Continental about to unveil its stereo camera system, to spot objects for prevention of vehicular collisions

A 1985 study by K. Rumar, using British and American traffic collisions reports as data, found that 57 percent of these crashes were due solely to driver factors. But the most startling figure suggests that the global economic cost of motor vehicle collisions was estimated at a whopping $518 billion per year in 2003 with $100 billion of that occurring in developing countries. Now in the recent times there has been a spurt of development of many artificial mechanisms touted as collision detection systems. And moving along that conscientious progression, Continental is about to introduce its advanced stereo camera system that can actually detect objects on the road according to their size and distance.

continental

This mechanism consisting of two high-resolution CMOS mono-cameras, located 20 centimeters apart behind the windshield, will be integrated along with Continental's ContiGuard safety system. Utilizing the difference in the lens's optical paths, the technology can calculate the object's (people, pets, and other objects in a vehicle's path) height, distance from the vehicle, and even their path of trajectory. According to the company, the cameras will have accuracy within 20 to 30 centimeters (8 to 12 inches), with the object being located around 20 to 30 meters (66 to 98 feet) away. Other than just warning the driver, the system can also initiate emergency braking (up to 1 g) in the case of the driver failing to react.

Wilfried Mehr, Head of Business Development for advanced driver assistance systems, said:

In the future, the stereo camera will even be able to detect children, who are small pedestrians, cyclists, and wheelchair users crossing the road. We are, in fact, realizing a comprehensive obstacle recognition system, the like of which has never before been possible.

There has been no word on the system's commercial availability, but we are expecting it to be pretty soon.

Source: TelematicsNews/Engadget