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Patent US9580014
Issued 2017-02-28
System, Apparatus, And Method Of Detecting And Displaying Obstacles And Data Associated With The Obstacles
A method of detecting and displaying the obstacles and data related to obstacles on a digital display starts with a detection processing unit receiving a digital video input signal from a first camera and depth data from a second camera. Digital input video input signal may include images of an area surrounding the vehicle. Digital video input signal may be analyzed to determine whether an obstacle is present in the area. When an obstacle is detected, the depth data may be analyzed to obtain a distance associated with the obstacle. Digital video output may be generated that includes the digital video input signal and a display of the distance associated with the obstacle. The display of the distance may be overlaid on the display of the obstacle. Digital video output may then be transmitted to the display device to be displayed to the user. Other embodiments are also described.
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- 1. A method of detecting obstacles surrounding a vehicle and displaying the obstacles and data related to the obstacles on a digital display inside the vehicle, the method comprising:
receiving by a processor of a detection processing unit a digital video input signal from a first camera and depth data from a second camera, wherein the digital input video input signal includes images of an area surrounding the vehicle; analyzing by the processor the digital video input signal to determine whether at least one obstacle is present in the area surrounding the vehicle; and when the at least one obstacle is detected,
analyzing by the processor the depth data to obtain a distance associated with the at least one obstacle,
generating by the processor a digital video output including the digital video input signal and a display of the distance associated with the at least one obstacle overlaid on the obstacle in the digital video input signal, and
transmitting by the processor the digital video output to the display device, and when a plurality of obstacles is detected,
generating by the processor a list prioritizing the plurality of obstacles based on at least one of:
(i) an identification of the at least one obstacle,
(ii) the distance associated with the at least one obstacle, and
(iii) a calculated time the at least one obstacle will enter a blind spot.
- 11. A system of detecting obstacles surrounding a vehicle and displaying the obstacles and data related to the obstacles, the system comprising:
an infrared light source to generate an infrared light; a first camera to generate a digital video input signal that includes images of an area surrounding the vehicle; a second camera to generate depth data, a detection processing unit coupled to the first and second cameras, the object detection processing unit including:
a processor,
a storage device including instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to:
analyze the digital video input signal to determine whether at least one obstacle is present in the area surrounding the vehicle,
when the at least one obstacle is detected,
(i) analyze the depth data to obtain a distance associated with the at least one obstacle, wherein the depth data generated by the second camera is associated with the at least one obstacle in the area surrounding the vehicle, wherein the depth data is a video image of the infrared (IR) light on at least one obstacle in the area surrounding the vehicle, and
(ii) generate a digital video output including the digital video input signal and a display of the distance associated with the at least one obstacle overlaid on the obstacle in the digital video input signal, and
when a plurality of obstacles is detected, a list prioritizing the plurality of obstacles based on at least one of:
(i) an identification of the at least one obstacle,
(ii) the distance associated with the at least one obstacle, and
(iii) a calculated time the at least one obstacle will enter a blind spot, and
a communication interface to
(i) receive the digital video input signal from the first camera and the depth data from the second camera, and
(ii) transmit the digital video output; and
a digital display to display the digital video output received from the communication interface of the detection processing unit.
- 13. An apparatus for detecting obstacles surrounding a vehicle and displaying the obstacles and data related to the obstacles, the apparatus comprising:
a processor, a communication interface coupled to the processor to receive a digital video input signal from a first camera and depth data from a second camera; and a storage device including instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to:
analyze the digital video input signal to determine whether at least one obstacle is present in the area surrounding the vehicle,
when the at least one obstacle is detected,
(i) analyze the depth data to obtain a distance associated with the at least one obstacle, wherein the depth data generated by the second camera is associated with the at least one obstacle in the area surrounding the vehicle, wherein the depth data is a video image of the infrared (IR) light on at least one obstacle in the area surrounding the vehicle, and
(ii) generate a digital video output including the digital video input signal and a display of the distance associated with the at least one obstacle overlaid on the obstacle in the digital video input signal, and
(iii) transmit the digital video output to a digital device via the communication interface,
when a plurality of obstacles is detected, a list prioritizing the plurality of obstacles based on at least one of:
(i) an identification of the at least one obstacle,
(ii) the distance associated with the at least one obstacle, and
(iii) a calculated time the at least one obstacle will enter a blind spot.
