JP6481596B2 - Evaluation support device for vehicle head-up display - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle head-up display evaluation support apparatus.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a first image representing a visual recognition target by light transmitted through a head-up display (HUD) combiner and a second image representing a visual recognition target by image display light whose optical path is changed by the combiner. The technique regarding the simulator which can simulate the display function of HUD by superimposing and displaying is described. This technique stores the relationship between the change in the user's head position and the change in the second image, and changes the second image according to the relationship when the detected user's head position changes. Thus, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the accuracy of simulating the display of the HUD depending on the user's head position.

JP 2003-58039 A

  A vehicle HUD that is scheduled to be mounted on a vehicle usually displays a moving image for simulation that simulates the field of view of an occupant during vehicle travel on a large simulator, and visually confirms the display result. The display quality of the vehicle HUD is evaluated in advance. The simulation moving image synthesizes a moving image simulating the display of the vehicle HUD with the background moving image of the HUD obtained by actually capturing the surrounding situation from the viewpoint position of the occupant while driving the vehicle. It is created by that. Further, based on the evaluation result of the display quality or the like of the vehicle HUD based on the simulation moving image, the display parameters to the vehicle HUD (for example, the size of the display image on the vehicle HUD, the shape of the figure or the like included in the display image) , At least one of the display position, display color, brightness, light transmittance, etc.) is changed. Then, the evaluation of the display quality of the vehicle HUD and the change of the display parameter of the vehicle HUD are repeated, so that the display parameter of the vehicle HUD is optimized.

  However, it takes a lot of man-hours and costs to create a moving image for simulation to be displayed on a large simulator, and it is necessary to re-create a moving image for simulation every time the display parameter to the vehicle HUD is changed. There is a problem that costs are incurred. For this problem, prior to the evaluation of the display quality of the vehicle HUD using a large simulator, the display quality of the vehicle HUD when the vehicle is running is simply evaluated by applying the technique described in Patent Document 1. It is conceivable to reduce the number of times the vehicle HUD is evaluated and the display parameter is changed by using a large simulator by keeping the display parameters of the vehicle HUD close to the optimum state.

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is a technique premised on application to a flight simulator, and when applied to simple evaluation such as display quality of a vehicle HUD during vehicle traveling, the sight of a passenger during vehicle traveling is simulated. There arises a problem that the accuracy to be reduced. That is, since the distance from the occupant's viewpoint position to the object visually recognized as the background of the HUD is remarkably small as compared with the airplane, the vehicle has a change in the occupant's viewpoint position due to the difference in the occupant's physique. Changes in the position, shape, etc. of the image of the object visually recognized as the background of the HUD are so large that they cannot be ignored. However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 does not consider this point, and there is room for improvement in accuracy when applied to simple evaluation such as display quality of a vehicle HUD.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described facts, and an object thereof is to obtain an evaluation support device for a vehicle head-up display that can accurately and easily evaluate the display quality and the like of the vehicle head-up display.

  A vehicle head-up display evaluation support apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is a vehicle head-up display evaluation support apparatus for three-dimensional information of a vehicle on which an evaluation target head-up display is mounted, and an object including a road that exists in a virtual space in which the vehicle travels An acquisition unit that acquires each information from a storage unit that stores three-dimensional information, three-dimensional information of a display area of the head-up display, and display content information displayed in the display area, and the acquisition unit acquires Based on the obtained information, the object viewed from a preset viewpoint position of the vehicle occupant traveling in the virtual space and the display content displayed in the display area are centered at the viewpoint position and the radius is the viewpoint. A spherical projection projected by a one-point perspective projection on the virtual spherical surface having a length corresponding to the distance between the position and the head-up display from the viewpoint position A calculator for calculating the said arithmetic unit contains a display controller to project the display unit and the spherical projection image computed.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the three-dimensional information of the vehicle on which the head-up display to be evaluated is mounted, the three-dimensional information of the object including the road existing in the virtual space where the vehicle is driven, the display area of the head-up display Are stored in the storage unit, and the acquisition unit acquires each piece of information from the storage unit. In addition, based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, the calculation unit displays the display content to be displayed on the display area of the object and the head-up display viewed from the preset viewpoint position of the occupant of the vehicle traveling in the virtual space, A spherical projection image that is projected by a one-point perspective projection using the occupant's viewpoint position as a base point on a virtual sphere having a center corresponding to the distance between the occupant's viewpoint position and the head-up display is calculated.

  Since the center of the virtual sphere is the viewpoint position of the occupant, the image of the object visually recognized as the background of the head-up display included in the spherical projection image calculated by the calculation means is The shape changes. Then, the display control unit projects and displays the spherical projection image calculated by the calculation unit on the display unit. As a result, the image projected and displayed on the display unit is visually recognized by the occupant as compared with the case where the image of the object visually recognized as the background of the head-up display is not changed regardless of the change in the occupant's viewpoint position. The accuracy of simulating the display of the up display is improved. Therefore, according to the first aspect of the invention, the display quality and the like of the vehicle head-up display can be easily and accurately evaluated.

  In addition, a head using a large simulator can be obtained by evaluating the display quality of the head-up display and changing the display parameters in advance using the vehicle head-up display evaluation support apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention. Since it is possible to reduce the number of times that the display quality and the like of the up display are evaluated and the display parameters are changed, the total man-hour and cost required for optimizing the display parameters for the head up display can be reduced.

  The invention according to claim 1 has an effect that the display quality and the like of the vehicle head-up display can be simply and accurately evaluated.

It is a schematic block diagram of the evaluation assistance apparatus of the head-up display for vehicles. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a HUD evaluation assistance process. It is an image figure which shows an example of the projection to the virtual spherical surface by a one point perspective projection method. It is an image figure which shows an example of the image displayed on a display part. It is an image figure which shows an example of the image displayed on a display part.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle HUD evaluation support apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a computer 12, an input unit 40 for inputting various types of information, and a display unit 42 for displaying a moving image for HUD evaluation. Is included.

  The computer 12 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 14, a volatile memory 16 such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a nonvolatile storage unit 18 such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a flash memory, an I / F (InterFace). ) Section 20, which are connected to each other via a bus 22. The input unit 40 and the display unit 42 are connected to the I / F unit 20 of the computer 12.

  The storage unit 18 stores the HUD evaluation support program 24, the vehicle three-dimensional model information 26, the HUD information 28, the virtual space three-dimensional information 30, the moving object three-dimensional model information 32, the human visual field characteristic information 34, and the simulation condition information 36, respectively. I remember it. The HUD evaluation support program 24 is a program for causing the CPU 14 of the computer 12 to execute a HUD evaluation support process to be described later. The computer 12 executes the HUD evaluation support program 24 so that the input unit 40 and the display unit are displayed. 42 functions as a HUD evaluation support apparatus 10.

  The vehicle three-dimensional model information 26 is information representing a three-dimensional model of a vehicle (own vehicle) 52 (see FIG. 3) on which the vehicle HUD 50 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) to be evaluated is mounted. Information indicating the three-dimensional position of each part above, and the three-dimensional position of each part on the surface of the interior structure of the vehicle 52 such as the front windshield glass 54 and the front pillar 56 shown in FIGS. And information representing. As the vehicle three-dimensional model information 26, design data or the like of the vehicle 52 can be used.

  The HUD information 28 includes HUD display area information representing the three-dimensional position of the display area of the vehicle HUD 50, and HUD display contents information representing the display contents to be displayed in the display area of the vehicle HUD 50 when the HUD evaluation support process is executed. , Including. The HUD display content information may be moving image information, but at least one of display parameters such as the size, display position, shape, brightness, and light transmittance of the image displayed in the display area of the vehicle HUD 50 has been changed. In this case, it is preferable that the information is in a format in which the display content can be easily changed according to the changed display parameter. Examples of the information in the format include information in a format in which the display contents are determined according to each given display parameter when each display parameter is given from the outside and each display parameter is given from the outside.

  The virtual space three-dimensional information 30 is the three-dimensional information of each part on the surface of an object such as a road, a sign, or a building existing in a three-dimensional virtual space in which the vehicle 52 is virtually run when the HUD evaluation support process is executed. This is information representing a position (a position on the coordinates of the virtual space). In FIGS. 3 to 5, lines 58 corresponding to the side end portions of the road are shown as examples of objects existing in the virtual space represented by the virtual space three-dimensional information 30.

  The moving object three-dimensional model information 32 exists in a three-dimensional virtual space, and moves on the outer surface of a moving object that moves independently of the vehicle 52, such as a vehicle including a motorcycle or a bicycle, a pedestrian, and the like. It includes information representing the three-dimensional position of the part. 3 to 5 show vehicles (other vehicles) 60A to 60C as examples of the moving object represented by the moving object three-dimensional model information 32, respectively. Different 3D model information of individual moving objects included in the moving object 3D model information 32 is assigned with different moving object IDs.

  The human visual field characteristic information 34 is a visual axis connecting the viewpoint position of the driver of the vehicle 52 and the infinity point (disappearance point) of the three-dimensional virtual space (in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the infinity point (also referred to as the disappearance point)). And a point 62 as a point corresponding to the visual axis) is information that defines a plurality of visual field ranges of the driver of the vehicle 52 for each degree of gaze. 4 and 5 show the visual field range 64A with the highest gaze degree and the visual field range 64B with the next highest gaze degree, respectively, but within the widest visual field range not shown, for example, the front windshield shown in FIGS. The upper part of the glass 54 and the front pillar 56 are also included.

  The simulation condition information 36 includes the position and direction of the vehicle (own vehicle) 52 in the three-dimensional virtual space and the presence of a moving object around the vehicle (own vehicle) 52 at each simulation time when the HUD evaluation support process is executed. In the case where there is a moving object in the vicinity, information on the moving object ID, position, and direction of each moving object existing in the vicinity is included. The time interval Δt of the simulation time in the simulation condition information 36 is a time interval that does not impair the display quality as a moving image, for example, a time of 1/30 second or less.

  The simulation condition information 36 includes a plurality of simulation condition information having different simulation conditions. The individual simulation condition information included in the simulation condition information 36 includes the moving range, moving direction, moving speed, presence / absence of moving objects, and moving objects of the vehicle (own vehicle) 52 in the three-dimensional virtual space. When moving, at least one of the type of moving object, the moving range, the moving direction, and the moving speed is different from each other. Different simulation condition IDs are assigned to the individual simulation condition information included in the simulation condition information 36.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In developing the vehicle HUD 50 to be mounted on the vehicle 52, the size of the display area of the vehicle HUD 50, the mounting position on the vehicle 52, etc. are designed, and the display contents on the vehicle HUD 50 are roughly designed. The display quality of the vehicle HUD 50 is evaluated. In the present embodiment, when evaluating the display quality or the like of the vehicle HUD 50, prior to evaluating the display quality or the like of the vehicle HUD 50 using a large simulator, the display quality or the like of the vehicle HUD 50 using the vehicle HUD evaluation support device 10 or the like. A simple evaluation is performed.

  When the vehicle HUD evaluation support device 10 is used to perform a simple evaluation of the display quality of the vehicle HUD 50, the vehicle HUD evaluation support device 10 from an evaluator (hereinafter simply referred to as an evaluator) of the display quality of the vehicle HUD 50 or the like. Are instructed to execute the HUD evaluation support process. As a result, the HUD evaluation support program 24 is read from the storage unit 18 to the memory 16 and executed by the CPU 14 of the computer 12, whereby the HUD evaluation support process shown in FIG. 2 is performed by the CPU 14.

  In step 100 of the HUD evaluation support process, the CPU 14 of the computer 12 specifies information for identifying the three-dimensional position of the viewpoint of the occupant (driver in the present embodiment), which is one of the processing conditions of the HUD evaluation support process (hereinafter, referred to as the HUD evaluation support process) The evaluator requests the evaluator to input viewpoint position information, for example, by displaying a message requesting input of the viewpoint specifying information) on the display unit 42.

  The three-dimensional position of the driver's viewpoint here is the position in the coordinate system of the three-dimensional model of the vehicle 52, the vehicle left-right position of the seat of the vehicle 52 on which the driver is seated, and the vehicle vertical position of the seat surface (high Is) known. For this reason, when the above request is made, the evaluator inputs information (for example, height) that defines the physique of the driver as the viewpoint specifying information via the input unit 40. The CPU 14 of the computer 12 calculates the position of the driver's viewpoint in the vehicle longitudinal direction and the vehicle vertical direction according to a predetermined calculation formula from the driver's physique defined by the input viewpoint identification information, so that the driver's viewpoint Information (viewpoint position information) representing the three-dimensional position of is acquired.

  In step 100, the CPU 14 reads the vehicle three-dimensional model information 26 and the HUD information 28 from the storage unit 18, thereby acquiring the vehicle three-dimensional model information 26 and the HUD information 28.

  In the next step 102, the CPU 14 compares the viewpoint position 66 of the driver represented by the viewpoint position information acquired in step 100 with respect to the coordinate system of the three-dimensional model of the vehicle 52 represented by the vehicle three-dimensional model information 26 acquired in step 100. A virtual sphere 68 (see FIG. 3) is set with a radius from the driver's viewpoint position 66 to the display position of the vehicle HUD 50 centered on (see FIG. 3). Since the virtual spherical surface 68 is used as a projection surface for projecting an object to be displayed on the display unit 42 as a moving image for HUD evaluation, the virtual spherical surface 68 may be a range wider than the visual field range of the driver based on the visual axis of the driver. It may be a partial range (for example, a range shown in FIG. 3) of the entire surface of the spherical surface.

  In step 104, the CPU 14 is based on the information representing the three-dimensional position of the interior structure of the vehicle 52 in the vehicle 52 included in the vehicle three-dimensional model information 26 and the HUD display area information included in the HUD information 28. A spherical projection image obtained by projecting the interior structure of the vehicle 52 and the vehicle HUD 50 onto the virtual spherical surface 68 by the one-point perspective method with the viewpoint position 66 of the driver as a base point is calculated. Since the one-point perspective method is a known technique, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  When the driver of the physique defined by the viewpoint specifying information is seated on the seat of the vehicle 52, the display area of the vehicle HUD 50 and the interior structure of the vehicle 52 (for example, FIG. 4) , 5), a spherical projection image that accurately simulates the windshield glass 54 and the front pillar 56).

  In the next step 106, the CPU 14 inputs a simulation condition ID to the evaluator by displaying a message for requesting the input of the simulation condition ID, which is one of the processing conditions of the HUD evaluation support process, on the display unit 42. Request. When this request is made, the evaluator inputs the simulation condition ID corresponding to the simulation condition desired to be executed in the HUD evaluation support process via the input unit 40. When the simulation condition ID is input, the CPU 14 acquires the simulation condition information to which the input simulation condition ID is assigned from the simulation condition information 36 stored in the storage unit 18.

  In step 108, the CPU 14 sets 0 to the simulation time t. In the next step 110, the CPU 14 extracts information representing the position and direction of the vehicle 52 in the virtual space at the current simulation time t from the simulation condition information acquired in step 106. In step 112, the CPU 14 places the three-dimensional model of the vehicle 52 in the virtual space at the position and direction represented by the information extracted in step 110. By arranging the three-dimensional model of the vehicle 52 in the virtual space, the position of the three-dimensional model of the vehicle 52 in the virtual space at the current simulation time t (the absolute position of the three-dimensional model of the vehicle 52 in the virtual space coordinate system). The position of the driver at the current simulation time t, the position of the virtual spherical surface 68 in the virtual space, and the direction of the visual axis in the virtual space are determined.

  In the next step 114, the CPU 14 determines whether or not the simulation condition represented by the simulation condition information acquired in step 106 is a condition in which a moving object exists around the vehicle (own vehicle) 52 at the current simulation time t. If the determination in step 114 is affirmed, the process proceeds to step 116. In step 116, the CPU 14 extracts each piece of moving object ID, position, and direction information of all moving objects existing around the vehicle (own vehicle) 52 at the current simulation time t from the simulation condition information. Then, the 3D model information of the moving object with the extracted moving object ID is read from the moving object 3D model information 32 stored in the storage unit 18, and the 3D model of the moving object represented by the read 3D model information is It arrange | positions in a virtual space according to the position and direction of the extracted moving object.

  If there is no moving object around the vehicle (host vehicle) 52 at the current simulation time t, the determination in step 114 is negative, and step 116 is skipped and the process proceeds to step 118.

  In the next step 118, the CPU 14 first reads the human visual field characteristic information 34 from the storage unit 18, and on the coordinates of the virtual space of the driver of the vehicle (own vehicle) 52 with reference to the visual axis at the current simulation time t. Calculate the field of view at. Then, a spherical projection image obtained by projecting an object existing within the calculated visual field range of the driver in the virtual space onto the virtual spherical surface 68 using the one-point perspective method with the viewpoint position 66 of the driver as a base point is calculated. In this projection calculation, only the portion that is visually recognized by the driver through the window glass of the vehicle (host vehicle) 52 is projected as the background of the spherical projection image obtained in the previous step 104.

  By the above processing, when the driver of the physique specified by the viewpoint specifying information is seated on the seat of the vehicle 52 on the spherical projection image obtained in the previous step 104, the periphery of the vehicle 52 visually recognized by the driver A spherical projection image obtained by adding a spherical projection image that accurately simulates the object (for example, a moving object when there is a moving object around a road, a sign, or the vehicle 52) is obtained.

  In step 120, the CPU 14 determines the vehicle-use vehicle at the simulation time t based on the HUD display content information included in the HUD information 28 stored in the storage unit 18 and the preset display parameter for the vehicle HUD 50. An image displayed on the HUD 50 is calculated. Then, the display image on the vehicle HUD 50 at the calculated simulation time t is used as the foreground of the spherical projection image obtained in the previous steps 104 and 118 within the display area of the vehicle HUD 50 in the virtual spherical surface 68. The spherical projection image projected by the one-point perspective method using the viewpoint position 66 of the person as the base point is calculated. In this projection calculation, the spherical projection image of the object existing behind the vehicle HUD 50 as viewed from the driver is also visually recognized by the driver according to the luminance and light transmittance included in the display parameters to the vehicle HUD 50. Then, they are superimposed and projected on the spherical projection image obtained in steps 104 and 118.

  By the above processing, when the driver of the physique defined by the viewpoint specifying information is seated on the seat of the vehicle 52, the spherical projection image obtained in the previous step 104 and the spherical projection image obtained in step 118, A spherical projection image obtained by adding a spherical projection image that accurately simulates the display contents of the HUD 50 visually recognized by the driver, that is, a spherical projection image that simulates the driver's field of view at the current simulation time t with high accuracy is obtained. An example of the spherical projection image obtained here is shown in FIG.

  In step 122, the CPU 14 stores the spherical projection image at the current simulation time t obtained by the above processing in the storage unit 18. In the next step 124, the CPU 14 determines whether or not the current simulation time t has reached a preset final simulation time (= time length of the HUD evaluation moving image). If the determination in step 124 is negative, the process proceeds to step 126. In step 126, the CPU 14 substitutes a time obtained by adding the simulation time interval Δt to the current simulation time t to the current simulation time t. After performing the process of step 126, the process returns to step 110, and steps 110 to 126 are repeated until the determination of step 124 is affirmed. As a result, spherical projection images are respectively calculated and stored for each simulation time t in which the period from the simulation time t = 0 to the final simulation time is cut every time interval Δt.

  When the current simulation time t reaches the final time, the determination in step 124 is affirmed and the process proceeds to step 128. In step 128, the CPU 14 sets the simulation time t to 0 again. In step 130, the CPU 14 reads a spherical projection image corresponding to the current simulation time t from the storage unit 18.

  In the next step 132, the CPU 14 causes the display unit 42 to display the spherical projection image read from the storage unit 18 in step 130. Since the display surface of the display unit 42 is usually a flat surface, the spherical projection image is displayed on the display unit 42 by projecting the read spherical projection image onto the plane as an image viewed from the visual axis. This is done by displaying the obtained image on the display unit 42. As a result, an image simulating the driver's field of view at the current simulation time t with high accuracy is displayed on the display unit 42.

  In step 134, the CPU 14 determines whether or not the current simulation time t has reached the final simulation time. If the determination in step 134 is negative, the process proceeds to step 136. In step 136, the CPU 14 substitutes a time obtained by adding the time interval Δt to the current simulation time t to the current simulation time t. After performing the process of step 136, the process returns to step 130, and steps 130 to 136 are repeated until the determination of step 134 is affirmed.

  As a result, images simulating the driver's field of view at each simulation time t obtained by ticking the period from the simulation time t = 0 to the final simulation time for each time interval Δt are sequentially displayed on the display unit 42. That is, the HUD evaluation moving image is displayed on the display unit 42. An example of an image displayed on the display unit 42 at the simulation time t when the vehicle (own vehicle) 52 is traveling on a straight road is shown in FIG. 4, and the vehicle (own vehicle) 52 travels on a curved road. An example of an image displayed on the display unit 42 at the simulation time t is shown in FIG. When the display of the HUD evaluation moving image on the display unit 42 is completed, the determination in step 134 is affirmed and the HUD evaluation support process is terminated.

  The evaluator repeatedly executes the HUD evaluation support process while changing the physique of the driver input as the viewpoint specifying information or changing the simulation condition by changing the input simulation condition ID, The HUD evaluation work of visually recognizing the HUD evaluation moving image displayed on the display unit 42 in each processing and evaluating the display quality and the like and determining whether or not the current display parameter of the vehicle HUD 50 is appropriate is performed. .

  Further, when the evaluator determines that the current display parameter of the vehicle HUD 50 is not appropriate, after changing at least one of the various display parameters of the vehicle HUD 50, based on the changed display parameter, The above HUD evaluation work is performed again. By repeating the above-described process until the current display parameter of the vehicle HUD 50 is determined to be appropriate, the display parameter of the vehicle HUD 50 can be brought close to the optimum state. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the number of times that the display quality and the like of the vehicle HUD 50 are evaluated and the display parameters are changed using the large simulator, and the total man-hour and cost required for optimizing the display parameters of the vehicle HUD 50 are reduced. be able to.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the three-dimensional model information 26 of the vehicle 52 on which the vehicle HUD 50 to be evaluated is mounted, the three-dimensional model information 26, 32 of the object existing in the virtual space in which the vehicle 52 travels, Each information is acquired from the storage unit 18 for storing the three-dimensional information of the display area of the vehicle HUD 50 and the HUD information 28 including the information of the display contents displayed in the display area of the vehicle HUD 50, and based on the acquired information , An object viewed from a preset viewpoint position of the occupant of the vehicle 52 traveling in the virtual space and a display content to be displayed in the display area of the vehicle HUD 50 are centered on the occupant viewpoint position and the radius is the occupant viewpoint position. And a spherical projection image 70 projected onto the virtual spherical surface 68 having a length corresponding to the distance between the vehicle HUD 50 and the display area of the vehicle HUD 50 by the one-point perspective method with the viewpoint position of the occupant as a base point. Since the calculated spherical projection image 70 is projected and displayed on the display unit 42, the display quality and the like of the vehicle HUD 50 can be easily and accurately evaluated.

  In this embodiment, the spherical projection image 70 at each time when the vehicle 52 travels in the virtual space under the simulation condition of the input simulation condition ID is calculated, and the spherical projection image 70 at each calculated time is calculated. Since it is displayed on the display unit 42 as a moving image, the accuracy of the simple evaluation for the display quality and the like of the vehicle HUD 50 can be further improved.

  In the present embodiment, the simulation condition includes information defining movement of the moving object moving in the virtual space in the virtual space, and the moving object moves in the virtual space according to the simulation condition. Are calculated based on the three-dimensional model information 32 of the moving object stored in the storage unit 18, so that the accuracy of simple evaluation for the display quality and the like of the vehicle HUD 50 can be further improved. .

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, an object that exists in the occupant's visual field range based on the occupant's viewpoint position as an object visually recognized from the occupant's viewpoint position based on the human visual field characteristic information 34 stored in the storage unit 18. Since the spherical projection image obtained by projecting the image onto the virtual spherical surface is calculated, the processing load can be reduced by reducing the calculation load.

  Further, in the present embodiment, an image obtained when the spherical projection image 70 is viewed along the visual axis connecting the occupant's viewpoint position and the infinity point in the virtual space is projected and displayed on the display unit 42. The accuracy of simple evaluation for display quality and the like can be further improved.

  In the HUD evaluation support process described above, the display quality of the HUD 50 for the vehicle as viewed from the driver is evaluated by displaying a moving image for HUD evaluation that simulates the driver's field of view on the display unit 42. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and by performing processing for displaying on the display unit 42 a moving image for HUD evaluation that simulates the field of view of an occupant seated in another seat such as a passenger seat of a vehicle, The display quality and the like of the vehicle HUD 50 as seen from a passenger other than the driver may be included in the evaluation target.

  In the above description, the input unit 40 and the display unit 42 are directly connected to the computer 12 as illustrated in FIG. 1. However, the computer 12 that executes the HUD evaluation support process includes the input unit 40 and the display unit 42. May be a first computer (for example, a server computer) connected via a communication line to a second computer to which is connected. Further, in this case, the first computer performs processing up to the calculation of the spherical projection image 70, and the second computer calculates and displays the image (HUD evaluation moving image) obtained by projecting the spherical projection image 70 on the plane and HUD on the display unit 42. The processing for displaying the evaluation moving image may be performed, or the first computer performs processing up to the calculation of the spherical projection image 70 and the calculation of the image obtained by projecting the spherical projection image 70 onto the plane (HUD evaluation moving image). The second computer may perform processing for displaying the moving image for HUD evaluation on the display unit 42.

  In the above description, the HUD evaluation support program 24 is stored (installed) in the storage unit 18 in advance. However, the HUD evaluation support program 24 is stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or a memory card. It is also possible to provide it in a recorded form.

  Regarding the above embodiment, the following additional notes are disclosed.

(Appendix 1)
The calculation unit calculates the spherical projection image at each time when the vehicle travels in the virtual space under a preset condition, and the display control unit calculates the time at each time calculated by the calculation unit. The vehicle head-up display evaluation support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spherical projection image is displayed as a moving image on the display unit.

  In the present invention, the image displayed on the display unit by the display control unit may be a still image. However, in the invention described in appendix 1, when the calculation unit travels in the virtual space under a preset condition. The spherical projection image at each time is calculated, and the display control unit displays the spherical projection image at each time calculated by the calculation unit on the display unit as a moving image. As a result, compared with the case where a still image is displayed on the display unit, the image projected and displayed on the display unit improves the accuracy of simulating the display of a head-up display that is visually recognized by an occupant, and the vehicle head-up is improved. The accuracy of simple evaluation for the display quality of the display is improved.

(Appendix 2)
The three-dimensional information of the object existing in the virtual space includes the three-dimensional information of the moving object moving in the virtual space, and the preset condition defines the movement of the moving object in the virtual space. The additional calculation unit according to claim 1, wherein the calculation unit calculates the spherical projection image at each time when the moving object moves in the virtual space according to the information defining the movement of the moving object. Evaluation support device for vehicle head-up display.

  In the invention according to attachment 2, the three-dimensional information of the object existing in the virtual space includes the three-dimensional information of the moving object moving in the virtual space, and the movement in the virtual space is performed according to a preset condition. Information that defines the movement of the object is included. Then, the calculation unit calculates a spherical projection image at each time when the moving object moves in the virtual space according to the information defining the movement of the moving object. As a result, the moving image displayed on the display unit becomes a moving image in which the moving object moves in the virtual space in accordance with the information defining the movement of the moving object, compared with the case where there is no moving object in the moving image. Thus, since the image projected and displayed on the display unit simulates the display of the head-up display or the like visually recognized by the occupant, the accuracy of the simple evaluation with respect to the display quality or the like of the vehicle head-up display is improved.

(Appendix 3)
Visual field characteristic information representing human visual field characteristics is stored in the storage unit, and the calculation unit is an object that is visually recognized from the viewpoint position based on the visual field characteristic information, and is based on the viewpoint position as an occupant's viewpoint. 3. The vehicle head-up display evaluation support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a spherical projection image obtained by projecting an object existing in a visual field range onto the virtual spherical surface is calculated.

  In the invention according to attachment 3, based on visual field characteristic information representing human visual field characteristics, an object that is visually recognized from an occupant's viewpoint position is defined as an imaginary sphere that is present in the occupant's visual field range based on the occupant's viewpoint position. The projected spherical projection image is calculated. As a result, the range of the position of the object projected on the virtual sphere is reduced compared to the case of calculating a spherical projection image obtained by projecting all objects existing around the vehicle in the virtual space onto the virtual sphere. The calculation load on the calculation unit can be reduced, and the processing speed can be increased.

(Appendix 4)
The display control unit projects and displays an image on the display unit when the spherical projection image is viewed along a visual axis that connects the viewpoint position and an infinity point in the virtual space. The evaluation support apparatus for a head-up display for a vehicle according to any one of claims 3 to 4.

  In the invention according to the supplementary note 4, an image obtained by visually recognizing the spherical projection image along the visual axis connecting the occupant's viewpoint position and the infinity point in the virtual space is projected and displayed on the display unit. The image projected and displayed on the display unit simulates the display of a head-up display that is visually recognized by the occupant, as compared with the case where the image when the spherical projection image is viewed along the axis is projected and displayed on the display unit. Since the accuracy is improved, the accuracy of the simple evaluation for the display quality of the vehicle head-up display is improved.

10 HUD evaluation support device 12 Computer 14 CPU
18 Storage unit 24 Evaluation support program 26 Vehicle three-dimensional model information 28 HUD information 30 Virtual space three-dimensional information 32 Moving object three-dimensional model information 34 Human visual field characteristic information 36 Simulation condition information 42 Display unit 50 Vehicle HUD
52, 60A to 60C Vehicle 62 Points corresponding to infinity point and viewing axis 64A, 64B Field of view range 66 Viewpoint position 68 Virtual spherical surface 70 Spherical projection image

Claims (1)

Three-dimensional information of a vehicle equipped with a head-up display to be evaluated, three-dimensional information of an object including a road existing in a virtual space in which the vehicle is driven, three-dimensional information of a display area of the head-up display, and An acquisition unit that acquires each piece of information from a storage unit that stores information on display contents to be displayed in the display area;
Based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, an object viewed from a preset viewpoint position of an occupant of the vehicle traveling in the virtual space and the display content displayed in the display area are centered on the viewpoint position. A calculation unit that calculates a spherical projection image projected by a one-point perspective projection with the viewpoint position as a base point on a virtual spherical surface having a radius corresponding to a distance between the viewpoint position and the head-up display;
A display control unit that projects and displays the spherical projection image calculated by the calculation unit on a display unit;
Evaluation support apparatus for vehicle head-up display including