Systems and methods for determining an alignment of a trailer relative to a docking bay or a vehicle bay door using dynamic depth filtering. Image data and position data is captured by a 3D camera system with an at least partially downward-facing field of view. When a trailer is approaching the docking bay or door, the captured image data includes a top surface of the trailer. A dynamic height range is determined based on an estimated height of the top surface of the trailer in the image data and a dynamic depth filter is applied to filter out image data corresponding to heights outside of the dynamic height range. An angular position and/or lateral offset of the trailer is determined based on the depth-filtered image data.

A vehicular vision system includes a rear backup vehicle camera, a trailer camera disposed at a rear of a trailer, a display device disposed in the vehicle, and an electronic control unit (ECU) disposed in the vehicle. With the trailer not hitched to the vehicle and during a reversing maneuver of the vehicle, the ECU generates video images derived at least in part from image data captured by the rear backup vehicle camera and the display device displays the video images. With the trailer hitched to the vehicle, image data captured by the trailer camera is provided to the vehicle via data communication over powerline using a DC powerline, and the display device displays the video images derived at least in part from image data captured by the trailer camera for viewing by the driver of the vehicle during the driving maneuver of the vehicle with the trailer hitched thereto.

A system for trailer coupler localization for guidance during a hitching maneuver for a vehicle includes a trailer device including a trailer coupler and a graphic providing structure affixed to the trailer coupler. The structure includes at least one predefined graphic image. The system further includes a rear facing camera device attached to the vehicle and providing a captured image of the predefined graphic image. The system further includes a computerized controller, including programming to receive and analyze the captured image of the predefined graphic image to determine a relative position of the graphic providing structure to the camera device. The controller further includes programming to utilize the analysis to determine a relative position of the trailer coupler to a trailer hitch ball of the vehicle and to provide an output to control the hitching maneuver based upon the relative position.

A traction assist apparatus includes a memory and a hardware processor coupled to the memory. The hardware processor is configured to: acquire first coupling information representing a current coupling posture of a towed vehicle to a towing vehicle and acquire second coupling information representing a future coupling posture of the towed vehicle where the towing vehicle moves backward at a current steering angle; and display a first indicator and a second indicator on a display device in a comparable mode, the first indicator indicating the towed vehicle corresponding to the first coupling information, the second indicator indicating the towed vehicle corresponding to the second coupling information.

A vehicular control system includes a rear backup camera viewing at least rearward of the vehicle. With a trailer hitched to the vehicle, and based at least in part on image processing of captured image data during a backing-up maneuver, the image processor determines a distance between an axle of the trailer and the hitch of the vehicle and determines a trailer angle of the trailer hitched to the vehicle. During the backing-up maneuver of the trailer hitched to the vehicle, the vehicular control system determines a path of the trailer responsive to (i) a steering angle of the vehicle, (ii) the determined trailer angle of the trailer and (iii) the determined distance between the axle of the trailer and the hitch of the vehicle. The vehicular control system displays information to assist the driver in backing up the trailer hitched to the vehicle.

A towing assistance device includes an acquirer, a determiner, and a notifier. The acquirer acquires a coupling angle between a towing vehicle and a towed vehicle. The determiner determines whether the towed vehicle is movable backward in a coupling posture with the coupling angle maintained, when the towing vehicle is moved backward at a current steering angle. The notifier issues information on a steering angle at which the towed vehicle is movable backward in the coupling posture, among selectable steering angles of the towing vehicle.

A motor vehicle includes apparatus for towing a trailer with a retractable drop leg. A backup camera captures a detection image with a field of view including the trailer. A vehicle controller detects an initiation of driving with the trailer being connected. A pattern memory prestores at least one image pattern indicative of an extended position or a retracted position of the drop leg. An image scanner receives the detection image when the initiation of driving is detected, wherein the image scanner compares the detection image and the at least one image pattern to detect whether the drop leg is in the extended position. A notification device responsive to the image scanner alerts a driver if the extended position is detected.

A vehicular trailer assist system includes a rearward viewing camera disposed at a vehicle that views a trailer hitched at a fifth wheel hitch at a bed of the vehicle. With the trailer hitched to the fifth wheel hitch at the bed of the vehicle, the vehicular trailer assist system, via processing fisheye-view frames of image data captured by the camera, transforms fisheye-view frames of image data captured by the rearward viewing camera into bird's-eye view frames of image data. The vehicular trailer assist system determines a region of interest (ROI) in a transformed bird's-eye view frames of image data that includes a region where the fifth wheel hitch is present. The vehicular trailer assist system, via a Hough transform that transforms the determined ROI from a Cartesian coordinate system to a polar coordinate system, determines a trailer angle of the trailer relative to the vehicle.

A vehicular trailer assist system includes a camera disposed at a rear portion of a vehicle, a plurality of sensors, and an electronic control unit (ECU) having a processor for processing image data captured by the camera and sensor data captured by the plurality of sensors. The ECU, responsive to processing of image data captured by the camera, determines a trailer angle of the trailer relative to the vehicle. The ECU, responsive to processing of sensor data captured by the plurality of sensors, predicts a yaw rate of the vehicle and a trailer angle of the trailer relative to the vehicle at a future time. The ECU, responsive to predicting the yaw rate, determines a corrected vehicle yaw rate based on processing of captured image data and captured sensor data, and determines a corrected trailer angle, and determines a vehicle heading and position and a trailer heading and position.

A vehicular trailer assist system includes a rearward viewing camera viewing a trailer hitched at a fifth wheel hitch at a bed of the vehicle. With the trailer hitched to the vehicle, the vehicular trailer assist system transforms fisheye-view frames of image data captured by the rearward viewing camera into bird's-eye view frames of image data. The vehicular trailer assist system determines the fifth wheel hitch within a transformed bird's-eye view frame of image data. The vehicular trailer assist system warps the transformed bird's-eye view frame of image data, which includes (i) an X-axis that indicates change in a trailer angle of the trailer relative to the vehicle and (ii) a Y-axis that indicates distance from the fifth wheel hitch. The vehicular trailer assist system, using the X-axis of the warped transformed bird's-eye view frame of image data, determines the trailer angle of the trailer relative to the vehicle.