Trailer Assist Camera Recognition for Automatic Hitch Angle Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicular trailering assist systems require manual user input for trailer recognition and calibration, which is cumbersome and prone to errors due to challenges like day/night scenarios and weather conditions.
Innovation Solution
A vehicular trailering assist system uses camera-based automatic recognition of previously calibrated trailers by generating and matching trailer templates, employing banana view transformations and edge detection algorithms to determine trailer angles without user intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual user input is used for trailer recognition and calibration, then the system can identify trailers, but the process is cumbersome and prone to errors under varying conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs automatic trailer recognition and calibration without requiring manual user input. The camera captures images, the ECU processes them through template matching algorithms, and the system automatically identifies the trailer type and calibrates parameters, eliminating the need for users to manually select or configure trailer settings.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical operations (user pressing buttons, selecting options) with an automated optical and electronic system. A camera captures visual data of the trailer, and an ECU with image processing algorithms automatically recognizes the trailer type and performs calibration, substituting human interaction with machine-based vision and computation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If manual trailer selection is required, then the system can accommodate different trailers, but the process is time-consuming and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-stores multiple trailer templates in the ECU memory, each representing a different trailer type with its calibration parameters. When a trailer is detected, the system automatically compares the captured image against these pre-stored templates and identifies the matching trailer type, eliminating the need for users to manually select from a list and significantly reducing calibration time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates digital copies (templates) of different trailer types and stores them in memory. During operation, the camera captures an image of the actual trailer, and the ECU compares this image against the stored digital templates to automatically identify the trailer type, replacing manual selection with automated pattern recognition.
3Extent of automation
If template matching is used for automatic recognition, then user intervention is eliminated, but the system requires processing multiple stored templates
Solution Approach 1:
The system stores multiple trailer templates in the ECU memory, each representing a different trailer type. During recognition, the ECU processes each stored template by comparing it with the captured trailer image, generating a matching score for each. The system continues this process with multiple templates until a match above the threshold is found, using partial actions (processing only necessary templates) to achieve complete automation.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicular trailering assist system includes a camera disposed at a vehicle and viewing at least rearward of the vehicle. The vehicular trailering assist system transforms captured image data into a bird's-eye view of the hitch of the trailer, and accesses a plurality of stored trailer templates, with each respective trailer template being generated during a previous calibration of the system for a respective trailer. The vehicular trailering assist system generates a matching score based on a comparison between a stored trailer template and the transformed bird's-eye view. The vehicular trailering assist system, responsive to determining that the matching score for one of the plurality of stored trailer templates exceeds a threshold matching score, tracks a trailer angle of the trailer using the one plurality of stored trailer templates.