360 degree bird's-eye view

israndy

2007 LTV Serenity
Lots of OEMs like Nissan and Infinity now have them factory. But there are more and more aftermarket models like: http://www.amazon.com/Rear-Vehicle-Backup-Camera-Waterproof/dp/B00WWM2B5G

Has anyone installed such a thing on a Sprinter? I saw one at the Pomona RV show in Oct. for $1000. I am curious how well they work on a Sprinter. I have not seen any that are specific for our shorter vans. I have only seen them for cars or big RVs and buses.

As much as I like to blaze a trail, would be happy to follow in someones footsteps on this process.

-Randy
 

avanti

2022 Ford Transit 3500
I have been shopping around. You can find them really cheap on Ali Express. I haven't picked one yet--you go first. :smilewink: Be careful, though: I almost bought one but at the last minute discovered that it wouldn't work on a vehicle longer than 6 meters.

P.S. -- Advanced RV offers them as an option.
 

Ivessm

2014 Long/Tall BLACK Pass 4Cyl/7sp
DOTWORKZ - Just trying to help you out here man.

Here is the paragraph from your Facebook page:

BASH™ is an incredible product for reducing vibration, safely securing with vandal resistance, and powering all most any small camera to a vehicle, RV, or boat. Learn more at: www.dotworkz.com/TCsprinter/."

Here is the way I would write it...

BASH™ is an incredible product for powering, reducing vibration, and safely securing almost any small camera to a vehicle, RV, or boat. Learn more at: www.dotworkz.com/TCsprinter/.

Your choice... :professor:

stew
 

avanti

2022 Ford Transit 3500
OK, I couldn't resist...
I have been working with one of the Chinese suppliers of "bird view" cameras to find one that would work on the Sprinter. As I said above, many of the manufactures say that their systems are limited to vehicle length of 6 meters. This particular vender did a test for me and reported that 7m will work but that the side cameras need to be fairly high on the vehicle. Their system costs less than $250, including delivery and four big checkerboard calibration pads, so I figured I'd give it a try. I have been meaning to get a dash-cam to protect myself from bogus traffic enforcement, and even if the bird-view doesn't work, this unit serves that function very nicely.

It arrived today:

IMG_7175.jpg

IMG_7176.jpg

Playing with it on the floor, it looks like it is going to work. Cameras are small and image quality good. Menus are in English (which is always a question with Asian electronics). So far, so good.

IMG_7177.jpg

(obviously, the system isn't calibrated, so the image fusion is wrong).

Now I need some nice weather to do some on-vehicle experiments.
 

GeorgeRa

2013 Sprinter DIY 144WB, Portland OR
I am looking for ways to ease parking my van in the garage. I can either mount some cameras on the van or use laser with beams to aligned myself on the marked floor. This 360deg birds view system is intriguing. I assume all cameras need to be wired. Why targets are necessary to calibrate images, is calibration process to merge 4 images into one? Could you share the link to your Chinese product?
Thank you,
George.
 

Midwestdrifter

Engineer In Residence
I am looking for ways to ease parking my van in the garage. I can either mount some cameras on the van or use laser with beams to aligned myself on the marked floor. This 360deg birds view system is intriguing. I assume all cameras need to be wired. Why targets are necessary to calibrate images, is calibration process to merge 4 images into one? Could you share the link to your Chinese product?
Thank you,
George.

Each camera uses an ultra-wide angle lens. The lenses distort the image. Because camera angle and height vary calibration for the post processing is required to eliminate distortion and show the ground as from above.

This is an intriguing product. I can see numerous advantages for large/tall vehicles with limited ground visibility. The holes required for mounting and cable routing may be a non-starter for some. Although mounting with adhesives and routing all cables through a single roof pass-through is likely an option.
 

avanti

2022 Ford Transit 3500
Here's the link:
http://wholesaler.alibaba.com/product-detail/2015-newest-360-degree-camera-bird_60392986084.html
Doing business with them is kind of a challenge, but they seem honest and responsive.

As for camera mounting, yes they are all wired. The cameras are pretty tiny. The front camera can be nestled in the big Mercedes star. I am going to put the rear one on the bracket that holds the OEM backup camera--the wire should be able to share the entry path from that camera. It is the side cameras that are tricky. I THINK that they are supposed to point almost directly downward. In a car, they are typically mounted in the bottom of the side mirror casings. I don't think that will work on the Sprinter (too low and too far forward). The manufacturer recommended using the square surface-mount cameras intended for the rear. However, I don't like that look, so I ordered the standard flush-mount bullet cameras. I am hoping to mount them in the cases of the patio lights that GWV put on our van. If so, I won't have to drill any new holes. If that doesn't work, I will probably 3-D print custom brackets and mount them wherever works best.

I'm sure that this would be very effective for navigating a garage.
 

GeorgeRa

2013 Sprinter DIY 144WB, Portland OR
Merging 4 fish-eye lens images with minimum distortion is likely interesting. I assume theses targets are to simplify that task.

I bought these “fog” lights http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SH2IL1S?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00
which project very clear line so with marked lines on the floor they would be very accurate but only useful in the garage. I could mount them in the garage and have targets on the van; decisions, decisions.
George.
 

GSWatson

2013 144
Thanks, Avanti, for spearheading this - I wasn't aware that something like this could be applied to the sprinter, and am looking forward to seeing how it works!
 

pfflyer

Well-known member
Nice. Does the birds eye and front view get recorded? Can you change the screen to show only birds eye view?
 

avanti

2022 Ford Transit 3500
Nice. Does the birds eye and front view get recorded? Can you change the screen to show only birds eye view?
I haven't played with the recording yet (need to acquire a 32 gig micro-SD card). But, if I am interpreting the menu item correctly, it can be set to record all four camera views simultaneously. It looks like you may get the raw fish-eye views, which maximizes coverage. I don't think it records the bird-view, but I could be wrong.

I don't see an option to display only the bird-view. To be any bigger, it would have to be sideways, which would be odd. There are wires that you can connect to the turn signal and reverse lights that automatically switch from front view to side/back view.
 

avanti

2022 Ford Transit 3500
Avanti, how difficult is it to fish the wires for those various locations?
That is going to depend entirely on what is inside your van. I would rate mine as "medium". GWV has wire races along both sides inside the cabinets, but it is still some work. One thing that helps is that they use these interesting little 4-prong plugs and sockets that are not much bigger than the wires, so there is no issue of fishing large connectors.

Of course, if you don't have suitable porch lights on the sides, then you will have to drill holes and figure out how to point the cameras downward. In this case, the easiest thing to do would be to order three of the cube-shaped "rear" cameras, rather than the flush-mount bullet cams that I used.
 
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avanti

2022 Ford Transit 3500
BTW: it occurs to me that if you wanted to do this install but didn't have the porch lights, a good solution would be to just install some. They cost all of $5.25:

http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Lights/Optronics/RVPL5A.html



They work well, since the curvature allows a flush mount that points slightly forward, which is probably good on a long vehicle. You have to make some minor mods to the reflector inside to make the camera fit, but it is no big deal.
 

GSWatson

2013 144
The plastic coat hook cover slides up and off, revealing a metal bracket with a bolt. Then remove the cargo d-ring. But beware, you run the risk of messing with the seat belt adjustment mechanism if you take the whole thing off; you might want to just loosen the pillar and tuck the wires in.
 

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