Automatically-adjusting mirror for use in vehicles
AssigneeNVIDIA Corporation
InventorsFeng Hu, Niranjan Avadhanam, Ratin Kumar, Simon John Baker
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods for a self-adjusting vehicle mirror. The mirror automatically locates the face of the driver or another passenger, and orients the mirror to provide the driver/passenger face with a desired view from the mirror. The mirror may continue to reorient itself as the driver or passenger shifts position, to continuously provide a desired field of view even as he or she changes position over time. In certain embodiments, the mirror system of the disclosure can be a self-contained system, with the mirror, mirror actuator, camera, and computing device all contained within the mirror housing as a single integrated unit.
Claims25
A mirror system for use in a vehicle, the system comprising:
- a frame;
- a mirror articulable relative to the frame;
- a camera;
- an actuator capable of adjusting an orientation of the mirror;
- and
- control circuitry electronically coupled to the camera and to the actuator, the control circuitry to:
- receive image data indicative of an image from the camera,
- determine a target orientation of the mirror that provides a driver of the vehicle with a desired field of view based on two or more visual reference points, wherein at least one of the visual reference points is depicted in the image, and wherein at least one of the visual reference points is on the driver, and
- cause the actuator to position the mirror based on the target orientation.
A method of adjusting a mirror of a vehicle, the method comprising:
- receiving, from a camera, image data indicative of an image of a driver of the vehicle;
- determining, from the image, a position of the driver;
- calculating a target orientation of the mirror that provides the driver of the vehicle with a desired field of view based at least in part on the position of the driver;
- and
- causing the mirror to be oriented at the target orientation.
A mirror system for use in a vehicle, the system comprising:
- an articulable mirror;
- a camera;
- an actuator capable of adjusting an orientation of the mirror;
- and
- control circuitry in electronic communication with the camera and the actuator, the control circuitry to:
- receive image data indicative of an image from the camera,
- detect a location of a face of the driver in the image,
- determine, at least partially according to the location, a target orientation of the mirror that provides a driver of the vehicle with a desired field of view, and
- cause the actuator to position the mirror based on the target orientation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.