Looking Past Infotainment: Role of Human-Machine Interface Technologies in Safety
By Rosemary Joshy, Head of Engineering, Human Machine Interface, Continental Automotive India
Automotive Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) has evolved over the decades from simple analog displays to 3D fully digital multi-displays. In the beginning, automotive HMI was primarily driven by the need to improve driving safety. Hence, HMI technology back then was used to aid the driver solely by providing driver information in the analog clusters. With the introduction of radios, televisions, and mobile technologies, the automotive HMI expanded its scope further into the automotive infotainment units considering comfort as a key factor. However, mobility of today demands connected and automated driving experience making safety a crucial factor to drive the HMI technologies along with comfort.
This article details a few of the many HMI technologies that help improve safety.
Head-Up Display
To read an instrument cluster, the driver has to take his or her eyes off the road. Let’s consider a highway driving scenario, if a driver driving at a speed of 120 km/h decides to dip his or her vision to check the reading on the instrument cluster, he or she will be driving blind for about 33 meters, now imagine the risk. The head-up display (HUD) was created to reduce distractions to the driver and increase safety.
A HUD shows information exactly where the driver needs it — directly in the line of sight, displaying information such as speed, warnings, navigation guidance, etc. With Augmented-Reality Head-up displays in addition to regular driving information, it also supplements the exterior view of the traffic conditions in front of the vehicle with virtual information for the driver. The features of HUD translate into a vital function that ensures safety and comfort always. The Continental HUD delivers display technology enhancements without compromising safety. It provides vivid colors, a large field of view, and the ability to be seen through polarized sunglasses, all while displaying important information — such as speed and navigation cues — in a driver’s direct line of sight.
Natural 3D Display
Continental has invented a new 3D display with innovative Lightfield technology from Silicon Valley Startup Leia. This solution offers a real 3D experience without the need for further components like head tracking and therefore saves space, effort, and cost while significantly enhancing the user experience. The Natural 3D Lightfield display is an evolutionary step in the design of human-machine interaction of vehicles. It brings out a new dimension of safety and comfort by generating an unprecedented 3D experience without special eye-wear. With this technology, information can be safely conferred to the driver in real-time, which allows the interaction between the driver and the vehicle to become more intuitive and comfortable.
This 3D autostereoscopic display allows drivers to perceive better the urgency of information and lowers the reaction time on critical information like warnings, thus improving safety. With the 3D display, the user can judge distances and positions much more accurately than 2D display hence improving the navigation guidance and visualizes the adaptive cruise control information more precisely. The natural 3D Display can be controlled by touch in combination with active haptic feedback that allows the driver to sense with fingers minimizing the need to take eyes off the road, thereby providing more excellent operating safety.
Digital Companion
With the digital companion, Continental focuses on the most natural means of communication: the spoken word. The system is capable of communicating almost like a human. Natural dialog design, the capability to understand multiple questions in one sentence and, above all, its capacity to detect logical connections make this innovative solution and provides distraction-free operation via smart voice control enhances road safety.
Thanks to smart algorithms and a system architecture precisely tailored to the vehicle, the assistant continues to learn with every conversation, really helping out on the road. Frustrating answers like “I cannot understand you” or “That is beyond my capabilities” to legitimate questions are now a thing of the past. These days the driver assistance and infotainment systems are supplying more and more information to the driver, so there is a need for solutions that ensure intuitive, easy, and safe interaction between the driver and the car.
Holistic HMI for Autonomous Driving
Autonomous and connected driving increases the complexity of the mobility world. It provides so many features for the user, and these features are made accessible to the user with a simple, intuitive holistic HMI. Hence HMI in driverless vehicles plays a vital role in ensuring safety, accessibility, and comfort. The revolutionary intelligent technology combines seamless human-machine cooperation inside and outside the vehicle. Holistic HMI for Autonomous Driving has the potential to lead a safer traffic environment, combined with easy accessibility and comfort for both passengers and pedestrians.
Continental is developing a holistic solution for human-machine interaction, specifically designed for autonomous vehicles. This solution was developed in the CUbE, Continentals development platform for driverless technologies. Autonomous shuttle buses or robo-taxis currently being tested along predetermined routes will pave the way for tomorrow’s driverless vehicles, which will smoothly navigate complex, mixed traffic scenarios. Continental’s holistic human-machine interface will respond and communicate when pedestrians are detected in the path of the shuttle. The vehicle’s sensors will register the presence of the pedestrian and validate this through an easily understandable audio-visual interface, which is compatible with certain optical disabilities, such as color blindness.
About the author
Rosemary Joshy is the Head of Engineering, Human Machine Interface (HMI) business unit. In this role, Ms. Joshy is responsible for spearheading the Software Development Center India, as the major R&D location for HMI business unit.
In 2016, Ms. Joshy joined Continental as Software Architect in HMI business unit, Babenhausen, Germany. Her technical competence along with leadership skills elevated her soon to the new role as Group Leader Architecture, where she led a global team of technical experts and architects across various R&D locations of HMI business unit in Germany, Mexico, Romania & Singapore. Prior to Continental, she worked about a decade with leading Tier 1 suppliers through the entire spectra of software engineering spanning from software engineer to automotive consultant. Her proven track and her business acumen quickly accelerated her career, culminating in the Head of Software Development Center position.
