Front Camera Problems - Am Amazed There Is Not More Discussion On This

[Mach Turtle]

...
Your eyes do not have pixels.

Speak for yourself, meatbag.

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[Ry2023]

With the exposure of the front grille camera to road dirt and road dings, I'm amazed there hasn't been a ton more discussion about the grille camera.

I've only found a few not-very-long threads on the matter:

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/front-grille-camera-replacement-part-number.18936/

https://www.f150lightningforum.com/forum/threads/front-camera-washer.13554/

I seem to have developed a phantom spot in my front grille camera based on where the gunk appears in my field of view (and it's also in the 360° view):

One might think the spot is caused by the following bit of debris. The debris is in ~the right spot. Still, I didn't notice it when I first tried to clean the grille camera lens with a microfiber cloth of ~that bluish color, so I'm wondering if that debris is a red (or purply-blue) herring and my actual problem is road tar or a scratch on the camera lens. Has anyone actually replaced their grille camera lens yet, and at how much time and cost?

I am actually having the same thing right now…. It looks like a small stoner pebble hit the top of my camera and I have a similar blotch in there….. at first I thought it was dirt, turns out it’s a small ding or crack. Consulted the dealer about it. It’ll probably be likely over $600 and I’ll need the truck all day….. They said the hardest part is integrating it into 360 system… I am thinking about calling my insurance or that because my deductible is much less than that

 

[Mmiketa]

It seems strange to me that the same 'blob' appears on the 'aerial' image.
Since the is no built-in drone w/camera, I assume it is a made up image/view, so one might wonder, why is the 'blob' there too?
I guess the computer generated aerial image uses some of the camera input to generate it.

I don't know the details of the camera, but any lens could easily incur a rock/gravel impact out on the highway that could leave a pit/chip in it, which is what it looks like to me, having seen a similar looking pit/chip in one of my vehicle windshields after a dump truck threw a rock at me out on the highway one time.

In case it is a blob of some substance on the lens and not a pit/chip, some (many/most) types of lenses should not be cleaned with alcohol, it can damage the coating!

Instead, use a diluted dish washing liquid like Dawn in warm water, a lens cleaning fluid, or a microfiber cloth, to be safe.

Good luck.

It's not strange at all. The 360 view is made by stitching the feeds from the various cameras around the truck into a single view. If you have one of the cameras obstructed, you would see that on the 360 view. Also, if you open your door while it is on (moving one of your cameras) you can see the image 360 view skew.

 

[chl]

It's not strange at all. The 360 view is made by stitching the feeds from the various cameras around the truck into a single view. If you have one of the cameras obstructed, you would see that on the 360 view. Also, if you open your door while it is on (moving one of your cameras) you can see the image 360 view skew.

I get that.
I was thinking of the aerial view, like when backing up.

Since the grill camera is pointing forward, I was wondering, where is the blob?
At the front of the truck in the generated image I guess.

And thought it strange it was even there, since, sophisticated image processing and distance sensing should compute that there is not a "BLOB FROM OUTER SPACE" sitting in front of the truck, but a defect in the lens. And the blob would not appear.

AI based auto-pilot systems worry me, if they can't tell a lens defect from an object in front of the vehicle. The image processing needs to be integrated with distance sensing (laser or radar or sonar), or image perspective/parallax based computing to identify something as a real object and not a lens artifact.

 

[Ry2023]

I dont think the blue cruise on the lightning runs off the cameras like they do on Teslas …..but I could be wrong …what worries me .is . I have a big trip coming up and I would hate not to have blue cruise lol

 

[Maquis]

I dont think the blue cruise on the lightning runs off the cameras like they do on Teslas …..but I could be wrong …what worries me .is . I have a big trip coming up and I would hate not to have blue cruise lol

BC does use the cameras. But not cameras exclusively like Tesla does.

 

[Mmiketa]

I get that.
I was thinking of the aerial view, like when backing up.

Since the grill camera is pointing forward, I was wondering, where is the blob?
At the front of the truck in the generated image I guess.

And thought it strange it was even there, since, sophisticated image processing and distance sensing should compute that there is not a "BLOB FROM OUTER SPACE" sitting in front of the truck, but a defect in the lens. And the blob would not appear.

AI based auto-pilot systems worry me, if they can't tell a lens defect from an object in front of the vehicle. The image processing needs to be integrated with distance sensing (laser or radar or sonar), or image perspective/parallax based computing to identify something as a real object and not a lens artifact.

I there there is some confusion. What you call the "aerial view" is the 360 view. There is no AI processing, it is just taking like 7 camera views and stitching it into one view. Because the blob is recorded in one of the videos being stitched together it has to show up in your "aerial" view.

 

[chl]

I there there is some confusion. What you call the "aerial view" is the 360 view. There is no AI processing, it is just taking like 7 camera views and stitching it into one view. Because the blob is recorded in one of the videos being stitched together it has to show up in your "aerial" view.

Right, whatever it is called, but I meant the view that shows the TOP of my truck, an aerial view.
Of course there is NO camera looking DOWN onto my truck from above so that part of the image has to be computer generated, see?
The top part of my truck in the view is NOT from any camera image stitched together, that's all I was referring to.

I put the part that could NOT be from any camera inside the smaller red box in this image:

No camera above my truck looking down to create that part of the image.

I get that the other camera images are combined to show what is in front, behind, to the sides.

My point about AI is what happens IF the camera system shows a "blob" in front of your truck, that is not a real object, but is a lens defect.

In my opinion, the system should be able to detect a lens defect, remove it from the image, and display a message that the lens needs repair. But if it can't tell the difference between a lens defect and a real object, then Houston we have a problem.

Imagine what could happen if you were driving down the highway, a piece of gravel hits the lens and causes a blob to appear in the front view camera. Assuming AI is driving the vehicle, would it mistake the lens defect for a real object and take evasive maneuvers? Stop suddenly?

Hopefully there is radar and/or sonar, and multiple forward looking cameras to determine there really is nothing there.

But then you have to wonder how an auto-pilot system would respond if a 2x4 is on the road in the lane front of you. Would it be able to steer safely to avoid it.

Fully autonomous vehicle piloting needs a lot of work based on reports of crashes and pedestrian injuries.

NHTSA keeps records of accidents involving automated driving systems:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/laws-regulations/standing-general-order-crash-reporting

There are even law firms that specialize in handling those types of accidents since there may be injuries needing treatment, insurance claims, and so forth: https://www.craftlawfirm.com/autonomous-vehicle-accidents-2019-2024-crash-data/#total-accidents

The vast majority of accidents from autonomously driven vehicles are Teslas.

BUT, there have been Ford accidents as well, far fewer though.

 

[Mmiketa]

AFAIK the center image with the car is a just a static picture and doesn’t update at all.

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