Method for operating an operating device of a motor vehicle using gaze detection

• US 9,201,502 B2
• Filed: 11/23/2012
• Issued: 12/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Original Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Inventors: Kuehne, Marcus, Mueller, Ulrich
• Primary Examiner(s): Sternbane, Larry
• Application Number:
  US14/387,443
• Publication Number:
  US 20150084854A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,103 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/00 Indexing scheme associated with groups B60K35/00 or B60K37/00 relating to details of instruments or dashboards
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/137 Jog-dials
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/146 Instrument input by gesture
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1868 according to driving situations
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/197 Blocking or enabling of input functions
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/21 using cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/55 Remote control arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/10 Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/28 characterised by the type of the output information, e.g. video entertainment or vehicle dynamics information; characterised by the purpose of the output information, e.g. for attracting the attention of the driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/29 Instruments characterised by the way in which information is handled, e.g. showing information on plural displays or prioritising information according to driving conditions
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/80 Arrangements for controlling instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/28 Recognition of hand or arm movements, e.g. recognition of deaf sign language static hand signs G06V40/113

Abstract

An operating device of a motor vehicle has at least one display unit for displaying changeable information. Gaze detection is used to check whether the operator'"'"'s gaze is directed at the at least one display unit. An input command in a first group of input commands is not executed if the operator'"'"'s gaze is not directed at the at least one display unit for a certain time period during the input command. For a second group of input commands, the input command is executed irrespective of gaze detection.

Claims

1. A method for operating at least one operating device of a motor vehicle, comprising:

displaying variable information via a display unit including displaying operating information for both a first operating device and a second operating device of the motor vehicle;

receiving an input command at the display unit;

determining if the received input command is a first command from a first group of commands or a second command from a second group of commands;

if the received input command is determined to be from the first group,

performing gaze detection to check whether an operator'"'"'s gaze is directed at the display unit;

executing the first command if the operator'"'"'s gaze is directed at the display unit for a predetermined period of time while the first command is being input; and

preventing execution of the first command if the operator'"'"'s gaze is not directed at the display unit for the predetermined period of time while the first command is being input; and

if the received input command is determined to be from the second group,

executing the second command irrespective of whether the operator'"'"'s gaze is directed at the display unit,

wherein

the first group of commands operates the first operating device of the motor vehicle, and

the second group of commands operates the second operating device of the motor vehicle.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the predetermined period of time is 1 second to 10 seconds.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein gesture recognition is used to input at least one of the first command and the second command.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the second group of commands operates at least one of a multimedia system and an air-conditioning system.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the second group of commands comprises at least one command selected from the group consisting of a volume control command for the multimedia system, a radio station changing command for the multimedia system and a temperature controlling command for the air-conditioning system.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein execution of the first command is delayed until the operator'"'"'s gaze has been directed at the display unit for the predetermined period of time.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first group of commands operates a navigation system.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein gaze detection is performed for a single display unit, for both the first command and the second command.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein commands from the first group of commands are more complex to input relative to commands from the second group of commands.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein

gesture recognition is used to input the first command and the second command, and

a first gesture to input the first command is more complex to input relative to a second gesture to input the second command.