US-12617280-B2 - Visualization with an AR HUD

US12617280B2US 12617280 B2US12617280 B2US 12617280B2US-12617280-B2

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a contact-analogous head-up display, in particular an augmented reality head-up display, which places information in direct contact with the environment. Contrary to conventional head-up displays, the items of information appear as part of the environment. The subject matter of the disclosure relates to a dynamic improvement of the visibility of concealed AR elements in situations in which several elements are displayed in parallel.

Inventors

Alexander Kunze
Vitalij Sadovitch

Assignees

VOLKSWAGEN AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20220211
Priority Date: 20210309

Claims (20)

1 . A device for the improved visualization of a first notice icon and a second notice icon in a motor vehicle, comprising: a network interface, connected with a vehicle-internal transmission network, the network interface being configured for receiving notice data with information about the first notice icon and the second notice icon and vehicle data with information about a vehicle state; a processor for determining an output configuration for the first notice icon and the second notice icon based on the notice data and the vehicle data, and for generating a control command to control an augmented reality (AR) display based on the output configuration; wherein the first notice icon represents safety-relevant information pertaining to a preceding vehicle and the second notice icon represents non-safety relevant vehicle guidance information; and wherein the control command provides a dynamic, modified output of the notice icons in order to increase visibility of the first notice icon over the second notice icon.
2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the AR display is comprises an augmented reality head up display (AR HUD).
3 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the network interface is configured to receive configuration data with information about a driver's wish in order to enable a configuration of the output.
4 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured for installation in a motor vehicle.
5 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the network interface is configured to receive vehicle data with information about a vehicle state of the motor vehicle, which comprises a parallel display of at least two notice icons that at least partially overlap.
6 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to determine an output configuration for the first notice icon and the second notice icon, which comprises a dynamic adjustment of a salience of the first and/or second notice icon depending on a depiction and position of the second and/or first notice icon.
7 . The device of claim 6 , wherein the dynamic adjustment of the salience comprises an adjustment of an occlusion.
8 . The device of claim 6 , wherein the dynamic adjustment of the salience comprises a dynamic, temporal adjustment of a transparency and/or a color saturation of the first and/or second notice icon depending on a depiction and a position of the second and/or first notice icon; or comprises the depiction of the first and/or second notice icon as a pointer.
9 . The device of claim 6 , wherein the dynamic adjustment of the salience comprises a dynamic adjustment of a fill of the first and/or second notice icon depending on a depiction and a position of the second and/or first notice icon.
10 . The device of claim 6 , wherein the dynamic adjustment of the salience comprises a temporal morphing between various depictions of the first and/or second notice icon and/or various depiction durations of the first and/or second notice icon.
11 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the notice data comprises information about a driving maneuver and information about a detected preceding other motor vehicle, wherein the first notice icon is a maneuver arrow and the second notice icon is a marking of a detected preceding other motor vehicle.
12 . The device of claim 2 , wherein the network interface is configured to receive configuration data with information about a driver's wish in order to enable a configuration of the output.
13 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the device is configured as part of a vehicle computer, infotainment system and/or navigation system.
14 . The device of claim 2 , wherein the device is configured for installation in a motor vehicle.
15 . The device of claim 3 , wherein the device is configured for installation in a motor vehicle.
16 . The device of claim 2 , wherein the network interface is configured to receive vehicle data with information about a vehicle state, which comprises a parallel display of at least two notice icons that at least partially overlap.
17 . A system for the improved visualization of a first notice icon and a second notice icon in a motor vehicle, comprising: a device of claim 1 ; and an augmented reality (AR) display for outputting a first notice icon predefined according to the output configuration and/or a second notice icon predefined according to the output configuration in response to a control command of the device.
18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the AR display comprises a head-up display on a motor vehicle, wherein the head-up display is to show a notice icon on a front windshield of a motor vehicle according to the output configuration.
19 . A method for the improved visualization of a first notice icon and a second notice icon in a motor vehicle, comprising: receiving notice data with information about the first notice icon and the second notice icon and vehicle data with information about a vehicle state; determining an output configuration for the first notice icon and the second notice icon based on the notice data and the vehicle data, wherein the first notice icon represents safety-relevant information pertaining to a preceding vehicle and the second notice icon represents non-safety relevant vehicle guidance information; generating a control command for controlling an augmented reality (AR) display based on the output configuration; transmitting the control command to the AR display, wherein the control command provides a dynamic, modified output of the notice icons in order to increase visibility of the first notice icon over the second notice icon.
20 . A non-transient storage medium comprising instructions that when executed by a processor causes the processor to conduct the method of claim 19 .

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to German Patent Application No. DE 10 2021 202 246.4, filed on Mar. 9, 2021 with the German Patent and Trademark Office. The contents of the aforesaid patent application are incorporated herein for all purposes. TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates to a device for the improved visualization of a first notice icon and a second notice icon in a motor vehicle, as well as a corresponding system, method and computer program. BACKGROUND This background section is provided for the purpose of generally describing the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventor(s), to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure. In the automotive industry, what are called augmented reality head-up displays—AR HUDs—are known, with which drivers can be supported in the interior by an environment-related display of notices, in particular navigation information and driver assistance interventions. The various functions that an AR HUD shows can occur in parallel. In this case, the information may overlap. Currently, two possibilities for showing this overlap are known: Individual functions and notices can be weighted with a predefined priority management. If two or more notices should be displayed simultaneously, only the one with the highest priority is displayed. In practice, this leads to safety-critical information such as control interventions of driver assistance systems being prioritized higher than convenience information such as navigation displays. Furthermore, it is known to use a parallel display with a plane concept. In this case, parallel display of functions and icons can be permitted, as a result of which various depictions can overlap with each other. In practice, the overlap of the depictions is derived for this purpose from the real, meaning three-dimensional, world. A depiction that would lie spatially behind another would be concealed by it. However, this leads to the problem that relevant displays are not visible due to this overlap. For example, a safety-critical display, such as a vehicle detected ahead, could be completely concealed by a large, full-surface object, for example a maneuver arrow. In some cases, safety-critical information is not sufficiently displayed to the driver. SUMMARY A need exists to provide an improved way for showing several items of information in a vehicle that is understandable and easily recognizable for the driver. The need is addressed by the subject matter of the independent claims. Embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims, the following description, and the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows a schematic depiction of an example device for the improved visualization of a first notice icon and a second notice icon in a motor vehicle; FIG. 2 shows a schematic depiction of an example variant of a system according to the teachings herein; FIG. 3 shows a schematic depiction of another example variant of a system in a vehicle; FIG. 4 shows a schematic depiction of a situation in road traffic from a bird's-eye perspective; FIGS. 5a-h show schematic depictions of outputs of an example system on an AR display device; FIGS. 6a-b show schematic depictions of an output of an example system on an AR display device in a driving situation; and FIG. 7 shows a schematic depiction of steps of an example method according to the teachings herein. DESCRIPTION The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the description, drawings, and from the claims. In the following description of embodiments of the invention, specific details are described in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily complicating the instant description. In some embodiments, a device for the improved visualization of a first notice icon and a second notice icon in a motor vehicle is provided, comprising: an input interface for receiving notice data with information about the first notice icon and the second notice icon and vehicle data with information about a vehicle state;an analysis unit for determining an output configuration for the first notice icon and the second notice icon based on the notice data and the vehicle data, and for generating a control command to control an AR display device based on the output configuration;an output interface for transmitting the control command to an AR display device, wherein the control command brings ab