Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) is a future-proofed smart system that helps drivers operate their vehicles – from navigating smoothly and avoiding on-road collisions to effectively parking. The need for such systems continues to be extremely high.
For example, even during the peak pandemic period of 2020, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported an increase of 6.8% in fatalities due to vehicular accidents. And in the first half of 2021, there was an 18.4% increase – which was the highest recorded number of fatalities recorded in the first six months of the year since 1975.
That’s why a majority of the driver assistance systems come equipped with ADAS cameras that help to detect obstacles, identify objects, collect data on nearby vehicles and traffic, etc. Owing to the complex structure and environment in which cars and vehicles have to operate (especially large trucks and fleets), choosing and integrating the right camera into them can be a daunting process.
How does an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) work?
ADAS leverages a combo of high-quality cameras and processing technologies. Powered by data analytics, it can perceive the surroundings of the vehicles and provide real-time information so that drivers can take the right action at the right time. Their features include lane departure warning, traffic sign recognition, blind-spot detection, and more.
The reason why cameras play such an important role is that they capture and stream video data in real-time with very low latency. Hence, ADAS significantly minimizes human errors and streamlines operations – leading to more road safety.
Camera-enabled functions of ADAS systems
Cameras are predominantly used in 3 different ways in an Advanced Driver Assistance System:
- Surround view: The function of a surround view camera in a vehicle is to offer a 360-degree view of its surroundings to eliminate blind spots thereby improving safety. Surround view cameras also help in lane detection, collision warning, traffic sign recognition, and parking assistance.
- In-vehicle surveillance: In-vehicle surveillance systems help in driver behavior analysis, monitoring vehicle interiors, and observing passengers to prevent accidents, assaults, and improper behavior.
- Adaptive speed control: Adaptive speed control systems enable autonomous driving by helping cars and other vehicles to adjust their speed by detecting obstacles and nearby vehicles.
Why ADAS need a surround-view camera system
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems benefit from surround-view cameras, which provide a 360-degree perspective of the vehicle’s surroundings. Such wide-angle visibility enhances situational awareness so that drivers can detect obstacles, pedestrians, and other vehicles with greater accuracy.
Hence, ADAS cameras are used for complex maneuvers like parking and navigating tight spaces, significantly reducing blind spots and potential collisions. They are able to offer a consolidated view, thereby contributing to a safer driving environment.
Key camera features to enhance ADAS capabilities
ADAS cameras are widely adopted by ADAS developers for their adaptability to new requirements. However, to know how to choose the right camera for your ADAS device, you need to understand the key camera features required. In this section, let’s do a deep dive into some of these:
Resolution
ADAS cameras typically do not require very high resolution. In most cases, an ADAS camera with a resolution of 2MP should do the job, provided it comes with the other required features.
High Dynamic Range (HDR)
Since an ADAS camera is a part of vehicles that work in varied lighting conditions, the output is prone to different exposure scenarios. In such situations, HDR-powered ADAS cameras prevent the bright areas in a scene from being overexposed and the dark areas being underexposed.
Interface
Most ADAS camera systems have the camera placed at a long distance from the host processor. Also, surround view systems include four to six cameras placed around the vehicle to perceive the environment. Hence, ADAS devices require a camera interface that can transmit data for more than a distance of 10 meters reliably. Given this, GMSL-based ADAS cameras are the perfect solution for ADAS applications.
Lens Focusing with active alignment
Active alignment ensures accurate lens positioning and angle adjustments in any ADAS camera, reducing image distortions and enhancing clarity. It boosts synchronization and multi-camera stitching, leading to superior performance of ADAS applications. This also results in better object detection, lane departure warnings, and other safety features.
High sensitivity and low light performance
An ADAS camera has to sometimes operate in low-lit environments, in which case-sensitivity becomes critical. The larger the pixel size, the higher will be the sensitivity of the camera. For instance, NileCAM21 – GMSL2 HDR camera module with LFM – from e-con Systems™ comes with a large pixel size of 3μm.
In addition to large pixel size cameras, there are ADAS cameras specially designed for superior low light performance such as the ones that come with Sony STARVIS sensors.
LED Flicker Mitigation (LFM)
Vehicles and trucks come with LED lights that might make reading an image difficult due to flickering. An ADAS camera with LFM solves this problem by having the inherent ability to capture images accurately despite having strong LED lights in the scene.
Low latency
The video captured by the ADAS camera must be transmitted to the display in near real-time. This requires the ADAS camera to have low latency so that advanced driving assistance systems can take autonomous decisions in quick time.
Platform compatibility
To support the computational load of ADAS systems, an ADAS camera has to be compatible with high-end processors such as the NVIDIA Jetson series. For instance, e-con Systems™ offers cameras that come integrated with processors such as NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX, Jetson AGX Xavier, Jetson AGX Orin, etc.
Cameras developed by e-con Systems™ for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems
e-con Systems™ has 20+ years of experience in designing, developing, and manufacturing OEM cameras. We have built several cutting-edge solutions for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, such as STURDeCAM25, a full HD IP67-rated GMSL2 global shutter camera. You can effortlessly eliminate shutter artifacts while capturing images of moving objects – even in harsh industrial conditions. This camera also works seamlessly with NVIDIA edge AI platforms – and comes with the ability to integrate six cameras into one Jetson system.
e-con Systems™ also offers STURDeCAM31, a 3MP HDR IP69K-rated camera with 120dB HDR capability for autonomous mobility. Powered by Sony® ISX031, it delivers high performance in varying lighting conditions. It also includes various certifications that fit best into automotive applications. STURDeCAM31 enables seamless connectivity with NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin™ or AGX Xavier™ platforms, integrating up to eight cameras – with a GMSL2 interface. Its powerful LED Flicker Mitigation enables you to accurately capture images with pulsed light sources.
Visit our Camera Selector page to view our full portfolio.
If you need any help in selecting and integrating the right cameras into your Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, please write to us at camerasolutions@e-consystems.com.
Gomathi Sankar is a camera expert with 15+ years of experience in embedded product design, camera solutioning, and product development. In e-con Systems, he has built numerous camera solutions for robots, industrial handhelds, quality inspection systems, smart city applications, industrial safety systems, and more. He has played an integral part in helping hundreds of customers build their dream products by integrating the right vision technology into them.