How do 360° Parking Camera Work? | The Technology Explained

With the advancement in automotive technology, cars are becoming easier to drive and safer to be in. One such technological marvel is the 360° parking camera. A camera that assists you with parking in a whole new way! You get to see a full view of your surroundings, even the spots which are otherwise blind. But how is it possible? How does the 360° parking camera work? But before that, what is the need for such a tech? Let’s find out.

The Four Horsemen of Driving Worries!

A car is like an animal with thousand of adjustments. Thus while driving a car, one has to completely stay focused, while keeping in check the surroundings and the parameters of the car. Listed down are the four major worries when a person drives a car.

1. Reversing Safety

   While you reverse a car, there is a huge blind spot behind your car that can lead to an accident. For eg, you might not be able to see a child playing behind your car. This is a major worry while reversing a car, especially for the ones who are new to driving.

2. Driving Safety

   Everyone who drives knows that there are plenty of blind spots in a car that act as hindrances during driving. These blind spots are usually more problematic while changing lanes or taking turns. Major causes for these are wider bonnets, car pillars and other body protruding.

3. Parking Safety

   While parking a car, especially in tight spaces such as parking lots of malls, it is really tough to keep an eye on everything in your surroundings. Thus it can lead to touching or banging into another car or some obstacle.

4. Blind zone Safety

   There are many blind spots in a car that cannot be seen while driving. It can be A-pillar’s blind spot or the ones while changing lanes. Blind spots are one of the major reason for accidents.

Technology has a solution to every problem, or we can safely say most of them! So for these problems, we have 360° parking camera at our disposal. But before knowing how it helps, let us first know the components and the working of this tech.

The 360° Parking Camera or the 360° Camera

It is a system which uses a minimum of 4 cameras situated around the car. With the help of these cameras and proximity sensors around the car, the system then makes images for the driver. It can view the surroundings with 4 different views or all views collaborated to make 1 view which seems as if you are playing a third-person game and driving your car.

There are a total of five views you can choose to view from. The first one is the 360° view in which the screen shows the third-person preview of your car as if you’re viewing your car from the above. The second one is the front view which uses the front camera and sensors. The third ones in the rearview. The fourth and fifth ones are side views.

Usually, the cameras are placed at the front bumper, the rear bumper and at the side skirts on either side. More cameras can be added according to demand.

So, how does the 360° camera help?

It basically removes almost all the blind spots and gives you the best possible estimate of your surroundings. Whenever the reverse gear is engaged, the system switches on all the four cameras and the proximity sensors around the car. The data collected from these components is then fed to a highly sophisticated system which then constructs the image of the surroundings and shows it to the driver in a flat top view for assisting the driver in reversing the car.

Some systems can also work if the car is in driving mode. For eg, while changing a lane when the turn indicator is switched on, the camera and the sensors on that side will be activated clearing all the blind spots for you.

So this system has a great benefit and can make your car driving experience great. Many carmakers have started equipping their high-end cars with this technology.

Can I install an aftermarket 360° camera system if my car doesn’t have one?

Yes, you can definitely install an aftermarket system if your car doesn’t have one. But the accuracy of the system might not be as good as the company fitted ones. The one that manufacturers equip their cars with is tested properly. The same cannot be said about the aftermarket ones.

So this technology can surely help a lot while driving. There is no such drawback of this system as of now, although the working completely depends upon the research and quality that goes into the system. What are your views about this technology? Let us know in the comments section below.

Also read Self Driving Cars in India | All is Not Lost with Autonomous Cars