Camera-Based Vehicle Load Estimation for Trailer Stability Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicles lack sensors to directly measure trailer tongue load and vehicle load, leading to potential sub-optimal performance issues such as trailer sway and vehicle instability, and adding additional sensors increases complexity.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that uses image data from onboard cameras to determine vehicle height changes, allowing estimation of trailer tongue load and vehicle load without additional sensors, incorporating modules for image processing, load calculation, and vehicle control based on these determinations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If additional sensors are added to directly sense load values, then measurement precision of trailer tongue load and vehicle load is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical load sensors with an optical measurement system using cameras to capture vehicle height changes. Image processing algorithms convert visual data into load measurements, eliminating the need for direct mechanical sensing of tongue load while maintaining measurement capability through indirect optical observation of suspension deflection
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces vehicle height change as an intermediary measurement parameter. Instead of directly measuring tongue load, the system measures the vertical displacement of the vehicle body caused by the load, which then serves as a proxy to calculate the actual tongue load and vehicle payload through image analysis
2Device complexity
If no load sensors are installed, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision of load values deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes mechanical load cells or force sensors with an optical measurement system. Cameras capture images of the vehicle side profile, and image processing algorithms detect the position of reference points on the vehicle body to calculate height changes, replacing direct mechanical force measurement with optical observation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a visual copy of the vehicle's physical state through camera images. By capturing and analyzing the optical representation of the vehicle's suspension position, the system reconstructs load information from the visual data without requiring physical contact sensors
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for a vehicle towing a trailer. In one embodiment, a method includes: receiving, by a processor, image data from one or more image sensors of the vehicle; determining, by the processor, a change in vehicle height based on the image data; determining, by the processor, at least one of a vehicle load and a trailer tongue load based on the change in vehicle height; and generating, by the processor, at least one of notification data and control data to control the vehicle based on the at least one of the vehicle load and the trailer tongue load.