Method for a camera system, and camera system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12495121-B2
Application number	US-202218293015-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 1, 2022
Priority date	Jul 29, 2021
Publication date	Dec 9, 2025
Grant date	Dec 9, 2025

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method for a camera system, in particular a surround-view camera system, for a vehicle, which has a control device, multiple surround-view cameras, and a display apparatus. The method includes: generating an original image (step I), generating a simulated image of the original image, the simulated image simulating a coloration of the original image resulting from an ascertainable visual impairment, generating a differential image between the original image and the simulated image, determining edges in the differential image, generating a superimposed image by superimposing the original image and the edges of the differential image, and displaying the superimposed image using the display apparatus.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A method for a camera system, in particular a surround-view camera system, for a vehicle, which has a control device, multiple surround-view cameras, and a display apparatus, the method comprising:
generating, by a camera of the multiple surround-view cameras, an original image, generating, by at least one control device, each control device comprising at least one electronic control unit, at least one ADCU or at least one controller, a simulated image of the original image, the simulated image simulating a coloration of the original image resulting from an ascertainable visual impairment, the simulated image being separate and distinct from the original image, generating, by the control device, a differential image between the original image and the simulated image, determining, by the control device, edges in the differential image, generating, by the control device, a superimposed image by superimposing the original image and the edges of the differential image, the superimposed image being separate and distinct from the original image and the simulated image, and displaying the superimposed image using the display apparatus.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising smoothing, by the control device, the differential image following generation thereof.

3 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein the differential image is smoothed using a lowpass filter.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the differential image is generated using at least one of color matching, brightness matching or contrast matching.

5 . The method according to claim 4 , wherein the at least one of color matching, brightness matching or contrast matching is carried out pixelwise.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the edges in the differential image are determined using a threshold, wherein the threshold represents at least one of an ascertainable color difference or an ascertainable brightness difference between the original image and the simulated image.

7 . The method according to claim 6 , wherein only edges of relevant objects are at least one of determined or displayed.

8 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising establishing, by the control device, at least one of relevant objects or relevant edges using the differential image.

9 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising providing environment detection which detects relevant objects in an environment of the vehicle.

10 . A surround-view camera system for a vehicle, having the control device, the multiple surround-view cameras and the display apparatus, wherein the surround-view camera system is configured to generate the superimposed image using the method according to claim 1 .

11 . A camera system for a vehicle, comprising:
a control device comprising at least one control device, each control device comprising at least one electronic control unit, at least one ADCU or at least one controller configured to receiving an original image from a camera disposed on a vehicle, generating a simulated image of the original image, the simulated image simulating a coloration of the original image resulting from an ascertainable visual impairment, the simulated image being separate and distinct from the original image, generating a differential image between the original image and the simulated image, determining edges in the differential image, generating a superimposed image by superimposing the original image and the edges of the differential image, the superimposed image being separate and distinct from the original image and the simulated image, and sending to a display apparatus the superimposed image for display on the display device.

Assignees

• Continental Autonomous Mobility Germany GmbH

Inventors

• Machado Gustavo
• Panakos Andreas

Classifications

• G06T2207/30252

  Vehicle exterior; Vicinity of vehicle · CPC title

• G06T2207/20212

  Image combination · CPC title

• G06T2207/10024

  Color image · CPC title

• G06T5/50

  using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction · CPC title

• G06T5/20

  using local operators · CPC title