Windshield-Mounted Camera Assembly for Low-False-Positive Violation Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing traffic enforcement technologies are inadequate for detecting lane violations, particularly due to limitations in camera placement, high false positive detection rates, and the challenges of installing camera systems on municipal fleet vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A camera-based system for autonomous traffic violation detection is installed behind the windshield of a vehicle, comprising a context camera assembly, a license plate recognition (LPR) camera assembly, and a control unit. The system includes IR lights for low-light conditions and specialized camera skirts to block unwanted ambient light and IR reflections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If camera systems are installed on the exterior of municipal fleet vehicles, then traffic violation detection capability is improved, but installation complexity and cost increase due to municipal regulations governing vehicle exteriors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by installing cameras inside the vehicle rather than on the exterior. The camera system is mounted on the interior ceiling or dashboard, facing forward through the windshield, thereby avoiding exterior installation restrictions while maintaining detection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The windshield serves as an intermediary element that allows the interior-mounted camera to capture external traffic scenes. The camera uses the windshield as a transparent medium to observe the road environment without requiring exterior mounting.
2Reliability
If camera systems are installed in the interior of municipal fleet vehicles, then protection from environmental elements is improved, but windshield interference with IR light and reflections worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful effect of the windshield blocking IR light by introducing active IR illumination sources positioned to illuminate the scene through the windshield. The system uses IR cameras that are sensitive to the specific IR wavelengths emitted by these illumination sources, thereby overcoming the windshield's blocking effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the operational parameters by using specific IR wavelengths that can penetrate the windshield material. The IR illumination sources and cameras are tuned to operate at wavelengths where the windshield has higher transmission, thereby mitigating the blocking effect.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional logic-based camera systems are used for traffic enforcement, then deployment simplicity is improved, but false positive detection rate increases to 80%
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates multiple camera assemblies (context camera, LPR camera, nighttime LPR camera) that provide feedback to the control unit. The control unit processes images from multiple sources and applies detection algorithms to verify traffic violations, thereby reducing false positives while maintaining deployment simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple camera systems into a single integrated vehicle-mounted platform. The context camera, LPR camera, and nighttime LPR camera work together under a unified control unit, combining their detection capabilities to achieve high accuracy while simplifying deployment compared to multiple separate systems.
4Illumination intensity
If IR lights are used for nighttime illumination, then low-light detection capability is improved, but heat generation causes lights to become inoperable
Solution Approach 1:
The IR illumination sources are operated periodically rather than continuously. The control unit activates the IR lights only when nighttime conditions are detected and when the camera needs to capture images, thereby reducing heat accumulation and preventing the lights from becoming inoperable while maintaining low-light detection capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively detects traffic violations with reduced false positives, improves traffic safety, and enhances transportation efficiency by providing accurate and reliable data for enforcement.
Implementation Method 1
a context camera skirt coupled to and protruding outwardly from the context camera housing, wherein the context camera skirt can be configured to block unwanted ambient light
Implementation Method 2
IR lights for low-light conditions
Implementation Method 3
A controller of the LPR camera assembly can be synchronized with a frame rate of the nighttime LPR camera to control an emission rate of the plurality of IR lights
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are systems and apparatus for detecting a traffic violation. In one embodiment, a system for detecting a traffic violation comprises a context camera assembly and a license plate recognition (LPR) camera assembly. The context camera assembly can comprise a context camera housing containing a context camera, a context camera mount configured to mount the context camera housing to an interior of a carrier vehicle, and a context camera skirt coupled to and protruding outwardly from the context camera housing. The license LPR camera assembly can comprise an LPR camera housing containing one or more LPR cameras, an LPR camera mount configured to mount the LPR camera housing to the interior of the carrier vehicle, and one or more LPR camera skirts coupled to and protruding outwardly from the LPR camera housing.