GB2511173A

GB2511173A - Visualization of active assistant systems for a vehicle

Info

Publication number: GB2511173A
Application number: GB1322182.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Lukas Durrbeck; Georg Reil; Konstantin Fick; Vera Schmidt
Original assignee: Daimler AG
Current assignee: Mercedes Benz Group AG
Priority date: 2013-12-16
Filing date: 2013-12-16
Publication date: 2014-08-27
Also published as: GB201322182D0

Abstract

A vehicle to visualize an activity of one or more assistant systems of the vehicle, the device having a display 1 that shows a representation 2 of the vehicle seen from a bird's-eye-view. The display 1 is configured to show one or more concentric envelopes 3 or envelope areas that surround the representation 2 of the vehicle. The device is configured to change the envelope 3 or envelope area depending on the current status of the vehicle, including the current status of the assistant system. Preferably the number of envelopes or envelope areas 3 corresponds to the number of currently active assistant systems and the device may dim the envelope or envelope area 3 if the vehicle is travelling above a predetermined speed. The device may deform 9 the envelopes or envelope areas 3 is an assistant system detects objects or disturbances, such disturbances may include strong winds.

Description

I

Visualization of Active Assistant Systems for a Vehicle The present invention relates to a device for a vehicle to visualize an activity of one or more assistant systems of the vehicle, where the device includes a display that shows a representation of the vehicle seen from a bird's-eye view. The invention further relates to a vehicle with such a device. Moreover, the invention relates to a method for a device of a vehicle to visualize an activity of one or more assistant systems of the vehicle, where the device has a display that shows a representation of the vehicle seen from a bird's-eye view.

Currently, there are many driver assistant systems working simultaneously in modern vehicles. Some of them provide clear user feedback and are very visible to a driver, like cruise control, for example. Others, however, do not report their activity to the driver directly, and in consequence, are not perceived by the driver. As a result the driver is not always aware of all the systems running for his or her benefit.

It is an object of the invention to improve the drivers awareness of active assistant systems in the vehicle and make the driver feel safer.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a device according to independent claim 1.

According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle according to independent claim 8.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method according to independent claim 9.

Further advantages and embodiments are set out according to the independent claims,

the detailed description and the figures.

In order to improve awareness of the active assistant systems in a vehicle and to make the driver feel safer, the invention provides a device for a vehicle to visualize an activity of one or more assistant systems of the vehicle, where the device has a display that shows a representation of the vehicle seen from a bird's-eye view. It is essential to the invention that the display is configured to show one or more concentric envelopes or envelope areas that surround the representation of the vehicle and that the device is configured to change the envelope or envelope area depending on the current status of the vehicle, including the current status of the assistant system. Here, concentric can also mean that the envelopes do not have a common centre point in a mathematical sense, but that their centre points are close to each other and that the envelopes do not cross each other. The resulting advantage is that the driver gets a simple overview of all active assistant systems of the vehicle, that is, of all active safety measures. That means, the driver gets real time feedback of what his or her vehicle detects or "sees" and feels safe, since he or she knows the vehicle is aware of its surroundings. Furthermore, the driver gets an at-a-glance perception of dangerous situations as well as changing situations that might escape their attention without the overview provided by the invention. Thus the driver has a succinct visual display that allows them to quickly and easily understand the systems that are working and the potential threats to the driver or the vehicle that the systems "see" or detect.

The device can be configured to deform the envelope or envelope area as if the envelope or envelope area consisted of a matter with defined physical properties and a force would be applied to the envelope or envelope area from outside of the envelope or envelope area towards the vehicle inside the envelope or envelope area, if the assistant system is detecting objects or disturbances. This results in an intuitive understanding by the driver whether or not the vehicle is aware of, i.e. is detecting, an object or a disturbance.

The power or amount of this -virtual -force and the resulting deformation of the envelope or envelope area can be set proportional to the proximity of the objects detected andlor the extent of the detected disturbance. The resulting advantage is that the driver gets an intuitive understanding of the extent of the danger caused by objects and disturbances at a glance.

Next, the device can be configured to scale the size of the representation of the vehicle on the display in dependence upon the velocity of the vehicle. Here, the envelope or envelope area has the form of a circle if the velocity of the vehicle is below a predefined threshold and an elliptical form if the velocity is above the threshold. The elliptical character of the envelope or envelope area may increase with increasing velocity of the vehicle. That means if more than one envelope or envelope areas are displayed, they have the shape of concentric circles with different radii if the vehicle is moving slowly.

When the vehicle is gaining speed, the concentric circles change their shape to an elliptical form. Here, the centres of the elliptical shapes are shifted with respect to each other. As a result, the distance between two adjacent elliptical envelopes or two envelope areas is largest in a direction of the display that represents the direction of motion of the vehicle. This results in the advantage that the surrounding area covered by the assistant system is set into relation with the speed of the vehicle, and this relation is visualized.

The device can further be configured to shift the representation of the vehicle on the display in dependence upon the activity of the assistant system. Thus additional information can be visualized by the device, especially an activity of a lane-keeping assistant.

Furthermore, the number of envelopes or envelope areas may correspond to the number of currently active assistant systems. The driver is therefore presented an overview of all the systems available. Furthermore, especially if a vehicle has many assistant systems, the personal perception of the driver for the quality rating of the vehicle is increased. As a positive consequence, the driver feels safer.

Next, the device may be configured to dim the envelope or envelope area if the velocity of the vehicle exceeds a current speed limit or if another action of the driver exposes him to an additional danger. That means that the contrast of the display can be adjusted to different conditions. A potentially dangerous situation may be visualized by a fading representation of the envelope or envelope area. As a consequence, the driver receives an intuitive impression that they are more exposed to a potentially dangerous situation when the velocity of the vehicle exceeds a speed limit than if not.

A vehicle with a device according to one of the described embodiments of the invention is part of the invention as well.

Furthermore, a method for a device of a vehicle to visualize an activity of one or more assistant systems of the vehicle, where the device is having a display that shows the representation of the vehicle seen from a bird's-eye view, is pad of the invention. Here, the method comprises the steps of displaying one or more concentric envelope or envelope areas surrounding the representation of the vehicle on the display and changing the envelope or envelope area on the display in dependence upon the current status of the vehicle, including the current status of the assistant system.

By considering the following detailed description of some exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the teachings of the present invention can be readily understood, and at least some additional specific details will appear. Herein Fig. 1 shows a display of an exemplary embodiment of the invention in a first situation; Fig. 2 shows a display of an exemplary embodiment of the invention in a second situation; Fig. 3 shows a display of an exemplary embodiment of the invention in a third situation; Fig. 4 shows a display of an exemplary embodiment of the invention in a fourth situation; Fig. 5 shows a display of an exemplary embodiment of the invention in a fifth situation; and Fig. 6 shows a display of an exemplary embodiment of the invention in a sixth situation.

In the figures the same elements or elements having the same function are equipped with the same reference number.

Fig. 1 shows a display 1 of an embodiment of the invention in a situation where the vehicle is moving very slowly, e.g. while parking. In the centre of the display I there is a representation 2 of the vehicle seen from a bird's-eye view. This representation 2 is surrounded by concentric circles that can be considered envelopes 3 that represent active assistant systems of the vehicle. The representation 2 of the vehicle is located at the centre point of the concentric circles. In the lower right of the display, in proximity to the right back side of the vehicle, a virtual force 4, represented by an arrow, leads to a deformation 9 of the envelopes 3. The arrow representing the force 4 may not be displayed on the display 1. In the situation illustrated in Fig. 1, where the vehicle is moving very slowly, e.g. while parking, the envelopes 3 are perfect concentric circles with different radii. The force 4 may represent, for example, a parking car, that is standing on the right hand side of the vehicle just behind the vehicle. It may also represent another object like a building or a lamp post. When looking at the display 1, the driver e.g. perceives at a glance that there is no object in the vehicle's blind spot and he or she may park their vehicle in the position next to the current position of their vehicle on its right hand side.

The number of the envelopes 3 or, in generic terms, envelope areas displayed may indicate a number of currently active assistant systems. That means the driver of a vehicle with e.g. all available safety features will see more envelopes 3 or envelope areas surrounding the representation 2 of the vehicle compared to a driver of a vehicle with only a basic set of assistant systems. Also, if a driver switches from a comfort driving mode to a more sportive driving mode, some of the circles or envelopes 3 possibly will disappear, i.e. will not be displayed any more. This makes it apparent that driving in this mode may switch off some assistant systems and, in consequence, is less safe.

Fig. 2 shows a display I in a situation where the vehicle is moving at moderate speed, e.g. in a city. Again, a force 4 represented by the arrow results in a deformation 9 of the envelopes 3 at the rear right of the vehicle. This deformation 9 could for example be caused by a car that is moving in the rear right of the vehicle equipped with the display 1.

On the display 1, the movement direction 8 of the vehicle is shown by a dashed arrow, which is shown for illustration purposes only and would not be part of the information shown on the display. Along this direction 8, the envelopes 3 are deformed so that the distance between the individual envelopes 3 is larger in the direction 8 of the movement of the vehicle than in any other direction. If envelope areas are used on the display, they would be enlarged in the movement direction 8. In the situation illustrated in Fig. 2, this leads to an egg-like shape of the envelopes 3, where the representation 2 of the vehicle is closer to the wide end of the two-dimensional "egg" than to the pointed end of the two-dimensional "egg". When the vehicle will decrease its speed, the pointed end of the "egg" will become rounder and the form of the envelopes 3 will become more similar to the form of the envelopes 3 shown in Fig. 1. If the vehicle increases its speed, the pointed end may become even more pointed, as the distance between and lengths of the envelopes 3 along the movement direction 8 may increase. In addition, the representation 2 of the vehicle may decrease in its size, as shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 shows a display 1 in a situation where the vehicle is moving at high speed, e.g. on a highway. Here, the representation 2 of the vehicle is contracted in size, so as to enable a realistic display of the distances involved. Along the movement direction 8 of the vehicle, the distance between the envelopes 3 is increased as compared to what is shown in Fig. 2, so that overall the envelopes 3 display an elliptic form. Again, the envelopes 3 display a deformation 9 at the right rear of the representation 2 of the vehicle. This may e.g. be due to a car that is approaching the vehicle or a car that has been surpassed by the vehicle on the highway.

Fig. 4 shows a display 1 in another situation, in this case when the vehicle is approaching an intersection. Here, the representation 2 of the vehicle is back in its original size as the speed of the vehicle is pretty low. For the same reason, the envelopes 3 are rather circular in shape. However, the envelopes 3 display two deformations 9, 10. One deformation 9 on the right rear of the vehicle may stem from e.g. a building that is built close to the intersection of the road. The other deformation 10 in front of the representation 2 of the vehicle stems from a force 5 that indicates that, due to the intersection, the road ends in front of the vehicle. As a consequence, the driver not only knows that they have to turn left or right at the intersection, but also is well aware that the vehicle does detect the boundary of the road in front of the vehicle and, in consequence, feels more safe, as he or she knows that their vehicle would protect them in case they made a mistake operating the vehicle. Again, the arrow representing force 5 is shown for illustration purposes only and need not be shown on display 1 in a real embodiment or implementation of the invention.

Fig. 5 shows a display I in another situation, in this case the situation of a strong side wind. The side wind results in several forces 4, 5, 6, 7 deforming the envelopes 3 at several positions. As a consequence, the driver of the vehicle immediately recognizes the potentially dangerous situation as not stemming from a specific object in the proximity of the vehicle, but rather as stemming from a general disturbance. Depending on the situation, the envelopes 3 may waver around the representation 2 of the vehicle with varying intensity. Again, the driver may not only understand that there is a disturbance influencing their vehicle, but also learn that the vehicle is aware of the disturbance. In addition, he or she might get an objective estimate of the degree of influence the disturbance might have on the vehicle. Again, the arrows representing the forces 4, 5, 6, 7 are shown for illustration purposes only and need not be shown on display 1 in a real embodiment or implementation of the invention.

Fig. 6 shows a display 1 of a vehicle in yet another situation, in this case with the vehicle driving at low speed close to a border of the road. Here, the envelope 3 basically has the form of circles, but shows two deformations 9, 10. The deformation 9 may stem from another car that is passing by the vehicle at the rear left. On the right hand side of the vehicle, the envelopes 3 are deformed, in the present case flattened, by a force 5. The resulting deformation 10 represents the border of e.g. a lane or the road on the right hand side of the vehicle. As a consequence, the driver knows that the vehicle would prevent them from steering the vehicle off the road, or at least warn them if they would make a mistake that would lead to such behaviour of the vehicle. Again, the arrow representing force 5 is shown for illustration purposes only and need not be shown on display 1 in a real embodiment or implementation of the invention.

List of reference signs 1 display 2 representation of the vehicle 3 envelopes 4 force force 6 force 7 force 8 movement direction 9 deformation deformation

Claims

Claims 1. A device for a vehicle to visualize an activity of one or more assistant systems of the vehicle, the device having a display (1) that shows a representation (2) of the vehicle seen from a bird's-eye-view, wherein -the display (1) is configured to show one or more concentric envelopes (3) or envelope areas that surround the representation (2) of the vehicle; and -the device is configured to change the envelope (3) or envelope area depending on the current status of the vehicle, including the current status of the one or more assistant systems.
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device is configured to deform the envelope (3) or envelope area as if the envelope (3) or envelope area consisted of matter with defined physical properties and a force (4, 5, 6, 7) would be applied to the envelope (3) or envelope area from outside of the envelope (3) or envelope area towards the vehicle inside the envelope (3) or envelope area if the assistant system is detecting objects or disturbances.
3. The device according to claim 2.wherein the amount of the force (4, 5, 6, 7) and the resulting deformation (9, 10) of the envelope (3) or envelope area is proportional to proximity of the objects detected and/or the extent of the disturbance.
4. The device according to one of the prior claims, wherein the device is configured to scale the size of representation (2) of the vehicle on the display (1) in dependence upon the velocity of the vehicle; and the envelope (3) or envelope area has the form of a circle if the velocity of the vehicle is below a predefined threshold and an elliptical form if the velocity is above the threshold, where the elliptical character of the envelope (3) or envelope area may increase with increasing velocity.
5. The device according to one of the prior claims, wherein the device is configured to shift the representation (2) of the vehicle on the display (1) in dependence upon the activity of the assistant system.
6. The device according to one of the prior claims, wherein the number of the envelopes (3) or envelope areas corresponds to the number of currently active assistant systems.
7. The device according to one of the prior claims, wherein the device is configured to dim the envelope (3) or envelope area if the velocity of the vehicle exceeds a current speed limit.
8. A vehicle with a device according to one of the prior claims.
9. A method for a device of a vehicle to visualize an activity of one or more assistant systems of the vehicle, the device having a display (1) that shows a representation (2) of the car seen from a bird's-eye-view, the method comprising the steps of -displaying one or more concentric envelopes (3) or envelope areas surrounding the representation (2) of the car on the display (1); and -changing the envelope (3) or envelope area on the display (1) in dependence upon the current status of the vehicle, including the current status of the assistant system.