Autonomous vehicle to pedestrian communication using directional sound
First Claim
1. A processor-implemented method in a vehicle for providing auditory guidance, the method comprising:
- identifying, by a processor in the vehicle, a desire to communicate with a first pedestrian;
determining, by the processor, a message to communicate to the first pedestrian;
calculating, by the processor, a travel path to instruct the first pedestrian to follow or that the vehicle intends to follow, the travel path having a surface; and
identifying the surface of the travel path by causing a rolling sound conveying the message to appear to emanate and travel, point by point, from a starting point along the surface of the travel path to an ending point along the surface of the travel path by;
positioning, using a vehicle actuator, a directional acoustic device to project directional sound waves to the starting point on the surface of the travel path;
modulating the message in the directional sound waves; and
repositioning, using the vehicle actuator, the directional acoustic device to project the directional sound waves with the modulated message along the surface of the travel path to the ending point, wherein as the directional sound waves contact with the surface of the travel path the message is demodulated and the rolling sound conveying the message appears to originate from and travel along the surface of the travel path.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are provided in an autonomous vehicle for providing auditory guidance to a pedestrian. In one embodiment, a processor-implemented method in a vehicle for providing auditory guidance includes: identifying a desire to communicate with a pedestrian; determining a message to communicate to the pedestrian; calculating a travel path about which to make the pedestrian aware; positioning a directional acoustic device to project directional sound waves to a starting point of the travel path; modulating the message in the directional sound waves; and repositioning the directional acoustic device to project the directional sound waves with the modulated message along the travel path, wherein as the directional sound waves contact with a travel path surface the message is demodulated and a sound conveying the message appears to originate from and travel along the travel path.
10 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A processor-implemented method in a vehicle for providing auditory guidance, the method comprising:
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identifying, by a processor in the vehicle, a desire to communicate with a first pedestrian; determining, by the processor, a message to communicate to the first pedestrian; calculating, by the processor, a travel path to instruct the first pedestrian to follow or that the vehicle intends to follow, the travel path having a surface; and identifying the surface of the travel path by causing a rolling sound conveying the message to appear to emanate and travel, point by point, from a starting point along the surface of the travel path to an ending point along the surface of the travel path by; positioning, using a vehicle actuator, a directional acoustic device to project directional sound waves to the starting point on the surface of the travel path; modulating the message in the directional sound waves; and repositioning, using the vehicle actuator, the directional acoustic device to project the directional sound waves with the modulated message along the surface of the travel path to the ending point, wherein as the directional sound waves contact with the surface of the travel path the message is demodulated and the rolling sound conveying the message appears to originate from and travel along the surface of the travel path. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A pedestrian alerting system in a vehicle, the pedestrian alerting system comprising:
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a first module configured to; identify a desire to communicate with a first pedestrian; determine a message to communicate to the first pedestrian; and calculate a travel path to instruct the first pedestrian to follow or that the vehicle intends to follow, the travel path having a surface; and a second module configured to identify the surface of the travel path by causing a rolling sound conveying the message to appear to emanate and travel, point by point, from a starting point along the surface of the travel path to an ending point along the surface of the travel path, to identify the surface of the travel path the second module is configured to; position a directional acoustic device to project directional sound waves to the starting point on the surface of the travel path; modulate the message in the directional sound waves; and reposition the directional acoustic device to project the directional sound waves with the modulated message along the surface of the travel path, wherein as the directional sound waves contact with the surface of the travel path the message is demodulated and the rolling sound conveying the message appears to originate from and travel along the surface of the travel path. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20)
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17. An autonomous vehicle comprising:
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a directional acoustic device; and a pedestrian alerting module configured to; identify a desire to communicate with a first pedestrian; determine a message to communicate to the first pedestrian; calculate a travel path to instruct the first pedestrian to follow or that the vehicle intends to follow, the travel path having a surface; and identify the surface of the travel path by causing a rolling sound conveying the message to appear to emanate and travel, point by point, from a starting point along the surface of the travel path to an ending point along the surface of the travel path, to identify the surface of the travel path the pedestrian alerting module is configured to; position the directional acoustic device to project directional sound waves to the starting point on the surface of the travel path; modulate the message in the directional sound waves; and reposition the directional acoustic device to project the directional sound waves with the modulated message along the surface of the travel path, wherein as the directional sound waves contact with the surface of the travel path the message is demodulated and the rolling sound conveying the message appears to originate from and travel along the surface of the travel path.
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Specification