Wide field-of-view cameras are a vital part of many ADAS, and supplier ZF has recently upped the ante with the release of its S-Cam 4.8, which it says is the first to offer a 100° FOV.
“The S-Cam 4.8 will offer ZF customers the opportunity to further refine systems such as automatic emergency braking for pedestrians and cyclists while offering best-in-class lane-keeping system performance,” said Christophe Marnat, executive vice president and general manager of ZF’s Electronics and ADAS division. “It will also offer the prospect of more semi-automated driving convenience functions like Highway Driving and Traffic Jam Assist.”
The camera system is based around ZF partner Mobileye’s EyeQ4 processor, a unit developed specifically to facilitate advanced object recognition. In the S-Cam, this is combined with a three-lens system, which uses a telephoto lens for improved long-distance sensing capabilities and a fish-eye lens for improved short-range sensing with a wider FOV.
“Wider FOV cameras enhance the capacity of automatic emergency braking to address a wider range of scenarios where objects are crossing into the car’s path or where the car is turning,” explained Tomer Baba, Mobileye vice president for sensing algorithms. “The wider FOV also allows lane-keeping and lane-centering applications to better handle sharp curves.”
In the near term, ZF says it is focusing on Level 2/2+ systems for light passenger vehicles that use advanced camera technologies and it will launch its affordable coAssist Level 2+ system at well under US$1,000, with a major Asian auto maker later this year.