Method for operating at least one camera of a vehicle, camera system, and vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating at least one camera (3) of a vehicle (1), wherein: the camera (3) has an image sensor (14) for capturing camera images, a lens arrangement (17) comprising at least one lens (16), and at least one actuator (20) by means of which the image sensor (14) can be moved relative to the lens arrangement (17) into different positions; in an image plane (18) of the camera (3), the lens arrangement (17) images a projection image (22) onto a capturing surface (19) of the image sensor (14), the projection image being larger than the capturing surface (19) in at least one direction; a target position (25, 26) for the image sensor (14) in the image plane (18) is determined according to driving-state information describing a current driving state of the vehicle (1) and / or vehicle environment information at least partially describing the current vehicle environment; in the case of a deviation between a current sensor position in the image plane (18) and the target position (25, 26), the image sensor (14) is moved into the target position (25, 26) by means of the actuator (20).

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] Method for operating at least one camera of a vehicle, camera system and vehicle

[0003] The invention relates to a method for operating at least one camera of a vehicle, wherein the camera comprises an image sensor for capturing camera images, a lens arrangement comprising at least one lens, and at least one actuator by means of which the image sensor can be moved into different positions relative to the lens arrangement, wherein the lens arrangement projects a projection image onto a recording surface of the image sensor in an image plane of the camera, which is larger than the recording surface in at least one direction. The invention further relates to a camera system and a vehicle.

[0004] Cameras are used in modern vehicles, for example, to detect objects in the vehicle's surroundings. Individual cameras can capture an area in front of the vehicle, beside the vehicle, behind the vehicle, and / or underneath the vehicle. The images generated by one or more of these cameras, and / or a view of the surroundings created from several of these images, can be displayed to the driver to facilitate maneuvering in tight spaces or parking. Furthermore, such camera images can also be processed using a computer, for example, to provide a driver assistance function based on the vehicle's surroundings.

[0005] To capture images, cameras typically include an image sensor that detects incoming light. These image sensors usually consist of an array of photosensitive points, or pixels. To allow the image sensor to be moved relative to other camera components, some types of cameras use an actuator to couple the sensor to it. US 2021 / 0354979 A1 describes a camera with an image sensor that can be moved relative to a lens via an actuator. The image sensor can be moved along the camera's optical axis to achieve focus based on temperature.

[0006] WO 2022 / 115932 A1 describes an actuator for the image sensor of a camera, which enables movement of the image sensor with up to five degrees of freedom. Using this actuator, an autofocus function and an increase in the resolution of the image sensor can be achieved.

[0007] Especially when images from vehicle cameras are to be used to provide a driver assistance function, it is essential that the image sensor captures as large a portion of the camera image as possible, and thus as much of the vehicle's surroundings as possible. For manufacturing reasons, image sensors, particularly semiconductor image sensors, usually have a rectangular recording area. However, since the projected image generated by the camera lens is typically circular, either an image sensor with a recording area significantly larger than the circular projection image must be used, or it must be accepted that part of the projection image, and therefore part of the vehicle's surroundings, cannot be captured by the image sensor.

[0008] It is therefore desirable to specify an improved method for operating a vehicle camera, which in particular allows for better utilization of a recording area in relation to a detectable vehicle environment.

[0009] To solve this problem, in a method of the type mentioned at the outset, it is provided according to the invention that, depending on driving condition information describing a current driving condition of the vehicle and / or vehicle environment information describing the current vehicle environment at least partially, a target position for the image sensor in the image plane is determined, wherein the image sensor is moved to the target position by means of the actuator if there is a deviation between a current sensor position in the image plane and the target position.

[0010] The vehicle's camera can be, in particular, a camera that captures part of the vehicle's surroundings; that is, the camera's field of view can cover at least part of an area in front of, behind, and / or beside the vehicle. At least one of the vehicle's cameras can be, in particular, a front camera, a side camera, and / or a reversing camera. The camera can be part of a multi-camera surround-view system in the vehicle.

[0011] The camera's image sensor can be a semiconductor sensor, such as a CCD sensor (charge-coupled device), APS (active pixel sensor), CMOS sensor, or another type of electronic photosensor. The image sensor is primarily used to capture visible light. It is also possible for the image sensor to capture electromagnetic radiation from other spectral ranges, particularly infrared radiation.

[0012] The image sensor comprises a recording area, which is formed, for example, from a large number of detector pixels arranged in a detector pixel array comprising several rows and columns. The recording area or detector pixel array can, in particular, be rectangular.

[0013] The camera's lens arrangement can comprise one or more lenses that project the vehicle's surroundings onto an image plane. This lens arrangement creates a circular projection image within the image plane. The projection image is larger than the recording area in at least one direction, meaning that at least part of the projection image cannot be captured by the recording area. For example, this can occur with a circular projection image if its diameter is larger than the width and / or length of a rectangular recording area of ​​the image sensor. The camera's image sensor is movable via the camera's actuator, at least within the image plane, specifically within a plane orthogonal to the camera's optical axis.Moving the image sensor within the image plane makes it possible, in particular, to change the proportion of the projected image that is only partially captured by the image sensor. This, in turn, makes it possible to change the portion of the vehicle's surroundings that is depicted on the image sensor's recording area.

[0014] The movement of the image sensor via the actuator occurs relative to the lens assembly and, in particular, also relative to a vehicle-mounted support structure of the camera, such as a housing or the like, which supports the lens assembly. The actuator is preferably a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) or a MEMS actuator. In addition to movement of the image sensor in the image plane, which is particularly orthogonal to the optical axis, further movement of the image sensor, particularly along the optical axis and / or tilting of the image sensor about a tilting axis orthogonal to the optical axis, is also possible, depending on the number of degrees of freedom provided by the actuator.

[0015] According to the invention, the target position of the image sensor in the image plane is determined based on driving condition information describing the current driving state of the vehicle and / or vehicle environment information that at least partially describes the current vehicle environment. In other words, the position of the image sensor in the image plane is selected depending on the current vehicle operation or the current vehicle environment. This advantageously allows the portion of the vehicle environment depicted in the camera images to be adapted to the current vehicle operation or the current vehicle environment.

[0016] Advantageously, this also allows a portion of the projected image, which is projected next to the image sensor's recording area in an initial position of the image sensor (for example, a position centered relative to the projected image and / or the optical axis), to be captured by the camera. This enables a larger portion of the vehicle's surroundings to be considered for functions based on the camera images. Compared to an image sensor that is not movable relative to the lens assembly, this offers the advantage of capturing a larger area of ​​the vehicle's surroundings.

[0017] Compared to an image sensor large enough to capture the entire projected image, the solution according to the invention offers the advantage of using a smaller and therefore more cost-effective image sensor. This also reduces the costs of manufacturing a camera system. Furthermore, a smaller image sensor also reduces the energy consumption of the image sensor, the heat generated by the image sensor, and the amount of image data that subsequently needs to be processed.

[0018] According to the invention, the projected image can be larger than the image sensor's recording area, at least in the transverse direction of the vehicle. The currently set steering angle of the vehicle is used as driving status information, and the target position is selected such that an additional portion of the vehicle's surroundings in the direction of travel is projected onto the recording area. A projected image that is larger than the image sensor, at least in the transverse direction of the vehicle, contains image information from the vehicle's surroundings to the sides of the vehicle that cannot be captured by the image sensor. In particular, this can include both sides of the vehicle, i.e., the surroundings to the left and right of the vehicle in the direction of travel.

[0019] Depending on the vehicle status information describing the currently set steering angle, the target position for the image sensor can be selected such that a portion of the vehicle's surroundings lying in the set direction of travel, which is not depicted on the recording surface in the current sensor position, will be depicted on the recording surface when the image sensor is in the target position. In other words, the target position, relative to the current sensor position, is such that a portion of the projected image lying in the direction of travel and not previously depicted on the image sensor's recording surface is now projected onto the recording surface in the target position and is therefore detectable by the camera. This advantageously allows the camera images captured by the camera to be adapted to the current direction of travel or the selected direction of travel.The adjustment of the image sensor's position in the image plane can be performed both when the vehicle is moving and when it is stationary.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, it can be provided that the projection image is larger than the recording area of ​​the image sensor, at least in the vertical direction of the vehicle, wherein a current speed of the vehicle is used as driving condition information, wherein the target position is continuously selected as the speed of the vehicle decreases or as the speed of the vehicle falls below a predetermined limit value, such that an additional part of the vehicle environment lying above the vehicle is imaged on the recording area in the target position.

[0021] This allows for the detection of an additional part of the vehicle's surroundings above the vehicle, which cannot be captured from the current sensor position, even at low vehicle speeds or when the vehicle is stationary. This enables, for example, a greater proportion or even the complete mapping of traffic infrastructure elements located above the vehicle, such as signs, traffic lights, or similar features.

[0022] According to the invention, vehicle environment information can be environmental information describing an object in the vehicle's surroundings, wherein the target position is selected such that an additional part of the object is depicted on the recording surface at that position. This makes it possible to fully capture an object present in the vehicle's surroundings, which is only partially captured at the current position of the image sensor, regardless of the vehicle's driving state. Advantageously, this makes the object more easily recognizable for a vehicle user when viewing the camera images or when viewing a view of the surroundings generated based on the camera images.Furthermore, the representation of an additional part of the object also facilitates the classification of the object by evaluating the image data, for example by a neural network or other machine vision methods, since additional image information about the object is available.

[0023] According to the invention, the at least one camera can have a field of view that overlaps with the field of view of at least one other camera of the vehicle in at least one overlapping area, wherein the target position is changed such that an additional part of an object that is at least partially present in the overlapping area is imaged on the recording surface. In this way, in a vehicle that has several cameras, in particular a surround-view camera system that captures the vehicle's surroundings, improved merging of camera images from cameras with at least partially overlapping detection areas can be achieved. Surround views composed of several such camera images, such as perspective surround-view views or bird's-eye views, can thus be advantageously generated with better quality.

[0024] Additionally or alternatively, when using environmental information describing the object in the vehicle's surroundings, the target position can be selected according to the invention such that, in the target position, the object is projected onto the recording surface closer to a center of the recording surface, or such that the object is no longer projected onto the recording surface. By projecting the object closer to the center of the recording surface, it becomes more clearly in focus for a viewer of the camera image. By moving the image sensor so that an object is no longer projected onto the recording surface, it is possible to prevent interfering environmental objects, such as objects with high brightness like the sun, headlights, or the like, from being projected onto the image sensor. Advantageously, this avoids crosstalk between pixels of the image sensor.

[0025] According to the invention, the vehicle environment information can describe at least one object class of at least one object in the vehicle's environment, with a target position being selected if the object class corresponds to a class from a plurality of predefined object classes. Thus, it can be specified for which class of objects a better target position for the image sensor should be set by the actuator. The predefined object classes can, for example, include other road users, non-drivable obstacles, and / or infrastructure objects, in particular, instruction-giving infrastructure objects such as traffic lights, signs, and the like, associated with the vehicle's ferry operation.An object class for objects with an unidentified class can also be used to enable subsequent classification of the object based on the additional image information by mapping the additional part of the object.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the vehicle environment information can be determined by evaluating the image content of at least one camera image. This evaluation of the image content can be performed, for example, by a control unit configured to execute the method. The evaluation of the image content can be carried out, for example, using artificial intelligence methods, such as semantic segmentation or comparable techniques.

[0027] According to the invention, an actuator that is a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) can be used. The use of such a MEMS actuator has the advantage that these actuators can be implemented in a space-saving manner and thus easily integrated into a camera housing. Furthermore, MEMS actuators are characterized by comparatively low energy consumption, good electromagnetic compatibility, and high robustness. In addition, MEMS actuators exhibit comparatively low mechanical complexity and, in particular, enable movements in multiple rotational and / or translational degrees of freedom. Moreover, MEMS actuators generally have fast response times, so that the movement of the image sensor can occur within a short time interval, preferably within a time interval of less than 100 ms, preferably less than 20 ms or less than 10 ms.

[0028] For a camera system according to the invention, it is provided that the system comprises at least one camera device and a control device, wherein the camera has an image sensor for recording camera images, a lens arrangement comprising at least one lens, and at least one actuator by which the image sensor can be moved into different positions relative to the lens arrangement, wherein the lens arrangement projects a projection image onto a recording surface of the image sensor in an image plane of the camera, which is larger than the recording surface in at least one direction, and wherein the control device is configured to carry out a method according to the invention.

[0029] A vehicle according to the invention is provided to include a camera system according to the invention.

[0030] All advantages and features described above in relation to the method according to the invention also apply analogously to the camera system according to the invention and to the vehicle according to the invention, and vice versa.

[0031] Further advantages and embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the exemplary embodiments described below and from the drawings. These are schematic representations and show: Fig. 1 an exemplary embodiment of a vehicle according to the invention, comprising an exemplary embodiment of a camera system according to the invention,

[0032] Fig. 2 shows a schematic side view of a camera of the camera system according to the invention.

[0033] Fig. 3 shows a top view of an image sensor of the camera of the camera system according to the invention, wherein the image sensor is located in a centered position,

[0034] Fig. 4 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method according to the invention.

[0035] Fig. 5 shows a top view of the image sensor of the camera of the camera system according to the invention, wherein the image sensor is in a first target position, and

[0036] Fig. 6 shows a top view of the image sensor of the camera of the camera system according to the invention, wherein the image sensor is located in a second target position.

[0037] Figure 1 shows an embodiment of a vehicle 1. The vehicle 1 can be, for example, a motor vehicle, in particular a passenger car, a truck, or another type of commercial vehicle. It is also possible that the vehicle 1 is an unmotorized vehicle, such as a trailer, or that it is a combination of a towing vehicle and a trailer. The vehicle 1 can also be a rail-bound vehicle, such as a tram or the like, or a robot.

[0038] The vehicle 1 comprises an embodiment of a camera system 2, which includes one or more cameras 3 and a control unit 4. In the present embodiment, the vehicle 1 comprises four cameras 3, which form a camera arrangement configured as a surround-view system. A first camera 5 is arranged as a front camera of the vehicle 1, a second camera 6 as a rear-view camera of the vehicle 1, and a third camera 7 and a fourth camera 8 each as a side camera of the vehicle 1. The number and arrangement of the cameras 3 are exemplary; the camera system 2 can also comprise a different number and / or cameras 3 arranged at different locations on the vehicle 1.

[0039] The control unit 4 can be configured, for example, as a microcontroller, a processor, or another type of computing device. The control unit includes a storage device 9 in which data can be stored and / or in which one or more calculation instructions or...

[0040] Algorithms can be implemented which, for example, can perform one or more functions, in particular driver assistance functions, for the vehicle 1 by evaluating the camera images from the cameras 3. The control unit 4 is configured to carry out a procedure for operating at least one of the cameras 3 of the vehicle 1.

[0041] The vehicle 1 further includes a display device 10, which can present graphical information to a driver or user of the vehicle 1. The display device 10 can, for example, be one or more screens or displays arranged in the interior of the vehicle 1, or the like.

[0042] Each camera 3 can generate image data from a specific area of ​​the vehicle 1's surroundings. The cameras 3 are connected to the control unit 4 via a communication link 11. This communication link 11 can, for example, comprise multiple point-to-point connections or be a bus connection such as a CAN bus or similar. Camera images or image data are transmitted continuously from the cameras 3 to the control unit 4 via the communication link 11. At least some of the camera images and / or a view of the surroundings generated from multiple camera images can then be displayed on the display unit 10 for the driver of the vehicle 1.

[0043] The vehicle 1 further comprises at least one motion sensor 12. The vehicle's speed and / or steering angle can be determined by means of the at least one motion sensor 12 and transmitted, in particular via the communication link 11, to the control unit 4. The at least one motion sensor can, for example, be or comprise an accelerometer, such as a gyroscope. Alternatively, the vehicle's speed and / or current steering angle can also be transmitted to the control unit 4 by another control unit (not shown) of the vehicle 1.

[0044] In addition to the arrangement shown in Fig. 1, in which the control unit 4 and the motion sensor 12 are implemented separately from the cameras 3, an embodiment is also possible in which the control unit 4 and / or the motion sensor 12 are integrated into one of the cameras 3 or in which these elements are implemented as a single assembly. In particular, each of the cameras can include an integrated control unit 4 and / or an integrated motion sensor 12.

[0045] Figure 2 shows a schematic and partially cutaway side view of one of the cameras 3 of the vehicle 1. The camera 3 comprises an image sensor 14 for capturing camera images and a lens arrangement 17, comprising at least one lens 16, which is offset along an optical axis 15 of the camera 3. The lens arrangement 17 projects an image of the section of the vehicle's surroundings captured by the camera 3 onto an image plane 18 of the camera 3. The image sensor 14 has a recording area 19, which is, for example, an array of photosensitive points or pixels, and which is also located in the image plane 18. The camera 3 further comprises an actuator 20, by means of which the image sensor 14 can be moved to different positions relative to the lens arrangement 17. The actuator 20 can move the image sensor 14 translationally, at least in the image plane 18, which is, in particular, orthogonal to the optical axis 15.The image sensor 14 can be coupled via the actuator 20, for example, to a support structure 21 of the camera 3, such as a camera housing or the like, so that the image sensor 14 can also be moved relative to the support structure 21. Similarly, the lens assembly 17 can also be attached to the support structure 21 and / or a structure connected to it, allowing the image sensor 14 to be moved relative to it as well.

[0046] Figure 3 shows a top view of the image sensor 14 of the camera 3. The projection image 22, projected by the lens arrangement 17 onto the recording surface 19 of the image sensor 14, is schematically represented as a circle. It is evident that the projection image 22 is larger than the rectangular recording surface 19 of the image sensor 14. This results in a portion of the vehicle 1's surroundings not being captured by the image sensor 14, as the projection image 22 is formed in the section that does not overlap with the recording surface 19. The projection image 22 is larger than the recording surface 19 of the image sensor 14 both in the transverse direction (x-direction) and in the vertical direction (y-direction).

[0047] The actuator 20 of the camera 3 has a stationary part 23 and a part 24 that is movable relative to the stationary part 23. The stationary part 23 is attached to the support structure 21, and the movable part 24 is connected to the image sensor 14, so that relative movement between the image sensor 14 and the support structure 21, and thus also relative to the lens assembly 17 connected to the support structure 21, can occur via the actuator 20. Here, the image sensor 14 is shown in an initial position in which it is centered around the optical axis 15. Figure 4 shows a flowchart of an embodiment of a method for operating the camera 3 of the vehicle 1, which can be executed by the control unit 4 of the vehicle 1.

[0048] In step S1 of the procedure, a target position for the image sensor 14 in the image plane 18 is determined depending on driving state information describing a current driving state of the vehicle 1 and / or depending on vehicle environment information that at least partially describes the current vehicle environment.

[0049] The vehicle status information describing the current driving state of vehicle 1 can be provided, for example, by the vehicle's motion sensor 12 and / or the vehicle's other control unit. Alternatively, the driving status information can be determined by the control unit 4 by evaluating the camera images from at least one of the cameras 3, for example, using an optical flow between successive camera images or the like. The vehicle status information describes the currently set steering angle of vehicle 1. Depending on the currently set steering angle of vehicle 1, the control unit 4 determines the target position for the image sensor 14 such that, in the target position, an additional part of the vehicle's surroundings in the direction of travel is imaged onto the image sensor 14's recording surface 19.

[0050] In step S2 of the procedure, a comparison is made to determine whether the determined target position deviates from the current sensor position of the image sensor 14 in the image plane 18. If there is a deviation between the determined target position and the current sensor position, in step S3 the image sensor 14 is moved by the actuator 20 of the camera 3 so that the image sensor 14 moves to the determined target position.

[0051] Figure 5 shows an example of a first target position 25 of the image sensor 14, which was determined as a function of a current steering angle pointing to the left. To reach the first target position 25, the image sensor 14 was moved to the left relative to the plane of the drawing via the actuator 20. With respect to the direction of travel of the vehicle 1, this corresponds to a movement of the image sensor 24 to the right, making a larger part of the vehicle's surroundings to the left of the vehicle 1 visible. In other words, by moving the image sensor 14 to the first target position 25, a larger part of the vehicle's surroundings becomes visible in the direction of travel determined by the steering angle of the vehicle 1. The adjustment of the image sensor 14's position as a function of the steering angle can be performed both when the vehicle 1 is moving and when it is stationary.The direction in which the image sensor 14 is to be moved depends in particular on the projection properties of the lens arrangement 17.

[0052] The front camera 5 has a field of view that overlaps with the field of view of the side camera 7 of the vehicle 1 shown in Fig. 1 in at least one overlapping area. By changing the target position 25 as described above, an additional part of an object that is at least partially located in the overlapping area is imaged on the recording surface 19. This facilitates the merging of the camera images from the front camera 5 with those from the side camera 7, for example, when generating a surround view of the vehicle's surroundings. This can also be implemented accordingly for any other pair of cameras 3 of the vehicle 1 with at least partially overlapping detection areas.

[0053] To determine the target position, the current speed of vehicle 1 can be used as driving condition information in step S1, either additionally or alternatively. The current speed of the vehicle is compared with a predefined limit value, which is stored, for example, in the memory unit 9 of the control unit 4. If the current speed of vehicle 1 falls below the limit value, the target position is selected such that an additional part of the surrounding area above vehicle 1 is captured on the recording surface 19. In other words, when vehicle 1 is traveling at a low speed or is stationary, an additional part of the surrounding area above vehicle 1 can be captured by the camera 3.

[0054] Alternatively, the target position can also be continuously changed depending on the speed of vehicle 1 as its speed decreases. Thus, as the speed decreases, the area above vehicle 1 is continuously displayed larger. Conversely, as the speed of vehicle 1 increases, the area above vehicle 1 can be reduced in size, or the area directly in front of vehicle 1 can be enlarged.

[0055] Figure 6 shows an example of a second target position 26 of the image sensor 14. In this position, the image sensor 14 has been shifted downwards relative to the plane of the drawing. Consequently, due to the arrangement of the camera 13 in the vehicle 1, a larger portion of the vehicle's surroundings above the vehicle 1 is imaged on the recording surface 19 of the image sensor 14. This allows for better detection of objects in the surroundings, such as signs, traffic lights, and the like, particularly those located above the vehicle 1, especially when driving slowly or when the vehicle 1 is stationary.

[0056] In addition to or as an alternative to the driving condition information described above, the target position for the image sensor 14 can also be determined from vehicle environment information describing the vehicle's surroundings. In step S1 of the procedure, this vehicle environment information can be environmental information describing an object in the vicinity of the vehicle 1. The target position of the image sensor 14 can be selected such that an additional part of the object is imaged on the recording surface 19 at this target position.

[0057] It can be provided that the target position is determined in such a way that an additional part of the object is imaged onto the recording surface 19 at the target position. The image sensor 14 is thus moved in the image plane 18 such that a previously only partially imaged surrounding object is now fully or at least to a greater extent. This can be the case, in particular, with surrounding objects where the projection image of the 22 is displayed in the peripheral area, so that only a part of the object's representation overlaps with the recording surface 19 of the image sensor 14. By moving the image sensor 14 accordingly in the image plane 18, as described above, a larger part of the object can advantageously be captured.

[0058] Additionally or alternatively, it is possible to image the object on the image sensor 14 closer to the center of the recording surface 19 in the target position. The image sensor 14 is thus shifted in the image plane 18 so that the image of the surrounding object projected onto the recording surface 19 is closer to the center of the recording surface 19. This allows, for example, an object considered particularly important to be positioned more centrally in the camera image generated by the camera 3. When the camera images are displayed in the vehicle 1, for example on the display unit 10 of the vehicle 1, they can therefore be perceived more easily by the driver of the vehicle 1.

[0059] The vehicle environment information can describe at least one object class of at least one object in the environment of vehicle 1, whereby a target position is selected for those object classes that correspond to a class from a set of predefined object classes. The predefined object classes can be stored, for example, in the storage device 9 of the control unit 4. The vehicle environment information can, for example, be determined from the camera images of one or more of the cameras 3 of vehicle 1.

[0060] The vehicle environment information can be determined, for example, by control unit 4, which analyzes the image content of the camera images using artificial intelligence methods. Various objects and their object classes can be identified in the camera images 3, for example, using semantic segmentation or similar methods.

[0061] The method described above can be used to operate one or more of the cameras 3 of the vehicle 1, for example the front camera 5, the

[0062] Reversing camera 6 and / or one of the cameras 7, 8 which capture part of the vehicle's surroundings to the side of the vehicle may be used.

[0063] In addition to moving the image sensor 14 in the image plane 18, the actuator 20 also enables further movement of the image sensor 14. For example, the image sensor 14 can also be moved along the optical axis 15 to enable the best possible representation of the vehicle's surroundings in different scenarios or for different image planes 18.

Claims

Patent claims 1. Method for operating at least one camera (3) of a vehicle (1), wherein the camera (3) comprises an image sensor (14) for recording camera images, a lens arrangement (17) comprising at least one lens (16), and at least one actuator (20) by means of which the image sensor (14) can be moved into different positions relative to the lens arrangement (17), wherein the lens arrangement (17) projects a projection image (22) onto a recording surface (19) of the image sensor (14) in an image plane (18) of the camera (3), which is larger than the recording surface (19) in at least one direction, wherein a target position (25, 26) for the image sensor (14) in the image plane (18) is determined depending on driving state information describing a current driving state of the vehicle (1) and / or vehicle environment information describing the current vehicle environment at least partially.wherein the image sensor (14) is moved to the target position (25, 26) by means of the actuator (20) when there is a deviation between a current sensor position in the image plane (18) and the target position (25, 26).

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the projection image (22) is larger than the recording area (19) of the image sensor (14) at least in the transverse direction of the vehicle, wherein a currently set steering angle of the vehicle (1) is used as driving condition information, wherein the target position (25, 26) is selected such that an additional part of the vehicle environment lying in the turned direction of travel is imaged on the recording area (19) in the target position (25, 26).

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, that the projection image (22) is larger than the recording area (19) of the image sensor (14) at least in the vehicle's vertical direction, wherein a current speed of the vehicle (1) is used as driving condition information, wherein the target position (25, 26) is continuously selected such that an additional part of the vehicle environment lying above the vehicle (1) is imaged on the recording area (19) at the target position (25, 26) when the speed of the vehicle (1) decreases or when the speed of the vehicle (1) falls below a predetermined limit value.

4. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vehicle environment information used is environment information describing an object in the environment of the vehicle (1), wherein the target position (25, 26) is selected such that an additional part of the object is mapped onto the recording surface (19) at the target position (25, 26).

5. Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the at least one camera (3) has a field of view which overlaps in at least one overlap area with the field of view of at least one further camera (3) of the vehicle (1 ), wherein the target position (25, 26) is changed such that an additional part of an object that is at least partially present in the overlap area is imaged on the recording surface (19).

6. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vehicle environment information used is environment information describing an object in the environment of the vehicle (1), wherein the target position (25, 26) is selected such that in the target position (25, 26) the object is mapped on the recording surface (19) closer to a center of the recording surface (19).

7. Method according to one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the vehicle environment information describes at least one object class of at least one object in the environment of the vehicle (1), wherein a target position (25, 26) is selected if the object class corresponds to a class from a plurality of predefined object classes.

8. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vehicle environment information is determined by evaluating the image content of at least one camera image of the camera (3).

9. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that an actuator (20) is used which is a microelectromechanical system.

10. Camera system for a vehicle (1) comprising at least one camera (3) and a control unit (4), wherein the camera (3) has an image sensor (14) for recording camera images, a lens arrangement (17) comprising at least one lens (16) and at least one actuator (20) by means of which the image sensor (14) can be moved into different positions relative to the lens arrangement (17), wherein the lens arrangement (17) projects a projection image (22) onto a receiving surface (19) of the image sensor (14) in an image plane (18) of the camera (3), which is larger than the receiving surface (19) in at least one direction, wherein the control unit (4) is configured to carry out a method according to one of the preceding claims.

11. Vehicle comprising a camera system (2) according to claim 10.

Images