Machine vision for predictive suspension
First Claim
1. A predictive suspension system for a vehicle, said predictive suspension system comprising:
- an imaging sensor disposed at a vehicle and having a generally downward field of view, said field of view encompassing an area forward of a tire of the vehicle;
an energy source operable to emit illumination in at least one linear pattern so that said at least one linear pattern is projected onto a portion of the area forward of the tire of the vehicle that is encompassed by said field of view of said imaging sensor, wherein said energy source is operable to emit two line segment patterns of illumination in a cross-hair; and
a control for processing image data captured by said imaging sensor and detecting surface irregularities on a surface in front of the vehicle tire in response to said image processing,wherein said control processes said image data to detect a curvature in the captured image of at least one of said line segment patterns of illumination to determine a surface irregularity.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A predictive suspension system for a vehicle includes an imaging sensor, and energy source and a control. The imaging sensor is disposed at a vehicle and has a generally downward field of view, with the field of view encompassing an area forward of a tire of the vehicle. The energy source is operable to emit illumination in at least one linear pattern so that the linear pattern is projected onto a portion of the area forward of the tire of the vehicle that is encompassed by the field of view of the imaging sensor. The control processes image data captured by the imaging sensor and detects surface irregularities on a surface in front of the vehicle tire in response to the image processing.
86 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A predictive suspension system for a vehicle, said predictive suspension system comprising:
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an imaging sensor disposed at a vehicle and having a generally downward field of view, said field of view encompassing an area forward of a tire of the vehicle; an energy source operable to emit illumination in at least one linear pattern so that said at least one linear pattern is projected onto a portion of the area forward of the tire of the vehicle that is encompassed by said field of view of said imaging sensor, wherein said energy source is operable to emit two line segment patterns of illumination in a cross-hair; and a control for processing image data captured by said imaging sensor and detecting surface irregularities on a surface in front of the vehicle tire in response to said image processing, wherein said control processes said image data to detect a curvature in the captured image of at least one of said line segment patterns of illumination to determine a surface irregularity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A multi-stage predictive suspension system for a vehicle, said multi-stage predictive suspension system comprising:
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a first imaging sensor disposed at a vehicle and having a field of view at least encompassing a first area forward of a tire of the vehicle; a second imaging sensor disposed at the vehicle and having a field of view at least encompassing a second area forward of the tire of the vehicle, said second area being closer to the tire than said first area; a control for processing image data captured by said first and second imaging sensors and detecting surface irregularities on a surface in front of the vehicle tire in response to said image processing, said control processing captured images of said first imaging sensor to provide an advance alert of a detected surface irregularity prior to detection of said detected surface irregularity by said second imaging sensor; and an energy source operable to emit illumination in at least one cross-hair pattern at said second area so that said at least one pattern is projected onto at least a portion of said second area forward of the tire of the vehicle that is encompassed by said field of view of said second imaging sensor, said control processing said image data captured by said second imaging sensor to detect a curvature of said at least one linear pattern that is indicative of a surface irregularity. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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Specification