TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure pertains to the field of display systems for vehicles.

BACKGROUND

Today it is common that plural people travel together in the same vehicle. Commonly a vehicle, such as a car, have plural occupants, usually one driver or operator, and one or more passengers. A common use case is a family with children but also friends and colleagues that travel together. The way a driver communicates with passengers, other than the one in the front seat, is often to use the rear-view mirror in order to see the passenger that the driver is talking to. This can sometimes be a bit difficult since the rear-view mirror is not always mirroring all the passengers, and some passengers may be more or less visible in the rear-view mirror. An alternative for the driver is to turn around and look back at the passenger instead of keeping the eyes on the road. This maneuver can sometimes be a risk and can result in a traffic accident. It is said that only a few seconds of non-attention to the traffic by the driver is often the cause of a majority of all road accidents that occur.

SUMMARY

Today there is a demand for a better, more convenient and more safe way for a driver to see passengers in a vehicle. The driver of a vehicle must be able to keep the attention to the traffic and not turn around towards passengers in the vehicle, or move the head to an inconvenient position in order to see a person in the rear-view mirror.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a system and method which seek to mitigate, alleviate, or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies in the art and disadvantages singly or in any combination.

The disclosure proposes a display system for a vehicle comprising a display unit arranged to display a passenger of interest to at least one occupant of the vehicle, a camera unit arranged to provide an image view of the passenger of interest to the display unit. The display system further comprising a processing circuitry, connected to the display unit and the camera unit, configured to cause the display system to determine, by the processing circuitry, the passenger of interest out of at least one passenger present in the vehicle, provide, by the camera unit, the image view of the passenger of interest, and display, by the display unit, the image view of the passenger of interest on the display unit. An advantage with the system is that an occupant of a vehicle, e.g. an operator or a driver of a car, can easily view the passenger of interest in display unit and at the same time maintain focus on the traffic ahead.

According to an aspect the processing circuitry is configured to cause the display system to detect at least one passenger parameter associated to the at least one passenger and determine the passenger of interest based on the detected passenger parameter. In this way a passenger can be detected and the image view of that passenger can be displayed on the display unit. Another advantage is that a certain passenger out of plural passengers, can be detected by using a passenger parameter.

According to an aspect the processing circuitry is configured to cause the display system to compare the passenger parameter with a predetermined criteria and determine the passenger of interest based on which passenger parameter matches the predetermined criteria. An advantage with comparing the passenger parameter with a predetermined criteria is that for example a certain behaviour of the passenger of interest can be filtered out and identify the passenger of interest in the vehicle.

According to an aspect the passenger parameter comprises sound and/or movement. In other words a certain sound and/or movement can be filtered out by comparing with a predetermined sound and/or movement.

According to an aspect the passenger parameter comprises face and/or lip recognition. Hence e.g. a face expression recognition and e.g. recognition of a certain lip movement, that can be an indication of that a passenger is talking, can be recognised to determine the passenger of interest.

According to an aspect the display unit is arranged to operate in a display mode, where the mirror display is a screen for viewing images, and in a mirror mode, where the mirror display is a mirror. In other words the display unit can function as an ordinary display, or alternate to function as a mirror.

According to an aspect the display unit is arranged to operate in both the display mode and the mirror mode simultaneously by operating at least a first part of the mirror display in the display mode for displaying at least one user of interest, and operating at least a second part of the mirror display in the mirror mode. This means the display unit can function as an ordinary display and at the same time function as a mirror.

According to an aspect the camera unit is a wireless camera unit that is wirelessly connected to the display unit. Hence a wireless camera unit can easily be placed without need for wires, but also a wireless camera unit can be an auxiliary device with a camera that is configured to operate with the display system.

The disclosure further proposes a display method for a vehicle, wherein the method comprising determining a passenger of interest out of at least one passenger present in the vehicle, providing an image view of the passenger of interest, and displaying the image view of the passenger of interest for at least one vehicle occupant. An advantage with the method is that an occupant of a vehicle, e.g. an operator or a driver of a car, can easily view the passenger in display unit and maintain focus on the traffic ahead.

According to an aspect method further comprising detecting at least one passenger parameter associated to the at least one passenger and determining the passenger of interest based on the detected passenger parameter. In this way a passenger can be detected and the image view of that passenger can be displayed on the display unit. Another advantage is that a certain passenger out of plural passengers, can be detected by using a passenger parameter.

According to an aspect method further comprising comparing the passenger parameter with a predetermined criteria and determining the passenger of interest based on which passenger parameter matches the predetermined criteria. An advantage with comparing the passenger parameter with a predetermined criteria is that for example a certain behaviour of the passenger of interest can be filtered out and identify the passenger of interest in the vehicle.

According to an aspect the passenger parameter comprises sound and/or movement. In other words a certain sound and/or movement can be filtered out by comparing with a predetermined sound and/or movement.

According to an aspect the passenger parameter comprises face and/or lip recognition. Hence e.g. a face expression recognition and e.g. recognition of a certain lip movement, that can be an indication of that a passenger is speaking, can be recognised to determine the passenger of interest.

According to an aspect the method comprising the step of displaying the image view of the passenger of interest for the at least one vehicle occupant on a display unit, which is a mirror display that is configured to operate in a display mode, where the mirror display is a screen for viewing images, and in a mirror mode, where the mirror display is a mirror. In other words the display unit can function as an ordinary display, or alternate to function as a mirror.

According to an aspect the method comprising the step of displaying the image view of the passenger of interest for the at least one vehicle occupant on a display unit, which is a mirror display that is configured to operate in both the display mode and the mirror mode simultaneously by operating at least a first part of the mirror display in the display mode for displaying at least one user of interest, and operating at least a second part of the mirror display in the mirror mode. This means the display unit can function as an ordinary display and at the same time function as a mirror.

