Vehicle vision system
Vehicle visual systems are disclosed to produce seamless and uniform surround-view images of the vehicle using a number of Ultra Wide-Angle (UWA) lens cameras and optionally HUD systems. A distributive system architecture wherein individual cameras are capable of performing various image transformations allows a flexible and resource efficient image processing scheme.
1. A vehicle vision system comprising:
a plurality of Ultra Wide-Angle (UWA) lens cameras mounted on a plurality of sides of a vehicle, each camera providing a corresponding UWA feed;
at least one Head-UP-Display (HUD) comprising a Geometry and Color (GCP) processing unit, wherein the at least one HUD is configured to:
receive at least one UWA feed; and
pre-process the at least one UWA feed, by applying a plurality of geometry and color transformations to the corresponding UWA feed, in preparation for a seamless surround-view image construction;
and a central logic configured to combine the pre-processed UWA feeds provided by the corresponding at least one HUD and output a surround-view image of the vehicle;
wherein at least one of the surround-view output image, one or more of the UWA feeds, and one or more of the transformed UWA feeds are projected on a virtual surface in front of windshield of the vehicle by the at least one HUD.
2. The vehicle vision system of claim 1 , wherein one HUD is further configured to command other HUDs, the plurality of cameras and the central logic.
3. The vehicle vision system of claim 1 , wherein the central logic comprises a GCP unit.
4. The vehicle vision system of claim 3 , wherein the central logic is further configured to command the plurality of cameras and the plurality of HUDs.
5. The vehicle vision system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of cameras comprises a GCP unit.
6. The vehicle vision system of claim 5 , wherein one camera from the plurality of cameras is further configured to command other cameras, the plurality of HUDs and the central logic.
7. The vehicle vision system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of cameras, the at least one HUD, and the central logic comprise a communication means to communicate with one another via a communication network.
8. The vehicle vision system of claim 1 , wherein the GCP pre-processing of the UWA feeds comprises one or more of:
selecting a viewing perspective in the corresponding UWA feed according to a viewing display mode instruction;
applying a first transformation to the selected viewing perspective to correct for perspective distortion of the UWA feed;
applying a second transformation to the perspective corrected UWA feed to correct for windshield distortion and projection geometric distortions; and
adjusting brightness of the geometric UWA feeds for seamless blending of overlapped image areas.
9. The vehicle vision system of claim 8 , wherein the display mode is selected automatically as triggered by changes in driving conditions.
10. The vehicle vision system of claim 8 , wherein the display modes is selected manually.
11. The vehicle vision system of claim 8 , wherein the display mode is a top-down view.
12. The vehicle vision system of claim 8 , wherein the display mode is a panoramic surround-view.
13. The vehicle vision system of claim 1 , wherein the virtual images corresponding to different projection units are displayed at different depths relative to windshield.
14. The vehicle vision system of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle is mirror-less.
15. The vehicle vision system of claim 1 , wherein augmented reality is enabled on the virtual display.
16. A method for displaying a surround-view image of a vehicle, said method comprising:
receiving a plurality of Ultra Wide-Angle (UWA) feeds, captured by a corresponding plurality of UWA lens cameras mounted on a plurality of sides of the vehicle, by at least one Head-UP-Display (HUD) comprising a Geometry and Color Processing (GCP) unit;
pre-processing the plurality of received Ultra Wide-Angle (UWA) feeds, by applying a plurality of geometry and color transformations to the corresponding UWA feed, in preparation for a seamless surround-view image construction by the at least one HUD;
combining the pre-processed UWA feeds, provided by the corresponding at least one HUD, using a central logic to output the surround-view image of the vehicle; and
projecting at least one of the surround-view output image, one or more of the UWA feeds, and one or more of the pre-processed UWA feeds on a virtual surface in front of windshield of the vehicle through the at least one Head-UP-Display (HUD).
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of cameras, the at least one HUD, and the central logic comprise a communication means to communicate with one another via a communication network.
18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the at least one HUD is configured to command other HUDs, the plurality of cameras and the central logic.
19. The method of claim 16 , wherein the central logic comprises a GCP unit.
20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the central logic is further configured to command the plurality of cameras and the at least one HUD.
21. The method of claim 16 , wherein each camera of the plurality of cameras comprises a GCP unit.
22. The method system of claim 21 , wherein one camera from the plurality of cameras is further configured to command other cameras, the at least one HUD and the central logic.
23. The method of claim 16 , wherein one camera from the plurality of cameras is configured to command other cameras and the central logic.
24. The method of claim 16 , wherein the pre-processing of the UWA feeds is achieved by one or more of:
selecting a viewing perspective in the correspond UWA feed according to a display mode instruction;
applying a first transformation to the selected viewing perspective to correct for perspective distortion of the UWA feed;
applying a second transformation to the perspective corrected UWA feed to correct for windshield distortion and projection geometric distortions; and
adjusting brightness of the perspective corrected plurality of UWA feeds for seamless blending of overlapped image areas.
25. The method of claim 24 , wherein the display mode is selected automatically as triggered by changes in driving conditions.
26. The method of claim 24 , wherein the display modes is selected manually.
27. The method of claim 24 , wherein the display mode is a top-down surround-view.
28. The method of claim 24 , wherein the display mode is a panoramic surround-view.