Hi - Looking to settle on a camera for a deployment I'm developing.

I'm hoping to deploy one of your cameras as a forward facing dashcam. I'll be running a custom Yolo based model for OD on the device and would like to triangulate the distance between objects as I'm driving. For ease of deployment it would be great if it was USB,

Two questions:

  1. Would the glass (windshield) immediately in front of the camera make any difference if I focus beyond it? (10-12m)
  2. I know that many windshields block IR. Have you had any experience projecting the IR beam through one for night vision? I assume it would need active stereo.

Given my scope, which camera would you recommend?

Thanks,

JG

    jg-chalk Would the glass (windshield) immediately in front of the camera make any difference if I focus beyond it? (10-12m)

    No. But you need to make sure left and right sensors also focus beyond the glass (which shouldn't be a problem since the depth of field starts at 60cm).

    jg-chalk I know that many windshields block IR. Have you had any experience projecting the IR beam through one for night vision? I assume it would need active stereo.

    Why do you need IR? Integrated floodlight/dot projector won't suffice here as they are not bright enough. Also, there should be enough light to run the YOLO so you wouldn't need IR anyway. + active stereo is generally not needed outside as the environment is textured enough.

    Oak-D S2 Wide or standard Oak-D S2

    Thanks,
    Jaka

        Thanks Jaka!

        I need IR because I'll be trying to light up license plates at night time with reduced light. I need a fixed frame rate for the video (~1/800s +) to still capture the license plates for OCR as I drive by. I could use an external illuminator but was hoping it would be sufficient from the camera itself. I'd configure the camera to switch from daylight to IR depending on lighting conditions.

        Digging into active vs passive stereo, given this use case (reading license plates) would it matter?

        I'm attaching a video of the type of environment I'm capturing in the day. Picture it at night with the odd illumination from streetlights and the headlights of the car.

        Sample Video

        JG

          jg-chalk Digging into active vs passive stereo, given this use case (reading license plates) would it matter?

          Active stereo would only work if the objects viewed are not textured enough.

          AFAIK windshield should not block IR light (unless it's some special windshield) so you shouldn't have a problem.
          Would 1MP be enough for you to run OCR at night?

          Thanks,
          Jaka

            I understood the windshields blocked IR light to prevent sun from overheating the cabin. I have an IR torch so I’ll try it out and see.

            1MP would likely not be enough. It’s hard enough to capture during the day at that speed. Which camera is that the resolution for?

              Thanks - give that, which of the USB OAK Cameras would you recommend?

                jg-chalk
                Issue is we don't currently have an option for both IR+high MP+global shutter. I suggest you try out with OV9282, if not enough - you might be better off with a sensor like IMX462 that performs better in nighttime due to sony's STARVIS technology.

                Thanks,
                Jaka