A backup camera (also called a reversing camera or rear-view camera) is a video camera that is produced specifically for the purpose of being attached to the rear of a vehicle to aid in reversing and to reduce the rear blind spot. The rear blind spot has been described as a "killing zone" because of the accidents it contributes to.[1] Backup cameras are usually connected to the vehicle's head unit display. A common variant is a surround-view system, which assembles a synthetic but positionally accurate top-down view of the vehicle and its adjacencies.
Backup cameras have been regulated by law in Canada and the United States since 2018. Since May of that year backup cameras have been required on all new vehicles sold in the United States.[2]
Function
The design of a backup camera is distinct from other cameras because the image is horizontally flipped so that the output is a mirror image.[3] This is necessary because the camera and the driver face opposite directions, and without it, the camera's right would be on the driver's left and vice versa. A mirrored image makes the orientation of the display consistent with the physical mirrors installed on the vehicle. A backup camera typically utilizes a wide-angle or fish-eye lens. Although such lenses may limit the camera's ability to capture distant objects, it allows the camera to see an uninterrupted horizontal path from one rear corner to the other. The camera is typically pointed at a downward angle to view potential obstacles on the ground.
Backup cameras make use of dashboard screens that are also used with GPS navigation systems. Inside the vehicle, the display is typically wired to automatically sense when the transmission is set in reverse, showing the backup view on the dashboard screen while the vehicle is in reverse and/or providing grid guidelines by detecting the parking lot markings to aid the driver.
Variations
Backup cameras are produced in different varieties depending on the application.
Backup cameras can be added as aftermarket additions to vehicles that do not come with factory-fitted systems. They are available in both wired and wireless versions.
For large vehicles such as motorhomes, camera systems with built-in servomechanisms allow the driver to remotely pan and tilt the camera.
Wireless Backup Cameras come with a wireless camera and receiver, which make it easier and cheaper to install them.[3]
Built-in audio intercoms (one-way or two-way) are used in addition to the camera system for communicating with a spotter outside the vehicle - common when backing large trailers or launching boats.
Night vision cameras use a series of infrared lights for backing in the dark, when the positioning or the intensity of the vehicle's white reverse lights are insufficient for this purpose.
Portable or semi-permanent all-in-one camera systems, also known as dashboard cameras or dashcams, are typically sold for vehicles that don't have displays permanently installed in the dashboard. Such systems consist of a small portable screen that can be affixed on the dashboard or on a rearview mirror, and a length of wire to reach the cameras, including a backup camera.
Some backup and rear cameras are connected to displays on the rearview mirror and are used in vehicles to detect activity behind the car to "avoid the tooling, software, hardware, and testing costs associated with integrating the display/feature in other areas of the vehicle."
License-plate-frame versions permit installation without any permanent vehicle modifications.
Custom cameras: brake light cameras are combination devices that contain a camera, while still illuminating as a brake light. Some backup cameras also use a combination of LEDs surrounding the camera lens to illuminate the surroundings while in use.
History
The first backup camera was used in the 1956 Buick Centurion concept car,[4] presented in January 1956 at the General Motors Motorama. The vehicle had a rear-mounted television camera that sent images to a TV screen on the dashboard in place of the rear-view mirror.[5]
The first production automobile to incorporate a backup camera was the 1991 Toyota Soarer Limited (UZZ31 and UZZ32), which was only available in Japan and not on U.S. counterpart Lexus SC. The Toyota system used a color EMV screen, with a rear-spoiler-mounted CCD camera. The system was discontinued in 1997. In April 2000, Nissan's Infiniti division introduced the Rear View Monitor on the 2002 Infiniti Q45 flagship sedan at the 2000 New York International Auto Show. Using colored onscreen guide lines as a parking distance parameter, the Rear View Monitor operated from a license-plate-mounted camera in the trunk that transmitted a mirrored image to an 7-inch in-dash LCD screen. It was available as optional equipment at the North American launch in March 2001.[8][9] The 2002 Nissan Primera introduced the Rear View Monitor backup camera system to territories outside Japan and North America.
Aftermarket options for cars have been available for some time. Electronics manufacturers have made multiple car upgrades available that can be installed by professionals without replacing the car's center console.
Others
Other types of camera systems can give a more comprehensive view.
Infiniti introduced the first surround-view cameras, making the system available on the 2008 EX35 and marketing it as the Around View Monitor. The system used four cameras located at the front, back and sides of the vehicle, feeding images to an image processing unit to analyze, assemble and synthesize inputs together to create a synthetic but positionally accurate top-down view of the car and its surroundings. In most modern systems, the pictures appear in such detail that it's difficult to believe they were not taken from above the vehicle.[10][11]
BMW introduced their competing system called Surround View in 2009 on the F10 5 Series.[12] Other automobile manufacturers have since offered similar systems, e.g., Bird's Eye View Camera (Toyota), or Surround Vision (Chevrolet). Collectively, J.D. Power calls such systems surround-view cameras.
This is an advanced type of reversing camera that does not require the use of cables between the camera itself and the display. It functions remotely. Wireless rear-view cameras usually have separate sources of power from the display.[14] The cameras are usually powered by the same power source as the brake and thus switch on automatically when the reverse gear is engaged. The majority of these backup cameras come with a transmitter near the camera and a receiver near the display for relaying signals and live images. Some models, such as the Pearl RearVision backup camera, made by Pearl Automation, used solar energy for power.[3] The display for these types of backup camera can be powered from the 12-volt socket on the car's dashboard. Some of the displays are also integrated on the rear-view mirror thereby giving it a multipurpose function. Some models also sync directly with a mobile phone using an app which then acts as the display. The main advantage of this type of backup camera is that it is extremely easy to install and rarely requires professional installation. The installation of these cameras also does not interfere with a car's look as minimal to no drilling or laying of wires is required. However, some wireless cameras are quite expensive.
Blind spot monitors and other technology
Honda's LaneWatch provides an 80° field of view that is displaced on the navigation screen with guidelines to help the driver judge distance behind the rear bumper of the vehicle.
Blind spot monitors are an option that may include more than monitoring the sides of the vehicle. It can include "Cross Traffic Alert", which alerts drivers backing out of a parking space when traffic is approaching from the sides.[15][16][17]
Mandates
In the United States, the Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act of 2007[18] required the United States Department of Transportation to issue backup-collision-safety regulations within three years and require full compliance within four years after final rulemaking.[19]
The law specified a statutory deadline of February 2011 for issuing the final regulations. However, the USDOT repeatedly granted itself extensions to the deadline, claiming it needed more time to analyze costs and benefits of the requirement.[20] In September 2013, Greg Gulbransen, the father of the child whom the law was named after, along with a group of consumers and advocates submitted a petition to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, demanding that the USDOT implement regulations on backup cameras within 90 days.[21] About half of model year 2012 automobiles were equipped with backup cameras.[19][22]
On March 31, 2014, three years past its deadline, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that it would require all automobiles sold in the United States built beginning in May 2018 to include backup cameras.[23] On October 31, 2016, Transport Canada issued a similar mandate beginning at the same time.[24]
Automotive safety is the study and practice of automotive design, construction, equipment and regulation to minimize the occurrence and consequences of traffic collisions involving motor vehicles. Road traffic safety more broadly includes roadway design.
A blind spot in a vehicle or vehicle blind spot is an area around the vehicle that cannot be directly seen by the driver while at the controls, under existing circumstances. In transport, driver visibility is the maximum distance at which the driver of a vehicle can see and identify prominent objects around the vehicle. Visibility is primarily determined by weather conditions and by a vehicle's design. The parts of a vehicle that influence visibility include the windshield, the dashboard and the pillars. Good driver visibility is essential to safe road traffic.
The Nissan Fuga is a mid-size luxury sedan produced by Japanese automaker Nissan since October 2004. It is built on a wider, stretched wheelbase version of the Nissan FM platform. After the Nissan Cima and Nissan President were discontinued in August 2010, the Fuga became Nissan's flagship vehicle. In North America and Europe, the Fuga is sold as the second and third-generation Infiniti M, where it has been the flagship of the Infiniti luxury division of Nissan since 2006.
The Infiniti M is a line of mid-size luxury (executive) cars from the Infiniti luxury division of Nissan. From 2013 on it has been marketed as the Infiniti Q70, reflecting the company's new naming scheme.
Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) are technologies that assist drivers with the safe operation of a vehicle. Through a human-machine interface, ADAS increase car and road safety. ADAS use automated technology, such as sensors and cameras, to detect nearby obstacles or driver errors, and respond accordingly. ADAS can enable various levels of autonomous driving.
The Infiniti Q45 is a full-size luxury sedan manufactured by Nissan for its Infiniti brand, spanning model years 1989-2006 and three design generations.
In road-transport terminology, a lane departure warning system (LDWS) is a mechanism designed to warn the driver when the vehicle begins to move out of its lane on freeways and arterial roads. These systems are designed to minimize accidents by addressing the main causes of collisions: driver error, distractions and drowsiness. In 2009 the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) began studying whether to mandate lane departure warning systems and frontal collision warning systems on automobiles.
Intelligent Parking Assist System (IPAS), also known as Advanced Parking Guidance System (APGS) for Toyota models in the United States, is the first production automatic parking system developed by Toyota Motor Corporation in 1999 initially for the Japanese market hybrid Prius models and Lexus models. The technology assists drivers in parking their vehicle. On vehicles equipped with the IPAS, via an in-dash screen and button controls, the car can steer itself into a parking space with little input from the user. The first version of the system was deployed on the Prius Hybrid sold in Japan in 2003. In 2006, an upgraded version debuted for the first time outside Japan on the Lexus LS luxury sedan, which featured the automatic parking technology among other brand new inventions from Toyota. In 2009, the system appeared on the third generation Prius sold in the U.S. In Asia and Europe, the parking technology is marketed as the Intelligent Park Assist System for both Lexus and Toyota models, while in the U.S. the Advanced Parking Guidance System name is only used for the Lexus system.
A rear-view mirror is a, usually flat, mirror in automobiles and other vehicles, designed to allow the driver to see rearward through the vehicle's rear window.
The Volvo VESC, the Volvo Experimental Safety Car, was a concept car made by Volvo to showcase a number of innovative passenger safety features. It was unveiled in 1972 at the Geneva Motor Show.
The blind spot monitor or blind-spot monitoring is a vehicle-based sensor device that detects other vehicles located to the driver’s side and rear. Warnings can be visual, audible, vibrating, or tactile.
Parking sensors are proximity sensors for road vehicles designed to alert the driver of obstacles while parking. These systems use either electromagnetic or ultrasonic sensors.
Automatic parking is an autonomous car-maneuvering system that moves a vehicle from a traffic lane into a parking spot to perform parallel, perpendicular, or angle parking. The automatic parking system aims to enhance the comfort and safety of driving in constrained environments where much attention and experience is required to steer the car. The parking maneuver is achieved by means of coordinated control of the steering angle and speed which takes into account the actual situation in the environment to ensure collision-free motion within the available space.
A side-view mirror, also known as a wing mirror, is a mirror placed on the exterior of motor vehicles for the purposes of helping the driver see areas behind and to the sides of the vehicle, outside the driver's peripheral vision.
Reversing is the process of driving a vehicle in the reverse direction in order to maneuver. Rear view mirrors are somewhat standard equipment for this endeavor. Extremely large or luxury vehicles may have in addition technical aids such as backup cameras. Many industrial vehicles such as fork lifts automatically activate a repetitive warning beep whilst reversing. In the UK lorries may be fitted with warning devices which repeatedly announce "Attention: this vehicle is reversing", or the equivalent phrase in Welsh: "Sylw: mae'r Saeson wedi dwyn ein gwlad".
A collision avoidance system (CAS), also known as a pre-crash system, forward collision warning system (FCW), or collision mitigation system, is an advanced driver-assistance system designed to prevent or reduce the severity of a collision. In its basic form, a forward collision warning system monitors a vehicle's speed, the speed of the vehicle in front of it, and the distance between the vehicles, so that it can provide a warning to the driver if the vehicles get too close, potentially helping to avoid a crash. Various technologies and sensors that are used include radar (all-weather) and sometimes laser (LIDAR) and cameras to detect an imminent crash. GPS sensors can detect fixed dangers such as approaching stop signs through a location database. Pedestrian detection can also be a feature of these types of systems.
The phrase "objects in (the) mirror are closer than they appear" is a safety warning that is required to be engraved on passenger side mirrors of motor vehicles in many places such as the United States, Canada, Nepal, India, and South Korea. It is present because while these mirrors' convexity gives them a useful field of view, it also makes objects appear smaller. Since smaller-appearing objects seem further away than they actually are, a driver might make a maneuver such as a lane change assuming an adjacent vehicle is a safe distance behind, when in fact it is quite a bit closer. The warning serves as a reminder to the driver of this potential problem.
Back-up collisions happen when a driver reverses the car into an object, person, or other car. Although most cars come equipped with rear view mirrors which are adequate for detecting vehicles behind a car, they are inadequate on many vehicles for detecting small children or objects close to the ground, which fall in the car's blind spot, particularly directly aft. That area has been called a "killing zone." Large trucks have much larger blind spots that can hide entire vehicles and large adults.
A dashboard camera or simply dashcam, also known as car digital video recorder, driving recorder, or event data recorder (EDR), is an onboard camera that continuously records the view through a vehicle's front windscreen and sometimes rear or other windows. Some dashcams include a camera to record the interior of the car in 360 degrees inside camera, usually in a ball form, and can automatically send pictures and video using 4G.
Omniview technology is a vehicle parking assistant technology that first was introduced in 2007 as the "Around View Monitor" option for the Nissan Elgrand and Infiniti EX. It is designed to assist drivers in monitoring their surroundings, for example, while parking a vehicle in a small space.
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