An automatic panning system and method adapted for a vehicle with an attached trailer. The automatic panning system comprises an image capturing means adapted to capture image data with a view of the trailer and the automatic panning system is adapted to analyze the image data to identify at least one elongated element of the trailer, project a vector in the image data based on said elongated element, establish at least one reference vector, and identify an interception point of the reference vector and said projected vector.

An image display apparatus is provided with: an imager configured to image a scene in surroundings of a vehicle; a display configured to display a captured image imaged by the imager; and a display controller configured to switch between a first display mode in which a first image is displayed and a second display mode in which a second image is displayed, wherein the first image is the captured image showing a first range out of the surroundings of the vehicle, and the second image is the captured image including at least a part of the first range and showing a second range, which is wider than the first range, out of the surroundings of the vehicle. The display controller displays the second image on the display in the second display mode in an aspect of clearly showing an area of the second image corresponding to the first image.

A vehicular vision system includes a rear backup camera and a display device including a video display screen. The rear backup camera is electrically powered no later than 200 milliseconds after a driver of the vehicle shifts the vehicle transmission into reverse gear to commence a backup event. A valid video signal is available from the rear backup camera no later than 500 milliseconds after electricity is provided to the camera. The vehicular vision system displays on the video display screen stable rear backup video images derived from captured image data no later than two seconds after the driver shifts the vehicle transmission into reverse gear. Commencing when the vehicle transmission was shifted into reverse gear to begin the backup event, only rear backup video images derived from image data captured by the rear backup camera are displayed on the video display screen for the duration of the backup event.

A blind spot warning method is disclosed for a tow vehicle. The method includes determining whether a trailer is connected to the tow vehicle. Based on the determination whether the trailer is connected to the tow vehicle, the determines whether a blind spot zone corresponds to the tow vehicle or to the tow vehicle and the trailer. At least one instruction is sent to a user interface of the tow vehicle for displaying an image for viewing by a driver of the tow vehicle. The displayed image indicates the determination whether the blind spot zone corresponds to the tow vehicle or to the tow vehicle and the trailer, and indicates a presence or absence of at least one other vehicle disposed in the blind spot zone.

An apparatus for a vehicle, a vehicle, a method, and a program having a program code. The apparatus has at least one input interface to receive sensor data from at least one sensor module, wherein the sensor data includes sensor information about a behavior of at least one occupant of the vehicle and/or about a travel situation of the vehicle. The apparatus has a control module to determine a potential need for information by the vehicle occupant based on the sensor information. The control module provides information corresponding to the potential need for information and ascertains a representation of the information according to the potential need for information in the vehicle based on the sensor information. The apparatus has at least one output interface for providing at least one video signal or control signal according to the ascertained representation on one or more display devices.

A traveling direction acquiring unit acquires change information of the traveling direction of a vehicle output by a traveling direction detecting unit. An image synthesizing unit synthesizes an image capturing the front view from the vehicle and an image capturing, out of the right rear side view and the left rear side view from the vehicle, a rear side view in a direction after a change indicated by the change information. A display control unit outputs, to a projecting unit, a control signal for projecting the image synthesized by the image synthesizing unit in a front view in the direction after the change indicated by the change information, the front view being one of the right front view and the left front view as viewed from a driver.

A rearview mirror assembly includes: a display for displaying a first image from a first on-vehicle camera that is installed on a hatch of a vehicle and images a rear viewing field of the vehicle; an opened or closed state determination unit for determining whether the hatch is opened or closed; and a display controller for controlling displaying and non-displaying of the first image on the display. When the opened or closed state determination unit determines that the hatch is closed, the display controller causes the display to display the first image. When the opened or closed state determination unit determines that the hatch is opened, the display controller causes the display not to display the first image.

The invention relates to a method for monitoring the vehicle surroundings (U) of a vehicle combination (1), in particular utility vehicle combination (1), composed of a traction vehicle (2) and at least one trailer (3) using a monitoring system with a camera (11), having at least the following steps: defining a monitoring space (13) within a capture range (12) of the camera (11), wherein the monitoring system monitors only the monitoring space (13) for critical objects which can give rise to a collision probability, wherein the monitoring space (13) is defined and oriented in such a way that the vehicle surroundings (U) are located at least partially in the monitoring space (13), and at the same time the vehicle combination (1) is not located in the monitoring space (13), wherein for this purposea variable (?, ?) which characterizes the orientation between the traction vehicle (2) and the trailer (3) is acquired; anda manipulated variable (?) is determined as a function thereof, with which method the monitoring space (13) is shifted within the capture range (12) and therefore adapted dynamically; anddetecting whether critical objects are located in the monitoring space (13), in order to avoid a collision between an object which presents a risk and is located in the monitored vehicle surroundings (U) and the vehicle combination (1) in question.

Systems and methods may include a camera mode circuit receiving input from a plurality of sensors, determining camera modes available for camera activation, selecting one of the available camera modes by using received input from the plurality of sensors, evaluating input received from the plurality of sensors to determine the current condition of the vehicle and selecting a camera mode based on the determine current condition of the vehicle, selecting one or more cameras from which images are to be displayed based on the selected camera mode and mapping images from the selected cameras to one or more displays within the vehicle, and displaying the images from the selected cameras according to the mapping in response to an activation event.

An on-vehicle display control device includes a video image data acquiring unit configured to acquire side rear video image data from a right/left side camera in a movable part, and rear video image data from a rear camera; and a display controller configured to clip and display, on a right/left side monitor, the side rear video image data so as to include a predetermined imaging range defined by a rearview checking range in the right/left side camera and to display, on the right/left side monitor, when the movable part is operated and the right/left side camera faces a direction in which the predetermined imaging range cannot be captured, a first video image from the right/left side camera and a second video image from the rear camera in addition to the first video image.