Mobile Application for Providing Vehicle Information to Users

• US 20130046592A1
• Filed: 08/17/2011
• Published: 02/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Original Assignee: General Motors LLC (General Motors Company)
• Inventors: Ross, Steven J.
• Application Number:
  US13/211,913
• Publication Number:
  US 20130046592A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/14.4
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04815 Interaction with a metaphor-based environment or interaction object displayed as three-dimensional, e.g. changing the user viewpoint with respect to the environment or object
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2205/02 using a vehicle scan tool
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72454 according to context-related or environment-related conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/185 by embedding added-value information into content, e.g. geo-tagging

Abstract

The described method and system provide for quickly and intuitively presenting users with a variety of detailed vehicle information through a mobile application on a mobile computing device. The mobile computing device is preferably a mobile phone having at least a camera, a display, a processor, and a tangible non-transient computer-readable medium for storing appropriate programming and vehicle information. By pointing a camera at a vehicle, the mobile computing device receives images of the vehicle and may identify various objects or features of the vehicle. The mobile computing device then overlays these identifications on top of images of the vehicle displayed to a user corresponding to the location of the identified objects or features in the images. The user can then select the various objects or features to receive further detailed vehicle information regarding the selection.

Claims

1. A method for presenting detailed vehicle information to a user on a mobile computing device, the method comprising:

receiving, at the mobile computing device, at least one image corresponding to a vehicle;

identifying, at the mobile computing device, at least one object in the at least one image; and

displaying, at the mobile computing device, the at least one image with overlaid information corresponding to the at least one identified object based on the location of the at least one identified object in the at least one image.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the mobile computing device, a user input corresponding to a selection of an identified object; and

displaying, at the mobile computing device, detailed vehicle information corresponding to the selected identified object.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the detailed vehicle information is stored at a database at the mobile computing device.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the detailed vehicle information is received by the mobile computing device over a network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the received at least one image is part of a sequence of images and the method further comprises:

determining, at the mobile computing device, relative motion between the at least one image with respect to a previously received image based on at least one position sensor at the mobile computing device; and

the displaying the at least one image with overlaid information corresponding to the at least one identified object is further based on the determined relative motion.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the at least one position sensor is at least one of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and a compass.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile computing device is a mobile phone.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein the detailed vehicle information corresponding to the selected identified object is based on at least one of the location of one of the user and the vehicle.

9. The method of claim 2, wherein the detailed vehicle information corresponding to the selected identified object is based on at least one of the make, model and year of the vehicle.

10. The method of claim 2, wherein the detailed vehicle information corresponding to the selected identified object includes an advertisement.

11. A mobile computing device for presenting detailed vehicle information to a user comprising a camera, a display, a processor, and a tangible non-transient computer-readable medium, the computer readable medium having computer-executable instructions stored there on, the computer-executable instructions comprising:

instructions for receiving at least one image corresponding to a vehicle;

instructions for identifying at least one object in the at least one image; and

instructions for displaying the at least one image with overlaid information corresponding to the at least one identified object based on the location of the at least one identified object in the at least one image.

12. The mobile computing device of claim 11, wherein the computer-executable instructions further comprise:

instructions for receiving a user input corresponding to a selection of an identified object; and

instructions for displaying detailed vehicle information corresponding to the selected identified object.

13. The mobile computing device of claim 12, wherein the detailed vehicle information is stored on the computer-readable medium.

14. The mobile computing device of claim 12, further comprising a network access device, and wherein the detailed vehicle information is received by the mobile computing device over a network.

15. The mobile computing device of claim 11, further comprising at least one position sensor, and wherein the received at least one image is part of a sequence of images, and wherein the computer-executable instructions further comprise:

instructions for determining relative motion between the at least one image with respect to a previously received image based on the at least one position sensor at the mobile computing device; and

wherein the instructions for displaying the at least one image with overlaid information corresponding to the at least one identified object are further based on the determined relative motion.

16. The mobile computing device of claim 15, wherein the at least one position sensor is at least one of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and a compass.

17. The mobile computing device of claim 11, wherein the mobile computing device is a mobile phone.

18. The mobile computing device of claim 12, wherein the detailed vehicle information corresponding to the selected identified object is based on at least one of the location of one of the user and the vehicle.

19. The mobile computing device of claim 12, wherein the detailed vehicle information corresponding to the selected identified object is based on at least one of the make, model and year of the vehicle.

20. The mobile computing device of claim 12, wherein the detailed vehicle information corresponding to the selected identified object includes an advertisement.