Mobileye is unique in the Driver Assistance market in being able to offer multiple functions 'bundled' into a single camera module. This strength has been facilitated by two key elements in Mobileye's portfolio: the power and flexibility of the EyeQ vision Processors and innovative image processing technologies permitting multiple features to run simultaneously.
Mobileye’s EyeQ™ and EyeQ2™ provide the required processing power for supporting multiple applications, and the EyeQ2™ also supports the next generation of higher resolution automotive sensors.
Mobileye’s consolidated vision solutions avoid the need to include separate sensors in the vehicle for applications such as lane detection (LDW), intelligent headlight control (IHC), vehicle detection, pedestrian detection, etc.
One key example of bundling is the vision system on the 2008 BMW 7 Series which features LDW with IHC and Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR). Mobileye was the first supplier to be able to offer such a feature in production.
- Lane Departure Warning:
Based on Mobileye's Time To Lane Crossing concept, the LDW system has been validated in all weather
and light conditions and in global road scenarios to provide an LDW system offering the highest level of
functionality and availability on the market today.
- Intelligent Headlight Control:
The IHC feature is designed to maximize the use of the vehicle High Beam, which is of major safety
benefit. IHC automatically activates the High Beam which is raised or lowered in pre-defined scenarios,
such as in case of the detection of preceding or oncoming vehicles, or when entering or leaving an urban
area.
- Traffic Sign Recognition:
With increasing emphasis at governmental level on the dangers of speeding the TSR/Speed Limit
Indication feature informs the driver of the prevailing legal speed limit by detecting the speed signs at the
road side or variable LED signs overhead. The system uniquely also filters out unwanted signs embedded
on the rear side of Trucks or on highway exit lanes.
Technical challenges:
The core concept of bundling is to run multiple functions simultaneously on a single camera system to the same high level they would as individual functions. The key technical issues seen when bundling multiple features into a single application can be summarized as follows:
• Conflicting demands from field of view
• Different exposure settings required for each function
• Conflicting demands from camera orientation for each function
• Color information is required for existing IHC algorithms
• Monochrome information is required for low light performance of LDW and TSR
• Computational load of three applications
The key technical solution lies in the following developments:
• Finding the optimal settings in terms of field of view and camera orientation to permit full function of all
features
• Optimizing adaptive gain control during daytime that addresses IHC, TSR and LDW functionalities (In
IHC the camera image becomes saturated (blinded) by the headlamps of an oncoming vehicle, which
means that Lane Markings or Traffic Signs cannot be detected at all)
• Using multiple exposures for one frame cycle. (By using different exposure and gain control settings in
intermittent frames Mobileye is able to run all functions simultaneously)
• Sharing resources between applications (scene analysis)
New Generation of Bundles:
In additional to the classic bundle of LDW+IHC+TSR Mobileye is in series development for launches post 2010 with the additional features of Vehicle Detection for Forward Collision Warning and Headway Monitoring and Warning, as well as Pedestrian Detection. All of these functions will run on a camera module powered by a single Mobileye EyeQ2 processor. No other single processor on the market today can match this performance.
