Stereo Vision

Automotive vision safety systems usually deploy just a single camera, ie. a monocular vision system. These are an inexpensive way to assist with alleviating safety issues such as frontal impacts and erroneous lane departure and widely used during the semi-autonomous vehicle era that we are now in. Monocular systems are fairly limited however and there is now a need to improve the visual recognition capabilities in readiness for the fully Autonomous vehicle.

Stereo vision systems are now being integrated. These have the same capabilities as Monocular vision systems, but can also provide much more in depth accuracy and detail, in the same degree as LIDAR and RADAR. By the use of two cameras, this system can behave much more like human vision, and therefore calculate distance and speed much more accurately.

Stereo vision offers many benefits compared to that of monocular vision, and also LiDar and Radar systems. They offer much higher mapping detail, higher refresh rates, and lower costs. The use of two cameras also means that in the event of one becoming damage, the system can still operate in Monocular mode, providing a reassuring safety net.