3600 Surround View Systems for Automobiles - a study

February 2014

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract: ............................................................................................. 3

Abbreviations: ..................................................................................... 4

Background: ........................................................................................ 5

Market Trends: .................................................................................... 6

Solution: ............................................................................................. 9

Common Issues: ................................................................................ 11

Conclusion: ....................................................................................... 12

Reference: ........................................................................................ 13

Author Info ....................................................................................... 15

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Abstract:

The document is a study report on camera based Surround

View system. The system gives the driver a full 360° view

around the vehicle as well as providing additional information

for driver assistance functions such as fully automated

parking, pedestrian detection, cross traffic. This feature will

enable driver to perform sharp maneuvers in crowded traffic

at low speed[1]. The automobiles with this feature are in the

market and more enhanced versions are expected to hit the

market from 2014.

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Abbreviations:

Sl. No. Acronyms (Page No.) Full form

1 ADAS (5, 12) Advanced Driver Assistance

System

2 LCD (5, 10) Liquid-crystal Display

3 CID (5, 9, 10) Central Information Display

4 CMOS (7) Complementary Metal Oxide

Semiconductor

5 OEM (6, 7, 8) Original Equipment Manufactures

6 RADAR (11) Radio Detection And Ranging

7 LiDAR (11) Light Detection And Ranging

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Background:

Visibility is the major constraint while driving any vehicles,

that’s the reason research programs are being carried out to

enhance the visibility, hence making the journey safe.

The active safety or advanced driver assistance systems

(ADAS) is branched out as specialized domain to focus driver

and occupant safety, these systems meant for pre-crash

assessment it comprises of single or combination of multiple-

sensors installed at various locations in the vehicle.

3600 surround view camera system one of the ADAS shows

the vehicle's direct surroundings from every angle to the

driver on the LCD instrument cluster or the central

information display (CID). The surroundings can be seen from

different perspectives, including the top-down bird's eye view

perspective, which eliminates all blind spots during critical

and precise maneuvers in crowded spaces.

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Market Trends:

“The continuously improving cost efficiencies of automotive

vision and sensing systems are now enabling the adoption

of multi-camera surround view systems across a broader

range of vehicles,” said Kevin Mak, automotive industry

analyst for Strategy Analytics. “Despite the recession and

delayed model cycles, reports are projecting up to 90 million

parking and driver assist systems will be deployed by

2018.”[2]

Automotive industry has realized the growing importance of

surround view system, many Tier1s and OEMs are actively

investing in developing the technology by including advanced

features to enrich their market proposition, and some

examples are:

Continental – Surround View[1]

The system gives the driver a full 360° view around the

vehicle as well as providing additional information for driver

assistance functions, which then unlocks further options, such

as fully automated parking.

Next generation surround view systems will be able to furnish

3D views. Several types of scalable systems are in

development so that surround view can be offered in

different vehicle segments. The basic version offers a pure

360-degree 3D image to assist in parking and maneuvering at

low speeds. The Intelligent, active surround view systems will

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also recognize pedestrians, warn the driver or even stop the

vehicle in critical situations.

Broadcom, Freescale Semiconductor and OmniVision –

Ethernet-Based Parking Assistance System Delivers 360-

Degree Surround View[2]

Presented as the world’s first Ethernet-based parking

assistance solution. The collaboration, combining best-in-

class semiconductor innovation and automotive electronics

expertise, is an important step in the migration from a closed

application to an open and scalable Ethernet-based driver

assistance network in which several systems can easily access

information. The cost advantages offered by Ethernet

technology, combined with the high image resolution now

available from affordable CMOS image sensors, dramatically

expand the opportunity for OEMs to deploy 360-degree

parking assistance camera systems across vehicle classes,

bringing valuable assistance options to luxury and non-luxury

markets alike.

Harman – Surround View park Assistance[3]

HARMAN’s revolutionary new camera-based parking assistant

goes beyond today’s single, rear-mounted view or multi-

camera top view. With the help of 4 super-wide-angle

cameras positioned around the car, computation of real

camera data with virtual reality modeling to offer complete

360-degree surround views of the perimeter of the car from

virtually any viewing angle. It improves overall parking safety

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and accuracy by eliminating blind spots during critical

maneuvers in crowded and narrow spaces.

Apart from the above mentioned Tier1s companies like

Bosch[4], Xylon[5], Optronics[6], Rydeen[7], KDPOF[8], ALVACON[9]

etc. are readying their prototypes, this effort is supported by

semicon providers like Texas Instruments[10], Renesas[11],

Fujitsu[12], Xilinx[13], Freescale[2], Nvidia[14], OmniVision(lens)[2],

Toshiba[15] etc.

2014 is the year targeted by the major OEMs to launch their

cars with 3600 surround view system, some of the models

are: Volvo(XC Coupe)[16], BMW(2014 X5)[17], Audi(S8)[18],

Mercedes Benz(2014 E350 4matic) (2014 S Class)[19],

Nissan(2014 Rogue)(2013 Pathfinder)[20], Infinity(JX)[20],

Hyundai(2014 Equus)[21], Porche(2014 Panamera)[22],

Acura(2014 MDX)[23] etc. and next year Ford(2015 F-150)[24]

and many more are expected.

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Solution:

[20] Vehicle’s surround view on CID

[25] Vehicle with 4 cameras looking downwards for surround view

The 3600 surround view system basically includes 4 down

facing cameras:

The traditional backup camera is mounted above the

rear license plate

One camera in the front grille

Two ultra-wide-angle cameras are in the side mirrors.

There is considerable distortion on the sides because cameras

are less than 4 feet off the ground and have to cover more

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than 16 feet of car. If you roll past the other car, its wheels

are oblongs that look a football rolling end to end. If the

other car is parked more than 3-4 feet away, you may not see

it; if you can, you’ll only see it from the wheel arches down.

You can always see the parking lanes which may be all you

need to steer out accurately.

The stitching software blends the four videos and wraps it

around an illustration of the vehicle from overhead and

displays it on LCD/CID. It’s like bird’s-eye view from 20 feet

over the center of the car[20].

The important components of surround view system are:

Cameras used 4 to 8

LCD on instruments cluster

Use at low speed only i) Parking assistance ii) Autonomous parking iii) Manoeuvring in crowded street

Technology used i) Image stitching ii) Distortion correction iii) Obstacle detection

Other application support i) Pedestrian detection ii) Cross traffic iii) Lane departure/Lane Keep(in parking bay)

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Common Issues:

The present generation four-camera system is targeted to

luxury car segment as a value added feature which is

expected to add an estimated $500-$1,000 costs to the

buyer, more than twice what a backup camera costs[20]. The

next-gen systems with addition of more cameras, other

sensors (RADAR/LiDAR) and intelligence like Auto parking,

Pedestrian detection and Cross traffic detection is expected

to create even deeper hole in buyers pocket.

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Conclusion:

The ADAS are meant for the developed markets/countries

where the standard road conditions are maintained all over,

and it’s assumed in all other geographies the ADAS may not

deliver proper performance because of non-standardization

of road and traffic conditions.

The 3600 surround view system is probably the only ADAS

which is having a global appeal because of its uniform

performance in all geographies. Also, it goes far beyond the

pending federal mandate that cars manufactured in 2014

have a backup camera system to protect children walking

behind the car when it’s reversing[20].

Once the market for this system starts picking the price can

be expected to come down significantly because of increase

in production that will make car owners from all categories to

enjoy its benefits.

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Reference:

1. http://www.conti-online.com/www/automotive_de_en/themes/passenger_cars/chassis_safety/adas/surround_view_en.html

2. http://www.ecnmag.com/products/2011/11/ethernet-based-parking-assistance-system-delivers-360-degree-surround-view

3. http://www.harman.com/EN-US/Newscenter/Documents/HARMAN_TECH%20BOOKLET_010312_Fin.pdf

4. http://www.bosch.co.jp/en/press/group-1306-05.asp

5. http://www.logicbricks.com/Markets/Automotive/Automotive-Surround-View-DA-Systems.aspx

6. http://www.spillard.com/solutions/vision/optronics/optronics360.html#

7. http://www.rydeenmobile.com/360DVR/360DVR.html

8. http://www.kdpof.com/applications/automotive/

9. http://www.alvacon.com/en/news/most-cooperation-20131114-adas-surround-view/

10. www.bizjournals.com/dallas/blog/morning_call/2013/10/texas-instruments-unveils-chip-line.html

11. http://am.renesas.com/applications/automotive/adas/surround/index.jsp

12. http://news.softpedia.com/news/Fujitsu-Creates-a-360-Degree-Wrap-Around-Video-of-Your-Car-s-Surroundings-161981.shtml

13. http://news.softpedia.com/news/OmniVision-and-Xilinx-Develop-360-degree-Surround-View-Solution-for-Cars-162097.shtml

14. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2014/01/20140106-nvidia.html#more

15. http://www.autocentral.com/doc/toshiba-ships-ultra-sensor-automotive-camera-applications-0001

16. https://www.carcostcanada.com/en/Reasearch.asp?id=10561

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17. http://www.autoblog.com/2013/09/18/2014-bmw-x5-review-first-drive/

18. http://www.leftlanenews.com/new-car-buying/audi/s8/

19. http://www.mbusa.com/vcm/MB/DigitalAssets/pdfmb/brochures/2014-E-Class-Sedan-Wagon.pdf

20. http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/140942-nissan-pathfinder-2013-review-4-cameras-360-degree-coverage-no-crunch-parking

21. http://www.shafferhyundai.com/2014-hyundai-equus/

22. http://www.edmunds.com/porsche/panamera/2014/?sub=sedan

23. https://www.carcostcanada.com/en/Reasearch.asp?id=10354

24. http://www.auto123.com/en/news/2015-ford-f-150-preview?artid=163796

25. http://www.continental-corporation.com/www/pressportal_com_en/themes/press_releases/1_topics/fairs_events/pr_2013_09_10_iaa_surround_view_en.html

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Author Info

Sourabh Kumar Biswas qualified from

premium Indian B-School, handling solution

management in Imaging Tech Lab. He has

sales and business management experience

in embedded design services outsourcing.

Hello, I'm from HCL's Engineering and R&D Services. We enable technology led organizations to go to market with innovative products and solutions. We partner with our customers in building world class products and creating associated solution delivery ecosystems to help bring market leadership. We develop engineering products, solutions and platforms across Aerospace and Defense, Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Software, Online, Industrial Manufacturing, Medical Devices, Networking & Telecom, Office Automation, Semiconductor and Servers & Storage for our customers. For more details contact: ers.info@hcl.com Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/hclers Our blog: http://www.hcltech.com/blogs/engineering-and-rd-services Visit our website: http://www.hcltech.com/engineering-rd-services