Improved information projection through a vehicle headlight

Abstract

Disclosed is a vehicle 100 with improved information projection 114 by headlights 110, wherein a controller 105 of the vehicle 100 modulates a light pattern 115 onto a light signal for the headlight 110 and uses a camera 120 to capture an image of the projection surface of the headlight 110 with the projected light pattern 115. From the image, the controller 105 can recognize the light pattern 115 and generate a three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface. The information projection 114 is then adapted to the three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface.

Description

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle having an improved information projection. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a vehicle having a headlight capable of projecting information onto a projection surface and a controller that improves the presentation of the information.Some vehicles are meanwhile being equipped with headlights that are capable of blocking out certain areas of the light cone. This allows, for example, a journey with a permanent high beam, wherein the high beam is "switched off" in certain regions in the light cone of the headlight in order, for example, not to block oncoming or preceding vehicles or in order not to illuminate reflective road signs or other objects in the vicinity of the vehicle too strongly.Furthermore, headlights have also been developed that can additionally project information or graphics onto a projection surface of the headlight. For example, navigation information or current speed limits can be projected onto the roadway surface in front of the vehicle, which can be supported by a driver without distraction from road traffic.However, the visibility of such projected information greatly depends on the accuracy of the projection.It is therefore the object of the present disclosure to provide a vehicle with an improved information projection.This object is achieved by the present invention according to the independent claim. Preferred embodiments are found in the dependent claims.According to a first aspect for better understanding of the present disclosure, a vehicle includes a headlight configured to illuminate at least one region within a possible cone of light of the headlight differently than the rest of the possible cone of light and to superimpose an information projection on a projection surface of the headlight, and a camera configured to capture an image of the projection surface. In other words, the vehicle is able to present information on a projection surface of the headlight, which information in turn lies in the image region of the camera, so that a recording of the projected information can be made. The possible cone of light of the headlight is a three-dimensional shape, the origin of which is located in the headlight, is laterally limited by the maximum projection angle of the headlight and is limited at the end by the projection surface. The projection surface is a surface of the environment of the vehicle which is illuminated or can be illuminated by the emitted light of the headlight.The vehicle further comprises a controller configured to acquire an original light signal for the headlight, calculate a changed light signal by modulating a light pattern on the original light signal of the headlight, the light pattern having a wavelength visible to the human being, and transmit the changed light signal with the modulated light pattern to the headlight. In other words, the controller may influence or modify the light emitted by the headlight to include a light pattern. For example, the light pattern can illuminate one or more regions of a projection surface of the headlight, wherein other regions of the projection surface that do not form the light pattern are illuminated with light according to the original light signal, or are also not illuminated if no illumination was provided for (some) of these regions.The original light signal thus corresponds to the illumination of the environment, as provided for normal travel in a conventional manner. In this case, specific regions cannot be illuminated, for example detected oncoming vehicles, pedestrians or other road users and the like. The original light signal further includes the information projection to be displayed on the projection surface.The controller of the vehicle is further configured to control the camera to capture an image of the projection surface while the headlamp generates a light corresponding to the changed light signal, to recognize the light pattern in the captured image, to generate a three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface based on deformations of the light pattern in the captured image, and to control the headlamp to adapt the information projection to the three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface.Adjusting the information projection primarily involves changing the outline of the information projection to the projection surface. For example only, the projection surface may be a roadway in front of the vehicle. If it is a planar roadway, the outline or outlines of the information projection corresponds to the shape of the information, since the information is reproduced (reflected) unchanged on the plane formed by the roadway. However, when the projection surface is a three-dimensional body (for example, a striking hole in the roadway or a round support in front of the vehicle), the information projection on the surface of the three-dimensional body is distorted. From the viewing angle of the driver of the vehicle, therefore, the information of the (unchanged) information projection may not be perfectly recognizable or read, since the information is distorted by the three-dimensionality of the projection surface.The controller of the vehicle can adapt the information projection on the basis of the reconstruction of the projection surface in such a way that the information can be clearly recognized or read again from the viewing angle of the driver. For example, the outline of the information projection can be changed (distorted) in such a way that regions of the three-dimensional projection surface are illuminated which represent the undistorted information from the viewing angle of the driver. With regard to the above example of a round support, an unaligned information projection on the sides of the support would be distorted rearward. By adjusting the outline of the information projection, for example narrowing the width of the information projection (or increasing its height), the information on the round support becomes recognizable again to the driver as if it were projected onto a two-dimensional plane.Since the vehicle can perform the above-described adaptation of the information projection using a conventional headlight and a camera which may already be present, no additional devices need to be installed on the vehicle. Only the control of the headlight and / or the control of the projection of information onto the projection surface in front of the vehicle has to be adapted. Thus, the present disclosure enables the presentation of information to be effected with simple means but with a clearly improved presentation.Furthermore, the projection surface is three-dimensionally reconstructed exclusively by light emitted by the vehicle headlight. In other words, no additional device is necessary which emits a special light for three-dimensional reconstruction.In addition, regions of the possible light cone can be used for the light pattern which would be illuminated anyway according to the original light signal. Thus, when generating the light pattern, it is not necessary to interrupt the original light signal (in other words to interrupt the original (targeted) illumination of the projection surface), as a result of which continuous illumination of the originally provided regions remains possible.Since the controller knows the light pattern, the recognition of the light pattern in the captured image can be facilitated. The recorded image must be examined for the known pattern by image processing. For example, the controller may search for boundaries of different brightness and / or different colors corresponding to the light pattern in the image data of the captured image.Of course, the vehicle can also comprise a plurality of headlights, which each or together project the information onto the projection surface. It is likewise possible that the vehicle can comprise a plurality of headlights, which each or together cast the light pattern onto the projection surface. In these cases, the controller is correspondingly adapted to the plurality of headlights.In one implementation variant, the controller may be configured to emit the light pattern only at specific time intervals. Even if the light pattern can be modulated such that it is not recognizable by the driver, but is at least not perceived as annoying, it can be sufficient to superimpose the light pattern only from time to time and to reconstruct the projection surface three-dimensionally. In particular, in the case of a low driving speed of the vehicle and / or depending on a depth of the light pattern (in the direction of travel of the vehicle), continuous detection of the environment in front of the vehicle can nevertheless be carried out. Merely by way of example, the controller may be configured to emit light patterns at the specific time intervals depending on the travel speed of the vehicle. In other words, as the travel speed of the vehicle increases, the time intervals are shortened in order to obtain a three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface that is as continuous as possible, that is to say of the entire surface in front of the vehicle.In one implementation variant, the controller may further be configured to modulate the light pattern only in a region of the possible light cone of the headlight that is furthest away from the vehicle and / or that is furthest in front of the vehicle in the direction of travel of the vehicle and / or that is farther away from the vehicle than the information projection in the direction of travel of the vehicle. This has the advantage, on the one hand, that the light pattern is in a region on the projection surface which is far away from the driver and is therefore viewed more poorly by the driver and / or is observed less strongly. Thus, the light pattern can be displayed to the driver in an imperceptible manner.In addition, an area (far) in front of the vehicle is very likely (still) unknown for the control, i.e. the three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface has not yet taken place for this area. Thus, the three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface can take place before the corresponding region is of interest to the driver and / or before an information projection is to take place there.In a further implementation variant, the modulation of the light pattern can comprise a change in the wavelength and / or the brightness and / or the polarization (or even degree of polarization) and / or the phase of the original light signal. By changing the wavelength as well as the polarization, the light pattern can remain / become visible to the camera, while it remains unnoticed by the driver. For example, the wavelength and / or polarization can be changed only slightly from the original light signal. The same applies to changing the brightness, since present-day cameras have sensors which can be more sensitive than the human eye, i.e. recognize differences in wavelength and / or brightness and / or polarization which are not recognizable to most people. A changed polarization for the light pattern also makes it possible, by simple use of a polarization filter, to separate the light pattern from the original light signal on the camera side. The detection of the light pattern can thus be carried out simply and cost-effectively. By changing the phase, in turn, otherwise unused light (which is not projected out of the headlight, e.g., by not activating a mirror in a mirror array) can be redirected in order to generate the light pattern. As a result, the light source of the headlight can be used more efficiently.In a further implementation variant, the light pattern can also be modulated in a region within the possible light cone in which the original light signal does not provide any illumination of the projection surface. The entire possible projection surface can thus be illuminated and its three-dimensional shape reconstructed.Of course, the light pattern can also be omitted in areas in which the original light signal does not provide for illumination of the projection surface, in order not to interfere with oncoming traffic, for example. On the other hand, as explained above, the change of the light signal with respect to the wavelength and / or the brightness and / or the polarization and / or the phase can only be very small, so that starting from zero (no light) this is also not recognizable to the human eye and thus not disturbing / blending.In one implementation variant, the controller may be further configured to take into account a position of the vehicle in the three-dimensional space and / or a speed of the vehicle when generating the three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface. As a result of the position of the vehicle in three-dimensional space, an angle of the emitted light of the information projection to the projection surface can change. For example only, deceleration of the vehicle (deceleration) may make the vehicle tilt forward, thereby creating distortion in information projection. This can also be compensated by the control. The same naturally also applies to slopes about the other two axles of the vehicle.In yet another implementation variant, the controller may be further configured to store the three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface in a buffer memory and preferably to shift it in the buffer memory depending on the speed of the vehicle. The buffer memory may be adapted to store a certain amount of three-dimensional data of the reconstructed projection surface and to delete the oldest data when this certain amount is exceeded. Thus, depending on the speed of the vehicle, a continuous image of the projection surface can be created (three-dimensionally reconstructed).If the vehicle is stationary, the modulation of the light pattern can also pause, since there is no unknown projection surface.In one implementation variant, the headlight can be a digital matrix light headlight, a laser headlight, a digital micromirror device, a micro-LED matrix, or a headlight based on a spatial light modulator (SLM) with a change in the phase position of the light. In an SLM headlamp, the phase position of the light can be modified and thus the direction of the wavefront of the light can be changed, comparable to a phased array radar. In any case, the headlamp is capable of producing high resolution projections, for example with up to 0.5 megapixels or with up to 1 megapixel resolution. Thus, various animations and / or movies can be displayed on areas in front of the vehicle (such as the road, a wall, etc.).In a further implementation variant, the camera can be a vehicle camera of a driver assistance system. As a result, no additional light sensor or additional camera is necessary in order to carry out the present three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface.In one implementation variant, the information projection can be a non-illumination-relevant light, preferably a safety function and / or an orientation aid for the driver. These include, merely by way of example, information about the current road (such as speed limit, one-way control, solid center line, etc.), about the current traffic (such as traffic jam or slow-moving traffic ahead), a lane to be used during a navigation event (such as a lane to be used for depositing or leaving a road, or the like), brighter illumination of traffic traffic deflectors and other signs or even cyclists and pedestrians (if they are not blinded), etc.According to another aspect of the present disclosure, which is only for understanding the present disclosure, a vehicle includes a headlamp including a spatial light modulator (SLM). For example, the headlight can have a light source, wherein the spatial light modulator (SLM) is arranged in the light path. The SLM is capable of causing a change in the phase position of the light. In this case, the direction of the wavefront of the light is changed, comparable to a phased array radar. This has the advantage that the light source can be utilized more efficiently, since a projection in front of the vehicle can take place by changing the direction of the light in the SLM, in which projection targeted regions are illuminated or not. However, all light is used for illumination. In contrast, for example, in the case of a micromirror device (micromirror actuator, digital micromirror device-DMD), a specific region in front of the vehicle is not illuminated, in which region the light from the light source is deflected within the headlight, that is to say does not even leave the headlight. Even in the case of a micro-LED matrix, the total capacitance of the headlight is not utilized if specific regions in front of the vehicle are not illuminated. In contrast, in a headlight based on SLM technology, more efficient operation can be achieved since the light generated by the light source is completely used for illumination and information projection.In one implementation variant, the headlamp with SLM technology can be used to generate a light pattern according to the first aspect or one or more of its implementation variants.The aspects, configurations, variants and examples described above can, of course, be combined without this being explicitly described. Each of the described design variants and each example can thus be seen optionally with respect to each of the aspects, designs, variants and examples or already combinations thereof. The present disclosure is therefore not limited to the individual configurations and design variants in the described sequence or a specific combination of the aspects and design variants.Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the attached schematic drawings, in which: FIG. 1 schematically shows a vehicle with headlights switched on; FIG. 2 schematically shows a vehicle with information projection; FIG. 3 schematically shows a vehicle with information projection at a later point in time than in FIG. 2 ; and FIG. 4 schematically shows a side view of the vehicle of FIGS. 2 and 3.FIG. 1 schematically shows a top view of a vehicle 100 on a road 1 according to the present disclosure. The vehicle 100 comprises one or more headlights 110 that is / are configured to illuminate at least one area within a possible light cone 112 of the headlight differently than the rest of the possible light cone 112. The light cones 112 shown in FIG. 1 are merely exemplary and may include other areas, for example a larger overlapping area of both light cones 112.Furthermore, each headlight 110 is configured to superimpose an information projection 114 on a projection surface of the headlight. The projection area of the headlight is the environment in front of the vehicle, such as the road 1. in FIG. 1, the information projection 114 is the number "80" that includes, for example, an allowable maximum speed. Another example of an information projection 114 would be to superimpose a turn arrow to alert the driver of the vehicle 100 that a navigation point has soon been reached and a navigation maneuver is occurring.The vehicle 100 further comprises a camera 120 configured to capture an image of the projection surface of the possible light cone 112. In other words, the camera 120 is capable of capturing an image of an area in front of the vehicle 100 that can be at least partially illuminated by the headlight 110. In FIG. 1, the camera 120 is shown in the area of the windshield. The position of the camera is, however, unimportant as long as the angle of view of the camera captures at least parts of the projection surface of the headlight.Finally, the vehicle 100 also comprises a controller 105 which is configured to detect an original light signal for the headlight 110. The original light signal may originate from the controller 105 or another module (not shown) of the vehicle 100. The original light signal is suitable for illuminating the projection surface or at least a certain part thereof. Since the headlight 110 is a projection headlight, the light signal can comprise an "image" which defines the contours of the region / regions to be illuminated. In FIG. 1, these are, for example, a right lane area of the road 1 (in the case of the left headlight 110) and another right lane area of the road 1 and a shoulder on the right side of the roadway (in the case of the right headlight 110), in which traffic signs and the like are usually mounted.The controller 105 is further configured to calculate a changed light signal, wherein a light pattern 115 is modulated onto the original light signal of the headlight 110. The light pattern has a wavelength visible to the human. Modulating the light pattern 115 means that a light is emitted into specific regions of the projection surface, which is different from light emitted into other regions of the projection surface. In FIG. 1, the light pattern 115 is represented by hatched blocks to show the different light. Of course, this is to be understood as merely exemplary and not as a restriction of the shape of the light pattern 115.Merely by way of example, both headlights 110 of vehicle 100 may emit their own light pattern, as shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, only one of the headlights 110 can also emit a light pattern 115.In any case, the controller 105 is further configured to transmit the changed light signal with the modulated light pattern to the headlight 110 so that the headlight can cast the light pattern onto the projection surface. Further, the controller 105 controls the camera 120 to capture an image of the projection surface while the headlamp generates a light corresponding to the changed light signal. In other words, an image of the projection surface on which the light pattern 115 is present is captured.The controller 105 is further configured to recognize the light pattern 115 in the captured image and to generate a three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface on the basis of deformations of the light pattern in the captured image.This will be explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4. FIG. 2 shows the vehicle 100 of FIG. 1 on the same road 1 at a later time, assuming that the vehicle 100 is moving forward on the road (upward in FIGS. 1 and 2 ). In front of the vehicle 100 in the direction of travel is a depression 5 in the road surface 1 (colloquially a tapped hole). Since the exemplary light pattern 115 comprises regular blocks or bars in the case shown, these blocks or bars become visible on the planar road surface 1 as such (for the controller 105). However, in the vicinity of the depression 5, the position of the projected block or beam is deformed or distorted because the light beams from the headlight 110 have a different length before they strike the depressed road surface 1 than would be the case if no depression 5 were present. This distortion is illustrated in the light pattern blocks 116 in FIG. 2.FIG. 4 shows the deformation 116 of the light pattern 115 in a side view. Whereas the projection surface of headlight 110 has a planar section 117 directly in front of vehicle 100, depression 5 is present in section 118. As a result, light from the headlight 110 strikes the recessed road surface in the region 118 at a location further away from the vehicle 100 than would be the case if there was no recess 5.The camera 120 captures these deformations 116, thereby enabling the controller 105 to detect deviations from the light pattern 115 known to the controller 105. Based on the known light pattern 115 and the deformations 116, the controller 105 may perform a three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface. Such calculation (three-dimensional modeling) based on images of the camera 120 is known.FIG. 3 now shows the vehicle 100 on the same road 1 as in FIGS. 1 and 2, but at a later point in time. The light patterns 115 are now behind the depression 5 (as viewed in the direction of travel of the vehicle 100), while the depression 5 is now in a region in which the information projection is arranged. The controller 105, which has performed the three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface, now has data about the size and the three-dimensional course of the depression 5 in the road surface 1.The controller can therefore adapt the information projection 114 to the three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface and control the headlight 110 such that the information to be displayed is recognizable to the driver of the vehicle 100. In FIG. 3, which illustrates a plan view of the situation, the information projection 114 is shown distorted or deformed in order to clarify that the information projection 114 does not actually correspond to the original representation of the information in the plan view (as in FIG. 2 ). From the driver's angle of view, on the other hand, regions of the road surface 1 and in particular of the depression 5 are illuminated by the information projection 114 in such a way that the information to be displayed appears to the driver of the vehicle 100 as if the information projection 114 were projected onto a planar road surface 1 without adaptation (as in FIGS. 1 and 2 ). In other words, the information projection 114 is adapted in such a way that a deviation in three-dimensional space from the planar road surface 1 caused by the depression 5 is compensated.Of course, any other projection surface may be present, including walls, supports, objects, persons, cyclists, furniture, tyre stacks, etc., having a non-plane three-dimensional shape. However, the controller 105 is able to perform a three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface by means of the light pattern 115 and to adapt the information projection such that it looks like information projected onto a (fictitious) two-dimensional surface from the viewing angle of the driver of the vehicle 100. The fictitious two-dimensional surface can be arranged horizontally or vertically or else obliquely.

Claims

A vehicle (100) comprising: a headlamp (110) configured to illuminate at least an area within a possible cone of light (112) of the headlamp differently than the rest of the possible cone of light (112) and to superimpose an information projection (114) on a projection surface of the headlamp; and a camera (120) configured to capture an image of the projection surface, characterized in that the vehicle (100) further comprises a controller (105) configured to: capture an original light signal for the headlamp (110), calculate a changed light signal by modulating a light pattern (115) onto the original light signal of the headlamp, the light pattern having a wavelength visible to the human being, transmit the changed light signal with the modulated light pattern to the headlamp, controlling the camera (120) to capture an image of the projection surface while the headlamp generates a light corresponding to the changed light signal, recognizing the light pattern (115, 116) in the captured image, generating a three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface based on deformations (116) of the light pattern in the captured image, and controlling the headlamp (110) to adapt the information projection (114) to the three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface.The vehicle (100) according to claim 1, wherein the controller (105) is further configured to modulate the light pattern (115) only in a region of the possible light cone (112) of the headlight (110) that is furthest from the vehicle (100) and / or that is furthest in front of the vehicle (100) in the direction of travel of the vehicle (100) and / or that is further from the vehicle in the direction of travel of the vehicle (100) than the information projection (114).Vehicle (100) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein modulating the light pattern (115) comprises changing the wavelength of the original light signal and / or changing the brightness of the original light signal and / or a phase of the original light and / or a polarization of the original light, and / or wherein modulating the light pattern (115) also takes place in a region within the possible light cone (112), in which the original light signal does not provide any illumination of the projection surface.The vehicle (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the controller (105) is further configured to take into account a position of the vehicle (100) in the three-dimensional space and / or a speed of the vehicle when generating the three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface.Vehicle (100) according to one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the controller (105) is furthermore configured to store the three-dimensional reconstruction of the projection surface in a buffer memory and to shift it in the buffer memory as a function of the speed of the vehicle.Vehicle (100) according to one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein the headlight (110) is a digital matrix light headlight, a laser headlight, a digital micromirror device, a micro-LED matrix, or a headlight based on a spatial light modulator, SLM, with a change in the phase position of the light.The vehicle (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the camera (120) is a vehicle camera of a driver assistance system.Vehicle (100) according to one of Claims 1 to 7, wherein the information projection is a non-illumination-relevant light, preferably a safety function and / or an orientation aid for the driver.

Images