Systems and methods for enhancing visibility while driving a vehicle
Systems and methods for enhancing visibility while driving a vehicle are provided. When driving under adverse weather conditions, the driver's visibility of the road may be reduced. The driver may use an augmented reality device to aid in the view of the roadway. The augmented reality device works in conjunction with the vehicle to determine the type of environmental/weather condition that is causing the reduced visibility. Based on that, the vehicle and/or the augmented reality device may determine additional information using one or more of its sensors to augment the image displayed by the augmented reality device. The augmented image includes more details of the road and the environment surrounding the vehicle, thus providing the driver with enhanced visibility of the road and the surrounding environment.
1 . A method comprising:
displaying a first image of an environment around a vehicle;
determining, by the vehicle, an environmental condition associated with the environment around the vehicle;
determining, by the vehicle, that the environmental condition is causing reduced driver visibility for a driver of the vehicle;
determining, by the vehicle, a type of the environmental condition;
capturing, by the vehicle and based on the type of the environmental condition, first data from one or more sensors of the vehicle;
augmenting the first image using the first data to generate a second image; and
displaying the second image, wherein the environmental condition includes glare, and the first data includes information about a direction and intensity of the glare, and further comprising:
determining, based on the first data, a setting for a polarization of a lens of an augmented reality device; and
dynamically adjusting the polarization of the lens based on the first data.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
displaying the first image and the second image on an augmented reality device worn by the driver.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors comprise:
a first sensor configured to capture second data in a visible spectrum; and
a second sensor configured to capture third data in a non-visible spectrum.
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
selecting, based on the environmental condition, a first algorithm to process the first data;
processing the first data using the first algorithm to generate fourth data; and
augmenting the first image using the fourth data.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first data includes radar data, the method further comprising:
determining, by the vehicle using the first data, presence of one or more objects in the environment around the vehicle; and
wherein the second image includes one or more visual markers representing the one or more objects.
6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
capturing, by the vehicle, one or more images from one or more external cameras of the vehicle; and
wherein augmenting the first image further includes displaying the one or more images in addition to the first image.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein displaying the first image comprises displaying the first image on an augmented reality device worn by the driver, the method further comprising:
determining, by the augmented reality device, a level of ambient light within the vehicle; and
adjusting a brightness or contrast setting of the augmented reality device based on the level of the ambient light.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more sensors include a first sensor configured to capture fifth data in a non-visible spectrum and the first data includes infrared image data, the method further comprising:
identifying, by the vehicle using the infrared image data, one or more objects in the environment; and
augmenting the first image using information about the one or more objects.
9 . An augmented reality device comprising:
one or more processors;
one or more sensors coupled to the one or more processors;
a memory device coupled to the one or more processors, the memory device storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the augmented reality device to:
display a first image of an environment surrounding a vehicle;
detect an environmental condition causing reduced driver visibility;
determine a type of the environmental condition;
capture, based on the type of the environmental condition, first data associated with the environmental condition;
process the first data using a first algorithm to generate second data; and
augment the first image using the second data, wherein the environmental condition includes glare, and the first data includes information about a direction and intensity of the glare, wherein the instructions further cause the augmented reality device to:
determine, based on the first data, a setting for a polarization of a lens of the augmented reality device; and
dynamically adjust the polarization of the lens based on the first data.
10 . The augmented reality device of claim 9 , wherein the one or more sensors include:
a first sensor configured to capture third data in a visible spectrum; and
a second sensor configured to capture fourth data in a non-visible spectrum.
11 . The augmented reality device of claim 10 , wherein the augmented reality device is further operable to:
capture fifth data of the environment using the second sensor;
identify, using the fifth data, one or more objects in the environment; and
include a visual representation of the one or more objects in the first image.
12 . The augmented reality device of claim 9 , wherein the instructions further cause the augmented reality device to:
determine a level of ambient light within the vehicle;
determine a setting for a brightness value or a contrast value based on the level of the ambient light; and
adjust the brightness value or the contrast value based on the setting.
13 . The augmented reality device of claim 9 , wherein the instructions further cause the augmented reality device to:
receive, from the vehicle, one or more images of the environment, the one or more images being different than the first image; and
display the one or more images in addition to the first image.
14 . A vehicle comprising:
one or more processors;
one or more sensors coupled to the one or more processors;
a memory device coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the vehicle to:
couple with an augmented reality device worn by a driver of the vehicle;
send a first image data to the augmented reality device, the first image data including information about an environment around the vehicle;
determine an environmental condition associated with the environment;
determine that the environmental condition is causing reduced driver visibility;
determine a type of the environmental condition;
determine, based on the type of the environmental condition, first data;
process the first data to determine one or more settings for the augmented reality device; and
communicate the one or more settings to the augmented reality device, wherein the one or more settings cause the augmented reality device to modify the first image data, wherein the environmental condition includes glare, and the first data includes information about a direction and intensity of the glare, and wherein the one or more settings include a setting for a polarization of a lens of the augmented reality device, and the instructions further cause the vehicle to dynamically adjust the polarization of the lens based on the first data.
15 . The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the first data includes data in a non-visible spectrum and wherein the one or processors are operable to execute the instructions to further cause the vehicle to:
determine, using the first data, one or more objects in a current environment;
generate a second image, the second image including the first image augmented with a visual representation of each of the one or more objects, wherein the second image is displayed by the augmented reality device.
16 . The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the one or processors are operable to execute the instructions to further cause the vehicle to:
capture second data, including one or more images of a current environment that are different than the first image data; and
send the second data to the augmented reality device, wherein the augmented reality device displays the one or more images in addition to the first image data.
17 . The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the one or processors are operable to execute the instructions to further cause the vehicle to:
receive user profile and preference data from the augmented reality device; and
send vehicle capabilities data to the augmented reality device.
18 . The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the environmental condition includes glare from sunlight and wherein the one or more settings include a setting for a polarization value for the augmented reality device.
19 . The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the one or more sensors include:
a first sensor configured to capture third data in a visible spectrum; and
a second sensor configured to capture fourth data in a non-visible spectrum.