Audible notification systems and methods for autonomous vehicles

• US 9,956,910 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2016
• Issued: 05/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Incorporated (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: McNew, John-Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAM, QUANG
• Application Number:
  US15/212,557
• Publication Number:
  US 20180015878A1
• Time in Patent Office: 652 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/008 for anti-collision purposes

Abstract

An object detection and notification system includes an object detection system including logic that detects presence of a target object within a sensing range of a sensor and determines a direction of the target object relative to the autonomous vehicle. A notification system includes logic that provides a sound cue using a speaker to an occupant of the autonomous vehicle that is indicative of location of the target object relative to the autonomous vehicle.

Claims

1. An object detection and notification system of an autonomous vehicle, comprising:

an object detection system that detects a presence of a target object within a sensing range of one or more sensors of the object detection system and determines a direction of travel of the target object relative to the autonomous vehicle based on the detection of the presence of the target object from the one or more sensors;

a notification system that provides a sound cue using a speaker to an occupant of the autonomous vehicle that is indicative of a location of the target object relative to the autonomous vehicle based on the detection of the presence of the target object from the one or more sensors; and

an occupant monitoring device that provides information indicative of a viewing angle of the occupant that is used by the object detection and notification system to provide the sound cue;

wherein the notification system localizes the sound cue to a calculated angle based on the viewing angle of the occupant and moves a perceived location of the localized sound cue in a spatio-temporal fashion in stages increasingly toward a desired viewing angle based on the direction of travel of the target object.

2. The object detection and notification system of claim 1, wherein the object detection system determines a distance of the target object relative to the autonomous vehicle based on the detection of the presence of the target object from the sensor.

3. The object detection and notification system of claim 2, wherein the notification system changes a frequency of the sound cue based on the distance of the target object relative to the autonomous vehicle.

4. The object detection and notification system of claim 2, wherein the notification system changes an intensity of the sound cue based on the distance of the target object relative to the autonomous vehicle.

5. An autonomous vehicle comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more non-transitory memory modules communicatively coupled to the one or more processors;

a speaker connected to the one or more processors;

an object detection system comprising one or more sensors, communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, that detects a presence of a target object within a sensing range of the one or more sensors and determines a direction of travel of the target object relative to the autonomous vehicle based on the detection of the presence of the target object from the one or more sensors;

machine readable instructions stored in the one or more non-transitory memory modules that cause the one or more processors to provide a sound cue using the speaker to an occupant of the autonomous vehicle that is indicative of a location of a target object relative to the autonomous vehicle based on the detection of the presence of the target object from the one or more sensors; and

an occupant monitoring device that provides information indicative of a viewing angle of the occupant that is used by the one or more processors to provide the sound cue;

wherein the one or more processors localize the sound cue to a calculated angle based on the viewing angle of the occupant and moves a perceived location the localized sound cue in a spatio-temporal fashion in stages increasingly toward a desired viewing angle based on the direction of travel of the target object.

6. The autonomous vehicle of claim 5 comprising machine readable instructions stored in the one or more non-transitory memory modules that cause the one or more processors to determine a distance of the target object relative to the autonomous vehicle based on the detection of the presence of the target object from the one or more sensors.

7. The autonomous vehicle of claim 6 comprising machine readable instructions stored in the one or more non-transitory memory modules that cause the one or more processors to change a frequency of the sound cue based on the distance of the target object relative to the autonomous vehicle.

8. The autonomous vehicle of claim 6 comprising machine readable instructions stored in the one or more non-transitory memory modules that cause the one or more processors to change an intensity of the sound cue based on the distance of the target object relative to the autonomous vehicle.

9. A method of providing information to an occupant of an autonomous vehicle about a target object, the method comprising:

detecting, by an object detection system of the autonomous vehicle, a presence of the target object within a sensing range of one or more sensors of the object detection system that provide input to one or more processors of the autonomous vehicle;

determining, by the one or more processors, a direction of travel of the target object relative to the autonomous vehicle using the input;

providing, by the one or more processors, a sound cue using a speaker to the occupant of the autonomous vehicle that is indicative of a location of the target object relative to the autonomous vehicle; and

providing information indicative of a viewing angle of the occupant using an occupant monitoring device that is used by the one or more processors to provide the sound cue;

wherein the one or more processors localize the sound cue to a calculated angle based on the viewing angle of the occupant and moves a perceived location of the localized sound cue in a spatio-temporal fashion in stages increasingly toward a desired viewing angle based on the direction of travel of the target object.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising

determining, by the one or more processors, a distance of the target object relative to the autonomous vehicle using the input;

and

the one or more processors changing one or both of a frequency and intensity of the sound cue based on the distance of the target object relative to the autonomous vehicle.