Vehicle Camera Asymmetric Resolution Binning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current camera systems for vehicles face latency issues due to the inability to process high resolutions in real-time, especially when requiring large viewing angles for functions like cross-traffic detection and lane departure warnings, leading to reduced performance in driver assistance systems.
Innovation Solution
A camera device with wide-angle optics and a high-resolution image recording sensor that selectively reduces resolution in certain image areas while maintaining full resolution in critical areas, allowing for a wider field of view with reduced latency by outputting high-resolution image strips and binned images alternately, thereby optimizing frame rate and computing power.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If pixel binning is used to reduce resolution, then processing speed improves, but image quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different processing quality to different regions of the image. Critical areas (center and lateral regions) maintain full resolution while non-critical areas undergo binning. This allows the system to preserve image quality where needed while achieving processing speed improvements through binning in other regions.
2Measurement precision
If full resolution is maintained, then image quality improves, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The image is segmented into critical areas (center and lateral regions) and non-critical areas. Different processing strategies are applied to each segment: full resolution for critical areas and binning for non-critical areas. This segmentation allows the system to maintain image quality for important regions while reducing processing time overall.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of applying full resolution processing to the entire image (excessive action), the patent applies full resolution only to critical regions (partial action). This partial processing approach maintains necessary image quality while avoiding the processing time penalty of processing the entire image at full resolution.
3Productivity
If only central area is captured, then processing load reduces, but field of view decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extends full-resolution capture beyond just the central area to include lateral regions that are critical for cross-traffic detection. Non-critical areas still undergo binning. This local quality approach maintains an expanded field of view with reduced processing load compared to processing the entire image at full resolution.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a camera device (2) for detecting a surrounding region (7) of a vehicle (1). The camera device comprises an optronic unit which is designed to receive an image sequence of the surrounding region (7), the optronic unit comprising a wide-angle lens and a high-resolution image sensor. The optronic unit (3) is designed to reduce the resolution in images in the image sequence, in particular by means of pixel binning, alternatingly differently and asymmetrically.