ENHANCED POINTING ANGLE VALIDATION

1 . A system comprising:

an optical instrument configured to perform orientation measurements of an object;

an adjustment fixture configured to vary an orientation of the object coupled to the adjustment fixture, wherein the object includes a camera or a mirror; and

an alignment validation module configured to determine a validation status of the object, when the object is the camera.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the alignment validation module is further configured to determine an orthogonality of a light beam using a reflection onto a reticle, when the object is the mirror; and

wherein the optical instrument comprises an eyepiece situated to align the reflection of the light beam to a crosshair associated with the reticle of the optical instrument.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the optical instrument is an autocollimator device or a collimator device.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the optical instrument is selected based on one or more design parameters associated with a focal length of the camera and a focal length of a collimator device.

5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the one or more design parameters are based on a ratio of the focal length of the collimator device and the focal length of the camera being less than a ratio of a size of an opening on the collimator device and number of pixels and a pixel pitch.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the validation status is a pass or a fail status.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises a comparison module that compares a fixture displacement to a validation threshold.

8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the validation status is a pass status when the fixture displacement is below the validation threshold.

9 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the validation status is a fail status when the fixture displacement exceeds the validation threshold.

10 . A vehicle system comprising:

at least one camera validated by the system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one camera is configured to mount to a vehicle to capture an image indicative of an environment external to the vehicle; and

a controller programmed to control at least one of a braking system, a steering system, and an infotainment system based on the image.

11 . The vehicle system of claim 10 , wherein the at least one camera comprises a front-facing camera and the image is indicative of the environment in front of the vehicle; and

wherein the controller is further programmed to control the braking system based on the image.

12 . The vehicle system of claim 10 , wherein the at least one camera comprises a rear-facing camera and the image is indicative of the environment behind the vehicle; and

wherein the controller is further programmed to control the infotainment system to display the image on a display screen.

13 . The vehicle system of claim 10 , wherein the at least one camera comprises a roof-mounted camera and the image is indicative of a field-of-view about the vehicle; and

wherein the controller is further programmed to control the steering system to navigate the vehicle around obstacles based on the image.

14 . A vehicle comprising:

a vehicle body;

at least one camera validated by the system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one camera is mounted to the vehicle body and configured to capture an image indicative of an environment external to the vehicle; and

a controller programmed to control at least one of a braking system, a steering system, and an infotainment system based on the image.

15 . A method comprising:

generating, by one or more processors, a collimated beam using a light source emitting a light beam through a fiducial target in an optical instrument;

capturing an image of a fiducial target using a camera, wherein the camera is mounted on a mounting datum that is orthogonal to the collimated beam;

comparing a location of the fiducial target on the image to an optical center of a camera; and

determining a validation status of the camera based on the location of the fiducial target on the image.

16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

determining a pointing angle associated with the camera based on the image of the fiducial target.

17 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

capturing, by the camera, an environment image indicative of an environment external to a vehicle; and

controlling at least one of a braking system, a steering system, and an infotainment system based on the environment image.

18 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions which when executed by one or more processors result in performing operations comprising:

generating a collimated beam using a light source emitting a light beam through a fiducial target in an optical instrument;

capturing an image of a fiducial target using a camera, wherein the camera is mounted on a mounting datum that is orthogonal to the collimated beam;

comparing a location of the fiducial target on the image to an optical center of the camera; and

determining a validation status of the camera based on the location of the fiducial target on the image.

19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 , further comprise instructions for:

determining a pointing angle associated with the camera based on the image of the fiducial target.

20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 , further comprise instructions for:

capturing, by the camera, an environment image indicative of an environment external to a vehicle; and

controlling at least one of a braking system, a steering system, and an infotainment system based on the environment image.