Fujitsu announces revolutionary 360 degree around-car camera system

Fujitsu has developed a new video-processing technology that enables drivers to see a complete wraparound view of their vehicle's perimeter, in real time. The new driver assistance technology adapts to different driving situations, enabling the driver to view the entire surroundings of a vehicle and navigate tricky situations, such as parking, passing on a narrow street, and seeing around corners at intersections with poor sightlines with ease.

Fujitsu claims that the current crop of reversing and peripheral vision cameras demand too much of the driver - with conventional technologies, each camera shows a different perspective and sightline, and because the display changes instantly the driver must be able to instantly recognize which view is being presented, which can sometimes be difficult.

To address these problems, Fujitsu uses new technology that affords a field of view that can show any perspective and any sightline on the vehicle's periphery, and which can instantaneously smoothly transition from one view to another. To accomplish this, four cameras are installed around the vehicle's perimeter, and their video images of the vehicle's surroundings are synthesized by a "3-D virtual projection/point of view conversion technology" developed by Fujitsu, comprised of the following: projection of the video images onto a virtual 3-D curved plane as a virtual 3-D video, and conversion of the the video images into views from any desired perspective of the vehicle's surroundings.

Additionally, when switching between different views as the driving situation changes, this new technology makes a smooth transition from one view to another by continuously interpolating points of view, fields of view, and sightlines. This helps to quickly orient the driver to the new view currently being shown, allowing the driver to obtain an overview from a single image and instantly understand a situation surrounding the vehicle that requires immediate attention.