US 12,361,722 B2
System and method to track a coupled vehicle
Henrik Marschner, Kronach Neuses (DE); Vera Stehr, Kronach Neuses (DE); Ana Robleda, Tuam (IE); Yerai Berenguer, Tuam (IE); Enrique Romay-Castineira, Tuam (IE); Daniel Garcia, Porrino (ES); Alan Murphy, Tuam (IE); Alan Hanniffy, Tuam (IE); and Swaroop Shivamurthy, Tuam (IE)
Assigned to CONNAUGHT ELECTRONICS LTD., Tuam (IE)
Appl. No. 17/917,390
Filed by Connaught Electronics Ltd., Tuam (IE)
PCT Filed Apr. 7, 2021, PCT No. PCT/EP2021/059047
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Oct. 6, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/204867, PCT Pub. Date Oct. 14, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 10 2020 109 598.8 (DE), filed on Apr. 7, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0154197 A1, May 18, 2023
Int. Cl. G06V 20/58 (2022.01)
CPC G06V 20/58 (2022.01) 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method, for providing a coupling angle defining the yaw angle between a first vehicle coupled to a second vehicle, comprising:
receiving an image of at least a part of the first vehicle from a camera mounted on the second vehicle, the image comprising a matrix of intensity values;
performing a polar transformation on at least a part of the image to form a polar image in a polar space having an origin corresponding to a location of a pivot point of the coupling to the second vehicle in said received image coordinate space;
estimating an optical coupling angle by analysing the content of the polar image;
receiving a signal from an odometer mounted on the first or second vehicle;
estimating a kinematic coupling angle using a kinematic model of the first vehicle and the coupled second vehicle, wherein the kinematic model is based on the signal;
combining the estimated optical coupling angle and the estimated kinematic coupling angle to provide said coupling angle; and
reporting the coupling angle.