Tactile belt system for providing navigation guidance

• US 9,517,175 B1
• Filed: 08/28/2013
• Issued: 12/13/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Sisbot, Emrah Akin, Oguchi, Kentaro, Cosgun, Akansel
• Primary Examiner(s): Olszewski, John R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ziaeianmehdizadeh, Navid
• Application Number:
  US14/012,170
• Time in Patent Office: 1,203 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 3/061 with electronic detecting or guiding means
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 1/00 Measuring angles
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/457 by analysing connectivity, e.g. edge linking, connected component analysis or slices
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/64 Three-dimensional objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/10 Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/103 Static body considered as a whole, e.g. static pedestrian or occupant recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/20 Movements or behaviour, e.g. gesture recognition recognition of facial expressions G06V40/16
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 6/00 Tactile signalling systems, e.g. personal calling systems

Abstract

The disclosure includes a system and method for providing navigation guidance. The system includes a tracking application and a user. The tracking application determines a location of a user, determines a position of at least one object in proximity to the user, determines a path for the user to avoid the at least one object, generates linear and angular velocities that correspond to the path and generates directions that correspond to the linear and angular velocities. The user can receive the directions as audio instructions or via a tactile belt with motors that vibrate to convey the directions.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

determining a first path for a mobile computing device associated with a user to move within an environment;

receiving image data from a scanner associated with the mobile computing device, the image data including one or more images of the user and one or more objects in the environment;

determining, with one or more processors, a location of the user of a tactile belt using the image data;

determining, with the one or more processors, a position of at least one object in proximity to the user using the image data;

determining, with the one or more processors, a second path for the user to avoid the at least one object based on the location of the user and the position of the at least one object;

generating, with the one or more processors, linear and angular velocities that correspond to the second path; and

generating, with the one or more processors, directions that correspond to the linear and angular velocities by converting, with the one or more processors, the linear and angular velocities to a vibrational pattern for the tactile belt, the vibrational pattern including one or more of a directional pattern and a rotational pattern for vibrating one or more motors of the tactile belt.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a location of the mobile computing device;

determining the first path for the mobile computing device to avoid the at least one object;

converting the directions to an audio file; and

transmitting the audio file.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

predicting the vibrational pattern based on the user'"'"'s historical path data and current path data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more motors include a plurality of motors that vibrate as:

a solo once rotational motion that represents activation of consecutive motors for a time interval and an end of vibration after a full rotation of the motors,

a dual once rotational motion that represents a full rotation of the motors in two opposing directions, or

a continuous rotational motion that repeats the solo once rotational motion or the dual once rotational motion continuously until an end of the vibrational pattern.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining whether the user is colliding with the at least one object; and

responsive to the user colliding with the at least one object, modifying at least one setting used to generate the directions.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the location of the user includes determining the location of the user based on the image data from the scanner associated with the mobile computing device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile computing device captures the one or more images at different distances and determining the location of the user includes determining the location of the user based on the one or more images.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

generating a message that includes the directions comprising the vibrational pattern; and

transmitting the message to the tactile belt.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the vibrational pattern based on a threshold distance between the user and the at least one object.

10. A system comprising:

one or more processors, the processors being configured to;

determine a first path for a mobile computing device associated with a user to move within an environment;

receive image data from a scanner associated with the mobile computing device, the image data including one or more images the user and one or more objects in the environment;

determine a location of a user of a tactile belt using the image data;

determine a position of at least one object in proximity to the user using the image data;

determine a second path for the user to avoid the at least one object based on the location of the user and the position of the at least one object;

generate linear and angular velocities that correspond to the second path; and

generate directions that correspond to the linear and angular velocities by converting the linear and angular velocities to a vibrational pattern for the tactile belt, the vibrational pattern including one or more of a directional pattern and a rotational pattern for vibrating one or more motors of the tactile belt.

11. The system of claim 10, the system is further configured to:

determine a location of the mobile computing device;

determine the first path for the mobile computing device to avoid the at least one object;

convert the directions to an audio file; and

transmit the audio file.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the system is further configured to:

predict the vibrational pattern based on the user'"'"'s historical path data and current path data.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein the system is further configured to:

determine the vibrational pattern based on a threshold distance between the user and the at least one object.

14. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer usable medium including a computer readable program, wherein the computer readable program when executed on a computer causes the computer to:

determine a first path for a mobile computing device associated with a user to move within an environment;

receive image data from a scanner associated with the mobile computing device, the image data including one or more images of the user and one or more objects in an environment;

determine a location of the user of a tactile belt using the image data;

determine a position of at least one object in proximity to the user using the image data;

determine a second path for the user to avoid the at least one object based on the location of the user and the position of the at least one object;

generate linear and angular velocities that correspond to the second path; and

generate directions that correspond to the linear and angular velocities by converting the linear and angular velocities to a vibrational pattern for the tactile belt, the vibrational pattern including one or more of a that includes the directional pattern and a rotational pattern for vibrating one or more motors of the tactile belt.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, the computer readable program is further configured to:

determine a location of the mobile computing device;

determine the first path for the mobile computing device to avoid the at least one object;

convert the directions to an audio file; and

transmit the audio file.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer readable program is further configured to:

predict the vibrational pattern based on the user'"'"'s historical path data and current path data.

17. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer readable program is further configured to:

determine the vibrational pattern based on a threshold distance between the user and the at least one object.