Synchronized Headlight Pulsing for Longer-Range Vehicle Vision
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle camera systems have limited machine vision range during nighttime driving due to headlight luminance limits that prevent blinding oncoming drivers, making it difficult to detect distant objects, and existing solutions like high sensitivity sensors or increased luminance are costly or ineffective.
Innovation Solution
A synchronized system of a camera shutter and exterior lighting, where the lighting provides peak illumination only during the shutter's exposure period, aligning with the camera's integration time, thereby enhancing machine vision range without affecting human visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If headlight luminance is increased to improve camera vision range, then machine vision range is improved, but oncoming drivers may be distracted or blinded
Solution Approach 1:
The headlight system alternates between normal illumination and peak illumination modes. The control system activates peak illumination only during the brief period when the camera shutter is open (exposure time), then returns to normal illumination. This periodic action allows the camera to receive enhanced light for improved vision range while the human eye, having longer integration time, perceives only the normal illumination levels, preventing distraction or blinding of oncoming drivers.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system coordinates the headlight peak illumination activation to occur precisely when the camera shutter opens. By timing the peak illumination to coincide with the camera's exposure window before the shutter closes, the system ensures that the enhanced illumination is captured by the camera sensor while avoiding prolonged exposure that would affect human drivers.
2Illumination intensity
If additional high sensitivity sensors are added to improve camera vision range, then machine vision range is improved, but system complexity and expense increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of changing the sensor hardware to high sensitivity models, the system changes the illumination parameter dynamically. The control system adjusts the headlight luminance parameter between normal and peak levels based on camera shutter state. This parameter change approach achieves improved camera vision range using existing standard sensors, avoiding the need for additional high sensitivity sensors and the associated complexity and expense.
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
The system significantly increases camera sensor illumination and detection distance at night while maintaining safe human visibility levels, allowing improved object detection and classification for advanced driver assistance systems without additional costly sensors.
Implementation Method 1
wherein the exterior lighting system includes one or more pulse width modulated LED headlights
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle includes a camera system configured for machine vision functionality and including an image sensor and a shutter, and an exterior lighting system configured to selectively provide a normal illumination and a predetermined peak illumination. A control system is configured to selectively open the shutter to obtain a machine vision image with the image sensor, synchronize the exterior lighting system to provide the predetermined peak illumination while the shutter is open to thereby increase a range of the machine vision, and output the machine vision image to a vehicle system for further use.