In-Vehicle Camera Hood Reflection Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
In-vehicle camera systems experience blurring and contrast deterioration due to natural light reflections from the hood and windshield, leading to a whitish image that affects the quality of captured video data.
Innovation Solution
An image processing system that includes a hood positioned below the image capture unit to prevent interior reflections, a luminance parameter acquirer to measure the hood's luminance, a whitish blur degree calculator to assess the blurring effect, and a contrast corrector to adjust the image contrast based on the calculated blur degree, thereby restoring image clarity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a hood is attached to the camera to prevent dashboard reflection, then the mixing of interior reflection with camera image is prevented, but natural light is reflected by both the hood and windshield causing whitish blur and contrast deterioration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and separates the hood reflection component from the overall camera image through image processing. By detecting the hood's luminance characteristics and calculating the whitish blur degree, the system isolates the harmful reflection effect and removes it from the composite image, thereby restoring contrast while maintaining the protective function of the hood.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies parameter changes by adjusting image processing parameters based on the detected hood luminance and calculated whitish blur degree. The contrast correction parameter is dynamically modified according to the severity of reflection, allowing the system to adaptively restore image contrast without requiring physical removal or modification of the hood structure.
2Illumination intensity
If the hood is present within the angle of vision to capture its luminance for contrast correction, then contrast can be restored, but the hood occupies part of the camera image area
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the hood image region from the overall camera image based on detected luminance characteristics. By identifying pixels that match the hood's luminance profile and spatial position, the system separates the hood occupation from the useful image data, allowing contrast correction to be applied only to the relevant regions while preserving maximum available image area.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by performing contrast correction selectively in regions affected by hood reflection rather than uniformly across the entire image. The correction is localized to areas where whitish blur is detected, preserving image quality in unaffected regions and maximizing the usable image area while still restoring contrast where needed.
3Illumination intensity
If image processing is performed to correct contrast based on hood luminance, then image quality is restored, but processing time and computational load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-detecting the hood's luminance characteristics and pre-calculating the whitish blur degree from the captured image data. This preliminary analysis allows the contrast correction to be applied more efficiently in subsequent processing stages, reducing the computational burden and processing time required for real-time correction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes processing efficiency by changing parameters based on detected conditions - using the detected hood luminance and calculated blur degree to dynamically adjust the correction strength and processing regions. This parameter-based approach allows the system to focus computational resources only where correction is needed, reducing overall processing time while maintaining correction effectiveness.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Effectively corrects the contrast of the camera image by quantifying the whitish blur caused by natural light reflections, improving the overall quality and reducing data transmission while maintaining image clarity.
Implementation Method 1
a dashboard is reflected by an inner surface of the windshield and the reflection mixes with a camera image
Implementation Method 2
natural light is reflected by both the hood and the inner side of the windshield in this order. As a result, a camera image as a whole is highly likely to be blurred in white
Data Source
AI summary
An image processing device is enabled to appropriately restore a contrast of a camera image. An in-vehicle camera has an image capture unit that captures images of surroundings of a vehicle through a windshield of the vehicle. A hood is disposed below the image capture unit and is present within an angle of view of the image capture unit. The control unit includes a luminance acquirer that acquires a luminance parameter indicating a degree of luminance of the hood appearing in a camera image, a whitish blur degree calculator that calculates a degree of whitish blur of the camera image caused by a reflection of natural light by the hood and the windshield in accordance with the luminance parameter, and a contrast corrector that corrects a contrast of the camera image in accordance with the whitish blur degree.