Parking Assist Overhead View for Hidden Vacant Spaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing parking assistance systems fail to provide a comprehensive overhead view of vacant parking spaces that are outside the current viewing angle of the vehicle's cameras or hidden behind static objects, making it difficult for occupants to recognize their locations.
Innovation Solution
A display control apparatus that generates overhead images based on captured images from different positions and times, incorporating locational information to include hidden or out-of-view parking spaces and static objects, and outputs these images to the vehicle's display.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If the system displays overhead images based only on current camera viewing angle, then the display system remains simple and real-time, but vacant parking spaces outside the viewing angle or hidden behind static objects cannot be recognized
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by capturing and storing images of the periphery at multiple positions before the vehicle reaches its current location. These pre-captured images are then utilized to generate overhead views of parking spaces that are currently outside the camera's viewing angle or obscured by static objects, thereby reducing information loss without requiring complex real-time multi-camera systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from a single-viewpoint camera system to a multi-dimensional overhead view by combining images captured at different positions and angles. This dimensional transformation allows the display to show parking spaces that are not visible from the current camera position, effectively adding spatial dimensions to the information available to the occupant.
2Loss of information
If multiple cameras are installed to capture all surrounding areas, then complete coverage of vacant parking spaces is achieved, but the system cost and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of installing multiple cameras simultaneously, the system uses a single camera to capture images at multiple positions during the vehicle's movement. These preliminary captures at different locations provide the necessary coverage information that would otherwise require multiple fixed cameras, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining complete coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
A single camera system is made multi-functional by capturing images at multiple positions and utilizing them for different purposes: current viewing angle display, overhead view generation, and detection of parking spaces hidden from the current position. This universal approach replaces the need for multiple dedicated cameras.
3Loss of information
If the system uses images captured at previous positions to generate overhead views, then parking spaces outside current view are visible, but the system requires additional storage and processing
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential information needed for overhead view generation from the previously captured images, rather than storing and processing complete high-resolution images. By extracting key features and positional data, the system reduces the quantity of data that needs to be stored while still enabling the generation of comprehensive overhead views showing hidden parking spaces.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a display control apparatus that generates a display overhead image including overhead images of each of a vacant parking space and a vehicle and outputs the display overhead image to a display apparatus. The display overhead image includes at least one of an overhead image of the vacant parking space outside of a current viewing angle of a vehicle-mounted camera and an overhead image of the vacant parking space hidden behind a static object as seen from a current position of the vehicle.