IP Library Granted Patent US 11,562,503
Granted Patent B2
US 11,562,503 · App. 17/050,532 · Granted Jan 24, 2023

Online evaluation for camera intrinsic parameters

Inventor: Carlos Silva (Eastbourne, GB)
G06T7/80G06T7/13G06T7/181B60R11/04B60R2011/0026G06T2207/30248
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,562,503
App. No.
17/050,532
Granted
Jan 24, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

The invention relates to a camera system ( 1 ) for a vehicle ( 2 ). The camera system ( 1 ) is configured to acquire image data of a surrounding of the vehicle ( 2 ) and comprises a camera ( 10 ) and a control module ( 20 ). The control module ( 20 ) is configured to determine, whether a calibration of an intrinsic parameter of the camera system ( 1 ) is required, by determining an error in a back projection, a forward projection and/or a reprojection of the image data and by determining whether the error exceeds a predefined threshold.

Claims (25)

1. A camera system for a vehicle, comprising:

a camera configured to acquire image data of a surrounding of the vehicle; and

a processor configured to:

determine that a calibration of an intrinsic parameter of the camera system is required, by performing a reprojection including:

1) projecting edge points in the image data to edge points on a unit sphere,

2) fitting a circle through the edge points on the unit sphere,

3) determining inlier points of the edge points on the unit sphere from the fitted circle, the inlier points being a subset of the edge points that are within a predetermined distance from the fitted circle,

4) projecting the inlier points on the unit sphere back to the image data as a conic curve, and

5) determining that an error in the reprojection determined as a distance from the edge points to the conic curve in the image data exceeds an error threshold, and

perform the calibration of an intrinsic parameter of the camera system when the calibration is determined to be required.

2. The camera system according to claim 1 , wherein the camera is a fisheye camera.

3. The camera system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to use a conic fitting algorithm to fit the conic curve through the inlier points in a raw image.

4. The camera system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to determine the error between the edge points and the fitted conic curve in a raw image by the root means square method.

5. A vehicle comprising the camera system according to claim 1 .

6. A method for evaluating intrinsic parameters of a camera, comprising:

acquiring, by a camera, image data of a surrounding of the vehicle;

determining, by a processor, edge points in the image data;

determining, by the processor, that a calibration of an intrinsic parameter of the camera is required, by performing a reprojection including:

1) projected edge points to edge points on a unit sphere,

2) fitting a circle through the edge points on the unit sphere,

3) determining inlier points of the edge points on the unit sphere from the fitted circle, the inlier points being a subset of the edge points that are within a predetermined distance from the fitted circle,

4) projecting the inlier points on the unit sphere back to the image data as a conic curve, and

5) determining that an error in the reprojection determined as a distance from the edge points to the conic curve in the image data exceeds an error threshold, and

performing, by the processor, the calibration of an intrinsic parameter of the camera when the calibration is determined to be required.

7. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer program that when executed by a processor performs the method according to claim 6 .

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 7, 2025
From: CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE GMBH
To: CONTINENTAL AUTONOMOUS MOBILITY GERMANY GMBH
Reel/Frame 070438/0643 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 3, 2020
From: SILVA, CARLOS
To: CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE GMBH
Reel/Frame 054532/0303 →