Camera Slope Detection for Headlight Beam Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current advanced driving assistance systems fail to effectively anticipate and adapt to slopes, leading to suboptimal vehicle performance in terms of light beam orientation and engine fuel strategy, which affects driving comfort and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A method using a camera to detect road markings and calculate the slope coefficient by analyzing image data, allowing for adjustments in light beam orientation and engine fuel consumption to optimize vehicle performance when approaching a slope.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If radar and lidar sensors are used for remote detection, then position and speed information can be obtained, but the field of vision is limited and angular positioning precision is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines camera-based road marking detection with radar/lidar obstacle detection to create a comprehensive driving assistance system. The camera provides wide-field road geometry information while radar/lidar provide precise distance and speed data, merging their strengths to overcome individual limitations.
Solution Approach 2:
The camera system is designed to perform multiple functions: detecting road markings for slope determination, identifying lane positions, and recognizing infrastructure elements. This multi-functional approach replaces the need for specialized sensors for each function, expanding the effective field of vision while maintaining precision where needed.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the vehicle approaches a slope without anticipation, then current driving assistance systems do not detect it, but this leads to suboptimal light beam orientation and engine fuel strategy
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of slopes by analyzing road marking orientation changes before the vehicle reaches the slope. This early detection allows the system to anticipate upcoming terrain changes and prepare appropriate responses in terms of lighting and engine management, improving driving comfort through proactive rather than reactive control.
Solution Approach 2:
Road markings serve as an intermediary element that the camera system uses to indirectly detect slope conditions. Instead of directly measuring terrain elevation, the system analyzes the orientation and perspective distortion of road markings, which change predictably with slope angle, providing a reliable indirect measurement method.
3Illumination intensity
If the light beam orientation is not adjusted for slopes, then the lighting range is reduced on ascents, but modifying the orientation requires precise slope information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces direct mechanical or sensor-based slope measurement (which would provide precise but limited data) with an image processing approach that analyzes the geometric distortion of road markings. This optical method substitutes physical measurement with visual analysis, providing sufficient precision for lighting adjustment while capturing broader contextual information.
Data Source
Figure 1~4
AI summary
The method involves detecting a considered mark repeated along length of a road (203), on an image acquired by a camera (201) e.g. radar, where the mark is formed of elements at a position. Another mark is detected at a remote distance from a vehicle (200), where the mark is presented at another position on road. A determination is made whether change of orientation of the marks exists by an image processing application. Presence of a slope (204) is deduced from the change of marks orientation and a gradient of the slope is calculated from characteristics of the change of marks orientation. An independent claim is also included for a driving assistance device embarked within a vehicle, for determining gradient of a slope, comprising a camera.