Continental presented its unique camera-based all-around surveillance system for commercial vehicles at the 2012 International Motor Show (IAA) Commercial Vehicles in Hanover. With this innovative TopView system for risk-free manoeuvring and electronic viewing of the blind spot – the system has already been released for field testing – Continental is once again catering to megatrends in the vehicle industry as a whole.
For, with innovations like the Continental TopView system, not only is the safety of the driver, vehicle and other road users improved; this camera-based assistance system also enhances the efficiency of vehicle operation because manoeuvring with Continental TopView takes less time and results in a lower risk of damage, less downtime and reduced repair costs.
The environment is spared too, because it makes manoeuvring in particularly sensitive areas like faster, reducing noise and pollution. Moreover, Continental TopView is a further step towards improved information and data exchange between drive, vehicle and infrastructure.
The heart of Continental TopView lies in the four microcameras mounted on the outside of the vehicle, which, thanks to fisheye lenses and high resolution, sweep the complete sides, rear and front of buses and trucks.
As in a television director’s control room, an electronic control unit merges these four digital, high-resolution camera images on a display – automatically optimized for contrast and brightness – in the cockpit giving the driver a bird’s-eye view of the vehicle, as it were.
Live, in real time, and at the push of a button even from different angles, Continental provides an all-round view: At a glance, the driver can even see objects in the so-called blind spot, the area that is not covered by the wing mirror, and in the case of commercial vehicles often is large enough to conceal pedestrians, cyclists and even cars.
Wall projections, corners of buildings and other vehicles are immediately visible, and the vehicle driver can safely manage, even in dense city traffic, at narrow loading ramps, in cluttered factory yards, or at bustling building sites.
In bus stop bays, drivers have a view not only of the entry and exit of their vehicles but also of persons moving around the bus. This is particularly useful for school bus operation.
The driver is able to recognize immediately if children are in a potentially dangerous situation.
The system enhances safety even when the vehicle is halting at a point, as Continental TopView can be configured to be permanently active.
This means that even while parked, the driver can keep an eye on the vehicle and cargo by just having a glanced at the monitor.
For a full view of the vehicle, users can choose between two display modes: At the push of a button Continental TopView switches between 2D and 3D representation. In two-dimensional mode, the driver’s view is focused on the immediate surroundings, whereas in the 3D mode the relations and elevations of the surroundings, as well as other road users, are more easily recognizable.
For even better visibility, the driver not only can change the perspective but also control individual cameras to get a yet more precise view of critical areas in tricky driving situations. With the optimal overview provided by Continental TopView, the company improves both the driver safety and efficiency.
There are fewer accidents, shorter idle time or downtime, lower costs for damage and repair, as well as reduced risks for the parked vehicle and its cargo.
In cars, camera-based systems as park aids are fairly widespread in the higher vehicle classes. But Continental has now developed a system specially tailored for use in trucks, buses and construction vehicles. The developers take into account not only the different proportions of such vehicles and pay attention to simple integration in vehicle production but have also made allowance for the changed spatial relations in the cockpit and the usually much tougher operating conditions.
Continental is already working on new applications specific to commercial vehicles. For instance, at a later stage the use of as many as seven cameras should enable Continental TopView to be implemented for tractor/semitrailer combinations or articulated buses. Further evolution of the system to include features such as automatic detection of pedestrians and other road users is also conceivable.