Wide-Angle Vehicle Imaging Without Repeat Test Drives
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Solution Overview
Problem
The need to re-acquire images under real-world driving conditions when camera positions are changed during vehicle design prolongs and increases the cost of the design process for vehicles equipped with wide-angle cameras.
Innovation Solution
A method to generate a final image of a vehicle's environment by applying transformations to initial acquired images based on a predetermined distortion map and change-of-coordinate transformations, without requiring a new test drive, using a computer and image sensors with wide-angle lenses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If camera positions are changed during vehicle design, then the accuracy of obstacle detection and camera configuration is improved, but the design process time and cost increase due to requiring new test drives to acquire images under real-world driving conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual copies of real-world images through image processing algorithms. Instead of physically moving the camera and conducting new test drives, the system generates synthetic images that simulate what the camera would capture from different positions, thereby avoiding time-consuming re-acquisition while maintaining positional accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary image processing and generates multiple candidate images during the design phase using computational methods. This allows designers to evaluate different camera positions in advance without waiting for physical re-testing, thus reducing the overall design cycle time while ensuring accurate position selection
2Adaptability or versatility
If camera positions are changed during vehicle design, then the optimization of camera configuration is improved, but the design cost increases due to requiring additional test runs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses virtual image generation to replace expensive physical re-testing. By creating digital replicas of test scenarios through image processing, the system enables multiple configuration evaluations without the fuel, personnel, and operational costs associated with actual test drives
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical process of physically moving cameras and conducting test drives with computational image processing methods. This substitution eliminates the direct connection between physical camera movement and image acquisition, allowing cost-free virtual experimentation with different camera configurations
3Loss of information
If multiple elementary images are combined to create a final image, then the completeness of environmental representation is improved, but the image processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the wide-angle image into multiple elementary images representing different portions of the environment. This segmentation allows systematic processing of manageable image sections while ensuring complete environmental coverage when the segments are reassembled, balancing information completeness with processing feasibility
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the problem from processing one complex wide-angle image to processing multiple smaller elementary images in a different dimensional arrangement. By working with segmented images that can be independently processed and then combined, the system reduces processing complexity while maintaining complete environmental representation
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for generating a final image (Fini) of the environment of a motor vehicle, said motor vehicle being equipped with an image sensor having a wide-angle lens, said method comprising the steps of: - acquiring an initial distorted image by said image sensor positioned at an initial posture relative to the motor vehicle; - moving said image sensor to an updated posture; - generating, from said initial image, at least two initial undistorted elementary images; - determining updated elementary images by applying, to each initial elementary image, a change-of-coordinate transformation corresponding to the modification of the initial posture of the image sensor to the updated posture; and - generating the final image by combining said updated elementary images.