Member Info for johnchucka

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MOTION ONSET CONSUMER FOCUS SUGGESTION
A system and method for identifying content relevant to a vehicle occupant using a rotatably-mounted sensor in a field of view of the vehicle occupant. The rotatably-mounted sensor collects information and data from its surroundings. The information and data is processes to identify relevant content to be presented to the vehicle occupant. The rotatably-mounted sensor is configured to rotate in a manner that directs the occupants gaze in a direction of the relevant content being presented. The relevant content may be selected based on information that is known about the vehicle occupant, the vehicle location, the vehicle destination, the vehicle surroundings associated with the location and/or destination, and vendor relationships.
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?II=3&ND=3&adjacent=true&locale=en_EP&FT=D&date=20201217&CC=US&NR=2020394683A1&KC=A1
https://www.freepatentsonline.com/20200394683.pdf

VEHICLE AND CONTROL METHOD THERE OF
A vehicle includes an internal camera configured to acquire the driver's facial data to identify the driver's gaze region; an external sensor configured to acquire object data including at least one of a relative position and a relative speed of the object existing in all directions of the vehicle; and a controller configured to generate an advance warning signal.

One aspect of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle and a control method of the vehicle that can give a driver a control right for collision avoidance in a timely manner only when a collision risk exists.
In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle includes: an internal camera configured to acquire the driver's facial data to identify the driver's gaze region; an external sensor configured to acquire object data including at least one of a relative position and a relative speed of the object existing in all directions of the vehicle; and a controller configured to determine a possibility of collision between the vehicle and the object based on the object data, generate a control command for performing at least one of a braking control and a steering control to avoid a collision between the vehicle and the object at a second time point, generate a warning signal transmitted at the second time point when the object is present in the gaze region of the driver and generate an advance warning signal transmitted at a first time point that is earlier than the second time point when the object is not present in the gaze region of the driver.
When the object exists in the gaze region of the driver, the controller may determine that the driver recognizes the object and may not generate the advance warning signal.
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=US&NR=2020391591A1&KC=A1&FT=D&ND=3&date=20201217&DB=&locale=en_EP
https://www.freepatentsonline.com/20200391591.pdf
https://patents.justia.com/patent/20200391591

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING EXPOSURE SETTINGS BASED ON MOTION CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH AN IMAGE SENSOR
4A and FIG. 4B illustrate a schematic representation of grid metering techniques using a spot metering mode and based on one or more motion characteristics. FIG. 4A illustrates a grid 400 used for calculating exposure settings of images to be captured by a camera. The grid 400 may contain N1 rows and M1 columns of grid elements. In an illustrative example, the camera may be a point of view (POV) camera or a dash camera placed on a vehicle and configured to capture scenes in the direction of travel of the vehicle. The weights (not specifically shown) for the grid elements of the grid 400 may be calculated by the grid processing engine 122. In an example, the grid processing engine 122 may utilize a spot metering mode to calculate the weights for the grid 400 based on one or more motion characteristics associated with the camera.

FIG. 4B illustrates a grid 450 used for calculating exposure settings of images to be captured by a camera. The grid 450 may contain N2 rows and M2 columns of grid elements. In an illustrative example, the camera may be a point of view (POV) camera or a dash camera placed on a vehicle and configured to capture scenes in the direction of travel of the vehicle. In FIG. 4B, the direction of travel may include an off-center location in a future scene, relative to a current scene viewed by the camera.
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?II=18&ND=3&adjacent=true&locale=en_EP&FT=D&date=20201217&CC=US&NR=2020396367A1&KC=A1
https://patents.justia.com/patent/20200396367
https://www.freepatentsonline.com/20200396367.pdf

"It will take longer for full autonomous driving to become a reality than what we originally thought"

Have to say I have much respect for these very clever tech people but to keep repeating this line adds little credibility to their current statements especially as the consensus now seems to add 10 plus years today to that previous vision they had 5 years ago.

HEAD-UP DISPLAY LIGHT TRAP
A head-up display (HUD) system for a vehicle comprises a windshield, a projector adapted to project an image onto an inner surface of the windshield, a HUD glare trap lens positioned between the projector and the windshield, the HUD glare trap lens adapted to allow the projected image to pass through the HUD glare trap lens to the inner surface of the windshield, and to reflect sunlight that passes through the windshield to the HUD glare trap lens, and a light trap adapted to deflect sunlight that passes through the windshield and is reflected by the HUD glare trap lens, to prevent the reflected sunlight from interfering with the HUD image projected onto the windshield.
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?II=1&ND=3&adjacent=true&locale=en_EP&FT=D&date=20201126&CC=US&NR=2020371351A1&KC=A1
https://patents.justia.com/patent/20200371351
https://www.freepatentsonline.com/20200371351.pdf

Eye location tracking device integrated with head-up display
In various embodiments, methods, systems, and vehicles are provided that include a head-up display and a locator system. In an exemplary embodiment, the head-up display system includes a housing; a light source disposed within the housing; and one or more mirrors disposed within the housing. Also in certain embodiments, the locator system includes: a galvanic mirror disposed outside, and in proximity to, the housing; a laser formed on the galvanic mirror; and a receiver formed on the galvanic mirror.
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?II=0&ND=3&adjacent=true&locale=en_EP&FT=D&date=20201208&CC=US&NR=10860093B1&KC=B1
https://www.freepatentsonline.com/10860093.pdf
https://patents.justia.com/patent/10860093

[0404] Although depicted as including microphone 2005, cameras 2007a and 2007b, eye tracking system 2011, and infotainment system 2011, system 2000 may use more or fewer sensing devices. For example, in some embodiments, system 2000 may use only one or two of microphone 2005, cameras 2007a and 2007b, eye tracking system 2011, and infotainment system 2011, or the like. In other embodiments, system 2000 may include additional sensors such as a compass, a anemometer, a speedometer, an accelerometer, or the like.

[0409] At step 2106, processing unit 110 may obtain, from at least one host vehicle component associated with an interior of the host vehicle, an indicator of an activity of an occupant of the host vehicle. The at least one host vehicle component may include a camera including a field of view including an interior of the host vehicle, an infotainment system of the host vehicle (which may include a display screen), a microphone for sensing sounds in an interior of the host vehicle, and/or an eye-tracking system or any other biofeedback device to track body locations or activities. The at least one component may detect the indicator of the activity, which may include at least one of drinking, reading, sleeping, or looking out of windows.
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/description?CC=US&NR=2020223451A1&KC=A1&FT=D&ND=3&date=20200716&DB=&locale=en_EP
https://www.freepatentsonline.com/20200223451.pdf

[0401] Camera 2007a may include any type of device suitable for capturing at least one image from an environment. Camera 2007b, similar to camera 2007a, may include any type of device suitable for capturing at least one image from an environment. Camera 2007b may be associated with an interior of system 2000 (e.g., to capture images of occupants thereof) while camera 2007a may be associated with an exterior of system 2000 (e.g., to capture images of an environment thereof). Moreover, although depicted in FIG. 20 as a single camera associated with the interior and a single camera associated with the exterior, any number of image capture devices may be used to acquire images for input to the image processor. Some embodiments may include only a single image capture device for the interior and exterior, respectively, while other embodiments may include two, three, or even four or more image capture devices for the interior and exterior. Some embodiments may include more cameras associated with the exterior than the interior, and other embodiments may include more cameras associated with the interior than the exterior.

[0402] Eye tracking system 2009 may include any type of device suitable for tracking eye movements of one or more occupants of system 2000. For example, eye tracking system 2009 may comprise one or more cameras configured to identify pupils, irises, corneas, and other features associated with eyes in captured images and track the identified features across frames. Accordingly, eye tracking system 2009 may include a processing device configured to identify a looking direction of an identified eye across frames. Additionally or alternatively, eye tracking system 2009 may transmit light (e.g., infrared red or the like) for reflection off one or more portions of an eye (such as a cornea or lens). Based on the resulting Purkinje image(s), eye tracking system 2009 may identify a looking direction of an identified eye across frames. Other biofeedback devices may be used. For example, a heart rate monitor may be used to sense the heart rate of an occupant of the vehicle and deduce a state of the occupant from the occupant's heart rate One or more sensors embedded in the car seats may determine how many occupants are in the car and their sitting locations.

[0403] Infotainment system 2011 may include any device capable of presenting audio and/or visual information or entertainment to an occupant of system 2000. For example, infotainment system 2011 may include a radio or other stereo system, a display screen (such as a touchscreen or a digital readout), a navigational system (whether audio or visual or both), a climate control system, or any combination thereof. Infotainment system 2011 may send signals to processor 2001a (and/or processor 2001b) indicating when and/or how an occupant is using the system.

NAVIGATION BASED ON SENSED LOOKING DIRECTION OF A PEDESTRIAN
The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for host vehicle navigation. Disclosed systems and methods may receive, from a camera, a plurality of images representative of an environment of the host vehicle; analyze the plurality of images to identify at least one pedestrian in the environment of the host vehicle; identify eyes of the at least one pedestrian represented in at least one of the plurality of images; and determine, based on analysis of the at least one of the plurality of images and based on the identification of the eyes of the at least one pedestrian in the at least one of the plurality of images, a looking direction of the at least one pedestrian.

[0387] Activity indicator module 1904 may store instructions (such as computer vision software) which, when executed by processing unit 110, obtains, from at least one host vehicle component associated with an interior of the host vehicle, an indicator of an activity of an occupant of the host vehicle. The at least one component may comprise a camera associated with the interior of the host vehicle, a microphone associated with the interior of the host vehicle, an eye tracking system of the host vehicle, an infotainment system of the host vehicle, or the like.

[0388] For example, activity indicator module 1904 may perform image analysis on captured images of the occupant in order to identify or categorize an activity of the occupant. Similarly, activity indicator module 1904 may categorize audio captured by the microphone in order to categorize an activity of the occupant. For example, softer music may be associated with sleeping while louder music may be associated with passengers who are awake. In another example, activity indicator module 1904 may associate the occupant's voice with an activity of conversing and silence with other activities such as reading. In yet another example, activity indicator module 1904 may associate a looking direction of the occupant's eyes out the window with an activity of looking out the window, a looking direction of the occupant's eyes towards a book, tablet, or the like with an activity of reading, and other looking directions with other activities. In another example, activity indicator module 1904 may associate interactions with an infotainment system as associated with an activity of listening to music, navigating, or the like. Any of the indicators described above may be combined. For example, a combination of soft music from the microphone and a classification of eyes being closed in captured images may result in a determination that the occupant is sleeping. In another example, a combination of a looking direction out the window with silence may result in a determination that the occupant is looking out the window. In any of the embodiments described above, the activity may include drinking, eating, reading, sleeping, looking out of windows, or the like.

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR RESPONDING TO DRIVER STATE
A method for controlling vehicle systems includes receiving monitoring information from one or more monitoring systems and determining a plurality of driver states based on the monitoring information from the one or more monitoring systems. The method includes determining a combined driver state based on the plurality of driver states and modifying control of one or more vehicle systems based on the combined driver state.
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?II=121&ND=3&adjacent=true&locale=en_EP&FT=D&date=20201203&CC=US&NR=2020377107A1&KC=A1
https://www.freepatentsonline.com/20200377107.pdf
https://patents.justia.com/patent/20200377107

DRIVER CONDITION DETECTION SYSTEM
The driver condition detection system includes a driver monitor camera capturing a face of a driver of a vehicle and generating a facial image of the driver, and a driver condition detection part configured to detect a condition of the driver based on the facial image. If a part of face parts of the driver is hidden in the facial image, the driver condition detection part is configured to detect a condition of the driver based on face parts of the driver not hidden in the facial image. The face parts of the driver are a mouth, nose, right eye, and left eye of the driver.
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=US&NR=2020381242A1&KC=A1&FT=D&ND=3&date=20201203&DB=&locale=en_EP
https://www.freepatentsonline.com/20200381242.pdf
https://patents.justia.com/patent/20200381242

The gaze-tracking system 140 may be spatially oriented in an environment and generate a gaze direction vector. One of a variety of coordinate systems may be implemented such as user coordinate system (UCS). For example, the UCS has its origin at the center of the front surface of the gaze-tracker. With the origin defined at the center of the front surface (e.g., the eye-tracking camera lens) of the gaze-tracking system 140, the gaze direction vector may be defined with respect to the location of the origin. Furthermore, when spatially orienting the gaze-tracking system 140 in the environment, all other objects including the one or more cameras 138 may be localized with respect to the location of the origin of the gaze-tracking system 140. In some embodiments, an origin of the coordinate system may be defined at a location on the subject, for example, at a spot between the eyes of the subject. Irrespective of the location of the origin for the coordinate system, a calibration process may be employed by the gaze-tracking system 140 to calibrate a coordinate system for collecting gaze-tracking data for training the neural network.

The gaze-tracking system 140 may be spatially oriented in an environment and generate a gaze direction vector. One of a variety of coordinate systems may be implemented such as user coordinate system (UCS). For example, the UCS has its origin at the center of the front surface of the gaze-tracker. With the origin defined at the center of the front surface (e.g., the eye-tracking camera lens) of the gaze-tracking system 140, the gaze direction vector may be defined with respect to the location of the origin. Furthermore, when spatially orienting the gaze-tracking system 140 in the environment, all other objects including the one or more cameras 138 may be localized with respect to the location of the origin of the gaze-tracking system 140. In some embodiments, an origin of the coordinate system may be defined at a location on the subject, for example, at a spot between the eyes of the subject. Irrespective of the location of the origin for the coordinate system, a calibration process may be employed by the gaze-tracking system 140 to calibrate a coordinate system for collecting gaze-tracking data for training the neural network.

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PREDICTING CONTROL HANDBACK
Embodiments described herein include systems and methods for predicting a transfer of control of a vehicle to a driver. A method includes receiving information about an environment of the vehicle, identifying at least one condition represented in the information about the environment of the vehicle that corresponds to at least one of one or more known conditions that lead to a handback of operational control of the vehicle to the driver, and predicting the transfer of control of the vehicle to the driver based on the at least one condition identified from the information about the environment of the vehicle.

The system 100 may also include one or more cameras 138. The one or more cameras 138 may be communicatively coupled to the communication bus 120 and to the processor 132. The one or more cameras 140 may be any device having an array of sensing devices (e.g., pixels) capable of detecting radiation in an ultraviolet wavelength band, a visible light wavelength band, or an infrared wavelength band. The one or more cameras 138 may have any resolution. The one or more cameras 138 may be an omni-directional camera, or a panoramic camera, for example. In some embodiments, one or more optical components, such as a mirror, fish-eye lens, or any other type of lens may be optically coupled to each of the one or more cameras 138. In embodiments described herein, the one or more cameras 138 may capture image data or video data of an environment of a vehicle. That is, with reference to FIG. 2, a vehicle 110 having wheels 115 may include one or more cameras 138 mounted thereon. The one or more cameras 138 may be mounted on a dashboard of a vehicle 110, on a rearview mirror, or elsewhere on the vehicle 110 such that the one or more cameras 138 may capture road-scene data of the environment around a vehicle 110. In some embodiments, the vehicle 110 may further include one or more components of the system 100 such as an electronic control unit 130 configured with a trained neural network as described herein. That is, the vehicle 110 may receive road-scene data from the camera and predict, with the neural network, an occurrence of a handback event. In response to predicting an occurrence of a handback event, the electronic control unit 130 may output an alert to the driver warning them of an impending handback event so that the driver may become aware of the environment of the vehicle and prepare to receive operational control of the vehicle 110.
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?II=1&ND=3&adjacent=true&locale=en_EP&FT=D&date=20201203&CC=US&NR=2020379460A1&KC=A1
https://patents.justia.com/patent/20200379460
https://www.freepatentsonline.com/20200379460.pdf

Method And A System For Visual Human-Machine Interaction
A method for visual interaction between a user (10) and a machine (20) using gaze estimation is disclosed. The method comprises: displaying an initial element and one or more further elements on a display (30), each further element being spatially separated from the initial element, whereby each further element defines an angular range with respect to the position of the initial element; determining that a direction from a first gaze point to a second gaze point lies within the angular range defined by a further element selected by the user; and sending instructions to the machine to perform a function associated with the selected element. A system (1) for visual interaction between a user (10) and a machine (20) using gaze estimation is also disclosed. The gaze points of the user may be determined with relatively low precision.
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?II=11&ND=3&adjacent=true&locale=en_EP&FT=D&date=20201203&CC=US&NR=2020379558A1&KC=A1
https://www.freepatentsonline.com/20200379558.pdf
https://patents.justia.com/patent/20200379558

CONTROLLED DETACHMENT FEATURES OF STEERING COLUMN MOUNTED CAMERA
A camera assembly adapted for mounting to an interior of a motor vehicle on an upper surface of the steering column assembly. The camera assembly has mounting features interacting with a mounting structure that cause the camera assembly to separate from the mounting structure upon the occurrence of a collision with an object or through inertial forces acting on the camera assembly. The separation in such conditions is provided in a controlled manner through the use of cam or ramp surfaces provided in the camera assembly or mounting structure. A cable or tether may be attached to the camera assembly and mounted to the vehicle to further control movement of the camera assembly after separation.
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?II=0&ND=3&adjacent=true&locale=en_EP&FT=D&date=20201203&CC=WO&NR=2020243084A1&KC=A1
https://www.freepatentsonline.com/WO2020243084A1.pdf

VEHICLE CONTROL METHOD AND INTELLIGENT COMPUTING DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING VEHICLE
Disclosed are a vehicle control method and an intelligent device for controlling a vehicle. In a vehicle control method according to an embodiment of the present invention, a processor of a vehicle may determine whether a driver is drowsy through AI processing of information on a condition of the driver, the information being acquired by an in-vehicle sensor. The processor may project a virtual object to a HUD so as to detect an eye-gaze reaction speed of the driver as soon as the processor determines that the driver is drowsy. When the eye-gaze reaction speed of the driver has a value smaller than a predetermined reference value, the processor may output a secondary alarm and control driving of the vehicle according to the secondary alarm. Accordingly, occurrence of an accident due to carelessness of a driver can be reduced. At least one of an autonomous driving vehicle, a user terminal, and a server of the present invention may be linked to an artificial intelligence module, a drone (unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV), a robot, an augmented reality (AR) device, a virtual reality (VR) device, a 5G service-related device, and the like.
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?II=3&ND=3&adjacent=true&locale=en_EP&FT=D&date=20201203&CC=WO&NR=2020241944A1&KC=A1
https://www.freepatentsonline.com/WO2020241944A1.pdf

A SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A DESIRED VIEW FOR A VEHICLE OCCUPANT
A system, method and computer program product for providing a desired camera view of interest for a vehicle occupant (5), the method comprising (S1) obtaining, by the least a first interior view camera (22a, 22b), at least a first interior view (iv1, iv2) of the face and/or the head of the vehicle occupant (5), (S2) determining, based on the at least first interior view (iv1, iv2), at least any of a gaze direction and a head direction of the vehicle occupant (5) for understanding where the vehicle occupant is looking, (S3) determining, that the view of interest for the vehicle occupant is, at least partly, within the at least first exterior view (ev1-ev10) of the at least first exterior view camera (12a-12j), and (S4) displaying the at least first exterior view (ev1-ev10) to the vehicle occupant (5) via the at least first display (30).
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?II=4&ND=3&adjacent=true&locale=en_EP&FT=D&date=20201203&CC=WO&NR=2020238850A1&KC=A1
https://www.freepatentsonline.com/WO2020238850A1.pdf

[0080] In some configurations, the image(s) captured by the image sensor(s) 316 and/or received via the communication interface(s) 320 may be utilized by the electronic device 302 for eye tracking. For example, the processor 324 may include and/or implement an eye tracker 326. The eye tracker 326 may track the gaze (e.g., look direction) of one or more users' eye(s). For example, the eye tracker 326 may locate the eye(s) of one or more users in the image(s) and may estimate the gaze (e.g., look direction) of the user(s). For instance, the eye tracker 326 may determine (e.g., estimate) where a user is looking on a display (e.g., display 332 or an external display) and/or where a user is looking on an image presented by a display. In other words, the eye tracker 326 may determine (e.g., estimate) where a user's gaze is directed relative to an image and/or a display.

[0083] In some configurations, the electronic device 302 may include a camera application and/or a display 332. When the camera application is running, images of objects that are located within the field of view of the optical system 318 may be captured by the image sensor 316. The images that are being captured by the image sensor 316 may be presented on the display 332. In some configurations, these images may be displayed in rapid succession at a relatively high frame rate so that, at any given moment in time, the objects that are located within the field of view of the optical system 318 are presented on the display 332.

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR RENDERING MULTIPLE LEVELS OF DETAIL
An electronic device is described. The electronic device includes a processor. The processor is configured to render a first zone of an image. The processor is also configured to render a second zone of the image. The first zone has a higher tessellated level of detail than the second zone. The processor is further configured to present the first zone and the second zone on at least one vehicle window.

[0006] The processor may be configured to present the first zone on a first window and to present the second zone on a second window. The first window may be a front windshield and the second window may be another window of a vehicle.

[0007] The processor may be configured to present the first zone on a first section of a window and may be configured to present the second zone on a second section of the window. The first section may be a side section of a windshield and the second section may be another side section of the windshield. The first section may be a first horizontal bar across a windshield and the second section may be a second horizontal bar across the windshield.

[0008] The processor may be configured to perform eye tracking. The processor may also be configured to render the first zone and the second zone based on the eye tracking. The processor may be configured to perform eye tracking for multiple users. The processor may prioritize zone rendering based on the eye tracking.

[0078] In some configurations, the one or more image sensors 316 included in the electronic device 302 and/or one or more other image sensors coupled to the electronic device 302 may be oriented to capture one or more images of a user. For example, a smartphone may include a camera mounted on the same face as a display (e.g., display 332). In this way, the camera may capture images of a user while the user is looking at the display. In another example, a camera may be mounted in a console and/or steering wheel of a vehicle to capture images of a user (e.g., driver).

[0079] Additionally or alternatively, the one or more image sensors 316 included in the electronic device 302 and/or one or more other image sensors coupled to the electronic device 302 may be oriented to capture scenery. For example, one or more cameras may be mounted on the back side of a smart phone. In another example, one or more cameras may be mounted on the exterior of a vehicle. In some configurations, the electronic device 302 may utilize the images of scenery in augmented reality (AR) applications, virtual reality (VR) applications and/or other applications (e.g., surround view visualization, driver assistance, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), etc.).
https://worldwide.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/description?CC=ES&NR=2797150T3&KC=T3&FT=D&ND=3&date=20201201&DB=&locale=en_EP
https://www.freepatentsonline.com/EP3403236B1.pdf

I appreciate debate so glad to hear all sides and backed up opinions from people who have earned my trust over the years here.
Thanks to all