FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates to the field of automobiles. More specifically, the information relates to a display device for displaying an information of the surroundings of a motor vehicle. Furthermore, the invention relates to a corresponding method.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

[0002] In the state of the art, display devices for displaying surroundings of a motor vehicle are already known. For example, the display device may be configured for a driver dashboard of a motor vehicle or, for example, as a display device of a central infotainment system in a center console of the motor vehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0003] It is an object of the invention to provide a display device as well as a method by which a better displaying of the surroundings of a motor vehicle may be realized.

[0004] This object is solved by a display device as well as a method according to the independent claims. Advantageous forms of configurations are presented in the dependent claims.

[0005] One aspect of the invention relates to a display device for displaying an information of the surroundings of a motor vehicle, comprising a computing system for receiving the information of the surroundings from a capturing device. The computing system may include a control circuit. The control circuit may be configured to receive information (e.g. pedestrians or buildings) from a capturing device.

[0006] Yet another example aspect of the present disclosure is directed to one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that store instructions that are executable by a control circuit. The instructions, when executed, may cause the control circuit to perform operations. The operations may include receiving vehicle location data indicating respective one or more locations of one or more buildings around the motor vehicle. The operations may further include receiving vehicle route data descriptive of a plurality of travel events (e.g. surrounding physical features and/or traffic information) associated with the motor vehicle.

[0007] In an embodiment, the display device comprises a plurality of movable sticks, and the surroundings are presented by controlling the movable sticks and by displaying a three-dimensional presentation of the surroundings by the movable sticks.

[0008] Therefore, a morphing surface hardware is presented, which may comprise a plurality of sticks, which may also be called stixels, wherein the stixels are column-like and are provided for displaying and display mirroring. The stixel hardware is designed to give a user of the display device visual feedback and/or user interface interactions based on their interactions with the vehicle’s infotainment system. The surface may change dynamically depending on how the user is interacting with the main infotainment display.

[0009] Therefore, the invention increases user experience when driving the motor vehicle.

[0010] In an embodiment, each stick of the plurality of sticks comprises a lighting device for lighting the stick.

[0011] In another embodiment, each lighting device is configured for displaying different colors.

[0012] Furthermore, each stick is additionally configured as a button for operating at least one functional device of the display device and/or the motor vehicle. [0013] In another embodiment, the computing system is configured for lowering the resolution of the information from the capturing device for displaying the surroundings in a lower resolution.

[0014] Another aspect of the information relates to a motor vehicle comprising the display device according to the preceding aspect.

[0015] Furthermore, another aspect of the invention relates to a method for displaying information on a display device according to the preceding aspect, wherein an computing system of the display device receives an information from a capturing device of the motor vehicle and depending on the received information, a plurality of movable sticks of the display device are controlled and moved for displaying the surroundings.

[0016] Advantageous forms of the display device are regarded as advantageous forms of the method. Therefore, the display device and/or the motor vehicle comprises means for performing the method.

[0017] The method is in particular a computer-implemented method. Therefore, another aspect of the invention relates to a computer program product comprising program code means for performing the method. Furthermore, the invention relates to a computer- readable storage medium comprising at least the computer program product.

[0018] Further advantages, features, and details of the invention derive from the following description of preferred embodiments as well as from the drawings. The features and feature combinations previously mentioned in the description as well as the features and feature combinations mentioned in the following description of the figures and/or shown in the figures alone can be employed not only in the respectively indicated combination but also in any other combination or taken alone without leaving the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The novel features and characteristic of the disclosure are set forth in the appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate exemplary embodiments and together with the description, serve to explain the disclosed principles. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system and/or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described below, by way of example only, and with reference to the accompanying figures.

[0020] The drawings show in:

[0021] Fig 1 a schematic view of an embodiment of a motor vehicle comprising an embodiment of the display device;

[0022] Fig. 2 a schematic view according to an embodiment of the display device.

[0023] Fig. 3 depicts a flowchart diagram of an example method for displaying an information on a display device according to example embodiments hereof.

[0024] Fig. 4 depicts a diagram of an example computing system architecture according to example embodiments hereof.

[0025] In the figures the same elements or elements having the same function are indicated by the same reference signs.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] In the present document, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration". Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

[0027] While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the disclosure.

[0028] The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion so that a setup, device or method that comprises a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus preceded by “comprises” or “comprise” does not or do not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or method.

[0029] In the following detailed description of the embodiment of the disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration a specific embodiment in which the disclosure may be practiced. This embodiment is described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The following description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense.

[0030] Fig 1 shows a schematic view according to an embodiment of a motor vehicle 10 comprising at least one display device 12. As shown in Fig. 1 , the display device 12 can be arranged in different places inside the motor vehicle 10. For example, the display device 12 may be arranged in a central console of the motor vehicle 10 or in a dashboard of the motor vehicle 10.

[0031] The display device 12 is for displaying an information of the surroundings 16 of the motor vehicle 10, wherein the display device 12 comprises at least one computing system 18 for receiving the information 14 of the surroundings 16 from a capturing device 20 of the motor vehicle 19.

[0032] In an embodiment, the computing system 18 may include a control circuit 38 and a non-transitory computer-readable medium 38 (e.g., memory). In some cases, the non- transitory computer-readable medium 38 may store computer-readable instructions or computer-executable instructions, such as instructions to perform data determination for storage as information 14 of FIG. 2.

[0033] In another embodiment, the control circuit 36 may include one or more processors (e.g., microprocessors), one or more processing cores, a programmable logic circuit (PLC) or a programmable logic/gate array (PLA/PGA), a system-on-chip (SoC) having one or more chiplets or one or more graphical processing units (GPUs), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or any other control circuit. In some implementations, the control circuit and/or computing system may be part of, or may form, a vehicle control unit (also referred to as a vehicle controller) that is embedded or otherwise disposed in a vehicle (e.g., a Mercedes- Benz(R) car or van). For example, the vehicle controller may be or may include an infotainment system controller (e.g., an infotainment head-unit), a telematics control unit (TCU), an electronic control unit (ECU), a central powertrain controller (CPC), a central driving and charging controller (CDCC), centralized in-vehicle integration computer (CIVIC), a central exterior & interior controller (CEIC), a zone controller, or any other controller.

[0034] In yet another embodiment, the control circuit 36 may be programmed by one or more computer-readable or computer-executable instructions stored on the non- transitory computer-readable medium 38. In an embodiment, the non-transitory computer- readable medium 38 may be a memory device, also referred to as a data storage device, which may include an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination thereof. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may form, e.g., a computer diskette, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SDD) or solid state integrated memory, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), and/or a memory stick. In some cases, the non-transitory computer-readable medium 38 may store computer-executable instructions or computer-readable instructions, such as instructions to perform the method of FIG. 3.

[0035] In various embodiments, the terms “computer-readable instructions” and “computer-executable instructions” are used to describe software instructions or computer code configured to carry out various tasks and operations. In various embodiments, if the computer-readable or computer-executable instructions form modules, the term “module” refers broadly to a collection of software instructions or code configured to cause the control circuit 36 to perform one or more functional tasks. The modules and computer-readable/executable instructions may be described as performing various operations or tasks when a control circuit or other hardware component is executing the modules or computer-readable instructions. [0036] Fig. 2 shows another schematic view according to an embodiment of the display device 12. The display device 12 comprises a plurality of movable sticks 22, and the surroundings 16 are presented by controlling the movable sticks 22 and by displaying a three-dimensional presentation 26 of the surroundings 16 by the movable sticks 22.

[0037] According to an embodiment, each movable stick 22 of the plurality of movable sticks 22 comprises a lighting device 26 for lighting the stick 22. In particular, each lighting device 26 may be configured for displaying different colors.

[0038] In another embodiment, each movable stick 22 is additionally configured as a button for operating at least one functional device of the display device 12 and/or the motor vehicle 10.

[0039] Furthermore, the computing system 18 may be configured for lowering the resolution of the information 14 from the capturing device 20 for displaying the surroundings 16 in a lowering resolution.

[0040] The invention also relates to a method for displaying the information 14 on the display device 12, wherein the computing system 18 of the display device 12 receives the information 14 from the capturing device 20 of the motor vehicle 10, and depending on the received information 14 the plurality of movable sticks 22 of the display device 12 are controlled and moved for displaying the surroundings 16.

[0041] In particular, Fig. 2 shows a morphing surface, which may comprise stixels, which are the movable sticks 22, wherein the movable sticks 22 are column-like and display mirroring. The stixel hardware is designed to give a user visual feedback and/or user interface interactions based on their interactions with the vehicle’s infotainment system. The surface may change dynamically depending on how the user is interacting with the main infotainment display.

[0042] For instance, if the user has an active route and the navigation application is on the main infotainment display, the movable sticks 22 may create a physical three- dimensional map of the surroundings area on it. A projection then provides a color to each column. The surface may also dynamically change while the motor vehicle 10 is in motion creating a mini simulation. Fig. 2 shows that the display device 12 may also be paired with vehicle safety systems and shows physical three-dimensional objects to the user. Such a visualized pedestrians crossing near the motor vehicle 10. The hardware can be placed along the dashboard or near the center console within reach of the user.

[0043] The display device 12 may be activated by the infotainment system and mirrors what is seen on the main display. The hardware is driven by reading display data from the main display and then converting it to a lower resolution. This lower resolution is then displayed on the display device 12 using a projector. Heights of each of the movable sticks 22 may be determined using the three-dimensional map data or a vehicle’s stereo camera used by their safety systems. If the movable sticks 22 are placed within reach of the user, it can then be used as a tactile display with touch inputs. The movable sticks 22 may then morph into custom button configurations that can be created by the user. The projector can then highlight the areas for the buttons.

[0044] Fig. 3 depicts a flowchart diagram of an example method 28 for a computer- implemented method for displaying an information (14) on a display device according to example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 28 may be performed by a computing system described with reference to the other figures. In an embodiment, the method 28 may be performed by the control circuit 36 of the computing system 18 of FIG. 2 or the computing system 18 of FIG. 1. One or more portions of the method 28 may be implemented as an algorithm on the hardware components of the devices described herein (e.g., as in FIGS. 1 , 4, etc). For example, the steps of method 28 may be implemented as operations/instructions that are executable by computing hardware.

[0045] FIG. 4 illustrates one example computing system 18 that may be used to implement the present disclosure. Other computing systems may be used as well. In addition, components illustrated or discussed as being included in one of the computing systems 18, may instead be included in any other suitable computing system. Such configurations may be implemented without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. The use of computer-based systems allows for a great variety of possible configurations, combinations, and divisions of tasks and functionality between and among components. Computer-implemented operations may be performed on a single component or across multiple components. Computer-implemented tasks or operations may be performed sequentially or in parallel. Data and instructions may be stored in a single memory device or across multiple memory devices. Reference Signs

10 motor vehicle

12 display device

14 information

16 surroundings

18 electronic computing device

20 capturing device

22 stick

24 three-dimensional presentation

26 lighting device