China Passenger Car Camera Market Report, 2019 Q2

Passenger Car Camera Market: Front-view Monocular Camera Installations Soared by 104% in 2019Q2 from the Same Period of Last Year.

In the first half of 2019, around 10.89 million cameras were installed in new passenger cars in China, a year-on-year upsurge of 19.93%, among which monocular camera grew faster than others, with installations soaring by a hefty 104% in 2019Q2 on a like-for-like basis, compared with a growth rate of 71.7% in 2019Q1, according to our recent report - China Passenger Car Camera Market Report, 2019Q2.

In 2019Q2, the top three players Bosch, Aptiv, and Valeo seized shares of 23.7%, 18.9% and 16.6% in the Chinese passenger car front-view monocular camera market, respectively. Bosch and Valeo witnessed a faster growth rate than other vendors.

A long postponement in the mass production of highly automated driving systems saves major suppliers energy for the application of L2 and L2.5. Even for L2, OEMs’ actual progress is a reminder that the technology is still unavailable to a range of scenarios. For example, Attention Assist and Traffic Sign Assist of 2019 new Maybach models and Toyota’s Pre-collision System cannot work under the following conditions.

Attention Assist

Maybach Attention Assist works at speeds between 60 km/h and 200 km/h: it is able to recognize signs of driver fatigue or distraction and prompts the driver to take a break.

The ATTENTION ASSIST will be not fully exerted, and warnings may be delayed or not occur at all in the following situations:

• If the driver has been driving for less than 30 minutes.
• If the road condition is poor (uneven road surface or potholes).
• If there is a strong side wind.
• If the driver adopts a sporty driving style (high cornering speeds or high rates of acceleration).
• If the driver drives at speeds between 60 km/h and 200 km/h.
• If the Steering Pilot function of DISTRONIC is active.
• If the time is set incorrectly.
• In active driving situations, if the driver changes lanes and varies their speed frequently.

Traffic Sign Assist

Traffic Sign Assist detects traffic signs with a versatile camera and assists the driver by displaying detected speed limits and overtaking restrictions in the instrument cluster. If the system detects that users are driving onto a section of the road in the wrong direction, it triggers a warning. A camera on the inside of the windscreen is able to identify road signs at the roadside. Data stored in the navigation system and general traffic rules are also used to estimate the current speed.

When the vehicle travel through related traffic signs, its speed limit, and overtaking restriction will be updated.

The system can update the display in the following situations without detecting traffic signs:

• When the vehicle changes roads, e.g. freeway exit or ramp
• When driving through a village or town borders which are stored in the digital map
• When traffic signs the camera detected last time are not there

End sign of restrictions (speed limit or overtaking) will be displayed 5 seconds after the vehicle passes over. Traffic rules available to the current condition will be still displayed on the assist system.

The camera also detects traffic signs with a restriction indicated by an additional sign (e.g. in wet conditions).

Only in the following situations can these signs be displayed:

• When restriction rules must be complied with, or
• When the Traffic Sign Assist system is unable to determine whether restrictions are available or not, speed limits will not be displayed on the instrument cluster if not known from any sources.

The system may be either functionally impaired or temporarily out of work in the following situations:

• If there is poor visibility, e.g. due to rain, snow, fog or spray
• If there is glare, e.g. from the sun being low in the sky
• If there is dirt, ice or misting on the windscreen in the area of the camera
• If the traffic signs are hard to detect, e.g. due to dirt, ice or snow
• If there is inadequate lighting of the traffic signs at night
• If the signs are blurry, e.g. traffic signs on construction sites or in adjacent lanes
• If the information in the digital street map of the navigation system is incorrect or out of date

Toyota Pre-collision System (PCS)

Toyota’s Pre-Collision System (PCS) renders an in-vehicle camera and laser to detect pedestrians and other vehicles in front of the vehicle. If it determines the possibility of a frontal collision, the system will prompt the driver to take action and avoid it with audio and visual alerts. If the driver notices the potential collision and applies the brakes, the Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection (PCS w/PD) may apply additional force using Brake Assist (BA). If the driver fails to brake in time, it may automatically apply the brakes to reduce the vehicle’s speed, helping to minimize the likelihood of a frontal collision or reduce its severity.

In some situations (such as the following), a vehicle/pedestrian may not be detected by the radar and camera sensors, thus preventing the system from operating properly.

• When an oncoming vehicle approaches
• When the preceding vehicle is a motorcycle or a bicycle
• When approaching the side or front of a vehicle
• If a preceding vehicle has a small rear end, such as an unloaded truck
• If a preceding vehicle has a low rear end, such as a low bed trailer
• When the preceding vehicle has high ground clearance
• When a preceding vehicle is carrying a load which protrudes past its rear bumper
• If a vehicle ahead is irregularly shaped, such as a tractor or sidecar
• If the sun or other light is shining directly on the vehicle ahead
• If a vehicle cuts in front of your vehicle or emerges from beside a vehicle
• If a preceding vehicle ahead makes an abrupt maneuver (such as sudden swerving, acceleration or deceleration)
• When a sudden cut-in occurs behind a preceding vehicle
• When a preceding vehicle is not right in front of your vehicle
• When driving in bad weather such as heavy rain, fog, snow or a sandstorm
• When the vehicle is hit by water, snow, dust, etc. from a vehicle ahead
• When driving through steam or smoke
• When the amount of light changes dramatically, such as at a tunnel exit/entrance
• When a very bright light, such as the sun or the headlights of an oncoming vehicle, beat down the camera sensor
• When driving in low light (dusk, dawn, etc.) or when driving without headlights at night or in a tunnel
• After the hybrid system has started and the vehicle has not been driven for a certain period of time
• While making a left/right turn and within a few seconds after making a left/right turn
• While driving on a curve, and within a few seconds after driving on a curve
• If your vehicle is skidding
• If the front of the vehicle is raised or lowered
• If the wheels are misaligned
• If the camera sensor is blocked (by a wiper blade, etc.)
• If your vehicle is wobbling
• If your vehicle is being driven at extremely high speeds
• While driving up or down a slope
• When the camera sensor or radar sensor is misaligned

In some situations (such as the following), braking force may be not enough to make PCS work normally:

• When braking function fails to work normally due to undercooled, overheated or wet braking parts
• When the vehicle is maintained improperly (brake/tires overworn, abnormal tire pressure, etc.)
• When the vehicle travels on gravel roads or other slippery roads

PCS should be disabled when the radar and camera sensor may not recognize a pedestrian in the following circumstances:

• When a pedestrian is 1m or shorter or 2m or taller
• When a pedestrian wears oversized clothing (a raincoat, long skirt, etc.), obscuring the pedestrian’s silhouette
• When a pedestrian carries large baggage, holds an umbrella, etc., hiding part of the body
• When a pedestrian leans forward or squats
• When a pedestrian pushes a pram, wheelchair, bicycle or other vehicle
• When pedestrians are walking in a group or are close together
• When a pedestrian is in white that reflects sunlight and looks extremely bright
• When a pedestrian is in the darkness such as at night or while in a tunnel
• When a pedestrian has clothing with brightness/color similar to scenery and that blend into the background
• When a pedestrian is staying close to or walking alongside a wall, fence, guardrail, vehicle or other obstacle
• When a pedestrian is walking on top of metal on the road surface
• When a pedestrian walks fast
• When a pedestrian abruptly changes walking speed
• When a pedestrian runs out from behind a vehicle or a large object
• When a pedestrian is very close to a side (external rearview mirror) of the vehicle

ADAS suppliers and OEMs work together on product and technology development to make breakthroughs in so many inapplicable scenarios so that ADAS can get improved and become safer. All players still have a long way to go before autonomous driving comes true.