Using a gesture to evaluate displayed information and initiate an operation of a vehicle system

• US 9,874,939 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2015
• Issued: 01/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Original Assignee: Audi AG (Volkswagen AG)
• Inventors: Schlittenbauer, Michael, Roehder, Martin, Bohrer, Lorenz
• Primary Examiner(s): Chang, Kent
• Application Number:
  US15/125,084
• Publication Number:
  US 20170045949A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,047 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/122 Instrument input devices with reconfigurable control functions, e.g. reconfigurable menus
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/146 Instrument input by gesture
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/1468 Touch gesture
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/21 using cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/334 Projection means
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/589 Wireless data transfers
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• 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 35/85 Arrangements for transferring vehicle- or driver-related data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/10 Interpretation of driver requests or demands
• 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: G06F 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

An optical system which is designed to detect a gesture, and a processing unit that is coupled to the optical system and is designed to analyze the detected gesture, are included in a gesture evaluation system. The gesture evaluation system furthermore has a utilization unit that is designed to save an evaluation that has been detected from the gesture together with evaluated information.

Claims

1. A motor vehicle, comprising:

a chassis;

at least one vehicle system;

a presentation system configured to present information; and

a gesture evaluation system, including;

an optical system configured to detect a gesture;

a processing unit coupled to the optical system and configured to analyze the detected gesture; and

a utilization unit configured to store, in at least one of a memory of the utilization unit and a remote storage device, an evaluation of the presented information as ascertained from the detected gesture together with the presented information, and

the gesture evaluation system is configured to;

detect a time duration of the detected gesture,

assign a weight to the evaluation according to the detected time duration such that the longer the detected time duration the higher the weight assigned to the evaluation, and

to initiate an operation of at least one of the at least one vehicle system, after the evaluation is ascertained and based on the weight assigned to the evaluation according to the detected time duration of the detected gesture,

wherein the evaluation and the presented information are retrievable from the at least one of the memory of the utilization unit and the remote storage device.

2. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1,

further comprising a vehicle management system,

wherein the utilization unit is part of the vehicle management system.

3. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 2, wherein

the vehicle management system is connectable with a global system of interconnected computer networks, and

the presented information is transmitted to at least one web site via the global system of interconnected computer networks.

4. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 2, wherein

the vehicle management system is connectable with a network of remote servers hosted on the global system of interconnected computer networks, and

the evaluated information is stored in at least one server among the network of remote servers.

5. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gesture is an upright thumb.

6. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 5, wherein the upright thumb is a right-hand thumb of a person.

7. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the presented information includes information selected from at least one of a song, a location, a service facility, an image, a graphic, status information, a physical variable, a measurement value, a sound, and a suggestion.

8. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the presentation system includes operating console of the motor vehicle.

9. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the presentation system includes at least one of a display and a projector.

10. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the optical system includes at least one of an optical sensor and a time-of-flight camera.

11. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the evaluation is stored together with the presented information in the memory of the utilization unit.

12. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 11, wherein when the detected time duration of the detected gesture is greater than a predefined time duration, the operation of the at least one of the at least one vehicle system is initiated.

13. A method for evaluating information provided by a device installed in a vehicle, the method comprising:

presenting information by a presentation system installed in the vehicle;

detecting a gesture that relates to the presented information;

analyzing the gesture to obtain an evaluation with respect to the presented information;

detecting a time duration of the detected gesture;

storing the evaluation together with the presented information in at least one of a memory of the vehicle and a storage device remotely located from the vehicle;

assigning a weight to the evaluation according to the detected time duration such that the longer the detected time duration the higher the weight assigned to the evaluation; and

initiating an operation of at least one vehicle system of the vehicle, after the evaluation is ascertained and based on the weight assigned to the evaluation according to the detected time duration of the detected gesture,

wherein the evaluation and the presented information are retrievable from the at least one of the memory and the storage device.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising transmitting the evaluation together with the presented information to the storage device remotely located from the vehicle via a radio link.

15. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the operation of the at least one vehicle system of the vehicle is initiated when the detected time duration of the gesture is greater than a predefined time duration.