System of tread depth estimation and method thereof

A computerized method of estimating tread depth of a tire, the method performed by a processing and memory circuitry (PMC), the method comprising:

• obtaining, from an imaging device, an image of the tire positioned on an inspection lane, the image informative of tread of the tire and one or more grooves embedded therein, wherein the imaging device is positioned on at least one side of the inspection lane, and the image is acquired by the imaging device from a first angle relative to a horizontal direction perpendicular to surface of the tread, and wherein the tire is illuminated by an illumination device from a second angle relative to the horizontal direction, causing a shadow section and an illuminated section at the bottom and/or sidewall of at least one groove, wherein the imaging device and the illumination device are positioned so as to have the first angle being smaller than the second angle, such that the image captures the illuminated section and at least part of the shadow section;
• performing segmentation on the image to obtain at least a first image segment corresponding to the illuminated section and a second image segment corresponding to the at least part of the shadow section;
• obtaining a groove width of the at least one groove;
• and
• estimating the tread depth based on at least the first image segment, the groove width, and the second angle.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium tangibly embodying a program of instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method of estimating tread depth of a tire, the method comprising:

• obtaining, from an imaging device, an image of the tire positioned on an inspection lane, the image informative of tread of the tire and one or more grooves embedded therein, wherein the imaging device is positioned on at least one side of the inspection lane, and the image is acquired by the imaging device from a first angle relative to a horizontal direction perpendicular to surface of the tread, and wherein the tire is illuminated by an illumination device from a second angle relative to the horizontal direction, causing a shadow section and an illuminated section at the bottom and/or sidewall of at least one groove, wherein the imaging device and the illumination device are positioned so as to have the first angle being smaller than the second angle, such that the image captures the illuminated section and at least part of the shadow section;
• performing segmentation on the image to obtain at least a first image segment corresponding to the illuminated section and a second image segment corresponding to the at least part of the shadow section;
• obtaining a groove width of the at least one groove;
• and
• estimating the tread depth based on at least the first image segment, the groove width, and the second angle.