JP2020055430A - Optical notification control device, program and optical notification system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an optical notification control device, a program and an optical notification system capable of assisting recognition with respect to a matter to be paid attention to which has occurred.SOLUTION: An optical notification control device includes: a determination part for determining whether a matter to be paid attention to has occurred; a specification part for specifying a visual field of a notification target; and a notification control part for controlling the notification by predetermined light radiated from a light source device. In the case where it is determined that a matter to be paid attention to has occurred, the notification control part presents the predetermined light at a first position in the visual field of the notification target and moves the predetermined light from the first position to a second position of an object to be paid attention to which corresponds to the matter to be paid attention to.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a light notification control device, a program, and a light notification system.

  Techniques have been developed for sequentially presenting perceivable information at a plurality of positions in a vehicle cabin along a detected presentation direction. As the above technique, for example, a technique described in Patent Document 1 can be mentioned.

JP-A-2006-76037

  As a method of notifying a person to be notified of the occurrence of a notice when a matter that requires attention (hereinafter, referred to as a “notice”) occurs, for example, “HMD ( A method of displaying the content corresponding to the precautions on a display device such as a head mounted display (MID) or a multi information display (MID). Examples of the content corresponding to the above-mentioned cautions include a notification of a call for cautions, a warning for cautions, and the like.

  However, when the above-described one method is used, when there is no display screen of the display device within the field of view of the person to be notified, the person cannot recognize that the notice has occurred. Therefore, when the above one method is used, the person to be notified may not be able to quickly respond to the generated caution. Furthermore, when the above-mentioned one method is used, even when the display screen of the display device is within the field of view of the person to be notified, “How should the person to be notified respond immediately to the precautions? There is a possibility that the person cannot be informed, and there is a possibility that the person to be notified does not know what to look at in response to the cautionary note.

  Further, as another method of notifying a person to be notified of the occurrence of a notice when a notice occurs, for example, a “method according to the technique described in Patent Literature 1” is given. .

  However, when the above other method is used, if the perceivable information to be presented is not within the field of view of the person to be notified, the person cannot recognize that the caution has occurred. Therefore, when the above other method is used, the person to be notified may not be able to quickly respond to the generated notice.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved light notification control device, a program, and a light notification system that can assist recognition of a generated notice.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, a determining unit that determines whether a notice has occurred, a specifying unit that specifies a view to be notified, and a predetermined unit that is radiated from a light source device A notification control unit that controls a notification by the light, wherein the notification control unit presents the predetermined light to a first position within a field of view of the notification target when it is determined that a notice has occurred. There is provided a light notification control device that moves the predetermined light from the first position to the second position of the attention target corresponding to the notice.

  In such a configuration, light is presented in the field of view of the notification target based on the occurrence of the notice, and light guidance using the light is performed to the position of the notice target. Therefore, with such a configuration, it is possible to assist recognition of the generated notice.

  In addition, the notification target is a person riding a vehicle, and the notification control unit controls the notification by the predetermined light when the driving state of the vehicle is the automatic driving, and controls the operation of the vehicle. When the state is the manual operation, the control of the notification by the predetermined light need not be performed.

  In addition, the notification control unit may perform a control regarding presentation of the predetermined light to the first position and a control regarding movement of the predetermined light from the first position to the second position by a predetermined operation. It may be repeated until it is detected.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a function for determining whether a notice has occurred, a function for specifying a field of view to be notified, and a method for irradiating a predetermined light emitted from a light source device. The function of controlling the notification by the computer, and the function of controlling the notification presents the predetermined light at a first position in the field of view of the notification target when it is determined that a notice has occurred. A program is provided for causing the predetermined light to move from the first position to the second position of the attention target corresponding to the notice.

  Even in such a program, it is possible to assist recognition of the generated caution.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a third aspect of the present invention, a light source device, and a light notification control device that controls a notification by predetermined light emitted from the light source device, The light notification control device includes: a determination unit that determines whether a notice has occurred; a specification unit that specifies a field of view of a notification target; and a notification control unit that controls notification by the predetermined light. The control unit, when it is determined that a notice has occurred, causes the predetermined light to be presented at a first position in the field of view of the notification target, and causes the predetermined light to correspond to the notice from the first position. An optical notification system is provided for moving to a second location of interest.

  Also in such an optical notification system, it is possible to assist recognition of the generated notice.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to assist recognition of a generated caution.

It is a block diagram showing an example of the optical notification system concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is an explanatory view showing an example of notice realized by a light notice method concerning an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process according to a light notification method according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a light notification control device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a light notification control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

[1] Optical notification system according to an embodiment of the present invention and optical notification method according to an embodiment of the present invention First, an optical notification system according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, simply referred to as “optical notification system” The light notification method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  The optical notification system is applied to, for example, “any vehicle such as a car, a train, an airplane, and a ship”. In addition, the application example of the light notification system is not limited to a mobile object such as a vehicle that moves with a person. For example, the light notification system may include "any building where a person can be inside, such as a detached house, condominium, building, theater, museum, etc.", "any park where a person can be inside, such as a park, zoo, etc." It can be applied to “space”. Hereinafter, a case where the light notification system is applied to an automobile (an example of a vehicle; the same applies hereinafter) will be described as an example.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an optical notification system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The light notification system 1000 includes, for example, an imaging device 100, a light notification control device 200, and a light source device 300.

[1-1] Imaging device 100
The imaging device 100 is a device that captures an image of a space to be captured and obtains a captured image (moving image or still image). When the optical notification system is applied to an automobile, the space to be imaged includes the interior of the automobile. In addition, the example of the space of the imaging target in the imaging device 100 is not limited to the inside of a car. As the space of the imaging target in the imaging device 100, there is an internal space of the target to which the optical notification system is applied.

  When the light notification system 1000 is applied to an automobile, the imaging device 100 is provided in, for example, a room mirror in a vehicle interior. The position where the imaging device 100 is provided and the number of the imaging devices 100 provided are arbitrarily set in the design stage of the optical notification system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The captured image obtained by the imaging device 100 is used for, for example, “processing for specifying the field of view of a person existing in a space to be imaged, such as a person in a car”. That is, the imaging apparatus 100 specifies the field of view of a person to be notified according to the optical notification method according to the embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as a “person to be notified” or simply “notification target”). In addition, the captured image obtained by the imaging device 100 is based on the captured image, such as a process of measuring an eye such as a process of measuring a blink or a process of detecting a gesture. Needless to say, it can be used for any processing that can.

  Examples of the process of specifying the field of view include a line-of-sight detection process of detecting a line of sight based on a captured image and a field of view determination process of determining a field of view based on a detection result of the line of sight. The process of specifying the field of view in the light notification system 1000 may be performed by the imaging device 100 or the light notification control device 200. The process of specifying the field of view in the light notification system 1000 may be performed by the imaging device 100 and the light notification control device 200 in cooperation with each other. An example in which the imaging device 100 and the light notification control device 200 perform a process of specifying a field of view in cooperation with each other is described as “an example in which the imaging device 100 performs a line-of-sight detection process, and the light notification control device 200 performs a field of view determination process”. Is included.

  As an example of the gaze detection process, for example, a process of detecting a gaze based on the position of a pupil with respect to a position of a corneal reflection image included in a captured image (an example of a gaze detection process using a corneal reflection method), or a method of detecting a cornea and a strong eye A process of measuring the line of sight by detecting the boundary of the film (an example of a line of sight detection process using the scleral reflection method) is exemplified. It is needless to say that the example of the eye gaze detection processing is not limited to the example described above.

  In the line-of-sight detection processing, for example, a vector indicating a line of sight (hereinafter, referred to as a “line-of-sight vector”) is specified, and an intersection between the specified line-of-sight vector and the object is specified as a viewpoint position. The viewpoint position is represented by, for example, three-dimensional coordinates with an arbitrary position in space as the origin. Examples of the gaze detection result include “gaze vector”, “viewpoint position”, or “gaze vector and viewpoint position”. It goes without saying that the example of the detection result of the line of sight is not limited to the example described above. Hereinafter, a case where the detection result of the line of sight is the viewpoint position will be described as an example.

  An example of the field of view determination processing includes, for example, “processing of determining a field of view by applying an index corresponding to a human visual field characteristic to a line of sight detected by the line of sight detection processing”.

Here, the human visual field characteristics can be classified, for example, as follows.
-Discrimination visual field: A range in which humans can recognize the shape and content of any object, which has excellent visual functions such as visual acuity and color discrimination.-Effective visual field: The target object by human performing eye movement. Range in which the shape and content of the image can be recognized.-Other ranges: Ranges other than the discrimination visual field and the effective visual field

  In the field of view determination processing, for example, the range of the effective field of view centered on the viewpoint position detected by the line of sight detection processing is determined as the field of view. Examples of the effective visual field range include statistics of the effective visual field range (an example of an index corresponding to human visual field characteristics). By performing the view determination process, data indicating the view is obtained. An example of the data indicating the field of view includes, for example, data indicating the viewpoint position and the radius (when the range of the effective visual field is circular). It goes without saying that the example of the field of view determination processing and the example of the data indicating the field of view are not limited to the examples described above.

  The imaging device 100 communicates with the light notification control device 200 via a communication device included in the imaging device 100 or an external communication device connected to the imaging device 100. As an example of a communication device included in the imaging device 100 or an external communication device, a communication device similar to a communication device included in the optical notification control device 200 described later is exemplified.

  For example, when the image capturing apparatus 100 performs the process of specifying the field of view, the image capturing apparatus 100 outputs data indicating the field of view to the light notification control device 200 via a provided communication device or an external communication device. Further, for example, when the light notification control device 200 performs the process of specifying the field of view, the imaging device 100 uses the provided communication device or an external communication device to output an image signal ( (A digital signal or an analog signal) to the optical notification control device 200. In addition, for example, when the imaging apparatus 100 performs the line-of-sight detection processing and the light notification control apparatus 200 performs the field of view determination processing, the imaging apparatus 100 outputs the line-of-sight detection result via the included communication device or an external communication device. Is output to the optical notification control device 200.

[1-2] Light source device 300
The light source device 300 is a device that emits predetermined visible light. The irradiation of the predetermined light in the light source device 300 is controlled by the light notification control device 200.

  The predetermined light emitted from the light source device 300 includes, for example, light having directivity such as laser light of a visible wavelength, light indicating a visible mark, and any light that can be visually recognized in the field of view. .

  Examples of the light source device 300 include a “laser device using one type of LED (Light Emitting Diode) or a plurality of types of LEDs as a light source”, a “projector”, and the like. When the light notification system 1000 is applied to an automobile, the light source device 300 is provided, for example, on a ceiling portion of a passenger compartment. The position where the light source device 300 is provided and the number of the provided light source devices 300 are arbitrarily set in the design stage of the light notification system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[1-3] Light notification control device 200
The light notification control device 200 is a device that performs processing related to the light notification method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[1-3-1] Overview of Process Related to Light Notification Method According to Embodiment of Present Invention First, an overview of processing related to the light notification method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  As described above, an example in which the light notification system 1000 is applied to an automobile and the image capturing apparatus 100 captures an image of the interior of the automobile will be described below as an example. When the inside of a car is imaged by the imaging device 100, this corresponds to an example of “a case where the space of the imaging target in the imaging device 100 is the interior space of the vehicle”.

  Also, in the following, an example in which the vehicle to which the light notification system 1000 is applied has a function of switching between two driving states, automatic driving and manual driving, will be described as an example. The applicable vehicle corresponds to, for example, automatic driving level 3 defined by SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) International.

  For example, when the optical notification system 1000 is applied to a vehicle corresponding to the automatic driving level 3, there is a notification from a vehicle that switches from automatic driving to manual driving to a person riding the vehicle. The above notification corresponds to an example of a notification that a notice has occurred. Further, the above notification may be called TOR (Take Over Request). Then, a person riding a car, such as a car driver, needs to recognize the notification and respond to switching from automatic driving to manual driving. It should be noted that the case where “the target to which the light notification system 1000 is applied is a vehicle other than an automobile and the vehicle has a function of switching between two driving states of automatic driving and manual driving” also applies to the light. This is the same as the case where the notification system 1000 is applied to an automobile corresponding to the automatic driving level 3.

  Further, even when the driving state of the vehicle to which the light notification system 1000 is applied is the automatic driving, it is conceivable that a notification is issued from the vehicle to the person riding the vehicle to alert the driver. The above notification corresponds to another example of notification that a notice has occurred. It should be noted that “when the object to which the light notification system 1000 is applied is a vehicle other than an automobile, and the driving state of the vehicle is automatic driving” also applies to the case where the light notification system 1000 is applied to an automobile. The same is true.

  As in the case of the automobile described above, when some kind of caution occurs, a person to be notified, such as a person riding the car, is notified that the caution has occurred. Note that, when a notice occurs, the use case of notifying the person to be notified that the notice has occurred is not limited to a use case in which the optical notification system 1000 is applied to a vehicle. In other application examples of the optical notification system 1000, "a use case in which when a notice occurs, a person to be notified is notified that the notice has occurred" is assumed.

  However, even if the car informs the person riding the car that the notice has been issued, if the notice is not recognized by the person, it is not possible to quickly respond to the notice that has occurred. there is a possibility.

  Here, as one method of notifying that a notice has occurred, there is the “method of displaying contents corresponding to the notice on a display device” as described above. However, when the above-described one method is used, when there is no display screen of the display device within the field of view of the person to be notified, the person cannot recognize that the notice has occurred. Therefore, when the above-mentioned one method is used, there is a possibility that a person to be notified may not be able to quickly respond to the generated notice. Furthermore, when the above-mentioned one method is used, even when the display screen of the display device is within the field of view of the person to be notified, “How should the person to be notified respond immediately to the precautions? There is a possibility that the person cannot be informed, and there is a possibility that the person to be notified does not know what to look at in response to the cautionary note.

  As another method of notifying that a notice has occurred, as described above, the “method according to the technique described in Patent Literature 1” may be mentioned. However, when the other method described above is used, if the perceivable information to be presented is not within the field of view of the person to be notified, the person cannot recognize that the caution has occurred. Therefore, when the above other method is used, the person to be notified may not be able to quickly respond to the generated notice.

  Therefore, the light notification control device 200 determines whether or not a caution has occurred, and controls notification by predetermined light emitted from the light source device 300 based on the determination result. Specifically, when it is determined that the notice has occurred, the light notification control device 200 causes the predetermined light to be presented at the first position in the field of view of the notification target (the predetermined light is transmitted to the first position). Control on presentation). Then, the light notification control device 200 moves the predetermined light from the first position in the field of view to the second position of the attention target corresponding to the notice (control regarding movement of the predetermined light to the second position). . The control method of the predetermined light emitted from the light source device 300 in the light notification control device 200 is not particularly limited. Hereinafter, the first position in the field of view of the notification target may be simply referred to as “first position”. Further, in the following, the second position of the attention target corresponding to the notice may be simply referred to as “second position”.

  When the optical notification system 1000 is applied to an automobile, the notification target includes a driver of the automobile. Note that when the light notification system 1000 is applied to an automobile, the notification target is not limited to the driver. For example, the notification target may be a person other than the driver present in the car, or may be a plurality of persons present in the car. Hereinafter, a case where the notification target is a driver of a car will be described as an example.

  The light notification control device 200 repeats, for example, control relating to presentation of predetermined light to the first position and control relating to movement of predetermined light to the second position until a predetermined operation is detected. As the predetermined operation, for example, an operation associated with the determined notice (hereinafter, may be referred to as “corresponding operation”) may be mentioned. The corresponding operation may be a different operation for each caution, or may be a common operation for a plurality of cautions. As an example of the corresponding operation, an arbitrary operation such as an operation on an operation device such as a button, an operation using a body to be notified such as a line of sight or a gesture, and an operation by voice can be given.

  Note that the light notification control device 200 performs the control relating to the presentation of the predetermined light to the first position and the control relating to the movement of the predetermined light to the second position n times (n is one or more of the set one or more). (Integer) may be repeated.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of notification realized by the optical notification method according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an example of “notification when the car to which the light notification system 1000 is applied is in an automatic driving state and the car is approaching another car existing in the traveling direction as a cautionary note”. Is shown. FIG. 2 shows an example in which the notification target is a driver of an automobile.

  If it is determined that the notice has occurred, the light notification control device 200 controls the light source device 300 to cause the specified light to be presented at the first position in the view R of the specified notification target (see FIG. LM1 shown in Figure 2). As described above, the process of setting the field of view R of the notification target is performed by the imaging device 100, the light notification control device 200, or the imaging device 100 and the light notification control device 200.

  Next, the light notification control device 200 controls the light source device 300 to move a predetermined light from the first position in the field of view R to the attention target second position corresponding to the notice (FIG. 2). M, LM2). FIG. 2 shows “the position of another vehicle existing in the traveling direction” as an example of the second position of the attention target corresponding to the notice. The second position illustrated in FIG. 2 is specified using, for example, a detection result of a sensor (for example, a distance sensor such as a Doppler sensor or an imaging device) provided in an automobile to which the light notification system 1000 is applied. The process of specifying the second position may be performed by the light notification control device 200, or may be performed by an external device such as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) included in a vehicle to which the light notification system 1000 is applied.

  Note that the second position in the case where the light notification system 1000 is applied to a car is not limited to the position of the attention target corresponding to the caution outside the vehicle compartment as in the example illustrated in FIG. For example, the second position of the caution target corresponding to the cautions corresponds to cautions in the cabin, such as the position of a meter display in the cabin, the position of a mirror provided in the cabin, and the position of a switch provided in the cabin. It may be the position of the attention target. That is, as the attention target corresponding to the matter when the light notification system 1000 is applied to a car, for example, an object existing in the vehicle interior, a display content displayed on an object existing in the vehicle interior, a display content outside the vehicle interior, Object.

  Then, the light notification control device 200 repeats, for example, control for presenting the predetermined light at the first position and control for moving the predetermined light to the second position until a predetermined operation is detected. As described above, the light notification control device 200 may repeat the control of presenting the predetermined light at the first position and the control of moving the predetermined light to the second position n times.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a predetermined light is presented at a first position in the field of view R, and the presented predetermined light moves to a second position of the attention target corresponding to the notice. Therefore, the person to be notified can more quickly recognize the notice that has occurred. Therefore, for example, as in the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the notification according to the optical notification method according to the embodiment of the present invention can assist the recognition of the generated notice.

  Further, by assisting recognition of the generated caution, the person to be notified can quickly respond to the generated caution. Therefore, for example, as in the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the notification according to the optical notification method according to the embodiment of the present invention can assist the handling of the generated notice.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process according to the light notification method according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows an example of a process when the notification target is one person. When there are a plurality of notification targets, for example, the processing of steps S102 to S106 in FIG. 3 is performed for each notification target.

The light notification control device 200 determines whether or not a notice has occurred (S100). Taking the case where the light notification system 1000 is applied to a car as an example, the following are examples of cautionary notes. It goes without saying that the example of the caution is not limited to the example shown below.
(A) There is an accident vehicle or the like in the traveling direction when the driving state of the vehicle is automatic driving, and it is necessary to switch from automatic driving to manual driving. (B) The driving state of the vehicle is automatic driving or manual driving. Yes, an external object such as a pedestrian is approaching the car while the car is running

  For example, the light notification control device 200 determines that the precautions shown in (a) have occurred when data indicating a request to switch from automatic driving to manual driving is acquired from the ECU included in the automobile. In addition, for example, when data indicating that an object is approaching is acquired from the ECU provided in the automobile, the light notification control device 200 determines that the cautionary note shown in (b) has occurred. It goes without saying that the processing related to the determination of the occurrence of the caution is not limited to the example described above.

  If it is not determined in step S100 that a notice has occurred, the optical notification control device 200 does not proceed until it is determined that the notice has occurred.

  If it is determined in step S100 that a caution has occurred, the light notification control device 200 specifies the view to be notified (S102).

  For example, when the image capturing apparatus 100 performs the process of specifying the field of view, the light notification control device 200 specifies the field of view indicated by the data indicating the field of view acquired from the image capturing apparatus 100 as the field of view to be notified. Further, for example, when the light notification control device 200 performs the process of specifying the field of view, the light notification control device 200 performs the process of specifying the field of view based on the image signal indicating the captured image acquired from the imaging device 100. , And specify the view to be notified. In addition, for example, when the imaging device 100 performs the line-of-sight detection process and the light notification control device 200 performs the field of view determination process, the light notification control device 200 performs the processing based on the data indicating the detection result of the line of sight acquired from the imaging device 100 By performing the view determination process, the view to be notified is specified.

  When the field of view to be notified is specified in step S102, the light notification control device 200 controls the light source device 300 to cause predetermined light to be presented at the first position in the field of view (S104). By performing the process of step S104, predetermined light is presented within the field of view of the notification target, as in LM1 shown in FIG.

  The light notification control device 200 controls the light source device 300 to move predetermined light from the first position in the field of view to the second position corresponding to the notice (S106). By performing the processing in step S106, the predetermined light moves, as in M and LM2 illustrated in FIG. 2, and light guidance using the predetermined light is realized.

  When the process of step S106 is completed, the light notification control device 200 determines whether or not an operation corresponding to the alert (an example of a predetermined operation; the same applies hereinafter) has been performed (S108).

  For example, when the corresponding operation is an operation on a switch provided on a vehicle to which the light notification system 1000 is applied or an operation on an operation device external to the vehicle such as a remote controller, the light notification control device 200 responds to the operation. When the operation signal is detected, it is determined that the corresponding operation has been performed.

  For example, when the corresponding operation is an operation based on the line of sight, the light notification control device 200 determines that the corresponding operation has been performed when the line of sight to be notified moves to the second position.

  For example, when the corresponding operation is an operation based on a gesture, the light notification control device 200 determines that the corresponding operation is performed when a predetermined gesture is detected by arbitrary image processing on a captured image captured by the imaging device 100, for example. It is determined that the operation has been performed. The image processing for the captured image may be performed by the light notification control device 200 or may be performed by an external device of the light notification control device 200. When the image processing is performed in an external device, the light notification control device 200 communicates with the external device via a communication device provided in the light notification control device 200 or an external communication device connected to the light notification control device 200. It is determined whether or not a corresponding operation has been performed based on a detection result of a predetermined gesture acquired from the device.

  Further, when the corresponding operation is an operation by voice, the light notification control device 200 responds when a predetermined voice is detected by arbitrary signal processing on a voice obtained by a voice input device such as a microphone, for example. It is determined that the operation has been performed. The voice input device may be a voice input device included in the light notification control device 200 or a voice input device external to the light notification control device 200. Further, the above-described signal processing for voice may be performed by the optical notification control device 200 or may be performed by an external device of the optical notification control device 200. When the signal processing is performed in an external device, the optical notification control device 200 communicates with the external device via a communication device included in the optical notification control device 200 or an external communication device connected to the optical notification control device 200. It is determined whether or not a corresponding operation has been performed based on a detection result of a predetermined sound acquired from the device.

  If it is not determined in step S108 that the corresponding operation has been performed, the light notification control device 200 repeats the processing from step S102.

  When it is determined in step S108 that the corresponding operation has been performed, the light notification control device 200 ends the process illustrated in FIG.

  The light notification control device 200 performs, for example, the processing illustrated in FIG. 3 as the processing related to the light notification method. The processing according to the light notification method according to the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the processing illustrated in FIG.

  For example, the light notification control device 200 counts the number of times that the processing of steps S102 to S106 is performed, and if it is not determined that the corresponding operation is performed in step S108, the number of times that the processing of steps S102 to S106 is set Whether it has been performed may be further determined. When the determination regarding the number of times is further performed, the light notification control device 200 ends the processing illustrated in FIG. 3 when it is determined that the processing of steps S102 to S106 has been performed the set number of times.

  In addition, when the view to be notified is not specified in step S102, the optical notification control device 200 may notify the occurrence of the cautionary note by another notification method other than the visual notification method. Examples of the notification of the occurrence of the note by another notification method include, for example, a tactile notification such as vibration of a car seat, an audible notification by sound (including an alarm and music), or a combination thereof. No.

  The case where the field of view of the notification target is not specified in step S102 may be a case where the eyes of the notification target are closed. By performing the notification by the other notification method as described above, even if the eyes of the notification target are closed, it is possible to notify the occurrence of the notice. In addition, when the view of the notification target is specified by the notification by the other notification method as described above, the light notification control device 200 performs the processing of steps S104 and S106, and thereby emits the predetermined light. The used visual notification may be performed.

[1-3-2] Example of Configuration of Light Notification Control Device 200 Next, an example of the configuration of the light notification control device 200 capable of performing the processing according to the above-described light notification method according to the embodiment of the present invention. Will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the optical notification control device 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The light notification control device 200 includes, for example, a communication unit 202 and a control unit 204.

  The light notification control device 200 includes, for example, a storage unit (not shown), an operation unit (not shown) that can be operated by a user of the light notification control device 200, and a display unit that displays various screens on a display screen. (Not shown) or some or all of them. The light notification control device 200 connects the above-described components by, for example, a bus as a data transmission path.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the optical notification control device 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The light notification control device 200 includes, for example, a processor 250, a ROM 252, a RAM 254, a recording medium 256, and a communication device 262. In addition, the light notification control device 200 connects the components with each other via a bus 264 as a data transmission path, for example. The light notification control device 200 is, for example, by power supplied from an internal power supply such as a battery included in the light notification control device 200, or power supplied from an external power supply such as a power supply included in the light notification system 1000. Drive.

  The processor 250 includes, for example, one or two or more processors. Examples of the processor constituting the processor 250 include a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and an MCU (Micro Controller Unit).

  The processor 250 plays a role of, for example, the control unit 204 and plays a role of controlling the entire light notification control device 200. In addition, the processor 250 plays a role of a determination unit 210, a specifying unit 212, and a notification control unit 214 described later in the optical notification control device 200. Note that a processor separate from the processor 250 may play a part or all of the determination unit 210, the identification unit 212, and the notification control unit 214.

  The ROM 252 stores programs used by the processor 250, control data such as operation parameters, and the like. The RAM 254 temporarily stores, for example, a program executed by the processor 250 and the like.

  The recording medium 256 functions as a storage unit (not shown). As the recording medium 256, for example, an arbitrary recording medium such as a magnetic recording medium or a non-volatile memory can be used. The recording medium 256 may be detachable from the optical notification control device 200. The recording medium 256 can store various data such as, for example, “data relating to a light notification method” and “a program (computer program; described later) for functioning as a light notification control device”.

  The operation device 258 functions as an operation unit (not shown). The operation device 258 includes, for example, an arbitrary operation device such as a button, a direction key, or a combination thereof.

  The display device 260 functions as a display unit (not shown). As the display device 260, for example, an arbitrary display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display can be used. Further, the display device 260 may be a device capable of performing display and user operation, such as a touch panel, for example. The display on the display device 260 is controlled by the processor 250, for example.

  The communication device 262 functions as the communication unit 202 and performs a role of performing wireless communication or wired communication with an external device such as the imaging device 100 and the light source device 300.

  As the communication device 262, for example, a communication antenna and an RF (Radio Frequency) circuit (wireless communication), an IEEE 802.15.1 port and a transmission / reception circuit (wireless communication), an IEEE 802.11 port and a transmission / reception circuit (wireless communication), or Communication devices corresponding to an arbitrary communication method, such as a LAN (Local Area Network) terminal and a transmission / reception circuit (wired communication), may be mentioned. Further, the communication device 262 may be a communication device corresponding to a vehicle-mounted network such as a CAN (Controller Area Network), a LIN (Local Interconnect Network), a FlexRay, and a MOST (Media Oriented System Transport). Communication in the communication device 262 is controlled by the processor 250, for example.

  The optical notification control device 200 has, for example, a hardware configuration shown in FIG. Note that the hardware configuration of the optical notification control device 200 according to the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG.

  For example, when the light notification control device 200 communicates with an external device such as the imaging device 100 and the light source device 300 via a connected external communication device, the communication device 262 may not be provided. Further, the communication device 262 may be configured to be able to communicate with one or more external devices by a plurality of communication methods.

  In the optical notification control device 200, the processor 250 may include one or both of a ROM and a RAM. In this case, the light notification control device 200 can have a configuration that does not include one or both of the ROM 252 and the RAM 254.

  Further, the light notification control device 200 can have a configuration in which some or all of the recording medium 256, the operation device 258, and the display device 260 are not provided.

  Further, the light notification control device 200 may include one or both of the imaging device 100 and the light source device 300. When the light notification control device 200 includes both the imaging device 100 and the light source device 300, the light notification control device 200 functions as the light notification system 1000.

  Further, the light notification control device 200 can have a configuration according to an application example of the light notification control device 200 described later, for example.

  In addition, for example, part or all of the configuration illustrated in FIG. 5 (or the configuration according to the modification) may be realized by one or two or more ICs (Integrated Circuits).

  Referring to FIG. 4 again, an example of a functional configuration of the light notification control device 200 will be described. The communication unit 202 performs wireless communication or wired communication with an external device such as the imaging device 100 and the light source device 300, for example. The communication unit 202 includes, for example, a communication device 262.

  The control unit 204 includes, for example, a processor 250 and plays a role of controlling the entire light notification control device 200. In addition, the control unit 204 includes, for example, a determination unit 210, a specification unit 212, and a notification control unit 214, and plays a role of performing a process related to the light notification method.

  The determination unit 210 determines whether a notice has occurred. For example, the determination unit 210 performs the process of step S100 illustrated in FIG.

  The specifying unit 212 specifies the view to be notified. For example, the specifying unit 212 performs the process of step S102 illustrated in FIG.

  The notification control unit 214 controls notification by predetermined light emitted from the light source device 300. As an example, the notification control unit 214 performs the processing of steps S104 and S106 shown in FIG. Further, the notification control unit 214 may perform control related to notification of occurrence of a notice by another notification method described above.

  When the vehicle to which the light notification system 1000 is applied has a function of switching between two driving states, that is, automatic driving and manual driving, the notification control unit 214 determines a predetermined state according to the driving state of the vehicle. It is possible to selectively control the notification by light. Specifically, the notification control unit 214 controls notification by a predetermined light when the driving state of the vehicle is the automatic driving. In addition, the notification control unit 214 does not control the notification by the predetermined light when the driving state of the vehicle is the manual operation. Note that when the vehicle to which the optical notification system 1000 is applied has a function of switching between two driving states, that is, automatic driving and manual driving, the notification control unit 214 performs a predetermined operation regardless of the driving state of the vehicle. Needless to say, it is possible to control the notification by the light.

  The control unit 204 includes, for example, a determination unit 210, a specification unit 212, and a notification control unit 214. Note that the functional configuration of the control unit 204 is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG. For example, the control unit 204 can have an arbitrary functional configuration according to a method of dividing the process related to the light notification method.

  Note that the functional configuration of the optical notification control device 200 is not limited to the example illustrated in FIG. For example, the light notification control device 200 includes some or all of the determination unit 210, the identification unit 212, and the notification control unit 214 illustrated in FIG. 4 separately from the control unit 204 (for example, by using another processing circuit). Can be realized).

  For example, when communicating with an external device via an external communication device having the same function and configuration as the communication unit 202, the light notification control device 200 may not include the communication unit 202. .

  Further, the light notification control device 200 further includes one or both of an imaging unit (not illustrated) configured by the imaging device 100 and a light source unit (not illustrated) configured by the light source device 300. Is also good. When the light notification control device 200 includes both an imaging unit (not shown) and a light source unit (not shown), the light notification control device 200 functions as the light notification system 1000.

  The light notification system 1000 includes an imaging device 100, a light notification control device 200, and a light source device 300, for example, as illustrated in FIG. The optical notification system according to the present embodiment is not limited to the configuration illustrated in FIG.

  For example, when a vehicle to which the light notification system 1000 is applied is provided with a device that can be used for detecting a field of view, the light notification system according to the present embodiment does not need to include the imaging device 100. Good. In the above case, the specifying unit 212 included in the optical notification control device 200 specifies the view to be notified in cooperation with an external device.

  In addition, the light notification system according to the present embodiment may include a plurality of light source devices 300 as described above. That is, the light notification system according to the present embodiment may include one or more light source devices 300.

[2] An example of effects achieved by the optical notification system according to the embodiment of the present invention By using the optical notification system according to the embodiment of the present invention, for example, the following effects are exerted. Needless to say, the effects achieved by the optical notification system according to the embodiment of the present invention are not limited to the effects described below.
The light is presented within the field of view of the person to be notified (the user of the light notification system), so that the person to be notified is likely to notice the alert.
-Since the moving light presentation is performed, the person to be notified is more likely to notice that the notice has been issued than in the case where the non-moving light presentation is performed.
-The light presented in the field of view moves to the position of the attention target (target viewing target) corresponding to the precaution, whereby the line of sight of the notification target person can be guided to the attention target. Therefore, the person to be notified can quickly notice the contents of the precautions.

[3] Application Example of Light Notification Control Device According to Embodiment of the Present Invention The light notification control device according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above. Any device capable of performing the process related to the light notification method according to the above.

  As an example, taking a case where the optical notification system according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied to an automobile (an example of a vehicle), as an optical notification control device according to the embodiment of the present invention, for example, an integrated ECU (Electronic) Control Unit), a computer such as a body ECU and an information ECU. When the optical notification system according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied to an automobile, for example, the functions of the optical notification control device according to the embodiment of the present invention may be realized by a plurality of ECUs included in the automobile.

  As another example, as the optical notification control device, a “computer such as a PC (Personal Computer) or a server” may be used.

[4] Program according to an embodiment of the present invention A program for causing a computer to function as the optical notification control device according to the embodiment of the present invention (for example, the determination unit 210, the specifying unit 212, and the notification control unit illustrated in FIG. 4) A program for functioning as 214) is executed by a processor or the like in a computer, so that recognition of generated cautions can be assisted.

  Further, a program for causing a computer to function as the light notification control device according to the embodiment of the present invention is executed by the processor in the computer, so that the light notification control device according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention is used. The effect achieved by this is achieved.

  As described above, the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is clear that those skilled in the art can conceive various changes or modifications within the scope of the claims, and these naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. I understand.

  For example, while the above description has shown that a program (computer program) for causing a computer to function as the optical notification control device according to the embodiment of the present invention is provided, the embodiment of the present invention further includes the program Can also be provided together. Examples of the recording medium storing the program include “a recording medium included in a device that functions as an optical notification control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, such as a recording medium 256 shown in FIG. A recording medium external to the device, which can read the above-mentioned program by a device functioning as a light notification control device according to the embodiment, is included.

Reference Signs List 100 imaging device, 200 light notification control device, 202 communication unit, 204 control unit, 210 determination unit, 212 identification unit, 214 notification control unit, light source device 300, 1000 light notification system

Claims (5)

A determining unit for determining whether or not a note has occurred;
A specifying unit that specifies a view to be notified;
A notification control unit that controls notification by predetermined light emitted from the light source device,
With
The notification control unit,
When it is determined that the notice has occurred, the predetermined light is presented at a first position within the field of view of the notification target,
A light notification control device that moves the predetermined light from the first position to a second position of an attention target corresponding to a notice. The notification target is a person riding a vehicle,
The notification control unit,
When the driving state of the vehicle is automatic driving, control the notification by the predetermined light,
2. The light notification control device according to claim 1, wherein when the driving state of the vehicle is a manual operation, notification control by the predetermined light is not performed.   The notification control unit is configured to detect, based on a predetermined operation, a control regarding presentation of the predetermined light to the first position and a control regarding movement of the predetermined light from the first position to the second position. The light notification control device according to claim 1, wherein the light notification control device repeats until the light notification. A function to determine whether a note has occurred,
The ability to identify the view to be notified,
A function of controlling notification by predetermined light emitted from the light source device,
To the computer,
The function of controlling the notification includes:
When it is determined that the notice has occurred, the predetermined light is presented at a first position within the field of view of the notification target,
A program for moving the predetermined light from the first position to a second position of an attention target corresponding to a notice. A light source device,
An optical notification control device that controls notification by predetermined light emitted from the light source device,
Has,
The light notification control device,
A determining unit for determining whether or not a note has occurred;
A specifying unit that specifies a view to be notified;
A notification control unit that controls notification by the predetermined light,
With
The notification control unit,
When it is determined that the notice has occurred, the predetermined light is presented at a first position within the field of view of the notification target,
An optical notification system for moving the predetermined light from the first position to a second position of an attention target corresponding to a notice.

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