In-Vehicle Camera Exposure Control for Distant Light Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing in-vehicle camera systems struggle with overexposure when capturing images of distant vehicles with high-illumination headlights or taillights under dark driving conditions, making it difficult to accurately detect and distinguish these light sources, which is crucial for safe driving support.
Innovation Solution
An in-vehicle camera system that performs exposure control by defining a distant small frame based on the vanishing point in the driving direction, analyzing the brightness profile within this frame, and optimizing exposure to separate the headlights or taillights as distinct luminous points, using sensors for vehicle orientation and GPS for frame correction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If exposure time is increased to capture distant vehicle lights in dark conditions, then visibility of vehicle lights is improved, but overexposure occurs causing loss of detail in bright areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by dividing the image frame into multiple regions with different exposure characteristics. A first region (distant small frame) is optimized for capturing distant vehicle lights with longer exposure, while a second region (near small frame) is optimized for near-field objects with shorter exposure. This allows different parts of the image to have different exposure qualities, solving the contradiction between capturing distant lights and preventing overexposure in other areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the image processing into distinct regions: a distant small frame for detecting distant vehicle lights and a near small frame for near-field objects. By segmenting the exposure control into region-specific parameters, the system can apply appropriate exposure settings to each segment, preventing overexposure in the near field while maintaining visibility of distant lights.
2Device complexity
If a single camera is used to capture both near and distant objects, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision for distinguishing light sources deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the field of view into distinct spatial regions (distant and near small frames) within a single camera system. By defining separate detection regions with different parameters, the system achieves multi-object detection capability without requiring multiple cameras, thus maintaining low device complexity while improving measurement precision for different distance zones.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different detection parameters and processing methods to different regions of the image. The distant small frame uses parameters optimized for detecting faint, distant vehicle lights, while the near small frame uses parameters for near-field objects. This regional differentiation enables precise detection in both zones using a single camera.
3Measurement precision
If exposure time is extended to improve detection of distant lights, then detection sensitivity is improved, but image quality in other regions deteriorates due to overexposure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the image into multiple exposure regions, allowing the distant small frame to use extended exposure times for high detection sensitivity while the near small frame uses shorter exposure times to maintain proper image quality. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by applying different exposure settings to different segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by optimizing exposure parameters for specific regions rather than using uniform exposure across the entire image. The distant region receives enhanced exposure for improved detection sensitivity, while other regions maintain appropriate exposure levels, preserving overall image quality and reliability.
Data Source
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AI summary
Automatic exposure control of an in-vehicle camera is performed under dark driving environments such as at night. An in-vehicle camera system includes a vehicle camera mounted in a vehicle configured to capture surroundings of the vehicle, and control circuitry that controls an exposure level of an image captured by the vehicle camera, the control of the exposure level being based on brightness information of a detection area set within the image, the detection area being a portion of the captured image and configured to output the image having exposure control performed thereon to a display.