example is referred to as “display control example 3”) will be described.
In the present embodiment, the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 that changes the perceived distance based on the vehicle speed information (movement information), route navigation information (position information), and the like of the host vehicle 301 is an actual road surface (running surface) in front of the host vehicle. It is displayed so as to overlap. When the driver-provided information image virtually arranged on the road surface in this way changes its perceived distance further, in general, by moving the display position of the driver-provided information image further upward, It is easy for the driver 300 to perceive that the distance of the driver-provided information image is longer along the actual road surface. Therefore, also in the various display controls described above, when the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is changed far, only the movement amount of the visual position of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is changed according to the driver head movement amount Dd. Instead, the viewing position of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is also changed to be higher.

  Here, when changing the height of the visual recognition position of the driver-provided information image, the range in which the height can be changed is limited to the display area 700 of the virtual image G by the automotive HUD device 200. Since the position of the display area 700 of the virtual image G is fixed, when changing the height of the visual recognition position of the driver provided information image, the relative position of the driver provided information image with respect to the display area 700 is changed. Become. The length in the height direction (vertical angle of view) in the display area 700 is often difficult to lengthen from the viewpoint of miniaturization of the automotive HUD device 200 and the like. Therefore, in the range where the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image is far, the height of the driver-provided information image may not be changed in accordance with the change in the perceived distance. On the other hand, if the driver-provided information image is made small, it is possible to secure a range in which the height of the driver-provided information image is changed, but this causes a problem that the visibility of the driver-provided information image is lowered.

  Therefore, in this display control example 3, when changing the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image, instead of changing the relative position of the driver-provided information image in the display area 700, or together with this, the display area Control to change the position of 700 is performed.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of display control for the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 in the present display control example 3.
FIG. 16A is a display example of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 when the vehicle speed of the host vehicle 301 is low. FIG. 16B is a display example of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 when the host vehicle 301 has a high vehicle speed.

  In this display control example 3, as in the case of the display control example 1 described above, when the image control apparatus 250 acquires the vehicle speed information of the host vehicle 301 (S21), the predetermined high-speed traveling condition is determined based on the vehicle speed information of the host vehicle 301. It is determined whether or not the condition is satisfied (S22). If the predetermined high-speed traveling condition is satisfied (Yes in S22), display control is performed so that the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 due to motion parallax is a long distance Lc, as shown in FIG. (S23, S26). At this time, in this display control example 3, display is performed in the upper display area A on the virtual image G according to the driver head movement amount Dd calculated based on the luminance image data of the captured image captured by the driver camera 150. In addition to performing display control (motion parallax control) so that the amount of movement of the viewing position of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 becomes the amount of movement Dc corresponding to the perceived distance Lc, the position of the display area 700 is moved upward. Display control (display area control) is also performed.

  Examples of the display area control method for moving the position of the display area 700 include a method of changing the reflection surface angle of the projection mirror 211 provided in the automobile HUD device 200. Specifically, the projection mirror 211 is rotated about a rotation axis parallel to the reflection surface of the projection mirror 211 to change the reflection surface angle of the projection mirror 211, and thereby the display area 700 of the projected virtual image G is displayed. Is moved upward (in the direction of arrow C in the figure). In this display control example 3, this method is adopted, the drive motor of the projection mirror 211 is controlled based on the perceived distance of the set inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712, and the reflection surface angle of the projection mirror 211 is changed to display area. The position of 700 is moved upward. As a result, as shown in FIG. 16B, the visual recognition position of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 can be moved upward to a position where the display area 700 cannot be displayed as it is in FIG. it can. Therefore, if the position of the display area 700 remains as shown in FIG. 16A, even if the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 cannot be displayed near the gazing point area E2 that the driver 300 is gazing at, the gazing point area E2 The inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 can be displayed at a position near the vehicle, and the inter-vehicle distance information (driver-provided information) can be provided quickly and reliably to the driver 300 who is driving.

  Further, when the predetermined low-speed traveling condition is satisfied (Yes in S24), as shown in FIG. 16A, display control is performed so that the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 due to motion parallax becomes a close distance Lb. (S25, S26). Also at this time, in this display control example 3, not only the motion parallax control is performed, but also the display area control for moving the position of the display area 700 upward is performed. Specifically, the drive motor of the projection mirror 211 is controlled based on the perceived distance of the set inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712, and the position of the display area 700 is moved downward by changing the reflection surface angle of the projection mirror 211. . As a result, as shown in FIG. 16A, the viewing position of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 can be moved downward to a position where the display area 700 cannot be displayed as it is in FIG. it can. Therefore, even if the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 cannot be displayed at the position near the gazing point area E1 if the position of the display area 700 remains as shown in FIG. 16B, the inter-vehicle distance presentation image is displayed at the position near the gazing point area E1. 712 can be displayed, and inter-vehicle distance information (driver-provided information) can be provided quickly and reliably to the driver 300 during driving.

  In the above-described embodiment, the information of the own vehicle 301 used to change the perceived distance of the inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 is the vehicle speed movement and position information of the own vehicle 301. In this case, the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image may be changed according to other information such as acceleration information (movement information) of the own vehicle 301.

  In the present embodiment, as the image display means, a driver-provided information image is displayed in a predetermined display area 700 in front of the moving body traveling direction visually recognized by the driver 300 via a light transmitting member such as the windshield 302. In this way, the HUD main body 230 that is image light projection means for projecting image light onto the light transmitting member is used. The provided information image may be displayed.

What was demonstrated above is an example, and there exists an effect peculiar for every following aspect.
(Aspect A)
Image display means such as a HUD main body 230 for displaying a driver-provided information image such as an inter-vehicle distance presentation image 712 indicating driver-provided information such as inter-vehicle distance information provided to a driver 300 of a moving body such as the host vehicle 301 is provided. A data providing device such as an automobile HUD device 200 that obtains at least one of movement information such as vehicle speed information and acceleration information of the moving body and position information such as route navigation information of the moving body. The display position of the driver-provided information image is changed according to the detection result of the viewpoint position detection means such as a driver camera 150 that detects the driver's viewpoint position, and the viewpoint position detection means. Thus, the image control device 25 that performs display control to change the perceived distances Lb and Lc of the driver by motion parallax for the driver-provided information image The display control means changes the perceived distance of the driver due to motion parallax for the driver-provided information image according to the at least one information acquired by the acquisition means. As described above, the display control is performed.
According to this aspect, the perceived distance of the driver due to motion parallax for the driver-provided information image can be changed according to the movement information and position information of the moving body, and various useful effects can be brought about. It becomes.

(Aspect B)
In the aspect A, the acquisition means acquires movement speed information such as vehicle speed information of the moving body as the movement information, and the display control means moves the movement according to the movement speed information acquired by the acquisition means. The display control is performed such that the perceived distance is longer as the moving speed of the body is faster, and the perceived distance is closer as the moving speed of the moving body is slower.
In providing information promptly and reliably to the driver who is driving the mobile body, as described above, the driver provided information image indicating the information is in the vicinity of the gazing area where the driver is gazing. It is effective to display it at the position. However, in general, the driver tends to watch a farther point as the moving speed of the moving body increases. Therefore, the distance of the driver's gazing point area can change according to the moving speed of the moving body. In such a case, if the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image is constant, depending on the moving speed of the moving body, the driver-provided information image moves away from the gazing point area, and the driver-provided information is sent to the driver. There is a possibility that it cannot be provided promptly and reliably. According to this aspect, the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image based on motion parallax is changed so that the perceived distance is longer as the moving speed of the moving body is faster, and the perceived distance is closer as the moving speed of the moving body is slower. Therefore, it is possible to provide the driver providing information to the driver quickly and reliably even if the moving speed of the moving body changes.

(Aspect C)
In the aspect A, the acquiring unit acquires the moving speed information of the moving body as the moving information, and the display control unit is configured such that the moving speed information acquired by the acquiring unit satisfies a predetermined speed increase caution condition. The display control is performed so that the perceived distance is short.
When the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image changes, the driver often changes the gaze point distance (focal distance) so as to follow the driver-provided information image. And, as described above, the driver tends to watch close points when the moving speed of the moving body is slow. Therefore, if the driver's gazing point is changed close, the driver will decelerate the moving speed of the moving body. There is a tendency to. Therefore, it is possible to prompt the driver to decelerate by changing the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image to be closer. According to this aspect, when the moving speed of the moving body satisfies a predetermined speed increase caution condition, the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image due to motion parallax is changed. Therefore, as a predetermined speed increase caution condition, for example, by appropriately setting a condition that can grasp a situation where the speed of the moving body increases without the driver's awareness, such a situation is achieved. It is possible to prompt the driver to decelerate the moving body and to contribute to the suppression of accidents due to overspeed.

(Aspect D)
In the aspect A, the acquisition unit acquires position information such as route navigation information of the mobile body, and the display control unit is configured such that the position information acquired by the acquisition unit satisfies a predetermined speed increase caution condition. The display control is performed so that the perceptual distance is short.
According to this aspect, the predetermined speed increase caution condition is appropriately set to, for example, a condition that allows the mobile body to grasp a position where the speed of the mobile body increases without the driver being aware. By setting it, the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image due to motion parallax will change so as to become closer to such a situation, prompting the driver to slow down the moving body, accident due to overspeed It is possible to contribute to suppression.

(Aspect E)
In the aspect A, the acquiring unit acquires the moving speed information of the moving body as the moving information, and the display control unit is configured such that the moving speed information acquired by the acquiring unit satisfies a predetermined speed decrease caution condition. The display control is performed such that the perceived distance is long.
As described above, when the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image changes, the driver often changes the gaze point distance (focal distance) so as to follow the driver-provided information image. And since the driver has a tendency to gaze at a distant point when the moving speed of the moving body is fast, the driver tends to increase the moving speed of the moving body when the driver's gazing point is changed far away. There is. Therefore, it is possible to prompt the driver to increase the speed by changing the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image so as to increase the perceived distance. According to this aspect, when the moving speed of the moving body satisfies a predetermined speed reduction caution condition, the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image due to motion parallax changes. Therefore, as a predetermined speed reduction caution condition, for example, such a situation can be obtained by appropriately setting a condition that can grasp the situation where the speed of the moving body decreases before the driver notices it. It is possible to prompt the driver to increase the speed of the moving body and to contribute to suppressing the occurrence of traffic congestion due to the deceleration of the mobile body and the delay in eliminating the traffic jam.

(Aspect F)
In the aspect A, the acquisition unit acquires position information of the moving body, and the display control unit has a long perceived distance when the position information acquired by the acquisition unit satisfies a predetermined speed reduction caution condition. As described above, the display control is performed.
According to this aspect, the predetermined speed reduction caution condition is appropriately set to such a condition that the mobile body can grasp that the mobile body passes through a position where the speed of the mobile body decreases before the driver notices. By setting it, the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image due to motion parallax is changed in such a situation so as to increase the speed of the moving object to the driver, It is possible to contribute to suppressing the occurrence of congestion due to deceleration and the delay in eliminating the congestion.

(Aspect G)
In any one of the aspects A to F, the time required for the change when the perceived distance is changed by the display control is 1 second or longer.
According to this, when changing the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image due to motion parallax, the driver-provided information image is perceived by the driver as if it has instantaneously moved from the position before the change to the position after the change. Can be suppressed. Therefore, the perceived distance of the driver-provided information image due to motion parallax can be changed without unnecessarily giving a visual stimulus to the driving driver.

(Aspect H)
In any one of the above aspects A to G, the display control means displays a plurality of types of driver-provided information images (the images displayed in the upper display area A and the lower display area B that have different perceptual distances). The image display means, and the perceived distance of at least one type of driver provided information image among the plurality of types of driver provided information images is changed. The display control is performed.
According to this, the perceived distance is changed by some types of the plurality of types of driver provided information images displayed by the image display means, or the perceived distances of the plurality of types of driver provided information images are changed to different distances. It is possible to make it.

(Aspect I)
In any one of the above aspects A to H, the image display means is arranged in a predetermined display area 700 in front of the moving body traveling direction that the driver 300 visually recognizes through a light transmitting member such as a windshield 302. It is an image light projection means for projecting image light onto the light transmitting member so as to display the provided information image.
According to this, it is possible to make the driver visually recognize the driver-provided information image without greatly removing the line of sight of the driver who drives the moving body from the moving body traveling direction.

(Aspect J)
In the aspect I, the image display means includes a projection mirror 211 that moves the predetermined display area and display area moving means such as a drive motor thereof. In the display control, the detection result of the viewpoint position detection means Accordingly, the perceived distance is changed by changing the display position of the driver-provided information image and moving the predetermined display area.
According to this, since the viewing position of the driver-provided information image can be changed without being limited to the size of the display area, a wider range of perceived distance without reducing the driver-provided information image. Change can be realized.

(Aspect K)
In the aspect I or J, the image light projection unit displays the driver-provided information image as a virtual image G in the predetermined display area by the image light to be projected, and a distance from the driver to the virtual image Is 5 m or more.
When the distance to the virtual image G is about 2 m in general, if the eyeball is focused on the virtual image G at such a close distance, usually a converging motion of the eyeball is required. As described above, the vergence movement is a factor that greatly affects the sense of distance to the visual recognition target and the sense of depth. When the eyeball performs a vergence movement to focus on the virtual image G, the sense of distance (perception by motion parallax) The effect of perceiving a change in distance) and a sense of depth (difference in perceived distance) is diminished.
According to this aspect, since the distance to the virtual image G is 5 m or more, it is possible to focus on the virtual image G with almost no converging movement of the eyeball. Therefore, the effect of using the motion parallax to perceive a sense of distance (change in perceived distance) or a sense of depth (difference in perceived distance) is suppressed from fading due to the eyeball's convergence motion.

(Aspect L)
In any one of the aspects I to K, the image light projection unit emits image light emitted from a light irradiation unit such as the light source unit 220 that emits image light corresponding to image information of the driver-provided information image. The driver-provided information image is displayed in the predetermined display area by two-dimensionally scanning the image with an optical scanning unit such as an optical scanning device 208 and projecting it onto the light transmission member. .
As described above, it is easier to display a large virtual image G with higher luminance than a method using a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a fluorescent display tube (VFD). Moreover, according to this aspect, the non-image portion of the virtual image G can be completely eliminated by not irradiating the image light from the light irradiation means. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the visibility of the moving object front landscape through the non-image portion is reduced by the light emitted from the light irradiation means, and the visibility of the front landscape is high.

(Aspect M)
An information providing method for providing a driver providing information to a driver by displaying a driver providing information image indicating the driver providing information to be provided to a driver of the moving body by an image display means. According to the detection result in the acquisition step of acquiring at least one of the movement information and the position information of the mobile body, the viewpoint position detection step of detecting the viewpoint position of the driver, and the detection result in the viewpoint position detection step A display control step for performing display control for changing the perceived distance of the driver due to motion parallax for the driver-provided information image by changing the display position of the driver-provided information image. In the display control step, The display control is performed so that the perceived distance of the driver due to motion parallax for the driver provided information image changes according to the at least one information acquired in the acquiring step. And performing.
According to this aspect, the perceived distance of the driver due to motion parallax for the driver-provided information image can be changed according to the movement information and position information of the moving body, and various useful effects can be brought about. It becomes.

(Aspect N)
An information providing control program for causing a computer of an information providing apparatus having an image display means to display a driver providing information image indicating driver providing information to be provided to a driver of a mobile object, the mobile object Acquisition means for acquiring at least one of the movement information and the position information of the moving body, viewpoint position detection means for detecting the driver's viewpoint position, and the driving according to the detection result of the viewpoint position detection means The computer is caused to function as display control means for performing display control for changing the perceived distance of the driver due to motion parallax for the driver provided information image by changing the display position of the driver provided information image, The display control means is a motion parallax for the driver-provided information image according to the at least one information acquired by the acquisition means. The driver of such perceptual distance changes due, and performs the display control.
According to this aspect, the perceived distance of the driver due to motion parallax for the driver-provided information image can be changed according to the movement information and position information of the moving body, and various useful effects can be brought about. It becomes.

  Note that the above-described program can be distributed or obtained in a state of being recorded on a recording medium such as a CD-ROM. In addition, the above-described program is loaded, and the signal transmitted by a predetermined transmission device is distributed or received via a transmission medium such as a public telephone line, a dedicated line, or another communication network. Available. At the time of distribution, it is sufficient that at least a part of the computer program is transmitted in the transmission medium. That is, it is not necessary for all data constituting the computer program to exist on the transmission medium at one time. The signal carrying the above-described program is a computer data signal embodied on a predetermined carrier wave including a computer program. Further, the transmission method for transmitting a computer program from a predetermined transmission device includes a case where data constituting the program is transmitted continuously and a case where it is transmitted intermittently.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Object recognition apparatus 110 Stereo camera part 150 Driver camera 200 Automotive HUD apparatus 211 Projection mirror 220 Light source unit 230 HUD main body 250 Image control apparatus 300 Driver 301 Own vehicle 302 Windshield 400 Vehicle navigation apparatus 500 Sensor apparatus 700 Display area 712 Inter-vehicle distance presentation image A Upper display area B Lower display area E1, E2 Gaze point area G Virtual image

Japanese Patent No. 4686586

Claims (14)

An information providing device comprising image display means for displaying a driver providing information image indicating driver providing information provided to a driver of a mobile body,
Acquisition means for acquiring at least one of movement information of the moving body and position information of the moving body;
Viewpoint position detection means for detecting the driver's viewpoint position;
Display for changing the display position of the driver-provided information image according to the detection result of the viewpoint position detection means, thereby performing display control for changing the perceived distance of the driver due to motion parallax for the driver-provided information image Control means,
The display control means performs the display control so that the perceived distance of the driver due to motion parallax for the driver provided information image changes according to the at least one information acquired by the acquisition means. A characteristic information providing apparatus. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1,
The acquisition means acquires movement speed information of the moving body as the movement information,
The display control unit is configured such that the perceived distance is longer as the moving speed of the moving body is higher, and the perceived distance is closer as the moving speed of the moving body is lower, according to the moving speed information acquired by the acquiring means. In addition, the display control apparatus performs the display control. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1,
The acquisition means acquires movement speed information of the moving body as the movement information,
The information providing apparatus, wherein the display control means performs the display control so that the perceived distance is close when the moving speed information acquired by the acquiring means satisfies a predetermined speed increase caution condition. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1,
The acquisition means acquires position information of the mobile object,
The information providing apparatus, wherein the display control unit performs the display control so that the perceived distance is close when the position information acquired by the acquiring unit satisfies a predetermined speed increase caution condition. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1,
The acquisition means acquires movement speed information of the moving body as the movement information,
The information providing apparatus, wherein the display control unit performs the display control so that the perceived distance is long when the moving speed information acquired by the acquiring unit satisfies a predetermined speed reduction caution condition. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1,
The acquisition means acquires position information of the mobile object,
The information providing apparatus, wherein the display control unit performs the display control so that the perceived distance is long when the position information acquired by the acquiring unit satisfies a predetermined speed reduction caution condition. The information providing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An information providing apparatus characterized in that a time required for the change when the perceived distance is changed by the display control is 1 second or more. The information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The display control means causes the image display means to display a plurality of types of driver-provided information images having different perceived distances, and at least one type of the plurality of types of driver-provided information images. An information providing apparatus that performs the display control so that the perceived distance of a driver-provided information image changes. The information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The image display means projects image light onto the light transmitting member so as to display the driver-provided information image in a predetermined display area in front of the moving body traveling direction visually recognized by the driver via the light transmitting member. An information providing apparatus which is an image light projecting unit. In the information provision apparatus of Claim 9,
The image display means includes display area moving means for moving the predetermined display area,
In the display control, the perceived distance is changed by changing the display position of the driver-provided information image according to the detection result of the viewpoint position detection means and moving the predetermined display area. To provide information. In the information provision apparatus of Claim 9 or 10,
The image light projection means displays the driver-provided information image as a virtual image in the predetermined display area by image light to be projected,
The information providing apparatus, wherein a distance from the driver to the virtual image is 5 m or more. The information providing device according to any one of claims 9 to 11,
The image light projection means projects the image light emitted from the light irradiation means for irradiating the image light according to the image information of the driver-provided information image by two-dimensional scanning by the light scanning means to the light transmitting member. Accordingly, the driver providing information image is displayed in the predetermined display area. An information providing method for providing the driver providing information to the driver by displaying a driver providing information image indicating the driver providing information to be provided to the driver of the mobile body by the image display means,
An acquisition step of acquiring at least one of the movement information of the mobile body and the position information of the mobile body;
A viewpoint position detecting step for detecting the driver's viewpoint position;
Display control is performed to change the perceived distance of the driver due to motion parallax for the driver-provided information image by changing the display position of the driver-provided information image according to the detection result in the viewpoint position detection step. A display control process,
In the display control step, the display control is performed such that the perceived distance of the driver due to motion parallax for the driver-provided information image changes according to the at least one information acquired in the acquisition step. A characteristic information providing method. An information providing control program for causing a computer of an information providing apparatus having an image display means to display a driver providing information image indicating driver providing information to be provided to a driver of a mobile body,
Acquisition means for acquiring at least one of movement information of the moving body and position information of the moving body;
Viewpoint position detecting means for detecting the driver's viewpoint position; and
Display for changing the display position of the driver-provided information image according to the detection result of the viewpoint position detection means, thereby performing display control for changing the perceived distance of the driver due to motion parallax for the driver-provided information image As a control means, the computer is caused to function,
The display control means performs the display control so that the perceived distance of the driver due to motion parallax for the driver provided information image changes according to the at least one information acquired by the acquisition means. A characteristic information providing control program.