Methods and systems for a complete vehicle ecosystem are provided. Specifically, systems that when taken alone, or together, provide an individual or group of individuals with an intuitive and comfortable vehicular environment. The present disclosure includes a system to generate a vehicle communication system. The vehicle communication system can determine which devices are within the vehicle. From this determination, the vehicle communication system may create a universal bus and hotspot where applications, data, multimedia information, and resources can be shared both with the vehicle and with the other devices in the vehicle.

A user, such as the driver of a vehicle, to retrieve information related to a point of interest (POI) near the vehicle by pointing at the POI or performing some other gesture to identify the POI. Gesture recognition is performed on the gesture to generate a target region that includes the POI that the user identified. After generating the target region, information about the POI can be retrieved by querying a server-based POI service with the target region or by searching in a micromap that is stored locally. The retrieved POI information can then be provided to the user via a display and/or speaker in the vehicle. This process beneficially allows a user to rapidly identify and retrieve information about a POI near the vehicle without having to navigate a user interface by manipulating a touchscreen or physical buttons.

Systems and methods are provided for training a plurality of users of a vehicle to use gestures as a short-cut for controlling vehicle functions. The methods monitor a plurality of tasks related to controlling vehicle functions completed by a unique user. For each task, the method may determine whether the task has been completed by the unique user either using a predefined gesture associated with the task, or manually, without using the predefined gesture associated with the task. For each task, the method designates the predefined gesture as being either a learned gesture or an un-learned gesture. After a predetermined time period, the method may include determining that a gesture usage history associated with the unique user includes at least one un-learned gesture. User-customized instructions that at least one un-learned gesture is available for use as a short-cut for controlling a vehicle function may be presented to the unique user.

An imaging system (CM, 100) is provided with: an imaging device (CM) configured to selectively image a first imaging area and a second imaging area, which is larger than the first imaging area, the first imaging area being used to detect eyes of a user (1), the second imaging area being used to detect a body of the user; a detecting device (110, 120, 160) configured to detect trigger operation of the user; and a selecting device (13) configured to select the first imaging area or the second imaging area on the basis of a detection result of the trigger operation.

An information processing device configured from: a vehicle-mounted device control unit that controls the overall operation of a vehicle-mounted device; a sensing unit capable of measuring the distance to an object and capable of detecting gestures; and a display unit that displays video/images. The sensing unit continuously monitors to determine the distance at which objects are located in front of the display unit, and when the intrusion of the driver's hand into a prescribed region (1) in front of the display unit is detected, the sensing unit moves a prescribed icon (displayed on the display unit) toward the driver. Furthermore, when a speaker is provided, a sound effect or a sound is output from the speaker in conjunction with the movement of the icon. When the intrusion of the driver's hand into a region (2), which is closer to the display unit than the region (1), is detected, a lower-level menu associated with the icon is displayed in a fan-like manner, and a sound effect is output from the speaker. Furthermore, the menu is operated so as to be displayed for a fixed period of time, and in this state the menu continues to be displayed until the fixed period of time elapses, or until the driver performs a gesture such as a body movement, or until an input is received by a switch input unit.

In one embodiment, a system for a vehicle control display device is provided. The system includes a vehicle steering wheel having spokes connected to a steering shaft, the wheel positioned in front of a dashboard having controls mounted therein. The system further includes a flexible display attached to the wheel or a spoke. The system further includes a sensor installed in the wheel to detect a driver's hand position on the wheel. The system further includes an overhead camera and micro cameras installed in the wheel to determine the driver's eye position. The system further includes a processor attached to the flexible display, the sensor, and the cameras to determine which controls are obscured by the wheel and the spokes and for displaying pre-specified ones of the obscured controls on the flexible display.

The present invention relates to a vehicle display device comprising: a display; a gesture sensing unit disposed in the vicinity of the display so as to generate a first sheet beam to be emitted in a first direction and a second sheet beam to be emitted in a second direction different from the first direction, and sensing a three-dimensional gesture of an object through the first and second sheet beams; and a processor for providing a control signal according to the three-dimensional gesture.

A display generator, after activation of a display area assigned to at least one function in the interior of a vehicle, holographically displays virtual operator control elements assigned to the at least one function in the display area assigned to the at least one function in the interior of the vehicle. A detection and sensing device detects and senses gestures by a vehicle occupant which are to be interpreted as operator control inputs upon the virtual operator control elements being actuated in a manner desired by the vehicle occupant. A computing unit interprets the gestures as operator control inputs and initiates an implementation, corresponding to the operator control inputs, of the at least one function.

A driver can intuitively and conveniently perform an operation for instructing a traffic lane change to a vehicle. In a driving support device 10, an image output unit 14a outputs, to a display unit 31, an image containing an own vehicle object representing an own vehicle and a plurality of traffic lanes. An operation signal input unit 14b receives an operation of a user for moving the own vehicle object in the image displayed on the display unit 31 from a first traffic lane to a second traffic lane. A command output unit 14c outputs, to an automatic driving control unit 20 that controls automatic driving, a command for instructing the change of a traveling traffic lane of the own vehicle from the first traffic lane to the second traffic lane when the operation is received.

The present disclosure describes a vehicle implementing one or more processing modules. These modules are configured to connect and interface with the various buses in the vehicle, where the various buses are connected with the various components of the vehicle to facilitate information transfer among the vehicle components. Each processing module is further modularized with the ability to add and replace other functional modules now or in the future. These functional modules can themselves act as distinct vehicle components. Each processing modules may hand-off processing to other modules depending on its health, processing load, or by third-party control. Thus, the plurality of processing modules helps to implement a middleware point of control to the vehicle with redundancy in processing and safety and security awareness in their applications.