What is the principle of a 360-degree panoramic view in cars?
2 Answers
The principle of a 360-degree panoramic view in cars relies on cameras installed at the front, rear, and on the side mirrors. When the 360-degree panoramic assist system is activated, these cameras capture images and transmit them to the vehicle's onboard computer. The computer then processes these images to simulate a bird's-eye view of the car, achieving the goal of a 360-degree panoramic display. The 360-degree panoramic reversing system is a parking assist system that displays a seamless, ultra-wide-angle, real-time composite image (bird's-eye view) of the car's surroundings on the vehicle's screen. This helps drivers understand blind spots around the vehicle, enabling more intuitive and safer parking. It is also known as the panoramic parking imaging system or the all-around parking imaging system.
I've been driving for years and often research these new systems. The principle behind the 360-degree panoramic view is actually quite straightforward: the car is equipped with four cameras, one on each side—front, rear, left, and right—all using fisheye lenses to capture wide-angle images. Then, the car's internal computer, what we call the electronic control unit (ECU), processes these images. First, it corrects the fisheye distortion, straightening out the curved images. Second, it stitches all the images together to form a seamless panoramic view, resembling a bird's-eye view from above. This way, the driver can see real-time surroundings of the entire car on the screen, eliminating worries about blind spots. The benefits are obvious—it's especially useful when reversing into parking spaces and helps avoid minor scrapes and bumps, making it a great aid for new drivers. During installation, it's important to calibrate the camera positions correctly; otherwise, the images might appear slightly skewed. Nowadays, many cars come with this feature as standard, and technological advancements have brought much peace of mind. Moreover, the system is still improving, with potential future upgrades like automatic obstacle detection.
