Vehicular Camera Self-Calibration for Accurate Overlay Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicle cameras can become misaligned over time or suddenly, such as during an accident, leading to inaccurate overlays on the in-vehicle display, which may cause drivers to misjudge obstacles during maneuvers.
Innovation Solution
A camera system that periodically calibrates itself by detecting reference points in images using statistical data from an imager microcontroller, adjusting overlays to maintain accurate alignment with the captured image, even if the camera becomes misaligned.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the camera system is installed and used in the vehicle, then the overlay provides position-related information to the driver, but the camera becomes misaligned over time or during accidents, causing inaccurate overlays
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs periodic self-calibration at predetermined intervals by detecting reference points in captured images and automatically adjusting overlay parameters. This periodic action restores alignment accuracy without requiring manual intervention, resolving the contradiction between maintaining reliability over extended service life.
Solution Approach 2:
The camera system calibrates itself automatically by detecting reference points in the environment and computing offset values without external assistance. This self-service capability allows the system to maintain alignment accuracy independently, preventing degradation over time and during/after accidents.
2Measurement precision
If manual calibration is performed, then alignment accuracy can be restored, but the process requires external intervention and is not continuous
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically detects reference points in captured images, computes offset values, and adjusts overlay parameters without requiring external intervention. This eliminates the need for manual calibration operations while maintaining high measurement precision through continuous automatic adjustment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system captures images, detects reference points, computes offset values based on expected versus actual positions, and uses this feedback to automatically adjust overlay parameters. This closed-loop feedback mechanism maintains alignment precision without requiring manual operation.
3Measurement precision
If the overlay is adjusted frequently to maintain accuracy, then alignment precision is maintained, but this increases system complexity and processing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-calibration using existing camera hardware and image processing capabilities, avoiding the need for additional complex calibration equipment. The microcontroller utilizes the statistics engine and existing image data to compute offset values and adjust overlays, maintaining precision without significantly increasing device complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
In a first aspect, the invention is directed to a vehicular camera and a method for calibrating the camera after it has been installed in a vehicle. In particular, the invention is directed to calibrating a vehicular camera after the camera has been installed in a vehicle, wherein the camera is of a type that applies an overlay to an image and outputs the image with the overlay to an in-vehicle display.