Vehicle Camera Video Transmission with Importance-Based Bandwidth Allocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for vehicle remote monitoring and control via cellular networks face issues with video quality deterioration due to bandwidth fluctuations, leading to potential loss or delay of critical information, as they do not adequately differentiate between important and unimportant regions for remote operators.
Innovation Solution
A transmission method and system that estimate available bandwidth and allocate it based on the importance degree of each camera, prioritizing high-quality transmission of critical regions for remote operation by determining object importance and distance from the vehicle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If uniform bit rate adjustment is applied to all camera videos, then bandwidth utilization is optimized, but critical information for remote monitoring and control is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating video quality across different camera feeds based on their operational importance. Critical cameras (e.g., front, rear, left, right view cameras) receive high-quality transmission with higher bit rates, while supplementary cameras (e.g., interior, exterior side mirrors) receive reduced quality transmission. This selective quality allocation ensures critical monitoring information is preserved while optimizing overall bandwidth utilization.
2Reliability
If high image quality is transmitted for all camera regions, then remote monitoring quality is maintained, but unnecessary bandwidth is consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements local quality by assigning different quality levels to different camera regions based on operational necessity. High-quality transmission is localized to critical monitoring regions (front, rear, left, right cameras), while supplementary regions receive lower quality. This differentiated approach maintains reliable monitoring where needed while reducing unnecessary bandwidth consumption in less critical areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the camera system into critical and supplementary groups based on functional importance. Critical cameras providing essential driving information are separated from supplementary cameras providing additional context. This segmentation enables independent quality control for each group, allowing high quality for critical regions while reducing quality for supplementary regions, thus optimizing the balance between monitoring reliability and bandwidth efficiency.
3Ease of operation
If saliency map calculation is used to identify important regions, then human gaze is optimized, but operational importance for remote control is not accurately reflected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by not using human visual perception models (saliency maps) to determine importance, but rather using operational context and driving task requirements. Instead of asking 'what would a human look at?', the system asks 'what information is necessary for safe vehicle operation and remote control?', thereby accurately reflecting operational importance rather than visual salience.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs self-service by using vehicle sensors (steering angle, brake status, acceleration) and camera metadata to automatically determine operational importance without requiring complex visual analysis or human-like perception. The camera selection and quality allocation are performed autonomously based on direct operational parameters, simplifying the system while improving accuracy in reflecting actual driving context needs.
Data Source
AI summary
A transmission method, a transmission system, and a system control device that are capable of transmitting a high-quality video suitable for remote operation while suppressing loss and delay are provided. The transmission method is a transmission method of transmitting an image photographed by a plurality of cameras mounted on a vehicle, via a network, and includes a bandwidth estimation step of estimating an available bandwidth of the network, and a camera bandwidth allocation step of allocating a bandwidth to each camera according to the available bandwidth and an importance degree of each camera.