Camera based trailer identification and blind zone adjustment

1. A trailer-identification system configured to identify a trailer towed by a host-vehicle, said system comprising:

a camera used to capture an image of a trailer towed by a host-vehicle;

a radar-sensor configured to detect an other-vehicle present in a blind-zone proximate to the host-vehicle, said blind-zone extending a distance perpendicular to a left-side and a right-side of the host-vehicle and extending a distance beyond a rear of the trailer;

a database that associates the character in the image with the trailer-model, the database including dimensions of the trailer related to the trailer-model; and

a controller in communication with the camera, the radar-sensor, and the database, said controller configured to detect a character on the trailer, identify a trailer-model of the trailer based on the character, and adjust the blind-zone proximate to the host-vehicle based on the trailer-model, wherein inboard-boundaries of the adjusted blind-zone are collinear with sides of the trailer, and wherein a trailer-boundary is excluded from the blind-zone.

2. The system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the database includes one of a trailer-width, a trailer-length, and a trailer-height of the trailer-model.

3. The system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the system includes an angle-detector used to determine a trailer-angle of the trailer, and the controller is further configured to identify the trailer-model based on the trailer-angle.

4. The system in accordance with claim 3 , wherein the blind-zone is further modified based on the trailer-angle.

5. The system in accordance with claim 3 , wherein a lane-departure-warning is activated when the trailer-angle exceeds an angle-threshold.

6. The system in accordance with claim 5 , wherein the angle-threshold is based on the trailer-model.