Ford Motor Company is using its CamCar technology to explore ways to expand a driver's visibility picture.  The system, currently installed in a Lincoln Navigator, uses tiny, strategically aimed cameras and sophisticated computer processing to give drivers a more complete awareness of their surroundings.

Feature One: Interior Displays

The high-tech instrument panel of CamCar houses three video displays -- a central unit and an additional panel on either side.  The images on these display panels change to provide the most important information to the driver, tailored to the individual situation.

The real-world automotive environment poses unique problems for display panels.  Traditional TV-type (CRT) units present too much glare.  Some flat-panel screens can't respond properly in cold-weather environments and can be too sensitive to viewing angle.  Ford researchers are including an entirely new type of display designed to address these challenges.  These no-glare, thin-screen displays offer fast response time to eliminate blurring, permit viewing from any angle, and offer high tolerance to temperature changes.

Feature Two: Enhanced Side View

A key functional component of the TrafficView™ system consists of two cameras that continually present a view of the adjacent lane area to the rear.  Their coverage is far broader than that of conventional side mirrors, which allows the driver to monitor traffic approaching from the rear before making any lane changes -- effectively totally eliminating the blind spot.

These rear-facing cameras are small, pencil-size units mounted on the sides of the vehicle, much like a mirror would be.  Their images are presented on the two display panels that flank the central display in the instrument panel.  The camera lenses are designed to provide a wide view without unduly distorting distances (perhaps foretelling the extinction of the old "objects in mirror may be closer than they appear" sticker).  The angle of coverage is 49 degrees for each side camera.

Feature Three: Forward-Looking Cameras

An interesting innovation in the CamCar involves forward-looking cameras to increase the driver's effective frontal view as well.

Most people think of the "blind spot" as an area in the next lane, just behind the driver's left shoulder.  However, a far larger area can be blocked from view if the driver is closely following a large truck or van -- a common scenario in city traffic.  This obstructed view has important potential safety implications: for example, the driver may be unable to see pedestrians stepping off the curb or vehicles edging into the street from either side.  Making a left-hand turn from behind such a vehicle can be a harrowing experience.

The CamCar's TrafficView™ system uses two forward-facing video cameras -- one mounted on either side of the vehicle -- to provide, in effect, a view around the obstruction.  These similarly pencil-thin cameras provide a 22-degree angle of coverage, which is equivalent to a 380-foot wide field of view (116 meters) at 984 feet (300 meters).

Normally, the video units on the instrument panel display the rear-looking side views that monitor the 'traditional' blind spots.  When the driver needs to see around a forward obstacle, a simple pushbutton switches the display to the two forward-looking cameras, which allows the driver to literally see around the obstruction.

Feature Four: Panoramic Vision

Rearward vision in the CamCar also is enhanced by a precisely engineered array of four miniature cameras mounted at the back of the vehicle.  Their fanlike spread captures a wide area of roadway behind the vehicle, in four separate images.

These images are fed to a sophisticated computer program that compares and overlaps them, combining the result into a single, seamless panoramic view.  The total coverage angle is 160 degrees -- far wider than the typical rearview mirror.

This image is displayed on the main central video panel in front of the driver.  However, instead of the full, broad picture -- which could overly distort the distances to other vehicles -- the display shows a cropped section, which the driver can zoom or pan back and forth to examine a broad swath of roadway.  The four video images are continuously and seamlessly pieced together by the computer as the driver manipulates the control joystick.

NightEye Camera

When the CamCar's driver engages the reverse view, the central display switches to an input from an additional sensor: the NightEye low-light camera.  This video camera provides a detailed view of the area immediately behind the vehicle for safe maneuvering in either daylight or extremely low light, including most night lighting conditions.  It requires very little ambient light (.004 lux) to operate, far less than the systems already in use on buses and motor homes.  The NightEye video picture is also far more detailed than the typical view through the rear window from the driver's perspective.  It allows the driver to estimate the distance to objects in proximity to the rear bumper.  Unlike distance-sensing backup aids, the camera actually shows the obstruction.  A second hitch camera shows where it's aligned with the bumper.

On particularly long vehicles, the traditional rearview mirror can develop a sort of "tunnel vision," due to the distance to the rear glass.  Likewise, dark-tinted privacy glass in the rear section of modern vehicles can dim the mirror view significantly.  The panoramic camera array coupled with the low-light camera solve both of these challenges without losing the cooling or security advantages inherent in the privacy glass.

The Next View: Into the Near Future

Ideally, all these technologies and more could be combined to offer the driver nearly a bird's eye picture of the vehicle and everything around it.  The CamCar is Ford Motor Company's first step in achieving this goal.  Additionally, researchers are examining ways to apply the innovative NightEye low-light technology to all video cameras in the system, while eliminating potential flare from headlamps and other bright light sources.

Another possibility that has not been lost on researchers is that of using sophisticated video cameras as the basis of a comprehensive collision avoidance system.  The rearward panoramic array generates overlapping images 30 times per second that could be used to measure distances and motion to plot interception angles.  A similar array could face forward as well.