A Low Cost Image Processing Device for Blind Spot Monitoring

Preventive safety is a topic where car manufacturers will spend a great amount of research effort in the next years. In the Vision Laboratory of FIAT Research Centre a specific sensor has been developed to cope with this argument in an innovative manner. The device, named Blind Spot Monitoring Sensor, is based on a CCD micro-camera and on a very compact image processing unit; the provided support function consists on the activation of a suitable warning indication when overtaking vehicles, moving in the “blind zone”, are detected by the system. The described sensor, that improves significantly safety and comfort during overtaking manoeuvres, shows two fundamental characteristics for an automotive device: high performance and low cost. The processing unit of the system has been specifically designed and developed; it is based on a single electronic board, with a PCB size of 80 × 40 mm. and uses, as “core processor”, a popular (and inexpensive) MCU. Blind Spot Monitoring Sensor has been installed on different prototype vehicles; the paper describes the developed sensor and some functional evaluations, performed in real traffic and weather conditions, using the equipped vehicles.