Multi-Part Vehicle Surround View With Articulation-Aware Image Stitching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing driver assistance systems struggle to provide a seamless 360° top-down view of a vehicle's surroundings, particularly for multi-section vehicles with dynamically changing articulation angles, leading to obscured and misinterpreted images due to overlapping components and dynamic obscuration.
Innovation Solution
A method and device using multiple cameras mounted on the towing and trailer units of a vehicle, with strategically positioned detection ranges and overlap areas, combined through image processing to create a continuous 360° top-down view, utilizing image alignment and overlap correction techniques to account for articulation angles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If multiple cameras are mounted on different locations on the vehicle to capture larger surrounding areas, then the coverage area is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the vehicle into multiple units (towing vehicle and trailer units) and mounts cameras on each unit. Each camera captures the surroundings of its specific mounting location, and the individual images are combined to form a comprehensive 360° view of the entire vehicle's surroundings. This segmentation approach enables coverage of large areas while keeping each camera unit relatively simple.
2Loss of information
If individual images from multiple cameras are combined to form a 360° view, then the completeness of surroundings representation is improved, but image processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts the image combination process based on the articulation angle between vehicle units. The control device determines the articulation angle and uses it to correctly align and combine images from cameras on different units. This dynamic adaptation ensures complete surroundings representation while managing processing complexity through angle-based image transformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The control device acts as an intermediary that receives images from multiple cameras, determines the articulation angle, and combines the images into a coherent 360° view. This intermediary processing step manages the complexity of image combination by systematically handling the transformation and alignment of individual camera images based on vehicle configuration.
3Area of stationary object
If cameras are mounted on trailer units to capture surroundings behind the trailer, then the coverage area is improved, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring increases due to dynamic obscuration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent accounts for dynamic obscuration by determining the articulation angle between the towing vehicle and trailer units. Based on this angle, the control device adjusts how images from trailer-mounted cameras are processed and combined with images from the towing vehicle. This dynamic adjustment ensures that obscured areas are properly represented in the final 360° view while maintaining accurate detection of surrounding objects.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for producing an environmental image (10) of an entire multi-part vehicle (1), in which method capture regions (7-1, 7-2, 7-3, 7-4, 7-5, 7-6) around the entire vehicle are captured by rear, front and lateral cameras and individual images are produced, while analysing and/or cropping the individual images in such a way that overlapping regions (9-25, 9-36) are formed (ST3) at least between front lateral individual images and rear lateral individual images, and the individual images (8-i) are composited to form the environmental image (10) of the entire vehicle (1), which depicts an environment (4) around the entire vehicle (1), taking into account a bend angle (a) and/or matching of the individual images in the overlapping regions (9-25, 9-36).