Smart trailer hitch control using HMI assisted visual servoing

A method for autonomously aligning a hitch tow ball attached to a back of a towing vehicle with a drawbar attached to a trailer, said method comprising:

• providing rearview images from a rearview camera on the vehicle that show the tow ball and the drawbar;
• registering a position of the tow ball in the image;
• registering a position of a target where the tow ball will be aligned with the drawbar;
• autonomously moving the vehicle, by a controller including a processor and memory, so that the tow ball moves towards the target;
• determining, by the controller, a distance between the tow ball and a new location of the target;
• and
• stopping the vehicle, by the controller, when the distance between the tow ball and the new location of the target is less than a predetermined threshold.

A system for autonomously aligning a hitch tow ball attached to a back of a towing vehicle with a drawbar attached to a trailer, said system comprising:

• a rearview camera on the vehicle for providing rearview images that show the tow ball and the drawbar;
• a touch screen display for displaying the images;
• means for touching the tow ball on the display to register a position of the tow ball in the image;
• means for touching the drawbar on the display to register a position of a target where the tow ball will be aligned with the drawbar;
• and
• a controller including a processor and memory, said controller configured for;
• providing a template pattern around the target in the image;
• autonomously moving the vehicle so that the tow ball moves towards the target;
• predicting a position of the target in new images as the vehicle moves;
• estimating a new location of the target in the new images as the vehicle moves by comparing the template pattern with an image patch window provided around the predicted position of the target;
• determining a distance between the tow ball and the new location of the target;
• and
• stopping the vehicle when the distance between the tow ball and the new location of the target is less than a predetermined threshold.