Automotive Grade Requirements for Vehicle Cameras

Exploring the "Automotive Grade" Performance Requirements for Vehicle Cameras:

Vehicle cameras, as crucial components of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), are experiencing rapid growth in the market. When discussing vehicle cameras, attention often focuses on the challenges faced by the industry, such as shortages of CMOS sensors and semiconductor chips. However, there's less discussion about production details. This article delves into a detail - the stringent requirements imposed by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for "Automotive Grade" vehicle camera products.

Generally, "Automotive Grade" signifies a synonym for quality, implying rigorous product performance standards. This is because automotive products encounter various extreme environments, including scorching summer temperatures, freezing winter conditions, rain, and the impact of high-pressure car washes. Additionally, automotive safety concerns are paramount, directly impacting driver and passenger safety. Therefore, "Automotive Grade" ensures that products can function reliably under these extreme conditions.

For vehicle camera products, the basic requirements for being considered "Automotive Grade" generally encompass the following seven aspects:

1. Temperature Resistance: The camera should operate normally within the range of -40°C to 85°C and withstand rapid temperature changes.

2. Shock Resistance: Given the vibrations experienced by vehicles on uneven road surfaces, the camera must withstand various intensities of vibration.

3. EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility): Vehicles generate high electromagnetic pulses during startup, necessitating high EMC performance.

4. Waterproofing: Vehicle cameras must be tightly sealed to ensure they can function normally even after prolonged exposure to rain.

5. Service Life: The expected service life of a vehicle camera should be at least 8 to 10 years.

6. High Dynamic Range (HDR): Due to the fast-moving nature of vehicles and frequent variations in lighting conditions, the camera's CMOS sensor should possess high dynamic range characteristics.

7. Low Noise: Effective noise suppression is required, especially in low-light conditions, ensuring clear imaging even at night.

These are general requirements, and there may be more specific requirements tailored to different application environments. For example, surround-view cameras require an ultra-wide angle, typically exceeding 135°, with some applications utilizing 210°.

Automotive Grade Lenses for Different Application Positions

As core optical components of cameras, vehicle lenses have varying optical performance characteristics depending on their application positions, including forward-facing (ADAS), rear-facing, surround-view, interior-facing (gesture recognition, facial recognition, eye tracking), and intelligent rearview mirrors.

1. Forward-Facing (including ADAS and Autonomous Driving Sensors):

• Continuous and stable focusing characteristics and thermal compensation to maintain stability under different temperature conditions.

• High pass light characteristics to ensure good imaging in low-light conditions.

• Clear imaging to effectively capture and resolve object details.

• Glare control to improve resistance to glare from headlights and other sources.

2. Rear-Facing / Surround-View:

• High waterproofing requirements.

• Excellent temperature characteristics to ensure high-definition performance.

• Distortion correction for a more realistic view.

3. Interior-Facing:

Involves different wavebands for various recognition tasks, requiring selective filtering of light.

4. Intelligent Electronic Mirrors:

• Need to improve resistance to glare caused by headlights.

• Consistent overall resolution across the entire image.

• Due to the harsh outdoor environment, vehicle cameras require higher stability compared to smartphone cameras. Downstream manufacturers have higher requirements in terms of technology, materials, reliability, and certification cycles.

Feel free to reach out to our sales team for further details. Jeavox, with over 15 years of experience, manufactures automotive-grade backup camera systems, adhering to ISO9001 and TS16949 standards. Choosing us means selecting a highly professional team.