Send out calling the police to the obstacle when the present car can already be in roll back, can guide the direction for you, can be automatic and parallel while parking, you may think the machine vision system has already had no time perfectly. But not like this in fact.
In fact, all car function application above is only a few vision system technology. More new CMOS sensor chips are emerging constantly, they can be point-to-point through 3D directly to feel the space depth, enable machine vision system to perceive the goal and make the correct response.
The car 3D camera shows up prominently
According to the research of ABI Research, the present market of car sensor has already reached the scale of 2,500 million dollars. And show according to the data of Frost&Sullivan, automatic imaging association and Piper Jaffray, the total value of market of sensor in fields such as the security, industrial automation and video-game,etc. has reached 750 million dollars.
The present car systems all calculate the distance through the ultrasonic static, for example can call the police to the obstacle in driver's roll back. More accurate and more expensive sensor in development realizes this function with radar and laser radar at present, but all companies are trying lower method of the cost in the world - -Calculate the distance with camera. The mobile phone field has already let the digital camera realize scale economics, this makes it can contend with the analog sensor on cost.
The senior analyst David Alexander of ABI Research Company points out: "The people in the whole trade want to replace more expensive supersonic wave, laser radar and radar sensor with the digital camera, the first because the digital camera cost is so low, the second can calculate the distance with same camera or even the same special purpose computer chip and software because of the functions of different assistant motormans. "
Machine vision algorithm and 3D camera can realize a lot of functions, include the anticollision, lane deviate from and call the police keeping (make you return to the original lane) with the lane , report to obstacle and pedestrian monitor and automobile space monitor ' Cars to let you with in front bus last distance that is appropriate) , night viewing, adaptation headlight regulation, traffic / speed limit indicate that discerns and the blind spot is monitored etc..
Alexander points out: "We have 2D cameras to deviate from and call the police the lane: The front to can visit the car, with booking the line of lane, visit all around and discern the speed limit sign, monitoring the area of blind spot and having the vehicle hour to be exceeded you of car to call the police. And can realize the car accident before colliding and taking place, estimate the possibility to collide in new function, load and brake and open the air bag in advance. "
CMOS picture chip scheme of explored secrets Canesta
Canesta Company been devoted to developing CMOS picture chip all the time since establishing in 1999, this company succeeded in developing this kind of most promising technology at last the efforts in 7 years. Canesta the intersection of CMOS and the intersection of picture and chip of Company can type calculate each point of imaging at the chip at the same time while passing the flight on the hardware, thus reaction produce car get distance between the each object, without being like ultrasonic static can only sense car and distance between the nearest object.
Alexander shows: "The scheme prospect of Canesta Company must be good, because it has only used a camera, and is based on CMOS technology, this is essential to keeping low cost. In addition, used the algorithmic method of the type while flying, it can bring various functions to car. "
Flight time (Time-of-flight) It means that has illuminated the area with black light with an infrared light that the algorithmic method of the type refers to Canesta, then measure the light output from the projector (behind the image detector) Penetrate objects to outside and time when returns to CMOS probe finally. By using the hardware device on CMOS chip, can calculate every point of this area and distance of the garage in machine vision algorithm, thus put various objects into different categories easily - -Say, this is accurate calculation, but not merely reaction from essence.
The President & CEO Jim Spare of Canesta Company says: "What we adopted is canonial CMOS process for preparing of 0.18 microns which any factory can accomplish. In addition, our SunShield technology lets us free of illumination condition and the sense measure the depth of the object, but not is using a self-adaptive type algorithm midway. "
SunShield can sense each point, detect difference during the ambient light around the every 100 microsecond synchronously really, without as in need of spending several milliseconds like software algorithm of the adaptation time light environment of adapting to changing comes.
Alexander still points out: "One of the the most unique aspect of Canesta lies in its Sunshield technology, this technology solves a problem of maximum of using the camera - -Whether can bring the sufficient safety to car under the environment of constantly changeable light. I think Canesta has really realized this, but should solve each problem functionally of the car, they have a lot of things to do. I think, Canesta may introduce the first car 3D camera in 2008 or 2009. "
Canesta first product in the field of car, it may be a used 3D camera in new Honda, this camera installs in the cockpit, and the bodily form used for detecting the passenger controls the air bag. The function to through passing pressure padding, coming, realizing at the seat, use one the intersection of CMOS and the intersection of camera and cost perhaps and pass pressure pad to be low now, but can bring many other functions to car, include providing a " defend the sleep " Alarm - -Distinguish normal blink of driver and begin, close one's eyes difference between two kinds of situations because of not having enough sleep.
Other companies can trial-produce the point-to-point CMOS picture chip which survey the object depth too, among them that is worth mentioning is International Electronics&Engineering S.A. Another company Mobileye has not used 3D image detector, but choose an ordinary 2D camera to combine its CMOS hardware accelerator chip to analyze and calculate the distance.
