Event-based, automated control of visual light transmission through vehicle window

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10935818-B2
Application number	US-201815975996-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 10, 2018
Priority date	May 10, 2018
Publication date	Mar 2, 2021
Grant date	Mar 2, 2021

Abstract

Automated control of visual light transmission through one or more vehicle windows is provided, which includes providing a control system for controlling visual light transmission through the window, where the window includes smart glass, with visual light transmission through the window being dynamically adjustable by the control system. The control system receives a video stream from at least one video camera associated with the vehicle, and analyzes the video stream for a specified event. Based on detecting the event, the control system triggers an action to adjust the visual light transmission through the window.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of controlling visual light transmission through a window of a vehicle, the method comprising:
providing a control system for controlling visual light transmission through the window, the window comprising smart glass, with visual light transmission through the window being dynamically adjustable by the control system between a minimum light-blocking state of the smart glass and a maximum light-blocking state of the smart glass, wherein the control system:
receives a video stream from at least one video camera associated with the vehicle;
analyzes the video stream for a specified event, wherein detection of the event triggers an action by the control system to adjust the visual light transmission through the window between the minimum light-blocking state and the maximum light-blocking state of the smart glass;
detects whether an individual approaching the vehicle when in non-operating state is an authorized user of the vehicle or an unauthorized user of the vehicle; and
adjusts light transmission through the smart glass of the vehicle in non-operating state, between the minimum light-blocking state and the maximum light-blocking state of the smart glass, based on the individual being detected as authorized user or unauthorized user of the vehicle, the smart glass being in maximum light-blocking state where the individual is an unauthorized user.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the video stream is captured by at least one in-vehicle video camera imaging, at least in part, one or more occupants of the vehicle, and the event is an occupant-related event.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the window of the vehicle is a side window of the vehicle, the occupant-related event is an occupant of the vehicle sleeping, and the control system is configured to automatically decrease visual light transmission through the side window based on detecting the event.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the side window of the vehicle is one side window of multiple side windows of the vehicle, the one side window being located closest to the occupant of the vehicle.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the window of the vehicle is a side window of the vehicle, the occupant-related event is an occupant of the vehicle turning to look out the side window, and the control system is configured to automatically increase visual light transmission through at least a portion of the side window based on detecting the event.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the window of the vehicle is a side window of the vehicle, the at least one video camera associated with the vehicle is positioned to image, at least in part, a region outside the vehicle, and the event is an outside the vehicle event, and the control system is configured to automatically increase visual light transmission through the side window based on detecting the outside the vehicle event.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the outside the vehicle event is another vehicle approaching the vehicle.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the analyzes comprises performing facial recognition analysis on the individual approaching the vehicle, and the event comprises identifying by the facial recognition analysis the individual as an authorized user of the vehicle, and wherein the control system is configured to automatically adjust the visual light transmission through the window for the authorized user to a specified level.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the control system is configured to automatically increase visual light transmission through the window for the authorized user by transitioning the smart glass to the minimum light-blocking state.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the analyzes comprises performing facial recognition analysis on an individual approaching the vehicle, and the event comprises identifying by the facial recognition analysis the individual as an unauthorized user of the vehicle, and wherein the control system is configured to automatically decrease visual light transmission through the window for the unauthorized user to the maximum light-blocking state of the smart glass.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the event is a specified type of event of multiple specified types of events, each specified type of event of the multiple specified types of events triggering a respective control action by the control system to adjust visual light transmission through the window, the respective control actions comprising multiple different prespecified actions to be taken by the control system to adjust the level of visual light transmission through the window based on the specified type of event.

12. A system for controlling visual light transmission through a window of a vehicle, the system comprising:
a memory; and
a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, wherein the system performs a method comprising:
controlling visual light transmission through the window, the window comprising smart glass, with visual light transmission through the window being dynamically adjustable between a minimum light-blocking state of the smart glass and a maximum light-blocking state of the smart glass, the controlling including:
receiving a video stream from at least one video camera associated with the vehicle;
analyzing the video stream for a specified event, wherein detection of the event triggers an action to adjust the visual light transmission through the window between the minimum light-blocking state and the maximum light-blocking state of the smart glass;
detecting whether an individual approaching the vehicle when in non-operating state is an authorized user of the vehicle or an unauthorized user of the vehicle; and
adjusting light transmission through the smart glass of the vehicle in non-operating state, between the minimum light-blocking state and the maximum light-blocking state of the smart glass, based on the individual being detected as authorized user or unauthorized user of the vehicle, the smart glass being in maximum light-blocking state where the individual is an unauthorized user.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the window of the vehicle is a side window of the vehicle, the video stream is captured by at least one in-vehicle video camera imaging, at least in part, one or more occupants of the vehicle, and the event is an occupant-related event, and wherein the occupant-related event is an occupant of the vehicle sleeping, and the control system is configured to automatically decrease visual light transmission through the side window based on detecting the event.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the window of the vehicle is a side window of the vehicle, the video stream is captured by at least one in-vehicle video camera imaging, at least in part, one or more occupants of the vehicle, and the event is an occupant-related event, wherein the occupant-related event is an occupant of the vehicle turning to look out the side window, and the control system is configured to automatically increase visual light transmission through at least a portion of the side window based on detecting the event.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the window of the vehicle is a side window of the vehicle, the at least one video camera associated with the vehicle is positioned to image, at least in part, a region outside the vehicle, and the event is an outside the vehicle event, and the control system is configured to automatically increase visual light transmission through the side window based on detecting the outside the vehicle event.

16. The system of claim 12 , wherein the analyzing comprises performing facial r

Assignees

• IBM

Inventors

• Lam Ho-Yiu
• Kline Eric V

Classifications

• G06V20/597

  Recognising the driver's state or behaviour, e.g. attention or drowsiness · CPC title

• G06V20/40

  in video content (extracting overlay text G06V20/62; video retrieval G06F16/70; processing of video elementary streams in video servers H04N21/234; processing of video elementary streams in video clients H04N21/44) · CPC title

• G06V40/19

  Sensors therefor · CPC title

• G06V40/172

  Classification, e.g. identification · CPC title

• G06V20/41

  Higher-level, semantic clustering, classification or understanding of video scenes, e.g. detection, labelling or Markovian modelling of sport events or news items (segmenting video sequences G06V20/49) · CPC title