Adaptive forward lighting system for vehicle comprising a control that adjusts the headlamp beam in response to processing of image data captured by a camera

An adaptive forward lighting system for a vehicle, said adaptive forward lighting system comprising:

• a camera disposed at a portion of a vehicle equipped with said adaptive forward lighting system;
• said camera having a field of view in a forward direction of travel of the equipped vehicle;
• wherein said camera comprises a lens and a CMOS imaging array comprising a two-dimensional array of photosensing elements;
• wherein said two-dimensional array of photosensing elements comprises at least 307,200 photosensing elements arranged in a matrix array of rows and columns;
• a control comprising an image processor;
• wherein said image processor processes image data captured by said camera to determine presence of an object in the field of view of said camera;
• wherein said control receives vehicle data via a communication bus of the equipped vehicle, said vehicle data comprising vehicle trajectory data;
• wherein said image processor processes image data captured by said camera to determine presence of lane markers in the field of view of said camera;
• wherein said control adjusts a light beam emitted by a headlamp of the equipped vehicle at least in part responsive to determination of the presence of the object in the field of view of said camera;
• and
• wherein, responsive at least in part to processing by said image processor of captured image data, a road condition ahead of the controlled vehicle is determined.

An adaptive forward lighting system for a vehicle, said adaptive forward lighting system comprising:

• a camera disposed at a portion of a vehicle equipped with said adaptive forward lighting system;
• said camera having a field of view in a forward direction of travel of the equipped vehicle;
• wherein said camera comprises a lens and a CMOS imaging array comprising a two-dimensional array of photosensing elements;
• wherein said two-dimensional array of photosensing elements comprises at least 307,200 photosensing elements arranged in a matrix array of rows and columns;
• wherein said camera captures frames of image data at a frame rate in the range from 5 frames per second to 120 frames per second;
• wherein said camera is accommodated in a housing assembly that detachably attaches to an attachment plate which is attached at an upper central region of an inner surface of a windshield of the equipped vehicle, and wherein, with the housing assembly attached to the attachment plate, said camera views through a portion of the windshield swept by the vehicle's windshield wiper system;
• a control comprising an image processor;
• wherein said image processor processes image data captured by said camera to determine presence of an object in the field of view of said camera;
• wherein said image processor processes image data captured by said camera to determine road curvature of a road travelled by the equipped vehicle;
• wherein said control receives vehicle data via a communication bus of the equipped vehicle, said vehicle data comprising vehicle trajectory data;
• wherein said image processor processes image data captured by said camera to determine presence of lane markers in the field of view of said camera;
• wherein said control adjusts a light beam emitted by a headlamp of the equipped vehicle at least in part responsive to determination of the presence of the object in the field of view of said camera;
• and
• wherein said control, responsive to processing of captured image data by said image processor, controls a pedestrian detection system of the equipped vehicle.