Vehicle Composite Imaging for Blind Spot Bird's-Eye Views

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional vehicle systems lack the ability to leverage external image capture devices to generate and display composite images, such as bird's eye views, which are essential for identifying blind spots and preventing accidents.

Innovation Solution

A vehicle system that includes a processor configured to receive images from external image capture components, analyze them, and generate composite images, including bird's eye views, by combining perspectives from various angles, which are then displayed in real time on the vehicle's display.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If conventional vehicle systems use only internal image capture components, then the system complexity is reduced, but the ability to generate comprehensive composite images and identify blind spots is limited

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveability to generate composite imagesVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent combines images from multiple external image capture components (cameras, drones, satellites) with internal vehicle cameras to generate composite images. This merging of external and internal imaging systems enables comprehensive blind spot detection and 360-degree vehicle views without requiring the vehicle to carry all imaging equipment itself.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The vehicle system is designed to accept and process images from various types of external capture devices (stationary cameras, mobile devices, drones, satellites). This multi-functionality allows the same vehicle system to leverage different external resources depending on availability, enhancing adaptability without proportionally increasing complexity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

2Reliability

If the vehicle system processes images in real time from multiple sources, then the ability to identify blind spots immediately is improved, but the processing time and computational load increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveblind spot identification accuracyVSAvoidimage processing time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system pre-processes and stores images received from external capture components before they are needed for composite image generation. External cameras continuously capture and store images of the vehicle from various angles, so when composite images are required for blind spot detection, the processing time is reduced because the source images are already available and pre-processed.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The image processing is divided into separate stages: external image capture and storage, image reception and validation, composite image generation, and display output. This segmentation allows different parts of the system to operate independently and in parallel, reducing overall processing time while maintaining reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Loss of information

If the system combines multiple perspective views into a single composite image, then the comprehensive view of surroundings is improved, but the image processing complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecomprehensive view coverageVSAvoidimage processing complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system creates simplified representative images (such as top-down 2D representations or bird's-eye views) that copy the essential spatial relationships from multiple complex 3D perspective images. These simplified copies preserve the necessary information for blind spot detection while reducing the computational complexity of processing and displaying the full set of original images.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentEP4032752B1Vehicle and method for generating and displaying composite images
Publication Date: 2023.09.27 TOYOTA MOTOR ENG & MFG NORTH AMERICA INC
  • EP4032752B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4032752B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4032752B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A vehicle and methods for generating and displaying a composite image is provided. The method includes receiving a first image from a first image capture component (102) external to the vehicle (100) and a second image from a second image capture component (108) that is external to the vehicle, generating a composite image using the first image and the second image, the first image is associated with a first perspective view of the vehicle and the second image is associated with a second perspective view of the vehicle, and outputting the composite image on a display of the vehicle. The method also includes making a selection at least one of the first image capture component and the second image capture component, and outputting one or more images from the selected image capture component on the display of the vehicle in response to receiving the selection.