Method and apparatus for controlling onboard system

1. A method for controlling an onboard system in a vehicle, comprising:

providing a plurality of sensors mounted in a steering wheel, wherein the sensors are ultrasonic sensors;

obtaining ultrasonic signals reflected from a portion of an object of a driver contacting the steering wheel using the ultrasonic sensors, wherein the ultrasonic signals are obtained within a period of time;

determining contour information of the object of the driver using the ultrasonic signals;

determining a track of a current gesture of the driver using the ultrasonic signals;

determining, according to the track, a type of the current gesture from preset gesture types; and

controlling the onboard system to perform an operation, wherein the operation corresponds to the type of the current gesture.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the track of the current gesture further comprises:

selecting a reflected signal from the ultrasonic signals; and

obtaining, based on the reflected signal, a position of a hand of the driver within the period of time, wherein the object comprises the hand; and

determining, using the position, the track of the current gesture.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising determining directions of sound holes in a circumference of the steering wheel based on each of an active area of the hand of the driver and coverage of the ultrasonic signals, wherein the sound holes correspond with the ultrasonic sensors.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the track of the current gesture further comprises:

selecting a reflected signal from the ultrasonic signals; and

obtaining, based on the reflected signal, a position of a finger of the driver within the period of time, wherein the object comprises the finger; and

determining, using the position, the track of the current gesture.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising determining directions of sound holes in a circumference of the steering wheel based on an active area of the finger of the driver and coverage of the ultrasonic signals, wherein the object comprises the finger, and wherein the sound holes correspond with the ultrasonic sensors.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the object comprises fingers and hands, and wherein the preset gesture types comprises at least one of the following gesture types:

sliding two fingers either inward or outward;

sliding two fingers either clockwise or anticlockwise;

sliding one finger either upward, downward, leftward or rightward;

double-clicking the steering wheel with one finger;

waving one hand;

touching and sliding one finger along an inner side of a circumference of the steering wheel; or

double-clicking the steering wheel with two fingers.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein before determining the track of the current gesture, the method further comprises determining whether the steering wheel is in a rotation state, and wherein the method further comprises determining the track of the current gesture when the steering wheel is in a non-rotation state.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising determining whether the steering wheel is in the rotation state using a status of a gyroscope in the steering wheel.

9. An apparatus for controlling an onboard system in a vehicle, comprising:

a memory comprising instructions; and

a processor coupled to the memory and configured to execute the instructions, wherein the instructions cause the processor to:

obtain ultrasonic signals reflected from a portion of an object of a driver contacting a steering wheel using ultrasonic sensors, wherein the ultrasonic signals are obtained within a period of time from the ultrasonic sensors mounted in the steering wheel;

determine contour information of the object of the driver using the ultrasonic signals;

determine a track of a current gesture of the driver using the ultrasonic signals;

determine a type of the current gesture from preset gesture types based on the track of the current gesture; and

control the onboard system to perform an operation corresponding to the type of the current gesture.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

select a reflected signal from the ultrasonic signals;

obtain the position of a hand of the driver within the period of time based on the reflected signal, wherein the object comprises the hand; and

determine the track of the current gesture using the position.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to determine directions of sound holes in a circumference of the steering wheel based on each of an active area of the hand of the driver and coverage of the ultrasonic signals, wherein the sound holes correspond with the ultrasonic sensors.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

select a reflected signal from the ultrasonic signals;

obtain a position of a finger of the driver within the period of time based on the reflected signal, wherein the object comprises the finger; and

determine the track of the current gesture using the position.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to determine directions of sound holes in a circumference of the steering wheel based on an active area of the finger of the driver and coverage of the ultrasonic signals, wherein the object comprises the finger, and wherein the sound holes correspond with the ultrasonic sensors.

14. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the object comprises fingers and hands, and wherein the preset gesture types comprise at least one of the following gesture types:

sliding two fingers either inward or outward;

sliding the two fingers either clockwise or anticlockwise;

sliding one finger either upward, downward, leftward, or rightward;

double-clicking the steering wheel with the one finger;

waving one hand;

touching and sliding the one finger along an inner side of a circumference of the steering wheel; or

double-clicking the steering wheel with the two fingers.

15. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:

determine whether the steering wheel is in a rotation state; and

determine the track of the current gesture when the steering wheel is in a non-rotation state.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to be configured to determine whether the steering wheel is in the rotation state using a status of a gyroscope mounted in the steering wheel.

17. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium for controlling an onboard system in a vehicle, comprising computer instructions that when executed by a processor causes the processor to:

obtain ultrasonic signals reflected from a portion of an object of a driver contacting a steering wheel using the ultrasonic sensors, wherein the ultrasonic signals are obtained within a period of time using the ultrasonic sensors mounted in the steering wheel;

determine contour information of the object of the driver using the ultrasonic signals;

determine a track of a current gesture of the driver using the ultrasonic signals;

determine a type of the current gesture from preset gesture types based on the track of the current gesture; and

control the onboard system to perform an operation corresponding to the type of the current gesture.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the computer instructions further cause the processor to:

select a reflected signal from the ultrasonic signals;

position either a hand or a finger of the driver within the period of time based on the reflected signal, wherein the object comprises the hand and the finger; and

determine the track of the current gesture using the position.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein a circumference of the steering wheel comprises a plurality of sound holes, wherein the sound holes correspond with the ultrasonic sensors, and wherein the computer instructions further cause the processor to determine directions of the sound holes based on an active area of a hand or a finger of the driver and coverage of the ultrasonic signals, wherein the object comprises the hand and the finger.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the object comprises fingers and hands, and wherein the preset gesture types comprise at least one of the following gesture types:

sliding two fingers either inward or outward;

sliding two fingers either clockwise or anticlockwise;

sliding one finger either upward, downward, leftward or rightward;

double-clicking the steering wheel with one finger;

waving one hand;

touching and sliding one finger along an inner side of a circumference of the steering wheel; or

double-clicking the steering wheel with two fingers.