DE102021126916A1 - METHOD OF OPERATING A VEHICLE INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM - Google Patents

Abstract

Examples relate to a method (10) for operating an infotainment system (21a, 21b, 22) of a vehicle (20). The method (10) comprises the steps of determining (11) whether a passenger of the vehicle (20) in the front passenger seat or a rear seat is using an end user device; and setting (12) an output mode of the infotainment system (21a, 21b, 22) at the passenger's seat depending on the determined use of the end user device. Method (10) can be used, for example, to deactivate the in-vehicle infotainment system for the passenger if he uses his own end-user device for infotainment.

Description

technical field

Example embodiments relate to methods for operating an infotainment system in a vehicle. Further exemplary embodiments relate to a control device for a vehicle with an infotainment system and a computer program product for executing the disclosed method.

background

Powerful infotainment systems are often used in modern motor vehicles, which are used to display information (e.g. relating to the vehicle status or information on the route) and also to entertain the vehicle occupants.

However, depending on the constellation of passengers present in a vehicle, it may be that not all passengers share the same taste in music or prefer different information, e.g. would like to be informed about different aspects of the vehicle, the route or general news. It is usually the driver or front passenger who controls the infotainment system and thus determines which information or music is output, while other passengers often have no access to the infotainment system settings and have to make do with the settings.

As a way out, it is therefore not uncommon for passengers to carry their own mobile devices or end-user devices such as smartphones or tablets, which they can operate individually in order to be able to meet their own taste in information or entertainment content. Such devices can usually be used with headphones so that only the respective user receives the associated acoustic information. However, this type of individual entertainment with standard infotainment systems can also cause problems between passengers, for example if a passenger also hears the acoustic playback of the vehicle's infotainment system through his headphones, for example if a driver turns down the volume of the in-vehicle infotainment system high.

Summary

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide improved concepts for operating an infotainment system in a vehicle.

This object is solved according to the subject matter of the independent patent claims. Further advantageous embodiments are described in the dependent patent claims, the following description and in connection with the figures.

Accordingly, a method for operating an infotainment system of a vehicle is proposed. This method includes, on the one hand, determining whether a passenger of the vehicle is using an end user device in the front passenger seat or in a rear seat. On the other hand, according to the method, it is provided that an output mode of the infotainment system is set at the passenger's seat depending on the determined use of the end user device.

Determining whether a passenger of the vehicle is using their own end user device can be done in different ways. For example, a passenger's end-user device may be coupled to the vehicle such that the vehicle can detect activity on the end-user device (e.g., whether audio content and/or visual content is being played). Alternatively, it can be determined, e.g. by image analysis using a vehicle camera, whether a passenger is using an end user device, e.g. smartphone or tablet, to display content independently of the vehicle's infotainment system.

The output mode can be set individually for each passenger and can be regulated depending on whether and how the respective passenger uses his end user device. For example, at the seat of a first passenger, the output of the vehicle's infotainment system may be disabled in whole or in part if that first passenger is determined to be using their own device to play content. For example, only a visual or acoustic reproduction can be deactivated for the first passenger, e.g. if it has been determined that the first passenger only receives acoustic or visual content or information from his end user device. In this way, it can advantageously be avoided that the first passenger receives two different visual and/or acoustic contents or information from his own device and at the same time from the vehicle's infotainment system, which can be undesirable or disturbing. For example, however, the infotainment system of the vehicle can be played back without restriction at a second seat of a second passenger if it has been determined that the second passenger is not using their own end user device.

The proposed method can therefore automatically adjust the infotainment system tems, how and at which seat in the vehicle the playback (e.g. via speakers or display at the respective seat) of the infotainment system of the vehicle should take place. This can prevent passengers who are using their own devices for entertainment or information playback from being disturbed by the content output by the vehicle's infotainment system.

The method is particularly suitable for vehicles with at least two seats, since a first driver or passenger can then use the infotainment system and a second passenger is not affected when using their own device. It can therefore be a vehicle with a driver and front passenger seat, and in particular the method can also be used in vehicles with classic rear seats. However, the method is also particularly suitable for autonomously driving vehicles in which no classic driver's seat is provided.

For example, setting the output mode may include outputting reduced content (e.g., information, images, or audio content; e.g., reduced volume) of the infotainment system or disabling the infotainment system at the passenger's seat when the passenger is using an end-user device. As previously mentioned, it may be possible not to emit audible signals at the respective passenger's seat if it has been determined that this passenger is wearing headphones and is listening to audio signals from their own end-user device. The use of headphones can be determined, for example, via image recognition and image analysis by an interior camera of the vehicle. Such interior cameras can be used as standard in vehicles and can also be used in a particularly efficient manner for the proposed method. For example, the speakers of the infotainment system in the vehicle on the back seat can be easily deactivated if they are controlled by a separate audio amplifier output stage, which is often the case. The method can thus advantageously be carried out in many vehicles, with existing elements of the vehicle also being able to be used for the method.

According to one aspect, it is provided that the setting of the output mode includes suppressing an output of content or information from the infotainment system as long as an output of content or information from the end user device to the passenger is determined. For example, a silent mode may be deployed whereby passengers using their own end-user devices are initially not provided with any information (e.g., visual and/or audio content) through the vehicle's infotainment system. Important infotainment system information can be collected while the sleep mode is activated. This content or information can then be issued to the respective passenger afterwards if he interrupts or ends the use of his end user device. Alternatively, for example, important acoustic information can be converted into visual information if the playback of acoustic information is currently deactivated for a specific passenger. For example, setting the output mode in the sense described can include a subsequent output of information from the infotainment system that was temporarily suppressed in the idle mode as soon as it is determined that the passenger is no longer using the end user device. Advantageously, the subsequent playback can be adjusted individually for each individual passenger, so that, for example, only information relevant to the respective passenger is collected from the infotainment system and this can then be output at individually adjusted times.

For example, as already mentioned above, setting the output mode can include visually outputting information from the infotainment system as long as acoustic use of the end user device by the passenger is determined. For example, the passenger can be presented with time-sensitive information at the required time without hearing two audio sources at the same time, which could lead to confusion and poorer reception of this information. Alternatively, visual information from the vehicle's infotainment system can be converted to audio information and output (or only audio information output) to a passenger who is currently receiving only visual information from their own end-user device (e.g. if that passenger is not using headphones or not). the speakers of the end user device are not active).

As previously mentioned, when determining the use of an end user device, it can be checked whether the respective passenger is using the end user device with headphones (e.g. in order to then only be able to output visual content). If the end user device is coupled to the vehicle, information can be transmitted to the vehicle very easily as to whether headphones are currently being used with the end user device.

Alternatively, an image analysis from a vehicle camera, which has already been mentioned, can take place. According to the method, the determination can be based on image recognition or video analysis performed using an interior camera of the vehicle. In this way, it may be possible to also determine the use of such end user devices by the vehicle system that are not coupled to the vehicle system or infotainment system, which means that the method can be used more widely, since often only a single device (usually that of the driver ) can be paired with a vehicle system. In this way, for example, it can also be easily determined on which seat a passenger is currently using his or her own end user device. For example, for the image-based determination of whether headphones are being used, it can be analyzed whether the passenger is wearing headphones (eg whether headphones can be seen in the image material) or whether he is using headphones in his ear. The latter alternative can be particularly successful when using in-ear headphones, as these are often not clearly visible on the image material due to their small dimensions. In this case, however, a specific sequence of movements by the passenger can be analyzed in the video material when he puts the in-ear headphones into his ears. If this sequence of movements has been recognized, it can be assumed that the passenger will continue to use the in-ear headphones until he removes them from his ear again, which in turn can be determined by a corresponding sequence of movements by the passenger based on the video material from the interior camera.

According to the method, provision can also be made for the end user device to be coupled to the vehicle. This can be used to transmit information to the vehicle, in particular how the passenger is using the end-user device. This allows, for example, a more precise setting of the output mode depending on the type of use of the end user device. For example, the end user device can use the coupling to inform the infotainment system at which volume the end user device's headphones are currently being used, so that the output mode of the infotainment system can be adapted accordingly. For example, it may be that the passenger only wears the headphones, but these are not (or no longer) used for audio output. In this case, the output mode of the infotainment system can be set in such a way that the content of the infotainment system of the vehicle can still be played back acoustically at the seat of a passenger with headphones.

The method can respond individually to the behavior of different passengers, e.g. the output mode can be set differently on different seats if the passengers use different end user devices or some passengers do not use their own end user devices. Accordingly, for example, in the case of at least two passengers, it can be determined whether they are each using an end user device and the output mode can be set at the various seats depending on the use of the respective end user device.

One aspect of the disclosure relates to a control unit for a vehicle with an infotainment system, the control unit being designed to execute the infotainment system according to a method described above or below. Since, as already mentioned, hardware already present in the vehicle can often be used for the method, the use of the control device in a vehicle can enable the proposed method to be carried out efficiently in existing vehicles.

A further aspect relates to a computer program product with a program code which is designed to carry out the method when the program runs on a processor or a programmable hardware component. Such a computer program product or program can be used, for example, on an on-board computer of a vehicle, so that comfort for passengers in the vehicle can be increased if, for example, individual passengers each use their own end user device and are not interested in the contents of the vehicle's infotainment system.

Accordingly, depending on particular implementation needs, embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented in hardware or in software. The implementation may be performed using a digital storage medium such as a floppy disk, a DVD, a Blu-ray disk, a CD, a ROM, a PROM, an EPROM, an EEPROM or a FLASH memory, a hard disk or other magnetic or optical memory, on which electronically readable control signals are stored, which can interact or interact with a programmable hardware component in such a way that the respective method is carried out.

A programmable hardware component can be formed by a processor, a computer processor (CPU = central processing unit), a graphics processor (GPU = graphics processing unit), a computer, a computer system, an ASIC, an IC, a SoC, a programmable logic element or an FPGA be.

The digital storage medium can therefore be machine or computer readable. Some embodiments thus include a data carrier that has electronically readable control signals that are able to communicate with a programmable Com computer system or a programmable hardware component to interact in such a way that one of the methods described herein is carried out. An embodiment is thus a data carrier (or a digital storage medium or a computer-readable medium) on which the program for performing one of the methods described herein is recorded.

In general, it is correspondingly provided that embodiments of the present disclosure are implemented as a program, firmware, computer program or computer program product with a program code or as data, the program code or the data being operative to carry out one of the methods when the program is based on a Processor or a programmable hardware component expires. The program code or the data can also be stored, for example, on a machine-readable carrier or data carrier. The program code or data may be in the form of source code, machine code or byte code, as well as other intermediate code, among others.

character list

• 1 ein Flussdiagramm eines Verfahrens zum Betreiben eines Infotainment-Systems in einem Fahrzeug; und
• 2 ein schematisches Beispiel eines Fahrzeugs mit Infotainment-System.

Exemplary embodiments are explained in more detail below with reference to the enclosed figures. Show it:

• 1 a flowchart of a method for operating an infotainment system in a vehicle; and
• 2 a schematic example of a vehicle with an infotainment system.

Description

Various embodiments will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some embodiments are illustrated. In the figures, the thickness dimensions of lines, layers, and/or regions may be exaggerated for clarity. In the following description of the accompanying figures, which only show a few exemplary embodiments, the same reference symbols can designate the same or comparable components.

An element that is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, may be directly connected or coupled to the other element, or that there may be intervening elements. Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein (including technical and scientific terms) have the same meanings as those of ordinary skill in the art to which the exemplary embodiments pertain.

1 FIG. 1 shows a flowchart of a method 10 for operating an infotainment system of a vehicle. According to the method, the following steps are carried out: determining 11 whether a passenger of the vehicle in a front passenger seat or a rear seat is using an end user device; and setting 12 an output mode of the infotainment system at the passenger's seat depending on the determined use of the end user device.

For example, a passenger in the back seat can listen to music through their mobile phone brought into the vehicle, while the driver can listen to music or information through the car's infotainment system through car speakers. If it is now determined 11 in the first method step that the passenger on the back seat is listening to different music, e.g. via headphones, the output mode of the infotainment system can be adjusted so that no more acoustic signals are sent to the passenger on the back seat via the car loudspeakers be issued. For example, one or more of the vehicle's speakers in the rear seat area can be turned down or completely deactivated, or in a vehicle with the option of controlling different sound zones, the passenger's sound zone can be set so that there is no acoustic information from the infotainment system. system of the vehicle.

In this way, it is advantageously possible to prevent the passenger's music experience from being disturbed by the vehicle's infotainment system. In this way, for example, it can be avoided that the passenger hears two different music titles or other audio content at the same time.

2 12 shows a schematic example of a vehicle 20 with an infotainment system. The infotainment system has various output units (eg acoustic and/or visual), of which a front loudspeaker 21a, a rear loudspeaker 21b and a rear seat display 22 of the infotainment system are shown schematically. The vehicle 20 is designed to execute a method 10 for operating the infotainment system, described above or below.

For example, if it is determined 11 in the vehicle 20 that a passenger on the back seat is using his smartphone to listen to music, the rear loudspeaker 21b of the infotainment system can be automatically deactivated. As a result, the passenger is not or less affected by the acoustic content of the Infotainment system of the vehicle 20 is disrupted, but the driver can still perceive acoustic information from the infotainment system of the vehicle 20 via the front loudspeaker 21a.

For example, in the situation described, the output mode of the infotainment system can alternatively or additionally be set 12 such that information relevant to the passenger is only output from the infotainment system visually via the rear seat display 22 to the passenger. For example, important content that would normally be output audibly can be converted to visual content and output via display 22 . Alternatively, the rear seat display 22 can also be deactivated, e.g. if it is determined 11 that the passenger is using their smartphone to play back a video.

The proposed vehicle 20 can advantageously provide an operation of the infotainment system of the vehicle 20 that is automatically and individually adapted for the driver and passengers, so that the overall comfort of the vehicle occupants can be increased.

Further details and aspects are mentioned in connection with the embodiments described above or below. This in 2 The embodiment shown may have one or more optional additional features corresponding to one or more aspects mentioned in connection with the proposed concept or with one or more above (e.g 1 ) or in the exemplary embodiments described below.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is proposed that a vehicle (e.g. using the on-board system) uses sensors to detect whether a passenger is using an end user device that does not directly belong to the vehicle, e.g. is wearing and/or using headphones. For this purpose, the following detection method is proposed as an example of a possible embodiment: The view of the vehicle interior recorded by an interior camera of the vehicle can be analyzed with the aid of image recognition. This can be implemented, for example, with an object detection (e.g. real-time object detection). This makes it possible, for example, to determine for each passenger in each seat whether and which headphones they are wearing.

In the case of the image recognition mentioned as an example, different variants of headphones can be recognized to different extents. For example, large over-ear headphones can be recognized particularly well in the images. However, depending on the camera resolution or camera viewing angle, the presence of in-ear headphones may be more difficult to detect due to their small dimensions. For this purpose, it is proposed that the wearing of the headphones should not be recognized in the image material, but that the (hand) movements that are necessary to apply these small in-ear headphones in the ears are detected in the video material . In this way, the information can be determined as to whether in-ear headphones are being worn or not.

An optional aspect concerns the pairing of the end-user device, e.g. smartphones, with the vehicle. If the passenger's smartphone (or similar consumer electronic device) is connected to the vehicle via Bluetooth, for example, the smartphone can provide the vehicle with one or more pieces of information: e.g. whether headphones are connected via a cable (e.g. 3.5mm jack plug); and/or whether headphones are wirelessly connected to the smartphone. In addition, an exchange of information can take place as to whether or which audio content is currently being played back via the headphones and at what volume.

The seat on which the passenger is sitting, whose smartphone has informed the vehicle that headphones are being used, can in turn be realized via image recognition, for example. For this purpose, an assignment of the smartphone to a passenger and an image of the face of this passenger can be known to the vehicle system. The seat of this passenger can now be determined by facial recognition.

If it is now known that a passenger is wearing headphones and, for example, that audio content is currently being played back via these headphones, this can be used for the following functions: Notifications that the vehicle wants to issue for this passenger are no longer acoustic, but otherwise, eg visually (eg via a screen located in front of the passenger) or by vibrating in that passenger's seat. The use of a vibration in the seat (e.g. massage seat on the front passenger seat or in the second row of seats) can be used as a sensory perception beyond audio and video, in order to speak to the passenger or to make him aware that something (e.g. important information) is available for him. For example, there is a massage function in some seats, this could cause rhythmic vibrations in the seat to attract the passenger's attention. For example, the passenger can then decide for himself whether he wants to look at a display of the infotainment system or whether he wants to continue looking at his end user device. The seat vibration can be used as an information signal analogous to the vibration mode of a Smartphones can be used or also be used with coding, e.g. to transmit simple messages (e.g. two vibrations 10 minutes before the end of the journey, so that the passenger can prepare for the end of the journey, etc.). A do-not-disturb mode or rest mode can also be activated, so that for this passenger, for example, the volume of the audio output via loudspeakers that are in the vicinity of this passenger is reduced or completely deactivated; alternatively, for example, no notifications at all (neither acoustically, visually, . . . ) can be issued for this passenger, for example in order to avoid any disruption to this passenger.

Depending on which headset was detected for a passenger, a different behavior of the vehicle can be configured by the respective passenger. If the vehicle system detects that the headphones have been removed, one or more of the following functions can be implemented, for example: Notifications that were suppressed while the headphones were being worn can now be collectively issued to the passenger (e.g. if they are still relevant) ; the volume of the audio output via loudspeakers located in the vicinity of this passenger or the volume in an audio zone (e.g. sound zone) of the passenger can be gradually increased again.

The behavior when the headphones are removed can also be configured differently for each passenger. Image recognition for identifying the respective passenger can be particularly suitable for this purpose. For example, it can be stored in the vehicle system that the infotainment system of the vehicle should remain deactivated for certain passengers despite the termination of use of the end user device.

One aspect relates to a method for detecting the wearing of headphones in the vehicle. In modern vehicles, interior cameras are used more frequently, which can be used for the proposed method, e.g. in the sense of a dual or multiple use scenario. If a passenger wears headphones in the vehicle, they can no longer hear audio content (e.g. acoustic notifications) played over the vehicle loudspeakers. The proposed method can make it possible to advantageously control the output of content from an infotainment system of the vehicle depending on whether the use of headphones by the passenger has been detected or not.

Claims (11)

Method (10) for operating an infotainment system (21a, 21b, 22) of a vehicle (20), the method (10) comprising: - determining (11) whether a passenger of the vehicle (20) in a front passenger seat or a rear seat is using an end user device; and - Setting (12) an output mode of the infotainment system (21a, 21b, 22) at the passenger's seat depending on the determined use of the end user device. Method (10) according to claim 1 , wherein the setting (12) of the output mode includes a reduced output of contents of the infotainment system (21a, 21b, 22) or a deactivation of the infotainment system (21a, 21b, 22) at the passenger's seat if the passenger has an end user device used. Method (10) according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the setting (12) includes suppressing an output of content from the infotainment system (21a, 21b, 22) as long as an output of content from the end user device to the passenger is determined (11). Method (10) according to claim 3 , wherein the setting (12) of the output mode includes a subsequent output of suppressed content of the infotainment system (21a, 21b, 22) as soon as it is determined (11) that the passenger no longer uses the end user device. Method (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the setting (12) of the output mode comprises only outputting contents of the infotainment system (21a, 21b, 22) visually as long as an acoustic use of the end user device by the passenger is determined (11). . Method (10) according to one of the preceding claims, it being checked during the determination (11) whether the passenger is using the end user device with a headset. Method (10) according to claim 6 , wherein for determining (11) whether a headphone is used, it is analyzed whether the passenger wears a headphone or whether he inserts a headphone into his ear. Method (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the determination (11) is carried out on the basis of image recognition or video analysis using an interior camera of the vehicle (20). A method (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising coupling the end-user device with the vehicle (20) for transmitting information to the vehicle (20) about the manner in which the passenger uses the end-user device in order to enable a more precise adjustment (12) of the output mode depending on the type of use of the end-user device. Method (10) according to one of the preceding claims, with at least two passengers determining (11) whether they are each using an end user device and setting (12) the output mode at the various seats depending on the use of the respective end user device. Control unit for a vehicle (20) with infotainment system (21a, 21b, 22), wherein the control unit (20) is designed, the infotainment system (21a, 21b, 22) according to a method of one of Claims 1 until 10 to execute.

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