Adaptive Instrument Panel Imaging with Dynamic Light Metering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current imaging systems for aircraft cockpits and vehicle cabs struggle with dynamic lighting conditions, resulting in low-quality images and difficulties in real-time automatic image analysis, which is essential for interpreting cockpit data and providing critical information to pilots and onboard systems.
Innovation Solution
A self-contained camera module with advanced light metering capabilities, integrated with a GNSS receiver and inertial measurement unit, captures and processes images of instrument panels in real-time, compensating for varying lighting conditions and translating image data into numeric information for analysis and advisory purposes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If commercially available camera systems are used in aircraft cockpits, then the system is simple and readily available, but the image quality deteriorates under dynamic lighting conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the instrument panel into multiple zones with different lighting characteristics. Each zone is captured with optimized exposure settings, allowing the system to handle dynamic lighting conditions across different regions of the cockpit instrument panel.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts exposure time, gain, and other imaging parameters in real-time based on the detected lighting conditions. This dynamic adaptation allows the camera to maintain high image quality despite rapidly changing lighting environments in the cockpit.
2Loss of information
If video data is stored on board the vehicle to capture cockpit conditions, then the information availability improves, but the storage space requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the critical numeric data and key visual information from the full video stream for storage. By extracting essential data points such as gauge readings, alert statuses, and timestamped events, the system maintains information availability while dramatically reducing storage requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates simplified digital representations of the instrument panel data, converting visual information into structured numeric data. This copying approach preserves the essential information content while using minimal storage space compared to storing full-resolution video.
3Loss of time
If image analysis is performed in real-time during flight, then the information timeliness improves, but the processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary processing of the image data by converting it to numeric representations of gauge readings and instrument states. This preliminary conversion simplifies subsequent analysis and enables real-time processing by reducing the complexity of the data that needs to be analyzed during flight.
4Extent of automation
If OCR and facial recognition systems are used for automated image analysis, then the automation level improves, but the system performance deteriorates under uncontrolled lighting conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different processing techniques to different regions of the instrument panel based on local lighting conditions. By tailoring the analysis approach to the specific characteristics of each gauge or instrument region, the system maintains high recognition accuracy despite varying lighting across the entire panel.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method of acquiring information from an image of an instrument panel of a vehicle in real time wherein at least one imaging device with advanced light metering capabilities is placed aboard a vehicle, a computer processor means is provided to control the imaging device and the advanced light metering capabilities, the advanced light metering capabilities are used to capture an image of at least a portion of the instrument panel, such as a gauge or operator control, and image recognition algorithms are used to identify the current state of the imaged portion of the instrument panel.