System and method for reducing stray light reflections

Abstract

A system includes a camera module located within a vehicle, a linear polarizer module positioned in a field of view of the camera module, and a control module in communication with the camera module and the linear polarizer module. The camera module is configured to acquire an image frame depicting a scenery outside the vehicle, and to transmit the image frame to a perceived pipeline of the vehicle. The control module is configured to receive an image frame from the camera module, analyze the image frame to identify whether a reflection exists, and in response to identifying a reflection in the image frame, selectively activate the linear polarizer module to remove the reflection from a subsequent image frame captured by the camera module. Other example systems and methods for removing reflections from image frames captured by a camera module located within a vehicle are also disclosed.

Description

[0001] introduction The information provided in this section is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the present disclosure. The work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this section, and aspects of this description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing are neither explicitly nor implicitly admitted to be prior art against the present disclosure.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for reducing stray light reflections, and more particularly, to reducing stray light reflections from a vehicle windshield by selectively activating a linear polarizer module.

[0003] The vehicle may include a driver assistance system that relies on cameras and sensors to control applications, such as autonomous applications of the vehicle. For example, the driver assistance system may receive images captured by a camera and other data from a perception pipeline, and then control the autonomous applications of the vehicle based on the data received from the perception pipeline. Summary of the invention

[0004] A vehicle system includes a camera module located within the vehicle, a linear polarizer module positioned in a field of view of the camera module, and a control module in communication with the camera module and the linear polarizer module. The camera module is configured to acquire an image frame depicting a scene outside the vehicle and transmit the image frame to a perception pipeline of the vehicle. The control module is configured to receive the image frame from the camera module, analyze the image frame to identify whether a reflection is present, and in response to identifying a reflection in the image frame, selectively activate the linear polarizer module to remove the reflection from a subsequent image frame captured by the camera module.

[0005] In other features, the control module is configured to scan the image frame for one or more static pixels to identify whether a reflection is present.

[0006] In other features, the control module is configured to verify that the one or more static pixels are associated with a reflection based on a bit slice analysis of the image frame.

[0007] In other features, the control module is configured to modify contrast values ​​and brightness values ​​of the camera module to increase the quality of the subsequent image frames captured by the camera module via the activated linear polarizer module.

[0008] In other features, the control module is configured to obtain contrast and brightness values ​​of a received image frame having a reflectance, and to modify contrast and brightness values ​​of the camera module based on the contrast and brightness values ​​of the received image frame.

[0009] In other features, the control module is configured to deactivate the linear polarizer module.

[0010] In other features, the control module is configured to deactivate the linear polarizer module in response to a defined number of consecutive image frames captured by the camera module after activating the linear polarizer module.

[0011] In other features, the defined number of consecutive image frames is sixty consecutive image frames.

[0012] In other features, the system further includes a windshield positioned adjacent to the camera module. The windshield includes a surface and a coating applied to the surface.

[0013] In other features, the camera module is configured to acquire image frames depicting a scene external to the vehicle through the windshield.

[0014] In other features, the coating is configured to reduce intensity loss of the image frame due to reflections.

[0015] A method for removing reflections from an image frame captured by a camera module located within a vehicle comprises: receiving an image frame from the camera module, analyzing the image frame to identify whether a reflection is present, in response to identifying a reflection in the image frame, selectively activating a linear polarizer module positioned in a field of view of the camera module to remove the reflection from subsequent image frames captured by the camera module, and transmitting the subsequent image frames to a sensing pipeline of the vehicle for use in controlling the vehicle.

[0016] In other features, analyzing the image frame includes scanning the image frame for one or more static pixels to identify whether a reflection is present.

[0017] In other features, analyzing the image frame includes verifying that the one or more static pixels are associated with a reflection based on a bit slice analysis of the image frame.

[0018] In other features, the method further includes modifying a contrast value and a brightness value of the camera module to increase a quality of the subsequent image frame captured by the camera module via the activated linear polarizer module.

[0019] In other features, the method further comprises obtaining a contrast value and a brightness value for the image frame having the reflections.

[0020] In other features, modifying the contrast value and the brightness value of the camera module includes modifying the contrast value and the brightness value of the camera module based on the obtained contrast value and the brightness value.

[0021] In other features, the method further includes deactivating the linear polarizer module.

[0022] In other features, deactivating the linear polarizer module includes deactivating the linear polarizer module in response to a defined number of consecutive image frames captured by the camera module after activating the linear polarizer module.

[0023] In other features, the defined number of consecutive image frames is sixty consecutive image frames.

[0024] A vehicle system includes a camera module located within the vehicle, a linear polarizer module positioned in a field of view of the camera module, and a control module in communication with the camera module and the linear polarizer module. The camera module is configured to acquire an image frame depicting a scene outside the vehicle and transmit the image frame to a perception pipeline of the vehicle. The control module is configured to receive a first image frame from the camera module, selectively activate the linear polarizer module and receive a second image frame from the camera module, analyze the first image frame and the second image frame to identify whether a reflection is present in the first image frame, and in response to identifying the reflection, remove the reflection from the first image frame.

[0025] In other features, the control module is configured to remove reflections from the first image frame by modifying pixels in the first image frame.

[0026] In other features, the system further includes a windshield positioned adjacent to the camera module. The windshield includes a surface and a coating applied to the surface.

[0027] In other features, the camera module is configured to acquire image frames depicting a scene external to the vehicle through the windshield.

[0028] In other features, the coating is configured to reduce intensity loss of the image frame due to reflections.

[0029] The present disclosure provides the following embodiments: 1. A system for a vehicle, the system comprising: a camera module located within the vehicle, the camera module being configured to acquire image frames depicting a scene external to the vehicle and transmit the image frames to a perception pipeline of the vehicle; a linear polarizer module positioned in the field of view of the camera module; and A control module in communication with the camera module and the linear polarizer module, the control module being configured to: receiving an image frame from a camera module; analyzing the image frame to identify the presence of reflections; and In response to identifying the reflection in the image frame, the linear polarizer module is selectively activated to remove the reflection from subsequent image frames captured by the camera module.

[0030] 2. The system of embodiment 1, wherein the control module is configured to scan the image frame for one or more static pixels to identify whether a reflection is present.

[0031] 3. The system of embodiment 2, wherein the control module is configured to verify that the one or more static pixels are associated with a reflection based on a bit slice analysis of the image frame.

[0032] 4. The system of embodiment 2, wherein the control module is configured to modify contrast values ​​and brightness values ​​of the camera module to increase the quality of the subsequent image frames captured by the camera module via the activated linear polarizer module.

[0033] 5. The system of embodiment 4, wherein the control module is configured to: obtaining contrast values ​​and brightness values ​​of a received image frame having reflections; and The contrast value and the brightness value of the camera module are modified based on the contrast value and the brightness value of the received image frame.

[0034] 6. The system of embodiment 1, wherein the control module is configured to deactivate the linear polarizer module.

[0035] 7. The system of embodiment 6, wherein the control module is configured to deactivate the linear polarizer module in response to a defined number of consecutive image frames captured by the camera module after activating the linear polarizer module.

[0036] 8. The system of embodiment 7, wherein the defined number of consecutive image frames is sixty consecutive image frames.

[0037] 9. The system of embodiment 1, further comprising a windshield positioned adjacent to the camera module, the windshield comprising a surface and a coating applied to the surface, wherein: The camera module is configured to acquire an image frame depicting a scene outside the vehicle through the windshield; and The coating is configured to reduce intensity loss of the image frame due to reflections.

[0038] 10. A method of removing reflections from an image frame captured by a camera module located within a vehicle, the method comprising: receiving an image frame from a camera module; analyzing the image frame to identify whether a reflection is present; In response to identifying the reflection in the image frame, selectively activating a linear polarizer module positioned in the field of view of the camera module to remove the reflection from subsequent image frames captured by the camera module; and The subsequent image frames are transmitted to the vehicle's perception pipeline for use in controlling the vehicle.

[0039] 11. The method of embodiment 10, wherein analyzing the image frame comprises scanning the image frame for one or more static pixels to identify whether a reflection is present.

[0040] 12. The method of embodiment 11, wherein analyzing the image frame comprises verifying that the one or more static pixels are associated with a reflection based on a bit slice analysis of the image frame.

[0041] 13. The method of embodiment 10, further comprising modifying contrast values ​​and brightness values ​​of the camera module to increase the quality of the subsequent image frames captured by the camera module via the activated linear polarizer module.

[0042] 14. The method according to embodiment 13 further includes obtaining contrast value and brightness value of the image frame with reflection, wherein modifying the contrast value and brightness value of the camera module includes modifying the contrast value and brightness value of the camera module based on the obtained contrast value and brightness value.

[0043] 15. The method of embodiment 10, further comprising deactivating the linear polarizer module.

[0044] 16. The method of embodiment 15, wherein deactivating the linear polarizer module comprises deactivating the linear polarizer module in response to a defined number of consecutive image frames captured by the camera module after activating the linear polarizer module.

[0045] 17. The method of embodiment 16, wherein the defined number of consecutive image frames is sixty consecutive image frames.

[0046] 18. A system for a vehicle, the system comprising: a camera module located within the vehicle, the camera module being configured to acquire image frames depicting a scene external to the vehicle and transmit the image frames to a perception pipeline of the vehicle; a linear polarizer module positioned in the field of view of the camera module; and A control module in communication with the camera module and the linear polarizer module, the control module being configured to: receiving a first image frame from a camera module; selectively activating the linear polarizer module and receiving a second image frame from the camera module; analyzing the first image frame and the second image frame to identify whether a reflection is present in the first image frame; and In response to identifying the reflection, the reflection is removed from the first image frame.

[0047] 19. The system of embodiment 18, wherein the control module is configured to remove reflections from the first image frame by modifying pixels in the first image frame.

[0048] 20. The system of embodiment 18, further comprising a windshield positioned adjacent to the camera module, the windshield comprising a surface and a coating applied to the surface, wherein: The camera module is configured to acquire an image frame depicting a scene outside the vehicle through the windshield; and The coating is configured to reduce intensity loss of the image frame due to reflections.

[0049] Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, claims, and drawings.The detailed description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0050] The present disclosure will become more fully understood from this detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of an example system for removing reflections from an image frame captured by a camera module located within a vehicle according to the present disclosure; Figure 2 is a block diagram of another example system for removing reflections from image frames captured by a camera module located within a vehicle according to the present disclosure; Figure 3 is a display showing an image frame of a scene in front of a vehicle according to the present disclosure, wherein the image frame includes a reflection; and Figure 4-6 is a flow chart of an example control process for removing reflections from image frames captured by a camera module located within a vehicle according to the present disclosure.

[0051] In the drawings, reference numerals may be repeated to identify similar and / or identical elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] Vehicles often rely on images captured by cameras to control various driver assistance applications, such as autonomous applications. In this case, the camera can be positioned inside the vehicle (e.g., behind the windshield) to capture images depicting the exterior of the vehicle. Sometimes, due to, for example, the windshield, stray light reflections are introduced into the captured images. The captured images with reflections are then passed to the perception pipeline and processed for driver assistance applications. The driver assistance application may interpret the reflections as objects on or beside the road and / or may miss actual objects on or beside the road because the objects are hidden behind the reflections. This may result in undesirable control and / or vehicle accidents associated with the driver assistance application. In some conventional systems, a light baffle may be used to block stray light reflections. However, such a light baffle may block the driver's line of sight while driving.

[0053] Systems and methods according to the present disclosure enable filtering of stray light reflections from image frames by selectively controlling a linear polarizer module in the optical path of a camera module. For example, the systems and methods herein may utilize a control module that selectively activates a linear polarizer module when desired and removes or filters out reflections (e.g., reflections caused by a vehicle windshield) from image frames captured by a camera module. For example, stray light within a vehicle cabin from a dashboard surface and / or another vehicle surface may be reflected by the windshield and directed toward the camera module. In most vehicles, the angle of incidence of stray light reflected by the windshield is greater than 55 degrees and is therefore polarization dependent. By selectively activating a linear polarizer module, reflections may be filtered from image frames captured by a camera module. This filtering functionality may be used to reduce ghost reflections within the cabin, provide ghost reflection information in the depicted scene, and / or reduce the intensity of stray light from objects outside the vehicle (e.g., a road) to enhance visibility of objects of interest, as further explained herein.

[0054] Reference now Figure 1 , a block diagram of an example system 100 for removing reflections from image frames captured by a camera module located within a vehicle is presented. Figure 1 The system 100 may be employed in any suitable vehicle, such as an electric vehicle (e.g., a pure electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, etc.), an internal combustion engine vehicle, etc. Additionally, the system 100 may be applicable to an autonomous vehicle, a semi-autonomous vehicle, or a non-autonomous vehicle. Figure 1 System 100 and / or other systems and methods described herein are described with respect to removing reflections from image frames captured by a vehicle camera module, but it should be appreciated that any of the systems and / or methods described herein may be applicable to non-vehicle implementations, if desired.

[0055] like Figure 1 As shown in , system 100 generally includes a control module 102, a camera module 104, and a linear polarizer module 106. In this example, camera module 104 is located within a vehicle for acquiring image frames depicting a scene outside the vehicle via windshield 108. Camera module 104 can then transmit the image frames to a perception pipeline 110 of the vehicle for use in controlling various driver assistance applications, such as autonomous applications.

[0056] Figure 1 The camera module 104 can be any suitable type of camera for capturing image frames. For example, the camera module 104 can be a conventional front camera module positioned near a rearview mirror in a vehicle. In such an example, the front camera module can capture image frames depicting a scene generally in front of the vehicle. In other examples, the camera module 104 can be positioned in another suitable location in the vehicle for capturing image frames depicting a scene outside the vehicle via the windshield 108 and / or another viewing glass in the vehicle (e.g., a side window, etc.).

[0057] Linear polarizer module 106 may be any suitable linear polarizer capable of reducing or filtering reflections. In this example, linear polarizer module 106 is generally positioned in the field of view (e.g., optical path) of camera module 104 and functions in a manner similar to a conventional linear polarizer. For example, when linear polarizer module 106 is positioned in the field of view of camera module 104 and activated, reflections that would otherwise appear in an image frame captured by camera module 104 may be filtered or removed.

[0058] exist Figure 1 In the example of FIG. 1 , linear polarizer module 106 is positioned outside of camera module 104 and in the field of view of camera module 104. Figure 1 104, but it should be appreciated that the linear polarizer module 106 can be positioned in other suitable locations. For example, the linear polarizer module 106 can be positioned within the camera module 104 (e.g., mounted in the camera module 104) and in the field of view of the camera module 104. For example, the linear polarizer module 106 can be positioned between the lens and the housing of the camera module 104. In other examples, the linear polarizer module 106 can be part of the lens assembly (e.g., in the lens, etc.). In still other examples, the linear polarizer module 106 can be part of the sensor package in the camera module 104 (e.g., positioned on the image sensor, etc.).

[0059] The control module 102 communicates with the camera module 104 and the linear polarizer module 106. For example, in various embodiments, the control module 102 receives one or more image frames from the camera module 104. Due to the position of the camera module 104, such image frames depict scenes generally in front of the vehicle. In some examples, stray light or ghost reflections may appear in the image frames due to stray light in the cabin from the dashboard surface and / or another vehicle surface being reflected by the windshield 108. Such image frames with reflections can be passed to the perception pipeline 110 in the vehicle and processed as explained herein. For example, Figure 3 Depicted is a user display 300 showing an image frame of a scene in front of a vehicle, wherein the image frame includes a reflection 304 along the left side of the frame.

[0060] Continue to refer Figure 1 , the control module 102 may analyze the captured image frames to identify one or more image frames (such as Figure 3 In some examples, control module 102 may analyze pixels of the captured image frame(s) to make this determination. For example, when the vehicle is moving, the presence of static (e.g., non-moving) pixels in the captured image frame(s) may indicate the presence of a reflection in the frame(s). Thus, control module 102 may scan the image frame for one or more static pixels to identify the presence of a reflection.

[0061] Additionally, in some examples, the control module 102 can further analyze the pixels to verify that the static pixels that are not covered in the scan are associated with reflections. For example, the control module 102 can optionally perform a bit slice analysis of the captured (one or more) image frames to confirm that the static pixels are actually associated with reflections. In such an example, the control module 102 can divide each captured image frame into bit planes by, for example, converting the pixel values ​​in binary form and dividing the binary pixel values ​​into bit planes, as is conventional. The control module 102 can then analyze the bit planes of one or more image frames to verify whether the static pixels are associated with reflections.

[0062] The control module 102 may then selectively activate the linear polarizer module 106 to remove the reflection from one or more subsequent image frames captured by the camera module 104. In such an example, the activation of the linear polarizer module 106 occurs in response to identifying the reflection in the captured image frame. For example, the linear polarizer module 106 may be switchable or otherwise controllable to turn on and off based on a control signal from the control module 102. When the reflection is identified, the control module 102 may transmit a control signal to turn on the linear polarizer module 106. In doing so, the linear polarizer module 106, which reduces the quality of the image frame captured by the camera module 104, may be activated only when certain conditions occur (e.g., when the reflection is identified).

[0063] In various embodiments, when the linear polarizer module 106 is activated, the control module 102 can modify parameters associated with the camera module 104 to obtain a higher quality image. For example, the control module 102 can obtain parameters of a received image frame having a reflection, such as a contrast value, a brightness value, etc. The control module 102 can then modify the contrast value and the brightness value of the camera module 104 based on the obtained contrast value and the brightness value to increase the quality of subsequent image frames captured by the camera module 104 via the activated linear polarizer module 106. In such an example, the contrast value and the brightness value (e.g., the luminance slope value) of the captured image frame can be obtained in a conventional manner, such as from a lookup table based on processing of the received image frame. The obtained contrast and brightness values ​​can then be used for the camera module 104 (e.g., as modified for use by the camera module 104, etc.). In such an example, the contrast and brightness values ​​for the camera module 104 can be stored in the lookup table for future use.

[0064] In some embodiments, the control module 102 may selectively activate the linear polarizer module 106 to identify reflections. Once identified, the control module 102 may remove the reflections from the higher quality image frames from when the linear polarizer module 106 is deactivated. For example, the control module 102 may receive one or more image frames from the camera module 104 when the linear polarizer module 106 is deactivated, and receive one or more image frames from the camera module 104 when the linear polarizer module 106 is activated. In such an example, the image frame(s) from the camera module 104 when the linear polarizer module 106 is deactivated are of higher quality than the image frame(s) from the camera module 104 when the linear polarizer module 106 is activated. In various embodiments, the control module 102 may receive different image frames (image frames when the linear polarizer module 106 is activated and not activated) substantially simultaneously (e.g., image frames captured continuously). Additionally, the control module 102 may receive the image frame(s) when the linear polarizer module 106 is activated before or after receiving the image frame(s) when the linear polarizer module 106 is deactivated.

[0065] Then, control module 102 analyzes the image frames from when linear polarizer module 106 is activated and does not identify whether a reflection is present. For example, control module 102 may compare different image frames to determine whether a reflection is present in image frames captured when linear polarizer module 106 is off. More specifically, control module 102 may process and compare corresponding pixels of different image frames and identify the presence of a reflection based on these pixels.

[0066] Next, if a reflection is identified, the control module 102 removes the reflection from the (one or more) higher quality image frames captured when the linear polarizer module 106 is turned off. For example, the control module 102 can remove the reflection from the image frame by modifying pixels in the image frame. In such an example, the control module 102 can replace pixels of the image frame captured when the linear polarizer module 106 is turned off with corresponding pixels of the image frame captured when the linear polarizer module 106 is turned on (e.g., where the reflection is filtered out). In other examples, the control module 102 can modify the pixels in another suitable manner to remove the reflection from the image frame.

[0067] In various embodiments, the control module 102 may deactivate the linear polarizer module 106 when certain conditions apply. This may be desirable because the linear polarizer module 106 may degrade the quality of image frames captured by the camera module 104 and transmitted to the perception pipeline 110 in the vehicle for controlling various driver assistance applications, such as autonomous applications. In some examples, the conditions for deactivating the linear polarizer module 106 may be based on the number of image frames captured, a defined time period, etc. For example, the control module 102 may deactivate the linear polarizer module 106 in response to a defined number of consecutive image frames captured by the camera module 104 after activating the linear polarizer module 106. In such an example, the defined number of consecutive image frames may be any suitable number, such as thirty consecutive image frames, forty consecutive image frames, sixty consecutive image frames, seventy consecutive image frames, eighty consecutive image frames, etc.

[0068] In some embodiments, the windshield 108 may include a coating on one or more surfaces thereof. In such an example, the coating may provide various functions related to the capture of the image frame. For example, the coating may have an anti-reflection function to reduce the intensity loss of the image frame due to reflections on the windshield 108. Additionally, the coating may have a polarization filtering function. In such an example, the coating may reduce the overall stray light intensity due to the polarization-dependent reflectivity of the windshield 108 in the setting of the windshield 108. In some examples, the reduction in stray light intensity may increase image contrast. In addition, in some examples, the coating may have a self-cleaning function. For example, the coating may have a photocatalytic effect and provide self-cleaning when applied to the outer surface of the windshield 108. In addition, the coating may have a hydrophilic function. In such an example, the windshield 108 may have hydrophilicity, wherein a hydrophilic coating is provided on the outer surface, which may prevent raindrops from becoming spherical lenses on the windshield 108. In some examples, the spherical lenses may affect the captured image frames and result in a reduction in the field of view of the camera module 104.

[0069] For example, Figure 2 Describes the use of Figure 1 An example system 200 for a windshield coating employed in the system 100 is shown. Figure 2 The system 200 generally includes Figure 1 1 , a camera module 104, a linear polarizer module 106, and a windshield 108, wherein the windshield 108 is positioned adjacent to the camera module 104. As shown, the windshield 108 includes opposing surfaces 212, 214 and coatings 216, 218 applied to the surfaces 212, 214, respectively. In this example, the coatings 216, 218 can be the same type of coating or different types of coatings.

[0070] exist Figure 2 In the example of FIG. 1 , reflections from the dashboard surface and / or another vehicle surface are reflected by both surfaces 212, 214 of the windshield 108, as shown by dashed line 220. In such an example, the coatings 216, 218 may reduce the intensity loss of an image frame captured by the camera module 104 via the lens 222 due to reflections, and / or may function to achieve any of the other results described above.

[0071] Although the windshield 108 and the coatings 216, 218 are Figure 2 214. The windshield 108 is shown in a particular configuration, but it should be appreciated that other configurations may be employed if desired. For example, only one surface (e.g., surface 212 or surface 214) may include a coating applied thereto. In other examples, the windshield 108 may include two separate windshield portions with a gap (e.g., an air gap) between them. In such an example, each windshield portion includes two surfaces (e.g., similar to surfaces 212, 214). If desired, the coating may be applied to each surface or some of the surfaces of the windshield portions.

[0072] Figure 4-6 The diagram shows the Figure 1 The example control processes 400, 500, 600 for removing reflections from image frames captured within a vehicle are employed by the control module 102 of the vehicle. Although the example control processes 400, 500, 600 are related to the control module 102, Figure 1 Although described with reference to the system 100 of FIG. 1 , any of the control processes 400 , 500 , 600 may be employed by any suitable system.

[0073] like Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 4 , control begins at 402, where the control module 102 receives a signal from a camera module (such as Figure 1 The camera module 104 of the vehicle receives one or more image frames. In this example, the image frame(s) may depict a scene generally in front of the vehicle, as explained herein. Control then proceeds to 404, 406, 408.

[0074] At 404, the control module 102 activates a linear polarizer module, such as Figure 1The linear polarizer module 106 is activated. Then, once the linear polarizer module is activated, at 406, the control module 102 receives one or more additional image frames from the camera module via the activated linear polarizer module, as explained herein. Once (one or more) additional image frames are received, at 408, the control module 102 can deactivate the linear polarizer module. For example, in various embodiments, the control module 102 can deactivate the linear polarizer module in response to a defined number (e.g., 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, etc.) of consecutive image frames captured by the camera module after activating the linear polarizer module, in response to a defined time period after activating the linear polarizer module, and so on. In other examples, the control can activate the linear polarizer module, receive (one or more) image frames from the camera module via the activated linear polarizer module, and deactivate the linear polarizer module before receiving (one or more) image frames from the camera module, if desired. In any case, control then proceeds to 410.

[0075] At 410, control module 102 compares image frames from when the linear polarizer module is activated and when it is not activated. In doing so, control module 102 can identify whether there is a reflection in the received (one or more) image frames from when the linear polarizer module is activated, as explained above. In some examples, this determination can be made based on a comparison of pixels in different image frames, as explained above. Control then proceeds to 412.

[0076] At 412, control module 102 determines whether there is a reflection in the received image frame(s) from when the linear polarizer module was not activated. If yes, control proceeds to 414. If no, control proceeds to 416.

[0077] At 414, control module 102 modifies the image frame(s) from when the linear polarizer module is not activated to remove the identified reflection. In some examples, control module 102 may modify the pixels in the image frame(s) to remove the reflection, as explained above. Control then proceeds to 416.

[0078] At 416, the control module 102 transmits the image frame(s) to a perception pipeline in the vehicle for use in controlling various driver assistance applications, such as autonomous applications. In some examples, the transmitted image frame(s) may be image frames modified to remove reflections, or image frames that have not been modified. Control may then end, such as Figure 4 , or if desired, may return to another suitable step, such as 402.

[0079] refer to Figure 5, control begins at 502, where the control module 102 receives a signal from a camera module (such as Figure 1 The camera module 104 of the vehicle receives one or more image frames. The image frame(s) may depict a scene generally in front of the vehicle, as explained herein. Control then proceeds to 504.

[0080] At 504, the control module 102 analyzes the received image frame to identify reflections. For example, the control module 102 may scan for static pixels in the captured image frame(s) and / or perform a bit slice analysis of the captured image frame(s) to determine if reflections are present, as explained above. Control then proceeds to 506.

[0081] At 506, the control module 102 determines whether a reflection is identified in the received image frame(s). If not, control proceeds to 508, where the control module 102 transmits the received image frame(s) to a perception pipeline in the vehicle for use in controlling various driver assistance applications, as explained above. Control then proceeds to 516. However, if at 506, a reflection is present in the received image frame(s), control proceeds to 510.

[0082] At 510, the control module 102 activates a linear polarizer module, such as Figure 1 The linear polarizer module 106 of the vehicle is activated. For example, the control module 102 can generate and transmit a control signal to the linear polarizer module to activate (e.g., turn on, switch on, etc.) the linear polarizer module, as explained above. Control then proceeds to 512 and 514, where the control module 102 receives one or more image frames from the camera module via the activated linear polarizer module and transmits the received (one or more) image frames to a perception pipeline in the vehicle for controlling various driver assistance applications, as explained above. Control proceeds to 516.

[0083] At 516, control module 102 determines whether the linear polarizer module is activated. In various embodiments, control module 102 may set the value stored therein when a control signal is transmitted to activate the linear polarizer module, and / or control module 102 may receive a signal from the linear polarizer module when the linear polarizer module is activated. If not, control may return to 502, as shown in FIG. Figure 5 , or if desired, return to another suitable step, or end. However, if control module 102 determines at 516 that the linear polarizer module is activated, control proceeds to 518.

[0084] At 518, the control module 102 determines whether a condition for deactivating the linear polarizer module is met. For example, the control module 102 may determine whether the camera module has captured a defined number of consecutive image frames after activating the linear polarizer module at 510, as explained herein. In other examples, the control module 102 may determine that a defined time period has passed after activating the linear polarizer module at 510. If the condition is met at 518, control proceeds to 520, where the control module 102 deactivates the linear polarizer module (e.g., by transmitting another control signal to the linear polarizer module, etc.). Control may return to 502, as described herein. Figure 5 or, if desired, return to another appropriate step, or end.

[0085] However, if the condition is not met at 518, control proceeds to 522 where the control module 102 receives another image frame from the camera module via the activated linear polarizer module, as explained above. Control then returns to 514 as Figure 5 as shown in .

[0086] refer to Figure 6 , control begins at 602, where the control module 102 receives a signal from a camera module (such as Figure 1 The camera module 104 receives one or more image frames, as described above with respect to Figure 5 Control then proceeds to 604 .

[0087] At 604, the control module 102 performs imaging processing on the received image frame(s). For example, the control module 102 may scan the received image frame(s) for one or more static pixels, as explained above. Control then proceeds to 606, where the control module 102 determines if there are any static pixels in the image frame(s). If not, control proceeds to 608, where the control module 102 transmits the received image frame(s) to a perception pipeline in the vehicle for use in controlling various driver assistance applications, as explained above. Control then proceeds to 624.

[0088] However, if the control module 102 determines at 606 that static pixels are present, control proceeds to 610. At 610, the control module 102 performs a bit slice analysis of the captured image frame(s), as explained above. In this example, bit slice analysis and static pixel scanning are employed in order to identify and verify the presence of reflections in the captured image frame(s). Control then proceeds to 612.

[0089] At 612, the control module 102 determines whether a reflection is identified in the captured image frame(s) based on, for example, bit slice analysis and static pixel scanning. If not, control proceeds to 608, as explained above. However, if the control module 102 determines that a reflection is present, control proceeds to 614.

[0090] At 614, the control module 102 obtains contrast values ​​and brightness values ​​(e.g., brightness slope values) for the captured image frame(s), as explained above. For example, the contrast values ​​and brightness values ​​for the captured image frame(s) may be obtained in a conventional manner, such as from a lookup table based on processing of the received image frame. Control then proceeds to 616.

[0091] At 616, the control module 102 activates a linear polarizer module such as Figure 1 The linear polarizer module 106. For example, the control module 102 may generate a control signal and transmit it to the linear polarizer module, as explained above. Control then proceeds to 618.

[0092] At 618, the control module 102 modifies the contrast value and the brightness value of the camera module to increase the quality of subsequent image frames captured by the camera module via the activated linear polarizer module, as explained above. For example, the contrast value and the brightness value of the camera module may be modified based on the contrast value and the brightness value obtained at 614. Control then proceeds to 620 and 622, where the control module 102 receives one or more image frames from the camera module via the activated linear polarizer module and transmits the received image frame(s) to the perception pipeline in the vehicle, as explained above. Control proceeds to 624.

[0093] At 624, the control module 102 determines whether the linear polarizer module is activated, as explained above. If not, control can return to 602, as explained above. Figure 6 , or if desired, returns to another suitable step, or ends. However, if the linear polarizer module is activated, control proceeds to 626, where the control module 102 determines whether the conditions for deactivating the linear polarizer module are met, as explained above. If the deactivation conditions are met, control proceeds to 628, where the control module 102 deactivates the linear polarizer module, as explained above. Control can then return to 602, as explained above. Figure 6 , or if desired, returns to another appropriate step, or ends. However, if the deactivation condition is not met at 626, control proceeds to 630, where the control module 102 receives another image frame from the camera module via the activated linear polarizer module, as explained above. Control then returns to 622, as Figure 6 as shown in .

[0094] The foregoing description is merely illustrative in nature and is by no means intended to limit the present disclosure, its application or use. The broad teachings of the present disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, although the present disclosure includes specific examples, the true scope of the present disclosure should not be so limited, because other modifications will become apparent when studying the drawings, the specification and the following claims. It should be understood that, without changing the principles of the present disclosure, one or more steps in the method can be performed in different orders (or simultaneously). In addition, although each embodiment is described above as having certain features, any one or more of those features described with respect to any embodiment of the present disclosure can be implemented in the features of any other embodiment and / or combined with the features of any other embodiment, even if the combination is not explicitly described. In other words, the described embodiments are not mutually exclusive, and one or more embodiments and each other's permutation (permutation) are still within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0095] Spatial and functional relationships between elements (e.g., between modules, circuit elements, semiconductor layers, etc.) are described using various terms, including "connected," "engaged," "coupled," "adjacent," "immediately adjacent," "on," "above," "below," and "disposed." Unless explicitly described as "direct," when describing a relationship between a first and a second element in the above disclosure, the relationship may be a direct relationship in which no other intervening elements exist between the first and second elements, but may also be an indirect relationship in which one or more intervening elements (either spatially or functionally) exist between the first and second elements. As used herein, the phrase "at least one of A, B, and C" should be interpreted to mean a logical (A or B or C) using a non-exclusive logical "or," and should not be interpreted to mean "at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C."

[0096] In the various figures, the direction of the arrow, as indicated by the arrow head, generally indicates the flow of information (such as data or instructions) of interest to the illustration. For example, when element A and element B exchange various information, but the information transmitted from element A to element B is relevant to the illustration, the arrow may point from element A to element B. The unidirectional arrow does not imply that no other information is transmitted from element B to element A. In addition, for information sent from element A to element B, element B may send a request or a receipt confirmation of the information to element A.

[0097] In this application, including the definitions below, the term "module" or the term "controller" may be replaced with the term "circuit". The term "module" may refer to, be part of, or include: an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC); a digital, analog, or mixed analog / digital discrete circuit; a digital, analog, or mixed analog / digital integrated circuit; a combinational logic circuit; a field programmable gate array (FPGA); a processor circuit (shared, dedicated, or grouped) that executes code; a memory circuit (shared, dedicated, or grouped) that stores code executed by the processor circuit; other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality; or a combination of some or all of the above, such as in a system on a chip.

[0098] The module may include one or more interface circuits. In some examples, the interface circuit may include a wired or wireless interface connected to a local area network (LAN), the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), or a combination thereof. The functions of any given module of the present disclosure may be distributed among multiple modules connected via the interface circuit. For example, multiple modules may allow load balancing. In a further example, a server (also referred to as a remote or cloud) module may implement some functions on behalf of a client module.

[0099] The term "code" as used above may include software, firmware, and / or microcode, and may refer to a program, a routine, a function, a class, a data structure, and / or an object. The term "shared processor circuit" covers a single processor circuit that executes some or all code from multiple modules. The term "group processor circuit" covers a processor circuit that executes some or all code from one or more modules in conjunction with an additional processor circuit. References to multiple processor circuits cover multiple processor circuits on discrete dies, multiple processor circuits on a single die, multiple cores of a single processor circuit, multiple threads of a single processor circuit, or a combination of the above. The term "shared memory circuit" covers a single memory circuit that stores some or all code from multiple modules. The term "group memory circuit" includes a memory circuit that stores some or all code from one or more modules in conjunction with additional memory.

[0100] The term "memory circuit" is a subset of the term "computer-readable medium". The term "computer-readable medium" as used herein does not encompass non-transitory electrical or electromagnetic signals propagated through a medium (such as on a carrier wave); therefore, the term "computer-readable medium" may be considered to be tangible and non-transitory. Non-limiting examples of non-transitory tangible computer-readable media are non-volatile memory circuits (such as flash memory circuits, erasable programmable read-only memory circuits, or mask read-only memory circuits), volatile memory circuits (such as static random access memory circuits or dynamic random access memory circuits), magnetic storage media (such as analog or digital magnetic tape or hard disk drives), and optical storage media (such as CDs, DVDs, or Blu-ray discs).

[0101] The apparatus and method described in the present application can be implemented in part or in whole by a special-purpose computer, which is created by configuring a general-purpose computer to perform one or more specific functions embodied in a computer program. The functional blocks, flow chart components and other elements described above act as software specifications, which can be translated into computer programs by the routine work of skilled technicians or programmers.

[0102] The computer program includes processor executable instructions stored on at least one non-transitory tangible computer readable medium. The computer program may also include or rely on stored data. The computer program may include a basic input / output system (BIOS) that interacts with the hardware of the special-purpose computer, device drivers that interact with specific devices of the special-purpose computer, one or more operating systems, user applications, background services, background applications, etc.

[0103] A computer program may include: (i) descriptive text to be parsed, such as HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), XML (Extensible Markup Language), or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation), (ii) assembly code, (iii) object code generated by a compiler from source code, (iv) source code for execution by an interpreter, (v) source code for compilation and execution by a just-in-time compiler, etc. By way of example only, source code may be written using syntax from languages ​​including: C, C++, C#, Objective-C, Swift, Haskell, Go, SQL, R, Lisp, Fortran, Perl, Pascal, Curl, OCaml, HTML5 (Hypertext Markup Language Version 5), Ada, ASP (Active Server Pages), PHP (PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor), Scala, Eiffel, Smalltalk, Erlang, Ruby, Visual Lua, MATLAB, SIMULINK, and

Claims

1. A system for a vehicle, the system comprising: a camera module located within the vehicle, the camera module being configured to acquire image frames depicting a scene external to the vehicle and transmit the image frames to a perception pipeline of the vehicle; a linear polarizer module positioned in the field of view of the camera module; as well as A control module in communication with the camera module and the linear polarizer module, the control module being configured to: receiving an image frame from a camera module; analyzing the image frame to identify whether a reflection is present; as well as In response to identifying the reflection in the image frame, the linear polarizer module is selectively activated to remove the reflection from subsequent image frames captured by the camera module. 2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control module is configured to scan the image frame for one or more static pixels to identify whether a reflection is present.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the control module is configured to modify contrast values ​​and brightness values ​​of the camera module to increase the quality of the subsequent image frames captured by the camera module via the activated linear polarizer module. The system of claim 1 , wherein the control module is configured to deactivate the linear polarizer module. 5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the control module is configured to deactivate the linear polarizer module in response to a defined number of consecutive image frames captured by the camera module after activating the linear polarizer module.

6. A method of removing reflections from an image frame captured by a camera module located within a vehicle, the method comprising: receiving an image frame from a camera module; analyzing the image frame to identify whether a reflection is present; In response to identifying the reflection in the image frame, selectively activating a linear polarizer module positioned in the field of view of the camera module to remove the reflection from subsequent image frames captured by the camera module; as well as The subsequent image frames are transmitted to the vehicle's perception pipeline for use in controlling the vehicle.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising modifying contrast values ​​and brightness values ​​of a camera module to increase the quality of the subsequent image frames captured by the camera module via the activated linear polarizer module.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising obtaining a contrast value and a brightness value of the image frame having reflections, wherein modifying the contrast value and the brightness value of the camera module comprises modifying the contrast value and the brightness value of the camera module based on the obtained contrast value and the brightness value.

9. A system for a vehicle, the system comprising: a camera module located within the vehicle, the camera module being configured to acquire image frames depicting a scene external to the vehicle and transmit the image frames to a perception pipeline of the vehicle; a linear polarizer module positioned in the field of view of the camera module; as well as A control module in communication with the camera module and the linear polarizer module, the control module being configured to: receiving a first image frame from a camera module; selectively activating the linear polarizer module and receiving a second image frame from the camera module; analyzing the first image frame and the second image frame to identify whether a reflection exists in the first image frame; as well as In response to identifying the reflection, the reflection is removed from the first image frame.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising a windshield positioned adjacent to the camera module, the windshield comprising a surface and a coating applied to the surface, wherein: The camera module is configured to acquire an image frame depicting a scene outside the vehicle through the windshield; as well as The coating is configured to reduce intensity loss of the image frame due to reflections.

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