engineering

Surround-view system

Surround-view system is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Surround-view system rather than just read about it. In short: Surround view, also called as around view or birds-eye view, is a type of parking assistance system that uses multiple cameras to help drivers monitor their surroundings. It was first introduced in 2007 as the "Around View Monitor" parking assistance option for the Nissan Elgrand and Infiniti EX.

Key takeaways

Surround-view system belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Surround-view system to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Surround-view system from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Surround view, also called as around view or birds-eye view, is a type of parking assistance system that uses multiple cameras to help drivers monitor their surroundings. It was first introduced in 2007 as the "Around View Monitor" parking assistance option for the Nissan Elgrand and Infiniti EX.

Principle Early vehicle parking assistant products used ultrasonic parking sensors and/or a single rear-view camera to view and obtain distances to objects surrounding the vehicle, providing drivers with an audible alarm or rear-view video through a fisheye lens. There are some drawbacks to these early products: the alarm only provides a proximity warning but not the position of the object(s) relative to the vehicle, and the rear-view camera has a limited field of view. Multiple-camera systems overcome these problems and have seen increasing availability.

In most omniview systems, there are four wide-angle cameras: one in the front of the vehicle, one in the back of the vehicle, and one each in the side-mounted rear view mirrors. The four cameras have overlapping fields of view that collectively cover the whole area around the vehicle and serve as an omnidirectional (360-degree) camera. Video from the cameras are sent to the processor, which synthesizes a bird's-eye view from above the vehicle by stitching the video feeds together, correcting distortion, and transforming the perspective. In some cases, ultrasonic sensors are used in combination with the omniview system to provide distance information and highlight the relevant view that may be affected by potential obstacles. Because the bird's-eye view is a simulated perspective using camera inputs much closer to the ground, objects at ground level will appear relatively undistorted while those above the ground will appear to "lean away" from the vehicle. In addition, if the same object is captured by the overlapping fields of two cameras, it can appear to lean away in two different directions.

History The first vehicle equipped with Nissan's "Around View Monitor" was the Japanese-market Elgrand, introduced in November 2007. In America, the system was introduced one month later, as an option for the EX35 from Nissan's luxury marque Infiniti. At about the same time, Mitsubishi Motors and Honda implemented similar functionality as the "Multi-around monitor system" for the Delica and "Multi-View Camera System" for the Odyssey, respectively. Third-party automotive component suppliers such as Freescale Semiconductor and Continental AG have developed and marketed modular omniview systems, the latter through the acquisition of Application Solutions Ltd. (ASL Vision). Nissan have since added moving object detection using the cameras, billing the system as "Intelligent Around View Monitor" (I-AVM). In 2016, stuntman Paul Swift used the I-AVM system to match the world record for the tightest J-turn in a specially-prepared Nissan Juke, using a space just 18 cm (7.1 in) wider than the vehicle's length to turn it around with the windows completely blacked out. An omniview system that uses four cameras and displays a three-dimensional rendering of the vehicle and its surroundings has been proposed as a logical next step to increase the driver's awareness.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Surround-view system

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Surround-view system claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Surround-view system before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Surround-view system ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Surround-view system

In research: Surround-view system appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Surround-view system in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Surround-view system is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Auto parts, Automotive engineering, Automotive technologies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Surround-view system outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Surround-view system in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Surround-view system means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Surround-view system out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Surround-view system in simple terms?

Why does Surround-view system matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Surround-view system?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Surround-view system.