Magna Electronics Inc.

Galina Okouneva

Nikhil Gupta

Jyothi P Gali

Hilda Faraji

Horst Daniel Diessner

Akinyele O Ikuseru

Liang Zhang

Anam M Yunus

Alexander Velichko

Richard C Bozich

Brijendra Kumar Bharti

James Turk

Aleksandar Stefanovic

Xai Phan

Miad Moarref

Devendra Bajpai

Guruprasad Mani Iyer Shankaranarayanan

Mohammadmehdi Jalalmaab

Mohamad Osseili

A vehicular trailer angle detection system includes a camera disposed at a rear portion of a vehicle. The vehicular trailer angle detection system, via processing of frames of image data captured by the camera, tracks changes of features present in a current frame of captured image data and present in a previous frame of captured image data and determines features of the trailer based on the tracked changes of features. The determined features of the trailer have respective changes between the current frame of image data captured by the camera and the previous frame of image data captured by the camera. The vehicular trailer angle detection system determines angle of the trailer relative to the vehicle based at least in part on tracking of the determined features of the trailer over multiple captured frames of image data.

Vehicular trailer angle detection system

A vehicular trailer angle detection system includes a camera disposed at a rear portion of a vehicle. The system determines, via processing of frames of image data captured by the camera, features of a trailer present rearward of the vehicle and hitched to the vehicle by determining features that have similar position changes between a current frame of image data captured by the camera and a previous frame of image data captured by the camera. Responsive to movement of the trailer relative to the vehicle, and via processing of captured frames of image data, the system tracks determined features over multiple captured frames of image data for different positions of the trailer relative to the vehicle. The system determines angle of the trailer relative to the vehicle based at least in part on tracking of determined features of the trailer over multiple captured frames of image data.

A vehicular camera calibration system includes a camera disposed at a vehicle, and an electronic control unit (ECU). The camera calibration system uses structure-from-motion during processing at the ECU of multiple frames of image data captured with the vehicle driven in a normal manner with turns involved. The camera calibration system uses a kinematic model of motion of the vehicle that is derived at least in part from vehicle data provided to the ECU. The camera calibration system, responsive to processing of multiple frames of captured image data, and based at least in part on (i) an intrinsic parameter of the camera and (ii) the kinematic model of motion of the vehicle, determines misalignment of the camera without use of a fiducial marker in a field of view of the camera and without use of reference points on the vehicle.

Targetless vehicular camera calibration system

A vehicular vision system includes a camera disposed at an in-cabin side of a windshield of a vehicle. Responsive to image processing at an ECU of captured frames of image data, the vehicular vision system detects an object present in a field of view of the camera. As the vehicle moves relative to the detected object, captured frames of image data are processed to determine a point of interest, present in multiple captured frames of image data, on the detected object. The vehicular vision system, via processing of captured frames of image data as the vehicle moves relative to the detected object, and based on the determined point of interest present in multiple captured frames of image data, estimates a location in three dimensional space of the determined point of interest and determines distance to the determined point of interest on the detected object.

Vehicular vision system that determines distance to an object

A vehicular trailering assist system includes at least one camera disposed at a trailer hitched to a hitch of a vehicle, and an electronic control unit (ECU). The ECU determines, during a first stage of a calibration maneuver of the vehicle and trailer, image coordinates of at least one ground feature point. The ECU, responsive to determining image coordinates of the at least one ground feature point, estimates orientation parameters of the camera based at least on the determined image coordinates and intrinsic camera parameters. As the vehicle and trailer travel further along the ground surface during a second stage of the calibration maneuver of the vehicle and trailer, and based on the estimated orientation parameters of the at least one camera, the vehicular trailering assist system determines misalignment of the at least one camera at the trailer.

Vehicular trailering assist system with targetless determination of misalignment of at least one trailer camera

A vehicular trailer hitching assist system includes a camera disposed at a rear portion of a vehicle and viewing a trailer hitch disposed at the vehicle. Responsive to processing at an electronic control unit (ECU) of frames of image data captured by the camera, a feature of the trailer hitch is detected. The system, at least in part via processing at the ECU of at least one frame of image data captured by the camera, determines a ground location at the ground below the detected feature of the trailer hitch, and determines a location of the trailer hitch at the vehicle. The vehicle is maneuvered toward a trailer for hitching the trailer to the trailer hitch of the vehicle based at least in part on (i) the determined location of the trailer hitch and (ii) the height of the detected feature of the trailer hitch above the ground location.

Vehicular trailer hitching assist system with determination of location of hitch

A vehicular trailering assist system includes a camera and an image processor operable to process image data captured by the camera. The vehicular trailering assist system iteratively predicts a plurality of predicted trailer angles based on a corresponding plurality of potential trailer beam lengths ranging between an upper dimension above a baseline trailer beam length and a lower dimension below the baseline trailer beam length and selects a trailer angle from the plurality of predicted trailer angles that least deviates from a current trailer angle determined via processing by the image processor of image data captured by the camera. The potential trailer beam length that corresponds to the selected trailer angle that least deviates from the determined current trailer angle is used in determining trailer angles for that trailer during future drives of the vehicle when towing that particular trailer.

Vehicular trailering assist system

A method for determining features of a trailer being towed by a vehicle includes initiating a calibration drive of the vehicle and capturing frames of image data via a vehicle camera, and, via processing by an image processor of frames of captured image data, determining features of the trailer being towed by the vehicle during the calibration drive. The features of the trailer are determined by determining features that have similar changes between a current frame of captured image data and a previous frame of captured image data captured during the calibration drive. The features are tracked over multiple frames of captured image data for different angular positions of the trailer relative to the vehicle to determine trailer length from the hitch ball of the vehicle to an axle of the trailer. The trailer angle is determined based on the determined trailer length.

Method for determining features of a trailer towed by a vehicle

A vehicular trailer hitching assist system includes a camera disposed at a rear portion of a vehicle and viewing at least rearward of the vehicle. An electronic control unit (ECU) includes an image processor operable to process image data captured by the camera. The ECU, via image processing of image data captured by the camera, detects a trailer rearward of the vehicle and determines a first path of travel for the vehicle to follow to maneuver the vehicle toward the trailer and to align the tow ball of the vehicle with a trailer hitch of the trailer. The ECU generates an output to maneuver the vehicle along the determined first path of travel. Responsive to detection of an object entering the first path of travel, the ECU determines a second path of travel for the vehicle to follow that avoids the detected object entering the determined path of travel.

Vehicular trailer hitching assist system

A vehicular trailering assist system includes at least one camera disposed at a trailer hitched to a hitch of a vehicle, and an electronic control unit (ECU). The ECU determines, during a first stage of a calibration maneuver of the vehicle and trailer, image coordinates of at least one ground feature point. The ECU, responsive to determining image coordinates of the at least one ground feature point, estimates orientation parameters of the camera based at least on the determined image coordinates and known intrinsic camera parameters. Responsive to estimating the orientation parameters of the camera, and based on the determined parameters of the camera, the ECU determines location of the at least one camera at the trailer.

Vehicular trailering assist system with targetless calibration of trailer cameras

A vehicular camera calibration system includes a camera disposed at a vehicle, and an electronic control unit (ECU). The camera calibration system utilizes an intrinsic parameter of the camera and uses a kinematic model of motion of the vehicle that is determined at least in part via processing of multiple frames of captured image data. The camera calibration system, responsive to processing of multiple frames of image data captured by the camera as the vehicle moves along a path of travel, and based at least in part on (i) an intrinsic parameter of the camera and (ii) the kinematic model of motion of the vehicle, determines misalignment of the camera. The camera calibration system determines camera misalignment without use of a fiducial marker in the field of view of the camera as the vehicle moves along the path of travel and without use of reference points on the vehicle.

A method for determining a trailer characteristic includes disposing a camera at a rear portion of a vehicle so as to have a field of view rearward, providing a control having an image processor, and hitching a tongue of a trailer to a hitch ball of the vehicle. Location of a portion of the trailer relative to the camera is determined via processing of captured image data. Responsive to the determination of the location of the portion of the trailer relative to the camera, a subregion of the imaging array of the camera is determined that includes the determined portion of the trailer, and processing at the control is enhanced at the determined subregion during processing of subsequent frames of captured image data to determine location of the portion of the trailer relative to the vehicle centerline in the subsequent frames of captured image data.

Vehicular trailering assist system and method

A vehicular trailer assist system includes a camera disposed at a rear portion of a vehicle, a plurality of sensors, and an electronic control unit (ECU) having a processor for processing image data captured by the camera and sensor data captured by the plurality of sensors. The ECU, responsive to processing of image data captured by the camera, determines a trailer angle of the trailer relative to the vehicle. The ECU, responsive to processing of sensor data captured by the plurality of sensors, predicts a yaw rate of the vehicle and a trailer angle of the trailer relative to the vehicle at a future time. The ECU, responsive to predicting the yaw rate, determines a corrected vehicle yaw rate based on processing of captured image data and captured sensor data, and determines a corrected trailer angle, and determines a vehicle heading and position and a trailer heading and position.

Vehicular trailering assist system with trailer state estimation

A method of calibrating a vehicular trailering assist system includes hitching a trailer to a vehicle having a rearward viewing camera. Frames of image data are captured by the camera when the vehicle is towing the trailer hitched to the vehicle to determine presence of the trailer and to determine if the particular trailer is a trailer for which the system is calibrated. Responsive to determination that the particular trailer is not a trailer for which the system is calibrated, the system assigns an initial trailer beam length before starting a calibration drive and collects data during the calibration drive. The system iteratively estimates the trailer beam length and, when the predicted trailer angle least deviates from the current determined trailer angle during the calibration drive, the system determines a final estimated trailer beam length for use by the vehicular trailering assist system in determining trailer angles.

Method of calibrating a vehicular trailering assist system

A trailer assist system for a vehicle includes a camera disposed at a rear portion of a vehicle and viewing a trailer hitch disposed at the vehicle. A control includes an image processor that processes image data captured by the camera that is representative of images of the trailer hitch viewed by the camera. The control, responsive to processing at the control of image data captured by the camera, detects a feature of the trailer hitch at determines Cartesian coordinates of the trailer hitch location and transforms the Cartesian coordinates of the detected feature to cylindrical coordinates. The control, responsive at least in part to determining the cylindrical coordinates of the detected feature, determines a three-dimensional location of the trailer hitch at the vehicle.

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Markham, Canada

Galina Okouneva