近日，采埃孚天合集團(tuán)（ZF TRW）的全新全球技術(shù)中心在密歇根州法明頓希爾斯市正式成立。新技術(shù)中心內(nèi)專門設(shè)置的“卓越攝像頭實(shí)驗(yàn)室”凸顯了視覺系統(tǒng)技術(shù)在ZF TRW的重要地位，也反映了這種技術(shù)在自動(dòng)駕駛系統(tǒng)中扮演的關(guān)鍵角色。
主/被動(dòng)安全技術(shù)部、高級駕駛員協(xié)助系統(tǒng)（ADAS）業(yè)務(wù)高級副總裁Brian Loh表示，“隨著我們高級駕駛員輔助系統(tǒng)業(yè)務(wù)的不斷增長，我們需要進(jìn)行更大量的開發(fā)與測試。在新中心的幫助下，我們現(xiàn)在可以更好地完成這項(xiàng)工作。”
近日，在這所全球電子技術(shù)中心的開幕儀式上，Loh與其他幾位技術(shù)人員接受了《汽車工程》的采訪。
據(jù)了解，這座全球電子技術(shù)中心耗資300萬美元打造，占地15,886平方米，擁有超過600名工程師和支持人員。該中心內(nèi)擁有3,252平方米的實(shí)驗(yàn)空間，可進(jìn)行射頻、主動(dòng)安全及被動(dòng)安全等多種技術(shù)產(chǎn)品的研究與測試，其中就包括公司的單鏡與多鏡版S-Cam系列攝像頭。
“目前，該中心正在研發(fā)一款適用于TriCam系統(tǒng)的三焦距鏡頭。”Loh說，“這種鏡頭支持近焦、中焦和廣角3個(gè)焦距模式，傳感范圍比傳統(tǒng)的單晶攝像頭寬很多。”據(jù)了解，TriCam將于2018年中期將進(jìn)入生產(chǎn)，屆時(shí)將登陸一些支持自動(dòng)駕駛功能的車輛。
ZF TRW光學(xué)工程部高級技術(shù)專家Mike Babala表示，新中心擁有集團(tuán)內(nèi)部唯一一間光學(xué)目標(biāo)實(shí)驗(yàn)室，這可幫助技術(shù)專家尋找并校準(zhǔn)攝像頭的焦點(diǎn)。
Babala解釋道，“我們核心光學(xué)團(tuán)隊(duì)的工作是確保鏡頭前方的一切事物均能在鏡頭后方，也就是圖像中得到準(zhǔn)確體現(xiàn)，我們也采用了基于對象的鏡頭。”
該中心內(nèi)的光學(xué)目標(biāo)室處于一個(gè)嚴(yán)格控制的環(huán)境中，這與公司之前用車庫改建的操作間完全不同。“過去，我們在進(jìn)行實(shí)驗(yàn)時(shí)必須特別小心，不能讓光從門縫或墻壁中滲過來，從而防止眩光的產(chǎn)生，保證實(shí)驗(yàn)的順利進(jìn)行。”Babala補(bǔ)充說，“新的實(shí)驗(yàn)室對光的控制非常嚴(yán)格，不會(huì)出現(xiàn)滲光的問題。”
ADAS工程總監(jiān)Raad Konja表示，我們必須依賴可重復(fù)性測試，才能開發(fā)真正穩(wěn)健可靠的攝像系統(tǒng)。他說，“一切都是標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化的，因此我們每次的測試均處于一個(gè)變量可控的環(huán)境中。光學(xué)攝像頭系統(tǒng)主要分為三個(gè)部分，鏡頭、成像器以及圖像電子轉(zhuǎn)化設(shè)備，因此我們在進(jìn)行優(yōu)化時(shí)，只需要對這幾種組件進(jìn)行調(diào)整，然后觀察改變后的組件會(huì)給整個(gè)系統(tǒng)帶來什么影響。”
在系統(tǒng)開發(fā)的過程中，ZF TRW的工程師選擇了四輛歐寶Insignia轎車協(xié)助測試，這些測試車均配備了ZF的自動(dòng)制動(dòng)與轉(zhuǎn)向系統(tǒng)。Loh表示，“我們?yōu)闇y試車輛配置了多個(gè)長距和短距雷達(dá)，以及一個(gè)前向攝像頭，這些系統(tǒng)均將遵循公司內(nèi)部開發(fā)的算法相互配合、協(xié)同工作。”
按照SAE International國際自動(dòng)機(jī)工程師學(xué)會(huì)的定義，2級自動(dòng)駕駛車輛功能應(yīng)能夠在公路駕駛環(huán)境下支持駕駛員的“脫手”操作，也就是說駕駛員不用親自控制方向盤和油門剎車，而且還可以在有需要時(shí)啟動(dòng)自動(dòng)變道功能。
據(jù)了解，ZF TRW的工程師計(jì)劃提升這些測試車輛的自動(dòng)功能，使其滿足SAE對3級或4級自動(dòng)駕駛技術(shù)的定義。Loh說，“我們開始使用更多的復(fù)雜傳感器。此外，我們還在Ibeo汽車系統(tǒng)公司持股40%，正在嘗試為車輛搭配固態(tài)激光雷達(dá)系統(tǒng)。”
在這所新技術(shù)中心的揭幕儀式上，在場媒體有幸與ZF TRW產(chǎn)品規(guī)劃與汽車系統(tǒng)戰(zhàn)略部總監(jiān)Andrew Whydell一起進(jìn)行試駕。據(jù)了解，Whydell所在的部門也負(fù)責(zé)公司自動(dòng)駕駛方面的活動(dòng)。
Whydell對車上的媒體表示，“我們展示的技術(shù)已經(jīng)接近量產(chǎn)水平，預(yù)計(jì)大約將在2018年進(jìn)入美國的乘用車市場。”此時(shí)，Whydell“駕駛”的車輛正在SAE2級自動(dòng)模式下，行駛在底特律的公路之上。
With its newest work space designated a center of excellence for cameras, ZF TRWunderscores the critical role that vision-systems technology plays in automated driving.
“As our Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) business grows, we need to do a higher volume of development and testing. With this new facility, we’re now much better suited to do that work,” said Brian Loh, Senior Vice President of ADAS in the Active & Passive Safety Technology Division.
Loh and other ZF TRW technologists spoke with Automotive Engineering at the opening of the company’s newly opened $30 million Global Electronics Technical Center in Farmington Hills, MI.
The 171,000 ft2 (15,886 m2) center, staffed by more than 600 engineers and support staff, contains 35,000 ft2 (3252ft 2) of lab space for radio frequency, passive and active safety products, including the company’s S-Cam family of cameras in single- and multiple-lens versions.
“This facility is where the technology is being developed for our TriCam, a tri-focal lens camera with near-, mid-, and fisheye views," Loh said. "With the combination of all three of these lenses, the sensing envelope is much broader than a traditional single lens camera.” The TriCam is slated to enter production in mid-2018 for application on vehicles with automated driving capability.
As the only R&D lab of its kind within ZF TRW, the electronics tech center’s optics-target room enables technical specialists to access a camera’s focus and alignment, according to Mike Babala, Senior Technical Specialist for Optics Engineering.
“Our job in the core optics group is to make sure everything in front of the lens, which is object-based, gets accurately represented behind the lens, which is image space,” Babala explained.
The optics target room is a highly controlled environment, unlike the supplier’s former work space in a converted garage bay. “In the past we had to take special care to be sure that stray light didn’t enter the room from underneath the doors or walls and cause glare on the optic wall targets during measurements,” Babala said, adding, “There’s no stray light in this light-tight lab.”
Raad Konja, Director of ADAS Engineering, said developing a robust and reliable camera system relies on repeatable measurements. “Everything is standardized, so there’s no drift from test to test. The only thing that needs to change are the improvements that we drive into our optical path, which is comprised of a lens, an imager, and the technology that converts the images into electronics,” Konja said.
For the purpose of systems development, the engineers are using four Opel Insignia vehicles equipped with ZF TRW braking and steering. "We’ve added long- and short-range radars and a forward-looking camera with everything cooperatively operating on internally developed algorithms,” Loh said. The cars' SAE Level 2 technologies permit hands-free steering and foot-off pedal control at highway speeds, including lane changes prompted by the driver using the turn indicator.
The roadmap for ZF TRW engineers is to take these R&D cars to SAE Levels 3 and 4 capability. “We’re adding more sophisticated sensors, and now with our 40% stake in Ibeo Automotive Systems GmbH we’re working to add solid-state LiDAR,” Loh said.
Media who attended the new facility's opening were given the opportunity to ride with Andrew Whydell, the company's Director of Product Planning and Strategy for Vehicle Systems, which includes the company’s automated driving activities.
“We’re demonstrating technologies that are close to production, and I would say around 2018 you’ll start to see these technologies in the U.S. on passenger vehicles,” Whydell said while the Insignia was traveling at highway speeds on a metro Detroit expressway in its SAE Level 2 automated mode.
Author: Kami Buchholz
Source: SAE Automotive Engineering Magazine
最近，在ZF TRW舉行的一次技術(shù)演示試駕中，公司高級負(fù)責(zé)人Andrew Whydell正在介紹公司的SAE 2級自動(dòng)技術(shù)。此時(shí)，Whydell的手并未握著方向盤，腳也沒有踩在油門剎車上。他說，自動(dòng)公路駕駛功能“不僅可以免除駕駛員進(jìn)行長時(shí)間駕駛時(shí)的疲勞，而且還能通過保持車道和車距，提高車輛的安全性?！?
在ZF TRW全新電子技術(shù)中心的專用實(shí)驗(yàn)室中，技術(shù)員Mike Babala演示了汽車攝像頭的校準(zhǔn)過程，校準(zhǔn)的目的是保證鏡頭有效并且準(zhǔn)確地聚焦。
在ZF TRW的新電子技術(shù)中心中，技術(shù)員Matt Warmuth在完成環(huán)境測試后，正在檢查一支鏡頭的質(zhì)量和性能特征。