The notion of a “parking assistance system” has changed over the last two decades as sensory technology took its great leap forward in the automotive industry. It first started as an ultrasound sensor installed at the back of the rear bumper which beeps when an obstacle within certain proximity range is detected during reverse parking. Later in the years, the powerful CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) image sensor steps in to capture live camera image that displays on the vehicles’ infotainment screen so that the driver can see through the “third eye” of exactly what is behind the vehicle. Today, more CMOS image sensors are deployed and installed all around the vehicle to provide not only camera-like display to the driver, but to work as an inevitable part in the autonomous or semi-autonomous parking assist systems.

Bound with path planning and HMI (Human-Machine Interface) modules, an autonomous/semi-autonomous parking assist system is introduced to make all parking experience stress-free than ever before. The system is activated when the speed of the car plummets to a low speed (e.g. 20km/h), as the sensors start to look for side or parallel parking spaces. Once a suitable parking space is identified, the system will notify the driver and begins its autonomous steering function. In semi-autonomous parking, the system would need the driver to maintain control over the car’s brakes, accelerator and gear while providing audio guidance, while in autonomous parking, fully automatic manoeuvre is in place with no driver’s intervention required.

Designed to safe guard drivers, pedestrians and their assets, PixArt's PrimeSensor™ image sensor cameras offer all that are required in Parking Assistance Systems. The Analog SoC Sensors come with ISP image processor to sharpen and de-noise for ultimate image clarity. Its built-in auto-exposure control algorithm and dynamic light-correcting mechanism further reinforces road safety by offsetting the unfavorable impact to image quality under low light condition.

For more information about our PrimeSensor™ analog CMOS Image Sensor SoC products for automotive applications, please contact us via our SUPPORT page.

Dashcams are like black boxes on cars. When a car accident occurs, the recorded footage can be used as a reliable evidence for determining accountability, even when there are disagreements between the two drivers. To protect against car vandalism, some dashcams also come with parking mode which allows the device to survive on small internal batteries and continue to record when the car is off.

PixArt's PrimeSensor™ product series is perfectly suitable for dashcam applications, regardless of whether the device is plugged to the car electrical system. With small form factors and low-power consumption architecture, many of our latest released PrimeSensor™ chips are embedded with the advanced low-power movement detection algorithm to offer impressive image quality of up to 1080p HDR (high dynamic quality). The quality of the image taken are further reinforced by the heat-tolerant and low-light sensitivity features that help to maintain video clarity under critical conditions, including dim lights.

For more information about our PrimeSensor™ products that support the relevant applications, please visit the product pages below.

Smart rearview mirrors, and along-side of other digital mirror systems, can greatly improve road safety by overcoming the shortage of conventional mirrors. By mounting image sensors to the back, side or a-pillars of the vehicle and display the image on the infotainment screen, it will help to provide drivers with broadened field of view with minimized blind spots. This would allow drivers to optimize their driving judgments and hence reduce accident rates.

Some smart rearview mirrors also come with the in-built algorithms to achieve image clarity under low light conditions, while others may be designed to attenuate glare from strong headlights, all for the sake to eliminate visionary interference in dark driving environment.

To push visibility and driving experience to a whole new level, lately a few automotive solution providers have integrated the projected rearview image with the infotainment screen, thus allowing the rearview mirror physique to be removed for a clearer, split-free front view.

Seeking for quality and reliable sensors for your automotive project that satisfy low light sensitivity, high dynamic range and high frame rate specifications at the same time? You are at the right place. To find out more about our PrimeSensor™ product series, please contact us via our SUPPORT page.