Blind Spot Image Conversion for Vehicle Surroundings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Side view mirrors and cameras used for monitoring blind spots can reduce driving performance due to increased air friction and noise, and may not cover the entire area, leading to potential accidents from undetected vehicles in blind spots, especially in complex driving environments like multilane roads and merging sections.
Innovation Solution
An image conversion device that includes a driving environment recognition unit, a display unit, and a controller to acquire and display images of areas behind and to the side of a vehicle, determining blind spots and converting the image to include these areas, using cameras and sensors to provide a comprehensive view of the surroundings, including regions of interest, focal length adjustments, and compression ratios to ensure visibility of blind spots.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If side view mirrors are used to monitor blind spots, then driver awareness of surrounding areas is improved, but air friction increases and driving noise is generated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple cameras (front, rear, left, right) into an integrated imaging system that captures surrounding areas, replacing traditional side view mirrors. The controller merges these multiple image sources to generate comprehensive blind spot images, achieving mirror functionality while eliminating aerodynamic drag and noise from physical mirrors.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical side view mirror system with an electronic imaging system consisting of cameras and image processing. This substitution eliminates the physical structures that cause air friction and noise, while providing enhanced visual information through electronic image capture and display.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If side cameras are used to monitor blind spots, then air friction and noise are reduced, but the monitoring range is limited and blind spots remain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges images from multiple camera positions (front, rear, left, right) to create comprehensive blind spot images that cover areas invisible to any single camera. This combination of multiple limited-view images produces a complete monitoring coverage that eliminates blind spots while maintaining aerodynamic efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from single-camera two-dimensional views to multi-camera three-dimensional spatial coverage. By capturing images from multiple spatial positions and combining them, the system achieves comprehensive surround monitoring that no single camera could provide alone, effectively eliminating blind spots.
3Reliability
If sensors are mounted within the vehicle to detect objects in blind spots, then driver awareness is improved, but measurement errors occur due to external environment influence
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces sensor-based detection systems with optical camera-based imaging systems. Cameras capture visual information that is processed to generate blind spot images, providing driver awareness without the measurement errors that plague sensors in deteriorating weather conditions and challenging external environments.
Data Source
AI summary
An image conversion device is provided. The device includes a driving environment recognition unit that has a camera acquiring a base image of areas behind and to the side of a subject vehicle and a sensor sensing a driving environment behind and to the side of the subject vehicle. A display unit displays the base image and a navigation unit provides information regarding a location of the subject vehicle. A controller determines whether a blind spot is created in the driving environment based on information acquired from the driving environment recognition unit and the navigation unit, converts the base image into an image including the blind spot to generate the converted image, and operates the display unit to display the converted image.