Method and apparatus for vehicle inspection and safety system calibration using projected images

1. A method for presenting observable indicia on a surface external to a vehicle disposed within a vehicle service bay during a service procedure, comprising:

establishing, with a vehicle service system independent of said vehicle, a three-dimensional spatial frame of reference, said spatial frame of reference encompassing at least a portion of said surface and said vehicle within the vehicle service area;

determining, with said vehicle service system, at least one parameter within said spatial frame of reference which is associated with said vehicle; and

projecting, from said vehicle service system, observable indicia onto said surface at a selected position within said spatial frame of reference, said position selected in response to said at least one determined parameter associated with said vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 further including the step of disposing a calibration fixture at an identified placement position on said floor surface, said identified placement position illuminated by said projected observable indicia.

3. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of:

Identifying, with said vehicle service system, a position for placement of a portable calibration fixture on a floor surface of said service bay within said spatial frame of reference, said position based on said at least one determined parameter of said vehicle; and

disposing said calibration fixture at said identified placement position on said floor surface, wherein said identified placement position is illuminated by said projected observable indicia.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein said step of projecting includes orienting a projection axis of a projection system towards said position on said floor surface, said orientation of said projection system axis responsive to said determined at least one parameter associated with said vehicle together with a known spatial position and orientation of said projection system within said spatial frame of reference.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of projecting includes generating at least one image with said vehicle service system, said at least one image including image features which illuminate at least said selected position on said surface within said spatial frame of reference when said image is projected towards said surface along said projection axis.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said at least one parameter associated with the vehicle is a thrust line, a vehicle body centerline, vehicle body position, or a vehicle wheel position.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said observable indicia projected onto said surface presents at least one target feature for observation by an onboard vehicle sensor system.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said observable indicia is a video representation of a roadway environment from a perspective of a vehicle undergoing a safety system calibration test drive; and

wherein said determined parameter of the vehicle is a vehicle centerline or a vehicle thrust line.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the vehicle is disposed with each drive wheel on a rolling surface, such that each drive wheel can be rotationally driven while the vehicle remains stationary during a simulated test drive; and

wherein said video representation of said roadway environment is synchronized with a driven speed of the drive wheels to simulate said safety system calibration test drive.

10. The method of claim 8 further including the step of monitoring an output from at least one onboard vehicle optical sensor observing said motion video representation.

11. The method of claim 8 wherein the vehicle is disposed with each steered wheel on a turn plate, such that each steered wheel can be steered while the vehicle remains stationary during a simulated test drive.

12. An improved vehicle service system having a set of sensors for acquiring data associated with a stationary vehicle undergoing a service or inspection while disposed within a service area, a processor configured with software instructions to (1) evaluate the acquired data, and (2) to identify at least a position of a feature of the vehicle within a spatial frame of reference encompassing at least a portion of said service area and said vehicle, the improvement comprising:

an optical projection system having a projection axis and a field of projection encompassing at least one or more surfaces external to said vehicle within said portion of said service area, said optical projection system operatively controlled by the processor; and

wherein said processor is further configured with software instructions to control said optical projection system to project visible indicia onto a selected surface within said portion of said service area, at a location within said spatial frame of reference which is selected in response to an identified position of said vehicle feature.

13. The improved vehicle service system of claim 12 wherein said projection axis of said optical projection system is steerable, and wherein said processor is further configured with software instructions to steer said projection axis to project said visible indicia at said location on a surface external to said vehicle and within said service area identified by said spatial frame of reference.

14. The improved vehicle service system of claim 12 wherein said visible indicia is video imagery simulating a roadway appearance during a vehicle test drive; and

wherein said surface within said portion of said service area is disposed within a field of view of a forward-looking optical sensor system onboard the vehicle.