Steering Wheel Camera Layout for Occlusion-Robust Cabin Recognition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle cabin state monitoring systems using a single camera on the steering wheel are prone to image obstruction, leading to inconsistent or incomplete driver state recognition due to shielding by hands or arms, especially when the steering wheel is turned.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle cabin state recognizing device employing multiple cameras on the steering wheel, with an image processing unit to select and utilize the least obstructed camera for continuous and clear image capture and processing, and perform correction to maintain recognition continuity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single camera is mounted on the steering wheel, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability of continuous driver state recognition deteriorates due to shielding by hands or arms
Solution Approach 1:
The steering wheel is divided into multiple segments with cameras mounted at different positions (e.g., left, right, top, bottom). This segmentation allows at least one camera to remain unobstructed even when the driver's hands or arms block certain positions, thereby maintaining reliable continuous recognition while keeping each camera unit relatively simple
2Reliability
If multiple cameras are mounted on the steering wheel, then the reliability of continuous driver state recognition is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple camera systems are merged into a unified monitoring system with a single image processing device that handles images from all cameras. The system combines the capabilities of multiple cameras while integrating their processing functions, thereby improving reliability through redundancy without proportionally increasing overall system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically selects and switches between different camera images based on real-time shielding detection. When certain cameras are blocked by the driver's hands or arms, the system automatically switches to unobstructed cameras, maintaining reliable recognition adaptively without requiring complex hardware for each individual camera
3Measurement precision
If image processing is performed on all captured images, then the measurement precision of driver state recognition is improved, but the loss of time for processing increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of performing full image processing on all captured images, the system applies partial processing only to images from cameras that are determined to be unobstructed. This selective processing approach maintains recognition precision by focusing computational resources on valid images while significantly reducing overall processing time
Data Source
AI summary
The vehicle cabin state recognizing device of the present disclosure includes a plurality of cameras capable of capturing an image of a vehicle cabin provided on a steering wheel, and an image processing device connected to the plurality of cameras. The image processing device first acquires a captured image from each of the plurality of cameras. The image processing device then determines a shielding state of each of the plurality of cameras from a state of a captured image of each of the plurality of cameras. The image processing device further selects a captured image of the minimum shielding camera having the smallest shielding degree among the plurality of cameras. Then, the image processing device executes recognition processing for recognizing the state of the vehicle cabin with respect to the captured image of the minimum shielding camera.