CONTEXTUAL-BASED DISPLAY DEVICES AND METHODS OF OPERATING THE SAME

1 - 20 . (canceled)

21 . A vehicle, comprising:

a plurality of sensors to monitor an exterior environment surrounding the vehicle;

a microprocessor; and

a computer readable medium coupled to the microprocessor and comprising instructions stored thereon that cause the microprocessor to:

identify, from sensor output, an exterior environment condition surrounding the vehicle;

determine a priority level associated with the identified exterior environment condition;

determine, based on the priority level associated with the identified exterior environment condition, to alter a first presentation of information currently displayed by a display device of the vehicle to a different second presentation of the information to be displayed by the display device, the second presentation comprising one or more of additional information not contained in the first presentation and different positioning in the display of information in common with the first presentation;

render the second presentation to the display device of the vehicle to replace display of the first presentation; and

upon occurrence of a selected triggering event associated with the identified exterior environment condition, re-render the first presentation to the display device of the vehicle to replace the second presentation.

22 . The vehicle of claim 21 , wherein the microprocessor generates, from sensor output, a three-dimensional representation of the vehicle exterior environment including one or more objects exterior to the vehicle, and identifies the identified exterior environment condition from the representation and wherein the microprocessor assigns each pixel of the three-dimensional representation a depth value based on an elapsed time between a light source emitting light and the camera receiving the light after reflection by the corresponding object, a magnitude of the priority level being related to a level of vehicle safety, wherein each of a plurality of different possible exterior environment conditions is associated with a different priority level.

23 . The vehicle of claim 21 , wherein the microprocessor determines a safety score for the identified exterior environment condition, the priority level being based on at least a safety score associated with the identified exterior environment condition, and a weighting factor associated with the safety score and determines the priority level based on the safety score and associated weighting factor, wherein each of a number of possible exterior environment conditions is associated with a predetermined respective safety score and weighting factor, and wherein the microprocessor determines the priority level by mapping the identified exterior environment condition to the number of possible exterior environment conditions.

24 . The vehicle of claim 23 , wherein the microprocessor assigns the priority level to the identified exterior environment condition by evaluating the priority score against one or more thresholds associated with a number of different possible priority levels.

25 . The vehicle of claim 21 , wherein the selected triggering event is a determination by the microprocessor that the identified exterior environment condition has remained unchanged over a selected threshold time interval or an operator is no longer operating the vehicle and wherein the first and second presentations differ in one or more of a size of the selected information displayed, a color of the selected information displayed, a brightness of the selected information displayed, and a position of the selected information in the display.

26 . The vehicle of claim 22 , wherein the exterior environment comprises a road condition, traffic condition, nearby vehicle, vehicle route, vehicle altitude, and an external temperature, wherein the plurality of sensors comprise a plurality of a camera to collect images of objects external to the vehicle, vibration sensor to detect vehicle vibration, altitude sensor to determine vehicle altitude, temperature sensor to determine ambient temperature external to the vehicle, ultrasonic sensor to detect object movement external to the vehicle, and pressure sensor to detect ambient pressure external to the vehicle, and wherein the additional information comprises a temperature gauge, an indication of four-wheel drive operation, an altitude of the vehicle, a speedometer, an engine temperature gauge, a battery level, an odometer reading, a weather condition, and a vehicle spatial location.

27 . The vehicle of claim 21 , wherein the priority level depends on a number of detected instances of the identified exterior environment condition over a selected time period and a threshold number of instances associated with the priority level.

28 . The vehicle of claim 21 , wherein a third presentation of the selected information has an associated third priority level and second exterior environment condition, wherein the second presentation has an associated second priority level and is associated with the identified exterior environment condition, wherein the second priority level is higher than the third priority level, wherein the microprocessor identifies that the second temporary condition is occurring concurrently with the identified exterior environment condition, and wherein the microprocessor uses the higher second priority level of the identified exterior environment condition rather than the lower third priority level of the third exterior environment condition in selecting the second presentation.

29 . The vehicle of claim 21 , further comprising an onboard rechargeable power source and an operator input device to maneuver a charging device of the vehicle into a charging position to receive a charge from an aerial vehicle.

30 . A method for operating a vehicle, comprising:

providing a vehicle comprising a plurality of sensors to monitor an exterior environment surrounding the vehicle, a microprocessor, and a computer readable medium coupled to the microprocessor;

identifying, by a microprocessor from sensor output, an exterior environment condition of the vehicle;

determining, by the microprocessor, a priority level associated with the identified exterior environment condition;

determining, by the microprocessor and based on the priority level associated with the identified exterior environment condition, to alter a first presentation of information currently displayed by a display device of the vehicle to a different second presentation of the information to be displayed by the display device, the second presentation, for the identified exterior environment condition, comprising one or more of additional information not contained in the first presentation and different positioning in the display of information in common with the first presentation;

rendering, by the microprocessor, the second presentation to the display device of the vehicle to replace display of the first presentation; and

detecting, by the microprocessor, that a selected triggering event associated with the identified exterior environment condition has occurred; and

in response to the detecting, re-rendering the first presentation to the display device of the vehicle to replace the second presentation.

31 . The method of claim 30 , wherein the microprocessor generates, from sensor output, a three-dimensional representation of the vehicle exterior environment including one or more objects exterior to the vehicle, and identifies the identified exterior environment condition from the representation and wherein the microprocessor assigns each pixel of the three-dimensional representation a depth value based on an elapsed time between a light source emitting light and the camera receiving the light after reflection by the corresponding object, a magnitude of the priority level being related to a level of vehicle safety, wherein each of a plurality of different possible exterior environment conditions is associated with a different priority level

32 . The method of claim 30 , wherein the microprocessor determines a safety score for the identified exterior environment condition, the priority level being based on at least a safety score associated with the identified exterior environment condition, and a weighting factor associated with the safety score and determines the priority level based on the safety score and associated weighting factor, wherein each of a number of possible exterior environment conditions is associated with a predetermined respective safety score and weighting factor, and wherein the microprocessor determines the priority level by mapping the identified exterior environment condition to the number of possible exterior environment conditions.

33 . The method of claim 32 , wherein the microprocessor assigns the priority level to the identified exterior environment condition by evaluating the priority score against one or more thresholds associated with a number of different possible priority levels.

34 . The method of claim 30 , wherein the selected triggering event is a determination by the microprocessor that the identified exterior environment condition has remained unchanged over a selected threshold time interval or an operator is no longer operating the vehicle, and wherein the first and second presentations differ in one or more of a size of the selected information displayed, a color of the selected information displayed, a brightness of the selected information displayed, and a position of the selected information in the display.

35 . The method of claim 31 , wherein the exterior environment comprises a road condition, traffic condition, nearby vehicle, vehicle route, vehicle altitude, and an external temperature, wherein the plurality of sensors comprise a plurality of a camera to collect images of objects external to the vehicle, vibration sensor to detect vehicle vibration, altitude sensor to determine vehicle altitude, temperature sensor to determine ambient temperature external to the vehicle, ultrasonic sensor to detect object movement external to the vehicle, and pressure sensor to detect ambient pressure external to the vehicle and wherein the additional information comprises a temperature gauge, an indication of four-wheel drive operation, an altitude of the vehicle, a speedometer, an engine temperature gauge, a battery level, an odometer reading, a weather condition, and a vehicle spatial location.

36 . The method of claim 30 , wherein the priority level depends on a number of detected instances of the identified exterior environment condition over a selected time period and a threshold number of instances associated with the priority level.

37 . The method of claim 30 , wherein a third presentation of the selected information has an associated third priority level and second exterior environment condition, wherein the second presentation has an associated second priority level and is associated with the identified exterior environment condition, wherein the second priority level is higher than the third priority level, wherein the microprocessor identifies that the second temporary condition is occurring concurrently with the identified exterior environment condition, and wherein the microprocessor uses the higher second priority level of the identified exterior environment condition rather than the lower third priority level of the third exterior environment condition in selecting the second presentation.

38 . The method of claim 30 , further comprising an onboard rechargeable power source and an operator input device to maneuver a charging device of the vehicle into a charging position to receive a charge from an aerial vehicle.

39 . A method for operating a vehicle, comprising:

providing a vehicle comprising a plurality of sensors to monitor an exterior environment of the vehicle, a microprocessor, and a computer readable medium coupled to the microprocessor;

identifying, by the microprocessor and from output of the sensors, an exterior environment condition of the vehicle;

determining, by the microprocessor, a priority level associated with the identified exterior environment condition, a magnitude of the priority level being related to a level of passenger safety;

determining, by the microprocessor and based on the priority level associated with the identified exterior environment condition, to alter a first presentation of selected information currently displayed by a display device of the vehicle to a different second presentation of the selected information to be displayed by the display device, the second presentation, for the identified exterior environment condition, having a higher degree of passenger safety than the first presentation, wherein the microprocessor determines a safety score for the exterior environment condition, the priority level being based on at least a safety score associated with the exterior environment condition, and a weighting factor associated with the safety score;

rendering, by the microprocessor, the second presentation to the display device of the vehicle to replace display of the first presentation;

detecting, by the microprocessor, that a selected triggering event associated with the identified exterior environment condition has occurred; and

in response to the detecting, re-rendering, by the microprocessor, the first presentation to the display device of the vehicle to replace the second presentation wherein the selected triggering event is a determination by the microprocessor that the identified exterior environment condition has remained unchanged over a selected threshold time interval or an operator is no longer operating the vehicle, wherein the exterior environment comprises a road condition, traffic condition, nearby vehicle, vehicle route, vehicle altitude, and an external temperature, wherein the plurality of sensors comprise a plurality of a camera to collect images of objects external to the vehicle, vibration sensor to detect vehicle vibration, altitude sensor to determine vehicle altitude, temperature sensor to determine ambient temperature external to the vehicle, ultrasonic sensor to detect object movement external to the vehicle, and pressure sensor to detect ambient pressure external to the vehicle and wherein the additional information comprises a temperature gauge, an indication of four-wheel drive operation, an altitude of the vehicle, a speedometer, an engine temperature gauge, a battery level, an odometer reading, a weather condition, and a vehicle spatial location.

40 . The method of claim 39 , wherein the microprocessor generates, from sensor output, a three-dimensional representation of the vehicle exterior environment including one or more objects exterior to the vehicle, and identifies the identified exterior environment condition from the representation, wherein a third presentation of the selected information has an associated third priority level and second exterior environment condition, wherein the second presentation has an associated second priority level and is associated with the identified exterior environment condition, wherein the second priority level is higher than the third priority level, wherein the microprocessor identifies that the second temporary condition is occurring concurrently with the identified exterior environment condition, and wherein the microprocessor uses the higher second priority level of the identified exterior environment condition rather than the lower third priority level of the third exterior environment condition in selecting the second presentation.