A method provides driver information in a motor vehicle, in which method a recording device of the motor vehicle captures an image flow containing images of at least one part of the environment of the motor vehicle. A display unit in the interior of the motor vehicle reproduces at least one image section of the image flow. A display control unit of the motor vehicle automatically modifies the environmental section shown to the driver by reproducing the image section using the display unit. During the reproduction of the image section, in addition to the representation of the environmental section, at least first optical information relating to the position of the environmental section relative to the motor vehicle is output to the driver.

An image display control apparatus includes an image generating portion generating a display image to be displayed on a display apparatus, the display image including a mirror image of a vehicle outside image based on at least a part of a captured image in which at least a rear side of a vehicle is captured, a reference image setting portion being capable of setting a reference image corresponding to a position that is away towards the rear side of the vehicle, the reference image being set as an image to be included in the display image while the vehicle is moving forward, and a display control portion controlling the display apparatus so that the display image is displayed.

An image display device 12 includes a camera 20 for imaging a rear of a vehicle 10, a reference position detection section 80 for detecting a reference position indicating a relative position of eyes 104 of an operator 100 relative to a display part 50, and an image control section 82 for extracting a part of an imaged image of the camera 20 thereby to display it as a circumferential image on the display part 50 and changing an extraction range of the imaged image in accordance with the reference position. The image control section 82 increases or decreases a movement amount of the extraction range relative to a change amount of the reference position in comparison with the case of a normal mirror 120.

A multi-camera vision system for a vehicle includes a plurality of video cameras having respective fields of view external of the vehicle. Captured image data is provided to and processed at a central data processor in order to detect objects that are within the field of view of at least some of the video cameras. The vehicle is equipped with a sensor system having at least one non-visual sensor that senses sensor data in a region external of the vehicle. The sensed sensor data is provided to the central data processor. A potential hazard present exterior the vehicle is determined to exist via processing at the central data processor of at least one of received image data and received sensor data.

An imaging system for a vehicle includes an imaging sensor and a video display device. The imaging system generates an overlay that is electronically superimposed on the displayed images to assist a driver of the vehicle when executing a backup maneuver. The overlay has first, second and third overlay zones, with the overlay zones indicative of respective distance ranges from the rear of the vehicle to respective distances. As indicated to the driver viewing the video display screen when executing a backup maneuver, the first distance is closer to the rear of the vehicle than the second distance and the second distance is closer to the rear of the vehicle than the third distance. The first overlay zone may be a first color and the second overlay zone may be a second color and the third overlay zone may be a third color.

A system and method for providing an alert warning to a driver of a that includes forward facing vehicle sensors that can detect the presence and relative distance of a forward obstruction in a travel lane immediately in front of the vehicle, a processor for receiving signals from the forward sensor and for processing the signal to determine the relative speed, acceleration and or deceleration of the forward obstruction, a forward signal receiver adapted to receive a signal from a forward obstruction, a rear signal transmitter for transmitting information relating to the vehicle and any forward obstructions a following vehicle, and an driver alert device to warn a driver if a collision is imminent unless evasive action is implemented.

A display controller is provided that controls a camera capturing an image of an area diagonally behind a vehicle and including an imaging element that receives light from an image-capturing target through an optical system, the display controller including a processor that calculates a shift amount of a reference position of the imaging element with respect to an optical axis of the optical system, performs a control to move the reference position of the imaging element in a direction away from the optical axis according to the shift amount, and generates a display image based on the image captured by the camera so as to cause the display image to be displayed on a display device.

An image control unit of an image display device provides, on display screens of a display unit, a captured-image-only region in which only a captured image is displayed when the display unit displays the captured image, and multiple-image regions in which the captured image or a different image that is different from the captured image is selectively displayed when the display unit displays the captured image. In an embodiment, the image control unit fixes a position of the captured-image-only region on the display screens.

A method to equip a vehicle to perform object detection and tracking and a surround view camera system to perform the object detection and tracking involve two or more cameras arranged respectively at two or more locations of the vehicle. The cameras capture images within a field of view of the two or more cameras. A processing system obtains the images from the two or more cameras and performs image processing to detect and track objects in the field of view of the two or more cameras.

An interior rearview mirror assembly for a vehicle includes a mirror head having a mirror reflective element with a transflective mirror reflector. A video display device is disposed rearward of the mirror reflective element, and a polymer reflector layer is disposed in front of the video display device. The video display device is operable to display video images captured by a rearward viewing camera of the vehicle. When the video display device is operated to display video images, light emitted by the video display device passes through the polymer reflector layer and the mirror reflective element for viewing of displayed video images by a driver of the vehicle viewing the mirror reflective element. Linearly polarized light emitted by the video display device is circularly polarized as it passes through the polymer reflector layer, such that the displayed video images comprise circularly polarized light.