Driving system and method for preventing glare therefrom

Abstract

This invention provides a driving system that reduces the interference of sudden, strong light in the driver's field of view, and a method for preventing glare. [Solution] The driving system 10 is located inside the vehicle and includes a camera 100 that senses an image in front of the vehicle, a first controller 200, and a second controller 300. The first controller 200 is connected to the camera 100 and identifies vehicles going in the same direction and oncoming vehicles in the image. The optical controller 400 is located on the windshield of the vehicle. The second controller 300 is connected to the first controller 200 and the optical controller 400 and analyzes the image. When the brightness at the position of the oncoming vehicle in the camera's field of view of the oncoming vehicle is above a brightness threshold, the second controller 300 converts the high-brightness position in the camera's field of view that has a brightness above the brightness threshold into a high-brightness position in the driving field of view and controls the optical controller 400 to reduce the light transmittance at the high-brightness position in the driving field of view. A method for preventing glare in the driving system is also provided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving system and a method for preventing glare thereof.

Background Art

[0002] With the progress of driving systems such as autonomous driving technology, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and adaptive lighting technology, the safety of vehicle driving on the road has been greatly improved. However, these driving systems still cannot avoid the risks caused by strong light emitted by oncoming vehicles traveling in the oncoming lane. The strong light emitted by oncoming vehicles not only temporarily causes the driver to lose a clear understanding of the road conditions and surrounding objects, but also requires the driver to have more reaction time in the face of sudden traffic situations such as the stop of the vehicle in the same lane in front. Therefore, in order to address the problems caused by the strong light emitted by oncoming vehicles, it is necessary to develop a new driving system.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] The present invention provides a driving system for reducing the interference of sudden strong light in the driving vision and a method for preventing glare thereof.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] One embodiment of the present invention provides a driving system configured to be installed in a vehicle. The driving system includes a camera, a first controller, an optical controller, and a second controller. The camera is configured to sense an image in front of the vehicle. The first controller is electrically connected to the camera and is configured to identify vehicles going in the same direction and oncoming vehicles in the image. The optical controller is configured to be installed on the windshield of the vehicle. The second controller is electrically connected to the first controller and the optical controller. The second controller analyzes the image and, when the brightness at the position of the oncoming vehicle in the camera's field of view of the oncoming vehicle is greater than or equal to a brightness threshold, it coordinate-transforms the high-brightness position in the camera's field of view having a brightness greater than or equal to the brightness threshold to a high-brightness position in the driving field of view, and controls the optical controller to reduce the light transmittance at the high-brightness position in the driving field of view.

[0005] One embodiment of the present invention provides a method for preventing glare in a driving system, comprising the following steps: sensing an image in front of the vehicle; identifying vehicles traveling in the same direction and oncoming vehicles in the image; analyzing the image and, if the brightness at the position of the oncoming vehicle in the camera view of the oncoming vehicle is greater than or equal to a brightness threshold, the high-brightness position in the camera view having a brightness greater than or equal to the brightness threshold is coordinate-transformed to a high-brightness position in the driving view, and the optical controller is controlled to reduce the light transmittance at the high-brightness position in the driving view. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] Based on the above, in a driving system and a method for preventing glare according to one embodiment of the present invention, when the brightness at the position of the oncoming vehicle in the camera view of the oncoming vehicle is greater than or equal to a brightness threshold, a coordinate transformation is performed and the optical controller is controlled to reduce the light transmittance at the high-brightness position in the driving view. Therefore, the driving system and the method for preventing glare improve visual clarity while reducing visual interference from strong light, thereby shortening the driving reaction time and increasing the level of driver concentration, thereby reducing the risk of traffic accidents and improving driving safety. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of an operating system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2A] This is a schematic diagram of a camera for a driving system that senses an image in front of a vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2B] This is a schematic diagram of an operating system that divides an image into p × q sub-images according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2C] This is a schematic diagram of an operating system for identifying high-luminance locations in an image, according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2D] This is a schematic diagram of a driving system according to one embodiment of the present invention, which controls a light controller to reduce the light transmittance of high-luminance locations in the driver's field of view. [Figure 3A] This is a schematic diagram illustrating the process of a driving system that controls a head-up display to project signs for vehicles traveling in the same direction and oncoming vehicles, according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3B] This is a schematic diagram of a driving system according to one embodiment of the present invention, which controls a head-up display to project signs for vehicles traveling in the same direction and oncoming vehicles. [Figure 4] This is a flowchart illustrating a method for preventing glare in an operating system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] Figure 4 is a detailed flowchart of step S40. [Figure 6] This is a detailed flowchart of step S300 in Figure 5. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an operating system according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figure 1, one embodiment of the present invention provides an operating system 10 configured to be installed in a vehicle. The operating system 10 includes a camera 100, a first controller 200, an optical controller 400, and a second controller 300.

[0009] In this embodiment, the camera 100 may be a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS), charge-coupled device (CCD), or photodiode, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0010] In this embodiment, the first controller 200 and the second controller 300 may be, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a programmable controller, a programmable logic device (PLD), or other similar devices, or a combination thereof, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, in one embodiment, each function of the first controller 200 and the second controller 300 may be implemented as multiple program codes. These program codes are stored in a single memory unit, and the first controller 200 and the second controller 300 execute these program codes. Alternatively, in one embodiment, each function of the first controller 200 and the second controller 300 may be implemented as one or more circuits. The present invention does not limit whether software or hardware is used to implement each function of the first controller 200 and the second controller 300. In addition, in another embodiment, the first controller 200 and the second controller 300 may be integrated into a single controller, such as a high-performance computing (HPC) device, such as a supercomputer or a computer cluster.

[0011] Figure 2A is a schematic diagram of a camera in a driving system that senses an image in front of a vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2B is a schematic diagram of a driving system that divides an image into p × q sub-images according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2C is a schematic diagram of a driving system that identifies high-luminance locations in an image according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2D is a schematic diagram of a driving system that controls an optical controller to reduce the light transmittance of high-luminance locations in the driver's field of view according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figures 1 to 2D, in this embodiment, the camera 100 is configured to sense an image IMG in front of the vehicle. The first controller 200 is electrically connected to the camera 100 and is configured to identify a fellow vehicle SV and an oncoming vehicle OV in the image IMG, as shown in Figure 2A. In one embodiment, the first controller 200 may be implemented as an ADAS, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0012] In this embodiment, the optical controller 400 is configured to be installed on the windshield of a vehicle. Specifically, the optical controller 400 is, for example, a photochromic layer, a thermochromic layer, photochromic glass, or thermochromic glass. In a preferred embodiment, the optical controller 400 may be an electrochromic layer or electrochromic glass. In addition, as shown in Figure 1, the second controller 300 is electrically connected to the optical controller 400, for example, via general-purpose input / output GPIOs, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0013] In this embodiment, the second controller 300 is electrically connected to the first controller 200 and the optical controller 400. The second controller 300 analyzes the image IMG and, when the brightness at the position of the oncoming vehicle in the camera view of the oncoming vehicle OV is greater than or equal to a brightness threshold, it coordinate-transforms the high-brightness position having a brightness greater than or equal to the brightness threshold (for example, the position of sub-image SIMG' among the multiple sub-images SIMG in Figure 2B) to the high-brightness position in the driver's view, and controls the optical controller 400 to reduce the light transmittance at the high-brightness position in the driver's view (for example, the light transmittance of sub-optical controller 420' among the multiple sub-optical controllers 420 in Figure 2D).

[0014] In this embodiment, the optical controller 400 may include p × q sub-optical controllers 420, where p ≥ 2 and q ≥ 2. For example, Figure 2D shows that the optical controller 400 includes 4 × 8 sub-optical controllers 420. When analyzing the image IMG, the second controller 300 (corresponding to the number of optical controllers 420) divides the image IMG into p × q sub-image SIMGs as shown in Figure 2B, and when the light intensity standard deviation in a sub-image SIMG is greater than the luminance threshold, it controls the sub-optical controller 420' corresponding to the sub-image SIMG' having a light intensity standard deviation greater than the luminance threshold to reduce its light transmittance. Specifically, The image is JPEG2026057432000002.jpg40155, and in each sub-image IMG, σ is the standard deviation of light intensity, and b(x,y) is the light intensity at each pixel position. JPEG2026057432000003.jpg1213 represents the average light intensity, and n × m represents the total number of pixels. For example, the luminance threshold is 200 cd / m². 2 ~500 cd / m² 2 It is set to the range.

[0015] In one embodiment, the second controller 300 binarizes the image IMG as shown in Figure 2C and determines whether the brightness at the position of the oncoming vehicle OV in the camera's field of view is equal to or greater than a brightness threshold. For example, in Figure 2A or Figure 2B, pixels whose brightness value exceeds the threshold are set to 1, pixels whose brightness value does not exceed the threshold are set to 0, and pixels set to 1 are drawn in black (normally, 0 is drawn in black and 1 in white, but for ease of illustration, it is shown in the opposite way in Figure 2C), thus generating Figure 2C.

[0016] FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of the processing of a driving system that controls a head-up display to project signs of oncoming vehicles and oncoming vehicles according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of a driving system that controls a head-up display to project signs of oncoming vehicles and oncoming vehicles according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3A-3B, in the present embodiment, the driving system 10 further includes a head-up display 500. The head-up display 500 is electrically connected to the second controller 300. The second controller 300 converts the positions of the oncoming vehicle SV and the oncoming vehicle OV in the camera view of the oncoming vehicle and the oncoming vehicle in the camera view to the positions of the oncoming vehicle in the driving view and the positions of the oncoming vehicle in the driving view, and as shown in FIG. 3B, the signs of the oncoming vehicle SV and the oncoming vehicle OV are projected onto the positions of the oncoming vehicle in the driving view and the positions of the oncoming vehicle in the driving view on the windshield WS by controlling the head-up display 500.

[0017] In one embodiment, the head-up display 500 may be an augmented reality head-up display (AR HUD) system. The head-up display 500 includes, for example, a control unit (MCU) including a microcontroller, an image generation unit, and an optical engine (for example, a projector). In addition, the first controller 200 and the second controller 300 are electrically or signal-connected to the head-up display 500 by, for example, a low voltage differential signal technology interface (LVDS) or CAN-FD (Controller Area Network with Flexible Data rate).

[0018] As shown in FIG. 3A, the head-up display 500 may generate a projection screen on the front glass WS based on correction memory information, navigation information, traffic object information, and vehicle information. Specifically, the correction memory information includes, for example, coordinate transformation parameters and distortion correction parameters. The navigation information includes, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) navigation track, navigation text, the GPS position of the vehicle, and the original data of the vehicle. The traffic object information includes, for example, vehicle information, category, lane information, signal information, crosswalk information, etc. The vehicle information includes, for example, vehicle speed, tire air pressure, etc.

[0019] The information from the first controller 200 includes the image IMG and the information of the same-direction vehicle SV and the oncoming vehicle OV. The information of the image IMG, the same-direction vehicle SV, and the oncoming vehicle OV may be coordinate-transformed via the above correction memory information, navigation information, and traffic object information. Specifically, the coordinate transformation may be completed by, for example, parameters including ARHUD distortion correction parameters, world coordinate transformation to driving vision coordinates, and driving vision coordinate transformation to HUD coordinates. Then, for generating the projection screen, processes of drawing, color, contrast, correction compensation, and ARHUD distortion correction are executed.

[0020] Referring to FIG. 1 again, the driving system 10 may further include a control panel 20. The control panel 20 is configured to enable / disable anti-glare for the system. The control panel 20 is, for example, an in-vehicle infotainment system panel.

[0021] Figure 4 is a flowchart of a method for preventing glare in a driving system according to one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to Figure 4, one embodiment of the present invention provides a method for preventing glare in a driving system, which includes the following steps: In step S10, it is determined whether or not there is a vehicle in the oncoming lane. In step S20, it is set whether or not to enable automatic activation. In step S30, it is determined whether or not to disable glare prevention. If no, in step S40, the system enters glare prevention mode.

[0022] Figure 5 is a detailed flowchart of step S40 in Figure 4. Referring to Figure 5, in this embodiment, step S40 includes the following steps: In step S100, an image IMG of the area in front of the vehicle is sensed. In step S200, a vehicle SV traveling in the same direction and an oncoming vehicle OV are identified in the image IMG. In step S300, the image is analyzed, and if the brightness at the position of the oncoming vehicle in the camera view of the oncoming vehicle is greater than or equal to a brightness threshold, the high-brightness position in the camera view having a brightness greater than or equal to the brightness threshold is coordinate-transformed to a high-brightness position in the driver's view, and the optical controller 400 is controlled to reduce the light transmittance at the high-brightness position in the driver's view.

[0023] In this embodiment, step S40 further includes the following step. In step S400, the camera view of the same-direction vehicle SV and the oncoming vehicle OV are coordinate-transformed to the same-direction vehicle position and the oncoming vehicle position in the driver's view, and the head-up display 500 is controlled to project signs for the same-direction vehicle SV and the oncoming vehicle OV onto the windshield WS at the same-direction vehicle position and the oncoming vehicle position in the driver's view.

[0024] Figure 6 is a detailed flowchart of step S300 in Figure 5. Referring to Figure 6, in this embodiment, step S300 further includes the following steps. In step S320, the image IMG is binarized and it is determined whether the brightness at the position of the oncoming vehicle in the camera view of the oncoming vehicle OV is greater than or equal to the brightness threshold. In step S340, the image IMG is divided into p × q sub-images, and if the light intensity standard deviation in the sub-image SIMG is greater than the brightness threshold, the sub-optical controller 420' corresponding to the sub-image SIMG' having a light intensity standard deviation exceeding the brightness threshold is controlled to reduce the light transmittance.

[0025] Based on the above, in one embodiment of the present invention, the driving system and the method for preventing glare sense an image in front of the vehicle and analyze the image to perform a coordinate transformation when the brightness at the position of the oncoming vehicle in the camera view of the oncoming vehicle is above a brightness threshold, and control the light controller to reduce the light transmittance at the high-brightness position in the driving view. Therefore, the driving system and the method for preventing glare improve visual clarity while reducing visual interference from strong light, thereby providing the driver with a clearer observation of road conditions and the surrounding environment. Because sudden changes in brightness in the field of view are reduced, the driver can react quickly to the road and vehicle conditions, thereby reducing visual impairment and misjudgment, and thereby reducing the occurrence of traffic accidents. At the same time, in addition to reducing misjudgment, reducing interference from strong light also reduces the mental stress caused by strong light, allowing the driver to drive with greater concentration and composure, and thus increasing driving safety. [Industrial applicability]

[0026] The driving system and method for preventing glare of the present invention can be applied to vehicles and vehicles equipped with ADAS. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0027] 10: Driving System 20: Control Panel 100: Camera 200: First Controller 300: Second controller 400: Optical Controller 420, 420': Sub-optical controller 500: Head-up display CAN-FD: controller area network with flexible data-rate GPIO: General-purpose input / output IMG: Image LVDS: Low Voltage Differential Signaling Technology Interface OV: Oncoming vehicle S10, S20, S30, S40, S100, S200, S300, S320, S340, S400: Step SV: Vehicles going in the same direction WS: Windshield

Claims

1. A driving system configured to be installed in a vehicle, A camera configured to sense an image of the front of the vehicle, A first controller is electrically connected to the camera and configured to identify vehicles traveling in the same direction and oncoming vehicles in the image. A light controller configured to be installed on the windshield of the aforementioned vehicle, The first controller and the second controller, which is electrically connected to the optical controller, Includes, The second controller analyzes the image, and when the brightness at the position of the oncoming vehicle in the camera view of the oncoming vehicle is greater than or equal to a brightness threshold, it coordinate-transforms the high-brightness position in the camera view having a brightness greater than or equal to the brightness threshold to a high-brightness position in the driver's view, and controls the optical controller to reduce the light transmittance at the high-brightness position in the driver's view. Driving system.

2. A head-up display is electrically connected to the second controller. It further includes, The second controller transforms the coordinates of the positions of the vehicles going in the same direction and the oncoming vehicles in the camera view of the same direction and the oncoming vehicles in the camera view of the same direction and the oncoming vehicles in the driver's view of the same direction and the oncoming vehicles in the driver's view of the driver's view of the same direction and the oncoming vehicles in the driver's view of the driver's view of the windshield, and controls the head-up display to project signs of the vehicles going in the same direction and the oncoming vehicles onto the windshield. The operating system according to claim 1.

3. The optical controller includes p × q sub-optical controllers, where p ≥ 2 and q ≥ 2. The second controller divides the image into p × q sub-images, and when the standard deviation of light intensity in the sub-images is greater than the brightness threshold, it controls the sub-light controller corresponding to the sub-image having a standard deviation of light intensity greater than the brightness threshold to reduce the light transmittance. Here, In each of the sub-images, σ is the standard deviation of the light intensity, and b(x,y) is the light intensity at each pixel position. is the average light intensity, and n × m is the total number of pixels. The second controller binarizes the image and determines whether the brightness at the position of the oncoming vehicle in the camera's field of view of the oncoming vehicle is equal to or greater than the brightness threshold. The operating system according to claim 1.

4. Detecting images of the area in front of the vehicle, To identify vehicles going in the same direction and oncoming vehicles in the aforementioned image, The image is analyzed, and when the brightness at the position of the oncoming vehicle in the camera view of the oncoming vehicle is greater than or equal to a brightness threshold, the high-brightness position in the camera view having a brightness greater than or equal to the brightness threshold is coordinate-transformed to a high-brightness position in the driver's view, and the light transmittance at the high-brightness position in the driver's view is reduced. The camera's field of view coordinates the positions of the vehicles going in the same direction and the oncoming vehicles in the same direction, and the driver's field of view coordinates the positions of the vehicles going in the same direction and the oncoming vehicles in the driver's field of view, and the head-up display is controlled to project signs for the vehicles going in the same direction and the oncoming vehicles onto the windshield. including, A method for preventing glare in driving systems.

5. The steps include: analyzing the image, and if the brightness at the position of the oncoming vehicle in the camera field of view of the oncoming vehicle is greater than or equal to a brightness threshold, the coordinate transformation of the high-brightness position in the camera field of view having a brightness greater than or equal to the brightness threshold to the high-brightness position in the driver's field of view, and controlling the optical controller to reduce the light transmittance at the high-brightness position in the driver's field of view, The aforementioned image is divided into p × q sub-images, and when the standard deviation of light intensity in the sub-images is greater than the brightness threshold, the sub-light controller corresponding to the sub-image having a standard deviation of light intensity greater than the brightness threshold is controlled to reduce the light transmittance. Includes, The steps include analyzing the image, and if the brightness at the position of the oncoming vehicle in the camera field of view of the oncoming vehicle is equal to or greater than the brightness threshold, then performing a coordinate transformation on the high-brightness position in the camera field of view having a brightness equal to or greater than the brightness threshold to the high-brightness position in the driver's field of view, and controlling the optical controller to reduce the light transmittance at the high-brightness position in the driver's field of view, The image is binarized, and it is determined whether the brightness at the position of the oncoming vehicle in the camera's field of view of the oncoming vehicle is equal to or greater than the brightness threshold. including, A method for preventing glare in the operating system according to claim 4.

Images