1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a visual guidance system for guiding a gaze of a driver of a vehicle such as an automobile.
2. Related Art
Currently, a car navigation system showing a route to a destination to a driver is widely used in a vehicle such as an automobile. In general, the car navigation system uses a display installed on a dashboard to show road guidance.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (Translation of PCT Application) (JP-T) No. 2008-501956, an image of a cable is presented to indicate a route that the vehicle should follow over an actual road that is seen from a driver's seat.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2004-117294, a mark corresponding to a route is presented in a three-dimensional display in the air over a road corresponding to the route.
In JP-A No. 9-34352, a graphic for guidance is changed in accordance with a distance between the vehicle and a guiding point.
However, even if various kinds of car navigation systems such as described above are used, a burden imposed on the driver is heavy.
For example, in a typical car navigation system, a guidance route is not presented in association with an actual road that is seen from the driver's seat, and is presented separately from the actual road. In this case, the driver has to recognize a course on the basis of a route represented by a route indication, associate the recognized course and a real road, identify the road that the driver has to enter from among real roads on the basis of the correspondence therebetween, and perform a driving operation. It takes some time from when the route is presented to when the driver performs a driving operation by identifying the road that the driver should enter.
On the driving route of the vehicle and around the vehicle, there are pedestrians, bicycles, other vehicles, obstacles, and the like. While the driver finds the route on the basis of the indication by the car navigation system, makes determination, and further performs an operation, the driver has to pay necessary attention to these objects outside of the vehicle, and drive the vehicle avoiding these objects.
Accordingly, there is a need for a visual guidance system for a vehicle such as an automobile that reduces a burden imposed on the driver.