Vehicle Image Processing Region Emphasis and Smoothing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image processing techniques for vehicle-mounted display systems face challenges in providing high visibility and reducing driver confusion, especially at high speeds, where it is difficult for drivers to focus on critical regions due to blurring or image size changes.
Innovation Solution
An image processing device that includes an emphasis processing unit, a smoothing unit, and a combination unit to generate display images by prioritizing sharpening or smoothing based on calculated priority for each region, using a sharpening unit to emphasize edges and a priority calculation unit to determine the degree of emphasis or smoothing for each partitioned region.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If blurring regions other than those to which the driver should be paying attention is applied, then driver confusion is reduced, but visibility of critical regions becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different image processing qualities to different regions of the display. Critical regions (where the driver should pay attention) are processed with sharpening or edge enhancement to maintain high visibility, while non-critical regions are blurred to reduce confusion. This spatial variation in processing quality resolves the contradiction by ensuring that important areas remain clear while less important areas are obscured.
2Area of stationary object
If image size is changed to match the visual field of the driver, then the image fits the display range, but it takes time for the eyes to adjust the focus
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically changes image processing parameters (sharpening strength, blur intensity) based on the vehicle's speed and the driver's likely focus points. By adjusting these parameters in real-time, the system maintains optimal visibility without requiring the driver's eyes to readjust focus, thus resolving the time loss associated with focus adaptation.
3Reliability
If high speed driving is considered, then driving safety should be improved, but it becomes difficult for the driver to ascertain the distance to other vehicles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-processes the image by emphasizing edges and boundaries of objects (vehicles, obstacles) before display. This preliminary edge enhancement ensures that even at high speeds where distance assessment is difficult, the driver can quickly perceive the relative positions and distances of other vehicles through the enhanced edge information, thereby maintaining safety.
Data Source
AI summary
An image processing device has an emphasis processing unit configured to generate an emphasized image yielded by performing an emphasis process on an image captured of surroundings of a vehicle, a smoothing unit configured to generate a smoothed image yielded by performing a smoothing process on the image, and a combination unit configured to generate, for each region of the image, a display image to be displayed in a display using any of the smoothed image, emphasized image, and the image.