ENHANCED TOP-DOWN VIEW GENERATION IN A FRONT CURB VIEWING SYSTEM

摘要

A system and method for creating an enhanced virtual top-down view of an area in front of a vehicle, using images from left-front and right-front cameras. The enhanced virtual top-down view not only provides the driver with a top-down view perspective which is not directly available from raw camera images, but also removes the distortion and exaggerated perspective effects which are inherent in wide-angle lens images. The enhanced virtual top-down view also includes corrections for three types of problems which are typically present in de-warped images—including artificial protrusion of vehicle body parts into the image, low resolution and noise around the edges of the image, and a “double vision” effect for objects above ground level.

主权项

1. A system for providing enhanced top-down viewing of an area in front of a vehicle, said system comprising:
a first camera mounted at the left front of the vehicle; a second camera mounted at the right front of the vehicle; an image acquisition module in communication with the first and second camera, said image acquisition module receiving raw images from the cameras, and the raw images from the cameras have a generally forward view perspective; a processor including a memory module, said processor being configured to provide a virtual top-down view of the area in front of the vehicle, where the virtual top-down view is synthesized from the raw images from the cameras, and the virtual top-down view includes corrections for artificial protrusion of vehicle body parts into the view, low resolution and noise around edges of the view, and a double vision effect for objects above ground level; and a display unit in a cockpit area of the vehicle for displaying the virtual top-down view from the processor for viewing by a driver of the vehicle.