Method and apparatus for invisible vehicle underbody view

A method performed by a processor comprising:

• generating, with a LIDAR, a three-dimensional representation of a forward field of view of an off-road surface including a first location;
• capturing, with a camera, an image of the forward field of view of the off-road surface including the first location;
• determining a vehicle orientation in response to a chassis sensor;
• estimating a location of a vehicle within the off-road surface in response to the vehicle orientation;
• generating, with the processor, an augmented image depicting a three-dimensional view of the off-road surface in response to the three-dimensional representation and the image, and wherein the augmented image further includes a graphical representation of a vehicle drive train representative of the location of the vehicle within the off-road surface;
• estimating, by the processor, a contact point between the vehicle and the off-road surface;
• and
• displaying, with a vehicle cabin display, the augmented image including an indication of the contact point to a host vehicle operator.

An apparatus for generating a graphical user interface comprising:

• a LIDAR for generating a depth map of a forward field of view including a first location;
• a camera for capturing an image of the forward field of view including the first location;
• a vehicle sensor for estimating a vehicle orientation;
• a sensor for determining a vehicle location
• a processor for generating a three-dimensional representation of the forward field of view in response to the depth map and the image and for generating an augmented image in response to the vehicle location, the vehicle orientation and the three-dimensional representation of the forward field of view, wherein the processor is further operative to estimate a contact point between a vehicle and an object within the forward field of view and wherein the augmented image further includes an indication of the contact point;
• and
• a display operative to display the graphical user interface including the augmented image including the indication of the contact point to a vehicle operator.