Confidence icons for apprising a driver of confidence in an autonomous operation of a vehicle

A display system for a vehicle configured for an autonomous operation, the system comprising:

• at least one support system for the vehicle;
• and
• a processor operatively connected to the at least one support system, the processor being programmed to initiate executable operations comprising:
• acquiring at least one operational status for the at least one support system of the vehicle;
• determining, based on the acquired at least one operational status, a first confidence for an autonomous operation for adjusting the speed of the vehicle;
• determining, based on the acquired at least one operational status, a second confidence for an autonomous operation for adjusting the position of the vehicle within a lane of a roadway;
• responsive to determining the first confidence, causing a first confidence icon to be displayed within the vehicle, the first confidence icon including an emoticon conveying an emotion corresponding to the determined first confidence for the autonomous operation for adjusting the speed of the vehicle;
• and
• responsive to determining the second confidence, causing a second confidence icon to be displayed within the vehicle, the second confidence icon including an emoticon conveying an emotion corresponding to the determined second confidence for the autonomous operation for adjusting the position of the vehicle within the lane of the roadway.

A method of presenting a confidence in an autonomous operation of a vehicle, the method comprising:

• acquiring at least one operational status for at least one support system of the vehicle;
• determining, based on the acquired at least one operational status, a first confidence for an autonomous operation of the vehicle along a present travel path;
• determining, based on the acquired at least one operational status, a second confidence for the autonomous operation of the vehicle along a future travel path;
• responsive to determining the first confidence, causing a first confidence icon to be displayed with a map within the vehicle, the first confidence icon including an emoticon conveying an emotion corresponding to the determined first confidence for the autonomous operation of the vehicle along the present travel path, the first confidence icon being presented near the present travel path on the map;
• and
• responsive to determining the second confidence, causing a second confidence icon to be displayed within the vehicle, the second confidence icon including an emoticon conveying an emotion corresponding to the determined second confidence for the autonomous operation of the vehicle along the future travel path, the second confidence icon being displayed near the future travel path on the map.

A method of presenting a confidence in an autonomous operation of a vehicle, the method comprising:

• acquiring at least one operational status for at least one support system of the vehicle;
• determining, based on the acquired at least one operational status, a first confidence for an autonomous operation of the vehicle for a present time;
• determining, based on the acquired at least one operational status, a second confidence for the autonomous operation of the vehicle for a second time, the second time being a future time later in time than the present time;
• determining, based on the acquired at least one operational status, a third confidence for the autonomous operation of the vehicle at a third time, the third time being later in time than the second time;
• and
• responsive to determining the first, second, and third confidences, causing a first confidence icon, a second confidence icon, and a third confidence icon to be displayed within the vehicle as a function of time,
• wherein the first confidence icon including an emoticon conveying an emotion corresponding to the determined first confidence, the second confidence icon including an emoticon conveying an emotion corresponding to the determined second confidence, and the third confidence icon including an emoticon conveying an emotion corresponding to the determined third confidence.