Method and headlight system for generating luminous structures as well as vehicle comprising the headlight system

Abstract

Method for generating luminous structures using a matrix headlight system of a vehicle, comprising: - Generating (110) a first luminous structure in a headlight light field using the matrix headlight system, - Detecting (120) the current vehicle position using sensors, - Determining (130) a required adaptation of the first lighting structure to generate a second lighting structure adapted to the current vehicle position, characterized in that the method further comprises: - Determine (140) based on the required adaptation of at least one sampling point of the first luminaire corresponding to at least one pixel of the second luminaire, - Determining (150) a brightness of at least one sampling point, and - Adjusting (160) the brightness of the at least one pixel according to the brightness of the at least one sampling point, wherein determining the brightness of the at least one sampling point (5) of the first illuminating structure comprises averaging brightnesses of pixels of the first illuminating structure in the vicinity of the at least one sampling point and wherein the averaging comprises weighting brightnesses of pixels based on distances between the at least one sampling point (5) and pixel centers (1',2',3',4') of nearest pixels (1,2,3,4).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for generating luminous structures according to the preamble of claim 1. Furthermore, the invention relates to a headlight system for a vehicle according to the preamble of claim 3, and to such a vehicle.

[0002] German patent DE 10 2019 217 978 A1 discloses a method for projecting light distributions for a vehicle using a light distribution system. Methods for generating luminous structures are also known. Luminous structures can be generated, for example, by a vehicle's headlight system projecting a light beam onto a surface in the vehicle's surroundings. Furthermore, matrix headlights are known that allow different luminous structures, patterns, or symbols to be projected by selectively controlling individual headlight pixels. With the gradual introduction of high-resolution lighting systems in vehicles, based, for example, on LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), DMD (Digital Micromirror Device), or µLED (Micro-Light-Emitting Diode) technology, increasingly complex light distributions can be projected. This is used to display complex light distributions, symbols, and animations in the vehicle's environment.However, due to the finite resolution of the matrix spotlights, undesirable effects or artifacts, such as edge flickering and / or stair-step effects, can occur when moving or distorting the light structures, which can impair the display of the light structures.

[0003] Furthermore, US 2022 / 0 203 883 A1 discloses a method for controlling a lighting device of a motor vehicle, comprising one or more lighting modules, wherein at least one of the one or more lighting modules comprises a plurality of light sources and an optical device designed to emit a pixelated beam of light in a predetermined emission range.

[0004] Furthermore, a method for adjusting the headlight range of at least one headlight of a vehicle is known from DE 10 2011 017 697 A1, in which a camera image from at least one camera of the vehicle is read in, wherein the camera image includes at least part of an image of a projection surface of a light cone of the headlight in front of the vehicle.

[0005] Furthermore, DE 10 2020 117 060 A1 discloses a device for environmental sensing for a vehicle, wherein the device comprises at least one camera module for recording image data from the environment, a camera control unit, an evaluation unit and a lighting device.

[0006] One object of the present invention is to provide a method, a headlight system and a vehicle that make it possible to display luminous structures generated by means of a matrix headlight system particularly well.

[0007] This problem is solved according to the invention by a method with the features of claim 1, by a headlight system with the features of claim 3, and by a vehicle with the features of claim 6. Advantageous embodiments with expedient further developments of the invention are specified in the remaining claims.

[0008] A first aspect of the invention relates to a method for generating luminous structures using a matrix headlight system of a vehicle. The term "vehicle" refers in particular to a motor vehicle, which is designed, for example, as a motor car, especially a passenger car or a commercial vehicle.

[0009] The method comprises generating a first luminous structure in a headlight beam field or headlight projection field using a matrix headlight system. The matrix headlight system can, in particular, comprise at least one LCD, DMD, and / or microLED matrix headlight with a number of LEDs arranged in a matrix. The matrix headlight can, in particular, be configured to generate pixels or light pixels or headlight pixels of varying brightness within the headlight beam field. By varying the brightness of the light pixels, different light structures can be generated within the headlight beam field.

[0010] The process further includes detecting the current vehicle position using sensors and determining the necessary adjustment of the first lighting structure to generate a second lighting structure adapted to the current vehicle position. The current vehicle position can include, in particular, the current traffic situation, the current vehicle status, the current position or orientation of the vehicle, and the current road surface. The adjustment can include, in particular, a transformation, displacement, and / or distortion of the first lighting structure. By adjusting the lighting structure, especially by displacement, repositioning, and / or distortion, the system can take into account the fact that the actually displayed or visually perceptible lighting structure can change depending on the current vehicle position.In particular, the second lighting structure can be determined based on the current vehicle position, or the necessary adjustment of the first lighting structure can be determined by an evaluation unit. The evaluation unit can be designed as part of, or implemented within, the vehicle's electronic computing unit. The electronic computing unit is, for example, the vehicle's control unit.

[0011] To enable particularly good representation of the light structures, and especially to minimize negative effects arising from the shifting and / or distortion of the light structures due to the finite resolution of the matrix spotlight, the method includes determining, in particular using the evaluation unit or the electronic computing device, at least one sampling point of the first light structure corresponding to at least one pixel of the second light structure, based on the required adaptation. In other words, the at least one sampling point of the first light structure corresponding to the at least one pixel of the second light structure is determined as a function of the required adaptation. In particular, a reverse adaptation or inverse transformation of the second light structure to the first light structure can be determined based on the identified adaptation or transformation of the first light structure.The at least one sampling point or evaluation point can be determined in particular by applying the inverse transformation to the at least one pixel of the second light structure.

[0012] The method further includes determining the brightness of the at least one sampling point and adjusting the brightness of the at least one pixel according to the brightness of the at least one sampling point.

[0013] The at least one sampling point can, in particular, comprise a plurality of sampling points, which may be offset from the pixel centers of the first light structure. The sampling points can, in particular, be used instead of the spotlight pixels to adjust the pixel brightness of the second light structure in case of a mismatch between the pixels of the first and second light structures. The brightness of the sampling points can be transferred to the pixels of the second light structure to compensate for or reduce the effects of a mismatch between the pixels of the first and second light structures. For example, if the first light structure is represented by a set of spotlight pixels, the shift or distortion of the light structure may necessitate that the adjusted light structure be represented by a different set of spotlight pixels.Due to the finite resolution of the matrix headlight system, any shift can only occur incrementally, corresponding to the pixel grid spacing. Further undesirable effects can also arise from the grid itself, as the light distributions, lighting structures, symbols, or animations to be displayed are only available as textures or image sequences with finite resolution or a fixed pixel grid, since the vehicle's memory is also limited. Accurate representation of the image pixels would only be possible if the image pixels were aligned with a corresponding light pixel of the headlight. Therefore, a baseline state can be defined in which they coincide. If a shift is then performed or a distortion is calculated on the image, the image pixels are not necessarily congruent with the headlight pixels, and display errors can occur.

[0014] Using the sampling points as an intermediate step helps to adjust the brightness of the spotlight pixels when displaying the second light structure in such a way that the visual perception of this rasterization effect, or the discrepancy between the actual and desired projection, is minimized. This reduces the negative impact of the spotlights' limited resolution on the display of the second, or corrected, light structure.

[0015] Determining the brightness of at least one sampling point, or sampling point brightness, of the first illuminator involves averaging the brightnesses of pixels of the first illuminator in the vicinity of the at least one sampling point. By averaging the brightnesses of pixels in the vicinity of the at least one sampling point, the negative effects of a lack of correspondence between the pixels of the first and second illuminators can be significantly reduced.

[0016] The averaging process involves weighting the brightness of pixels based on the distances between at least one sampling point and the pixel centers of the nearest pixels. This distance-based weighting of the nearest pixel brightnesses has proven to be a good approximation for determining the brightness of spotlight pixels.

[0017] The at least one sampling point can also comprise a plurality of sampling points, which can be at least partially distributed in an ordered manner within the headlight beam field. In particular, the sampling points can be arranged at the vertices of an ordered grid. In some embodiments, the sampling points are arranged at least partially as a quincunx. The ordered arrangement of the sampling points can significantly reduce the computing power required for calculating the corresponding brightness levels.

[0018] The method can further include mapping the at least one sampling point to the at least one spotlight pixel. This mapping allows spotlight pixel positions to be assigned to the sampling points, so that the brightness values ​​determined for the sampling points can be assigned to the pixels of the second lighting structure. In particular, this allows brightness values ​​of several spotlight pixels to be determined essentially simultaneously.

[0019] Another aspect of the invention relates to a headlight system. In particular, the headlight system is configured to carry out the method according to the first aspect of the invention. The headlight system comprises a matrix headlight system for generating luminous structures in a headlight beam field, sensors for detecting the current vehicle position, and a control unit for controlling the matrix headlight system. The control unit is configured to control the matrix headlight system to generate a first luminous structure, to detect the current vehicle position using the sensors, and to determine any necessary adjustment of the first luminous structure to generate a second luminous structure adapted to the current vehicle position.

[0020] The control unit is further configured to determine, based on the required adjustment, at least one sampling point of the first lighting structure corresponding to at least one pixel of the second lighting structure, to determine a brightness of the at least one sampling point, and to control the matrix headlight system to adjust the brightness of the at least one pixel according to the brightness of the at least one sampling point.

[0021] The advantages, effects, and further developments of the headlight system result from the advantages, effects, and further developments of the method described above. To avoid repetition, reference is therefore made to the preceding description in this regard.

[0022] Determining the brightness of the at least one sampling point of the first luminaire structure comprises averaging the brightness of pixels of the first luminaire structure in the vicinity of the at least one sampling point, wherein the averaging comprises weighting the brightness of pixels based on distances between the at least one sampling point and pixel centers of nearest pixels.

[0023] The sensor system can be configured to detect the vehicle's surroundings, and the control unit can be configured to determine at least one sampling point, at least partially, based on a scan of the vehicle's surroundings by the sensor system. In particular, the sensor system can comprise one or more cameras or environmental sensors for detecting the vehicle's surroundings. The sensor system can be configured, in particular, to detect the brightness of the pixels surrounding the respective sampling point in order to calculate the sampling point brightness based on the pixel brightness.

[0024] In some embodiments, the control unit is configured to perform a 3D scan of the vehicle's surroundings using active triangulation with the structured light. Active triangulation allows for the highly accurate determination of the surrounding terrain, which can then be taken into account when generating the second lighting structure.

[0025] A third aspect of the invention relates to a vehicle. At least one headlight system according to the second aspect is implemented on the vehicle. In other words, the vehicle has the at least one headlight system. Advantages, effects, and further developments of the vehicle result from the advantages, effects, and further developments of the headlight system described above. To avoid repetition, reference is therefore made to the preceding description in this respect.

[0026] The following description provides details for describing the embodiments of this specification. However, it will be clear to a person skilled in the art that the embodiments can also be implemented without such details. Fig. Figure 1 schematically shows a headlight pixel arrangement with a scanning point to illustrate the method according to an exemplary embodiment. Fig. Figure 2 schematically shows a headlight pixel arrangement according to Fig. 1 with an arrangement of scanning points according to an exemplary embodiment, Fig. Figure 3 shows a schematic block diagram of a headlight system according to an exemplary embodiment, and Fig. Figure 4 shows a flowchart of a process according to an exemplary embodiment.

[0027] Fig. Figure 1 schematically shows a headlight pixel arrangement with a scanning point to illustrate the method according to an exemplary embodiment. In particular, it shows Fig. 1 a section of a headlight light field with four pixels or headlight pixels 1, 2, 3 and 4, comprising a headlight pixel 1 top left, a headlight pixel 2 top right, a headlight pixel 3 bottom left and a headlight pixel 4 bottom right, wherein the four headlight pixels 1, 2, 3 and 4 are arranged adjacent to each other.

[0028] Fig. Figure 1 further shows pixel centers 1', 2', 3' and 4' in the form of bold dots, as well as a sampling point 5 or evaluation point, represented as a bold cross. To clarify the arrangement of the pixel centers 1', 2', 3' and 4', the following is shown in Fig. 1 A right-angled quadrilateral connecting the pixel centers 1', 2', 3' and 4' is drawn. Fig. Figure 1 further shows straight lines connecting pixel centers 1', 2', 3', and 4' with sampling point 5. In the example shown, the straight lines have different lengths dtl, dtr, dbl, and dbr. Here, dtl denotes the distance between sampling point 5 and pixel center 1' of spotlight pixel 1 (top left), dtr denotes the distance between sampling point 5 and pixel center 2' of spotlight pixel 2 (top right), dbl denotes the distance between sampling point 5 and pixel center 3' of spotlight pixel 3 (bottom left), and dbr denotes the distance between sampling point 5 and pixel center 4' of spotlight pixel 4 (bottom right). Fig. In the spotlight pixels 1, 2, 3 and 4, brightness values ​​are given as grayscale values ​​in relative units as an example number.

[0029] In the illustrated embodiment, the brightness Ires of sampling point 5 is determined by averaging the brightnesses of the spotlight pixels 1, 2, 3, and 4, taking into account the distances dtl, dtr, dbl, and dbr. The brightnesses Itl, Itr, Ibl, and Ibr of the spotlight pixels 1, 2, 3, and 4 are weighted according to these distances. For example, the brightness Ires of sampling point 5 can be calculated using the following formula: Ires=Itldtl+Itrdtr+Ibldbl+IbrdbrG

[0030] With the weighting factor: G=1dtl+1dtr+1dbl+1dbr

[0031] In particular, brightness can be calculated in standardized units or shades of gray.

[0032] Fig. Figure 2 schematically shows a headlight pixel arrangement according to Fig. 1 with an arrangement of scanning points according to an exemplary embodiment. In particular, it shows Fig. 2. Several sampling points 5, which are arranged at the vertices of an ordered grid. In particular, the sampling points 5 are arranged in a quincunx pattern. The ordered arrangement of the sampling points can, in particular, reduce the computing power required for calculating the corresponding brightness values. The brightness values ​​of the individual sampling points can, in particular, be determined by weighting the brightness values ​​of the nearest spotlight pixels, similar to the method described in [reference to relevant example]. Fig. As shown in Figure 1, the brightness values ​​calculated for the sampling points can then be assigned to the corresponding spotlight pixels by mapping. This mapping can be performed, in particular, based on adapting the first lighting structure to generate the second. Specifically, the mapping can be performed according to the image data transformation required for adapting the lighting structure.

[0033] Fig. Figure 3 shows a schematic block diagram of a headlight system according to an exemplary embodiment. The headlight system 40 can be configured, in particular, to be implemented on a vehicle for carrying out the method according to the first aspect. The headlight system 40 comprises a matrix headlight system 41 for generating or projecting luminous structures, a sensor system 42 for detecting the current vehicle position, and a control unit 43 for controlling the matrix headlight system 41. The control unit 43 can, in particular, comprise an interface 44, a processor 45, and a memory unit 46 for storing data and machine-readable instructions for the processor 45. The interface 44 can be functionally connected to the sensor system 42 and to the matrix headlight system 41 such that sensor data and / or signals generated by the sensor system 42 can be transmitted to the processor 45.The control unit 43 can be configured, in particular by storing data and machine-readable instructions in the memory unit 46. The control unit 43 can be designed as a separate control unit or as part of a vehicle control unit, or be implemented within the vehicle control unit.

[0034] The control unit 43 is configured to control the matrix headlight system 41 to generate a first lighting structure and, based on the first lighting structure and the current vehicle position, to determine a necessary adjustment of the first lighting structure to generate a second lighting structure adapted to the current vehicle position.

[0035] The control unit 43 is further configured to determine, based on the required adjustment, at least one sampling point of the first lighting structure corresponding to at least one pixel of the second lighting structure, and to determine the brightness of the at least one sampling point. The control unit 43 is also configured to control the matrix headlight system 41 to adjust the brightness of the at least one pixel according to the brightness of the at least one sampling point.

[0036] Fig. Figure 4 shows a flowchart of a method according to an exemplary embodiment. The method 100 can be carried out in particular by means of a headlight system 40 according to Fig. 3. In process step 110, a first lighting structure is generated using the matrix headlight system 41. In process step 120, the current vehicle position is detected using sensors, and in process step 130, the necessary adjustment of the first lighting structure to generate a second lighting structure adapted to the current vehicle position is determined. Process step 120 can, in particular, include determining a transformation required for adapting the first lighting structure, especially a shift and / or distortion of the first lighting structure. In process step 130, the second lighting structure can, in particular, be determined in the form of image data or image pixel data. The image data can, in particular, be stored in a storage unit 46 of a control unit 43.

[0037] In process step 140, based on the required adaptation, at least one sampling point of the first light structure corresponding to at least one pixel of the second light structure is determined. In particular, based on the determined adaptation or transformation of the first light structure, a reverse adaptation or inverse transformation of the second light structure to the first light structure can be determined. The at least one sampling point or evaluation point can be determined, in particular, by applying the inverse transformation to the at least one pixel of the second light structure. The evaluation point can be located at a position between several pixel centers of the texture, as for example in Fig. 1 shown above.

[0038] In process step 150, the brightness of at least one sampling point is determined. The calculation of the brightness of the at least one sampling point can be carried out, in particular, by weighting brightness values ​​from the nearest pixels of the first light structure. The determination of the brightness of the at least one pixel can be carried out, in particular, by mapping the at least one sampling point of the first light structure onto the at least one pixel of the second light structure.

[0039] In some embodiments, the brightness is calculated for multiple sampling points simultaneously. For example, the brightness of the sampling points can be calculated by a filtering process or pre-filtering of the headlight light field. During pre-filtering, a formula for determining the brightness of the sampling points can be applied across the entire headlight light field. A weighting formula, such as one similar to the weighting formula described above, can be used as the filter function. Through pre-filtering, or by applying the filter across the entire headlight light field, essentially all sampling points can be calculated essentially simultaneously.

[0040] In process step 160, the brightness of at least one pixel of the second lighting structure is adjusted according to the brightness of at least one sampling point. In process step 160, the brightness of at least one pixel or spotlight pixel is adjusted according to the brightness of at least one sampling point.

[0041] In particular, in process step 150, brightness values ​​of multiple headlight pixels can be determined after the brightness values ​​of several sampling points have been determined. Determining the brightness of the headlight pixels can be achieved by assigning the sampling points to the headlight pixels. This assignment can be accomplished, in particular, by mapping the sampling points to headlight pixels. The mapping of the sampling points to the headlight pixels can be performed, in particular, taking into account the necessary adjustment or transformation of the first light structure. This mapping can be achieved by applying a further filter function to the headlight light field or by post-filtering the headlight light field, so that brightness values ​​can be assigned to a multiple of headlight pixels essentially simultaneously.

[0042] These sampling points or evaluation points can also be determined by scanning the environment, in particular by means of sensors, and the resulting brightness of the sampling points can be determined by weighting the pixel brightnesses.

[0043] Thus, a two-stage sampling and filtering process is provided for application to the original light structure or image to be displayed, and to the spotlight array or light field. In pre-filtering, evaluation points are created based on the existing texture of the light structure to detect shifts and distortions in the light image representation. These points are later mapped to spotlight pixels in post-filtering. In the post-filtering step, the brightness values ​​of the individual sampling points are used to calculate a resulting brightness for the pixel of the spotlight matrix to be displayed. A variety of different sampling methods can be used for this purpose. Ordered methods, such as the quincunx method, are one example. Fig. The two options shown are preferable due to the lower computational load per sampling point.

[0044] The two-stage process described above thus allows the effects of the negative effects arising from the finite resolution of the matrix headlight system to be efficiently minimized and the rendering of luminous structures to be improved.

Claims

[1] Method for generating luminous structures using a matrix headlight system of a vehicle, comprising: - Generating (110) a first luminous structure in a headlight light field using the matrix headlight system, - Detecting (120) the current vehicle position using sensors, - Determining (130) a required adjustment of the first lighting structure to produce a second lighting structure adapted to the current vehicle position, characterized by , that the procedure further includes: - Determine (140) based on the required adaptation of at least one sampling point of the first luminaire corresponding to at least one pixel of the second luminaire, - Determining (150) a brightness of at least one sampling point, and - Adjusting (160) the brightness of the at least one pixel according to the brightness of the at least one sampling point, wherein determining the brightness of the at least one sampling point (5) of the first illuminating structure comprises averaging brightnesses of pixels of the first illuminating structure in the vicinity of the at least one sampling point and wherein the averaging comprises weighting brightnesses of pixels based on distances between the at least one sampling point (5) and pixel centers (1',2',3',4') of nearest pixels (1,2,3,4). [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by , that the method further comprises a mapping of the at least one sampling point (5) onto the at least one spotlight pixel. [3] Headlight system for a vehicle, comprising a matrix headlight system (41) for generating light structures in a headlight light field, a sensor system (42) for detecting a current vehicle position and a control unit (43) for controlling the matrix headlight system (41), wherein the control unit (43) is configured to: - to control the matrix headlight system (41) to generate an initial lighting structure, - to detect the current vehicle position using the sensors (42), and - to determine the necessary adjustment of the first lighting structure to generate a second lighting structure adapted to the current vehicle position, characterized by , that the control unit is further configured: - to determine, based on the required adjustment, at least one sampling point (5) of the first luminaire corresponding to at least one pixel of the second luminaire structure, - to determine the brightness of at least one sampling point (5), and - to control the matrix headlight system (41) to adjust the brightness of the at least one pixel according to the brightness of the at least one sampling point (5), wherein determining the brightness of the at least one sampling point (5) of the first illuminating structure comprises averaging brightnesses of pixels of the first illuminating structure in the vicinity of the at least one sampling point and wherein the averaging comprises weighting brightnesses of pixels based on distances between the at least one sampling point (5) and pixel centers (1',2',3',4') of nearest pixels (1,2,3,4). [4] Headlight system according to claim 3, characterized by, that the sensor system (42) is designed to detect a vehicle environment, and wherein the control unit (43) is configured to determine the at least one sampling point (5) at least partially based on a sampling of the vehicle environment by the sensor system (42). [5] Headlight system according to claim 4, characterized by , that the control unit (43) is configured to perform a 3D sensing of the environment using active triangulation with structured light. [6] Vehicle with at least one headlight system according to any one of claims 3 to 5.

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