The majority of recently manufactured vehicles have a 360-degree camera, but how does it see all the way around your vehicle? How does the 360-degree camera in a car work? Also, can you install one on an older car?
How does 360-degree camera work in a car? It has a mix of hard- and software that works together providing the driver with information related to everything going on in and around the vehicle. A detailed view of the car and its surroundings from every angle is provided by image processing software using the data from the cameras that is sent to an image processing module.
For more information, keep reading.
What is a 360-Degree View Car Camera?
Also referred to as a Bird’s Eye View Car Camera or Surround View Camera System, the 360 A group of gadgets known as a degree view car camera combine their efforts to give the driver a real-time view of the area around the vehicle. This view is projected directly onto the dashboard hardware, usually the infotainment system.
The surround view camera system software displays the vehicle and its surroundings so that it looks like the car is being filmed by a drone from directly above. The image screen is also divided, showing the top view of the car on one side and the front, back, and side views on the other.
One of the biggest benefits of this system is how simple it is for drivers to maneuver the car into a parking space while deftly avoiding running into nearby objects.
While this may seem like wizardry to the uninitiated, in reality, it is just the output of a set of camera sensors and image processors, enhanced with a sprinkling of data science!
How Does the 360-Degree Camera Work?
Multiple cameras positioned all around the car are used by a 360-degree view system to collect a variety of images. These cameras are installed in strategic points on the car to give a wide view and cover blind spots. The front grille, underneath the side mirrors, and the back of your car are typically these points.
The actual action takes place in the car’s computer, where these individual images are combined to create a single 360-degree image. Your car’s computer software compiles these images from the various cameras using a number of different processing steps. It removes the distortion caused by the wide lens, cuts out the overlapping bits of the images, and stitches the images together to give you a crystal clear view of your car’s surroundings.
Ultimately, the software displays a view of your car’s surroundings with a graphic of your car and gridlines. Once you know how much steering you need to do to fit into that parking space, you can decide with ease how much steering you have already done.
The 360-degree image alone might not be completely accurate, but when combined with proximity sensors and the flexibility to switch between cameras for various views, it will be smoothed out and all blind spots will be covered, making parking simpler.
How Does the Image Processor Create Coherent Composite Images?
Geometric alignment, photometric alignment and composite view synthesis are some of the algorithms used to create composite images in vehicle surround view systems.
Correcting lens distortion and changing perspective are both steps in the geometric alignment process. The final image appears to have been taken with a single camera because the photometric alignment process matches the brightness and color of each individual camera view. The process of actually stitching together images takes place during composite view synthesis.
The image stitching process is usually divided into the following activities:
- Image registration – This procedure involves identifying prominent features on an image and associating them with a common ground plane. Custom pattern registrationis the image registration process commonly used in 360 degree vision systems.
- Warping – In this step, the undistorted image is deformed to match some defined key points. For image deformation, methods like moving least squares, homography, and polynomial deformation are used.
- Blending– To create the stitched image, the individual images are blended and joined together in this step. Some of the commonly used algorithms for the blending step are multiband blending (best resolution), feathering and 50% blending.
Some Crucial Design Decisions for Surround View Camera System
The location of the cameras is a crucial design choice when creating a 360-degree view car camera system. It is essential that the cameras can clearly see the edges of the vehicles. Additionally, they shouldn’t interfere with the vehicle’s functionality or appearance. To analyze the field of view and blind zones from various perspectives, system designers therefore invest a lot of time in simulating CAD models of the vehicle. In different vehicle load configurations, this activity is performed.
The procedure for camera calibration should also be taken into account. The output from two cameras is never exactly the same. Even if two cameras are mounted in the exact same spot, the images they produce will differ slightly. positioning of the lens, aging, thermal expansion, etc. are factors that bring about these differences in the camera images. As a result, it’s crucial to calibrate the camera to account for these inconsistencies.
If camera calibration is not executed properly, there could be issues like non-aligned output images and faulty colours. For the surround view camera system to operate at its best, camera intrinsic and extrinsic calibration is essential.
It is crucial to design the bird’s eye view car camera system to be simple to use, set up, and maintain.
FAQs
Is 360-degree Camera Useful?
Yes, a 360-degree camera is undoubtedly among the most practical equipment one can have on a vehicle, particularly larger sedans and SUVs. When we are stuck in congested traffic or difficult parking spots, this feature is extremely helpful. Smaller cars with thick pillars all around can also benefit from it. For new drivers as well, this feature is unquestionably helpful!
How Much is a 360-degree Camera?
Infrequently is a 360-degree camera offered as a stand-alone option on a new car, truck, or SUV. If you find one, it is probably somewhere in the $900-$1,200 range. Typically, carmakers include it in the price of a model’s higher trim level, or bundled into an option package. An aftermarket 360-degree camera kit may cost between $200 and $900.
What is the Advantage of 360-degree Camera in Car?
One of the most obvious advantages to using 360° cameras is the complete eradication of any blind spots. There are zero blind spots because the camera records an image of both hemispheres. Instead, a single button press allows the camera to record the entire scene.
How Does Nissan 360 Camera Work?
The system is made up of an image processing unit, a center display unit, and four wide-angle cameras mounted on the front, back, and sides of the vehicle. The image signals from the cameras are collected, and the image processing unit morphs the perspective in real-time to display a bird’s-eye view image.
Summary: a 360-Degree Camera Makes Parking Easy
With the help of the 360-degree view system, a driving assistance feature, you can see more of your surroundings and blind spots that you would typically miss in traditional mirrors. You can save time and money by using this system to help you avoid annoying parking accidents.
Other than helping you park, cameras can also give your car some extra security. You might want to think about adding some extra cameras to the dashboard of your car.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment. KV Auto tries to give you the best car industry information. Thank you for reading.
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