ADAPTIVE ZONE OF SAFETY

• US 20160280127A1
• Filed: 12/13/2013
• Published: 09/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tahoe Research Limited (f/k/a Learndale Limited) (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Needham, Bradford H., Sia, Jose K. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 9,656,602 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/32 for indicating vehicle sides , e.g. clearance lights
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 2400/50 Projected symbol or information, e.g. onto the road or car body
• CPC Class Codes: B62J 27/00 Safety equipment
• CPC Class Codes: B62J 6/04 Rear lights
• CPC Class Codes: B62J 6/26 warning or informing other road users, e.g. police flash lights
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/3173 wherein the projection device is specially adapted for enhanced portability

Abstract

Various systems and methods for providing an adaptive zone of safety are described herein. An apparatus comprises a projector to project a lighted shape on a travel surface, the lighted shape demarcating the adaptive zone of safety; a monitor to monitor a path of a pedestrian travelling over the travel surface; and a computing module to adaptively adjust the lighted shape based on at least one of the travel surface or the path.

Claims

1. -26. (canceled)

27. An apparatus to provide an adaptive zone of safety, the apparatus comprising:

a projector to project a lighted shape on a travel surface, the lighted shape demarcating the adaptive zone of safety;

a monitor to monitor a path of a pedestrian travelling over the travel surface; and

a computing module to adaptively adjust the lighted shape based on at least one of the travel surface or the path.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the lighted shape is a single line.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the lighted shape comprises a pair of approximately parallel lines.

30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein to adaptively adjust the lighted shape, the computing device is to:

monitor the path to determine a degree of wobble of the path; and

adjust the size of the lighted shape according the degree of wobble.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein to monitor the path to determine the degree of wobble, the computing module is to sense lateral movement of the pedestrian over a period of time using at least one of an accelerometer and a gyrometer.

32. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the computing module is to:

compare the lateral movement to a historical wobble value; and

calculate an appropriate size of the lighted shape based on the comparison.

33. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the pedestrian is operating a personal transportation device, and wherein to adaptively adjusts the lighted shape, the computing module is to:

detect an attitude of the personal transportation device; and

adjust the size of the lighted shape according the attitude.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein to detect the attitude of the personal transportation device, the computing module is to use a gyrometer to detect the attitude.

35. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the personal transportation device comprises one of a bicycle, a unicycle, a skateboard, a kick scooter, a wheelchair, or inline skates.

36. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein when detecting the attitude of the personal transportation device the computing module is to detect that the personal transportation device is turning and adjusts the size of the lighted shape to accommodate the turning.

37. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein to adaptively adjust the lighted shape, the computing module is to:

determine a condition of the travel surface; and

adjust the size of the lighted shape according the condition of the travel surface.

38. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein to determine the condition of the travel surface, the computing module is to:

access a sensor mounted to a personal transportation vehicle that the pedestrian is operating to obtain an environmental variable; and

use the environmental variable to identify the condition of the travel surface.

39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the sensor comprises a moisture sensor, and wherein the environmental variable comprises wetness, and wherein the condition of the travel surface is identified as being some degree from dry to wet.

40. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein the sensor comprises microphone incorporated in a mobile device, and wherein the environment variable comprises a noise level indicative of other traffic on or near the travel surface, and wherein the condition of the travel surface is identified as being some degree from free flowing to congested.

41. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising:

a transceiver to transmit an indication of the adaptive zone of safety to a nearby vehicle, the nearby vehicle to use the indication to display information to an operator of the nearby vehicle in order to notify the operator of the pedestrian'"'"'s adaptive zone of safety.

42. A method for providing an adaptive zone of safety, the method comprising:

projecting a lighted shape on a travel surface, the lighted shape demarcating the adaptive zone of safety;

monitoring, using a mobile computing device, a path of a pedestrian travelling over the travel surface; and

adaptively adjusting the lighted shape based on at least one of the travel surface or the path.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the lighted shape is a single line.

44. The method of claim 42, wherein the lighted shape comprises a pair of approximately parallel lines.

45. The method of claim 42, wherein adaptively adjusting the lighted shape comprises:

monitoring the path to determine a degree of wobble of the path; and

adjusting the size of the lighted shape according the degree of wobble.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein monitoring the path to determine the degree of wobble comprises sensing lateral movement of the pedestrian over a period of time using at least one of an accelerometer and a gyrometer.

47. The method of claim 45, further comprising:

comparing the lateral movement to a historical wobble value; and

calculating an appropriate size of the lighted shape based on the comparison.

48. The method of claim 42, wherein the pedestrian is operating a personal transportation device, and wherein adaptively adjusting the lighted shape comprises:

detecting an attitude of the personal transportation device; and

adjusting the size of the lighted shape according the attitude.

49. A machine-readable medium including instructions for providing an adaptive zone of safety, which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to:

project a lighted shape on a travel surface, the lighted shape demarcating the adaptive zone of safety;

monitor a path of a pedestrian travelling over the travel surface; and

adaptively adjust the lighted shape based on at least one of the travel surface or the path.