Delphi's Vision-Based Technologies Will Enable 'Intelligent' Safety Systems
Delphi Confident of Maintaining Its Leading Position In New Safety Technologies
FRANKFURT, Germany, Sept. 9 -- A new generation of vision- based technologies will be introduced by Delphi Corp. at the IAA (Frankfurt Autoshow), with the launch of two production-ready vehicle safety systems. Lane Departure Warning and Recognition(TM) occupant sensing will be shown as part of Delphi's Integrated Safety System concept, which increases road safety and occupant protection by sharing data between active and passive safety systems.
"The introduction of new solid state image capture technology is making digital cameras simple, durable and affordable in volume," explains Dr. Richard C. Lind, director of Advanced Engineering for Delphi Delco Electronics Systems. "This is a great opportunity for safety engineers as it gives us the ability to provide safety control systems with much more information on what is happening, both inside the vehicle and around it."
New camera technology, however, is only one of the building blocks. Delphi has also invested considerable research effort in the image processing systems required to accurately interpret the data they provide. "This is really the key to making these systems work effectively," continues Dr. Lind. "The availability of affordable, powerful microprocessors has allowed us to develop very sophisticated algorithms that can identify and interpret the many different situations that the system will see. This allows safety systems to make 'intelligent' decisions based on an assessment of a wide range of factors."
Next-generation occupant sensing
Delphi was first to introduce an FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard) 208-compliant occupant detection system to control airbag deployment, introducing its PODS (Passive Occupant Detection System) with Jaguar for the 2001 model year. Since then it has maintained its leading position, supplying Jaguar, Ford, General Motors and other customers not yet announced, and gained a vast amount of experience in "smart" safety technologies.
PODS measures the weight of the front passenger using a silicone bladder mounted under the seat cushion and connected to a pressure sensor. This allows the airbag control system to suppress airbag deployment if the seat is empty or is occupied by a small child or an infant in a child seat. The system helps to increase protection for these people as well as reducing the cost of vehicle repairs by avoiding unnecessary airbag deployment.
Vision-based Interior Sensing System helps take occupant detection into the next generation by adding the ability to sense position as well as providing a more accurate passenger size classification. "Previous generations of occupant detection systems supported a relatively simple 'fire/no fire' strategy. With Delphi's vision-based technology we have an intelligent system that can make decisions based on a combination of inputs," explains Dr. Lind.
The system monitors the front seat passenger using a multiple camera system mounted on the windscreen rail, with infrared LEDs providing illumination. The cameras send up to 50 monochrome images per second to a digital signal processing system that classifies the scene in one of seven categories:
1. empty seat 2. rear-facing infant seat (typically child under 1) 3. front-facing infant seat (typically child 1-3) 4. child in position 5. child out of position 6. adult in position 7. adult out of position
A sophisticated feature of this system is the ability to identify the head and torso of the passenger and to track the person's head as it moves. The system incorporates a dynamic tracking feature that uses position data of other body features to estimate the location of the occupant's head, even if the occupant is partially hidden, for example behind a newspaper. The position of the passenger's head is an important criteria in determining if the passenger is out of position, which would potentially require that the airbag be disabled in certain crash situations.
The new Delphi technology also has advantages for the vehicle manufacturer. Compared with most other sensing technologies, it is easy to integrate with the vehicle design and simple to install. It will also help enable compliance with the relevant section of FMVSS 208, which is mandated for all front passenger airbag systems sold in the U.S. by 2006.
Delphi has spent more than four years developing and validating the system, using its considerable expertise in occupant protection technologies and safety systems integration. Relevant classifications of body type have been tested in up to 30 positions as well as in different lighting conditions, helping to ensure that the system can be quickly integrated with vehicle platforms and will work effectively even in challenging conditions.
In future implementations, the system could be integrated with telematics systems to help provide occupant data for medical staff following a severe collision, potentially even sending images direct to the hospital. It may also detect movements of a person or animal trapped in a vehicle and enable the application of appropriate countermeasures, such as contacting a service center to roll down a window or unlock the doors. It could also be integrated with vehicle security systems, providing superior cabin sensing and eliminating the cost of other detection systems.
Fully featured "Recognition" vision-based occupant sensing is expected to enter production around 2008. Delphi expects that the initial system implementation will monitor the front passenger seating position but the application will expand to include other seating positions in the future.
Vision-based Lane Departure Warning
Delphi's vision-based Lane Departure Warning technology will warn the driver should the vehicle start to drift out of lane, helping to greatly reduce one of the largest causes of vehicle collisions. The system can be used as a stand-alone safety aid or integrated with other safety systems as part of Delphi's Integrated Safety Systems strategy.
"The ability to identify all lane guidance lines and to work in many weather and lighting conditions has made this a substantial achievement," says Dr. Lind. "We have applied considerable resources to the development and calibration of algorithms to ensure that we have a reliable and robust system that will make a considerable contribution to road safety."
The new system uses a digital camera, typically mounted in the rear view mirror housing, to look up to 25 meters ahead of the vehicle. This data is supplemented by vehicle speed data and yaw data (so the computer knows if the vehicle is turning) collected from other systems via the vehicle's high-speed databus.
A number of warning strategies could be implemented depending on vehicle manufacturer preference. These include a warning projected onto the windscreen, an audible alarm, a small vibration in the steering wheel or any combination of these and other solutions. In the more distant future, where vehicles are fitted with active steering, the system may even help adjust the line of the car to maintain a safe course.
"It's a great safety feature and the price for volume production is going to be very attractive," concludes Lind. "We have had a very high level of interest from vehicle manufacturers, who are all excited by this new Delphi technology and the rigor that we have applied to ensure that it is an affordable yet highly effective solution."
Background to Integrated Safety System
There have traditionally been two aspects to safety: helping to avoid accidents / minimize energy on impact (known as active safety) and helping to protect vehicle occupants when a collision occurs (passive safety). Within each of these areas the trend is to develop better, faster-reacting, more discriminatory systems that tailor their response to the situation, the conditions and the occupants.
Delphi's Integrated Safety System (ISS) concept takes this philosophy to the next stage by developing the synergies between active and passive safety to provide a level of benefit that is substantially more than the sum of its components.
ISS considers the driving experience in five distinct driving states: in normal, warning, collision-avoidable, collision-unavoidable and post-collision states, sophisticated detection sensors continually monitor the surrounding 360 degrees around the vehicle to identify all objects and assess the road conditions. If a high-probability crash event is identified it will warn the driver to take an appropriate evasive maneuver. Also, a variety of in-vehicle sensors are used to assess how alert the driver is through measurement of his breathing, eye dilation, heart or blink rate and gaze direction, and appropriately tailor the warning alert to deal safely with the situation.
In the next state, collision-avoidable, ISS coordinates the detection sensors with systems such as anti-lock braking, traction control and stability enhancement to provide appropriate optimization of vehicle dynamics to help the driver avoid a potential impact. In future implementations, with extensive drive-by-wire, the vehicle may even assist the driver by automatically braking or steering.
Unfortunately, not all accidents are avoidable. However, pre-crash sensing can make a tremendous difference. The same detection and assessment systems employed in the previous safety states can provide data on the type of accident expected, allowing the relevant occupant protection systems to be appropriately configured and activated at the optimum time. Delphi offers one of the widest ranges of occupant protection systems, making it an ideal partner for the implementation of a vehicle-wide control strategy.
After the collision, Delphi's sophisticated in-car communications technologies can be used to alert emergency services, providing location data from the navigation system and even guidance on the type of incident and the types of injuries that may have occurred.