{"id":8259,"date":"2026-09-11T02:07:52","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T00:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scs.ch\/uncategorized-en-us\/fpga-based-driver-assistance-systems\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T07:38:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T05:38:43","slug":"fpga-based-driver-assistance-systems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scs.ch\/en\/case-studies\/fpga-based-driver-assistance-systems\/","title":{"rendered":"FPGA-based Driver Assistance Systems"},"content":{"rendered":"

Initial Situation<\/h2><\/div>

Camera-based driver assistance systems, such as lane keeping or traffic jam assistants, must evaluate video images in real-time and detect lanes, markings, vehicles, or pedestrians. The necessary algorithms were initially developed by the client’s experts as PC programs for research purposes. However, at the time of the project, the processing power of processors and graphics cards was insufficient to execute them in real-time on the video stream of an automotive camera. This meant that the functions could not be tested in moving test vehicles.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Cars<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Project Overview<\/h3><\/div>

Area<\/strong>
Automotive & Measurement Technology<\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/div><\/div>

Solution<\/strong>
Image Processing for Real-Time Driver Assistance on FPGA.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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System Environment <\/strong>
\nAutomotive cameras, SCS FPGA box, network connection to PC<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Algorithms <\/strong>
\nSGM-Stereo, Optical Flow, Stixel<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Application<\/strong>
\nMercedes-Benz S-Class INTELLIGENT DRIVE (autonomous Bertha Benz drive)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

SCS’s Contribution<\/h2><\/div>

SCS ported the algorithms, which were available as PC programs, to an FPGA platform, enabling their real-time execution. Before each implementation, SCS, together with the client’s experts, examined the technical feasibility and the effort required for realization.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/div>

Feasibility Checked First<\/h4><\/div>
<\/div>
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Before implementation, SCS, together with the client’s experts, examined the technical feasibility and determined the expected implementation effort.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/div>

Algorithms Ported to FPGA<\/h4><\/div>
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\n

SCS implemented several computationally intensive image processing algorithms on an FPGA and integrated them onto a suitable hardware platform. This allowed camera images to be processed in real-time.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Data Volume Specifically Reduced<\/h4><\/div>
<\/div>
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The Stixel algorithm aggregates image information into vertical structures, thereby reducing the amount of data to be processed. At the same time, a rough grouping of pixels into relevant sub-objects is already created.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Optimized for Cost-Efficient Hardware<\/h4><\/div>
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SCS mapped the mathematically complex Stixel algorithm to a streaming architecture for a cost-effective FPGA and integrated it, along with other algorithms, onto its own FPGA box.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

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\"Blick<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Result<\/h2><\/div>

With the FPGA implementation, the client’s experts were able to execute their algorithms in real-time in the test vehicle, combine them into a complete system, and test them in real traffic. Two automotive cameras could be connected directly to the SCS FPGA box, and the results were available via the network connection for further processing. The SCS FPGA box was used as a subsystem of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class INTELLIGENT DRIVE. In 2013, the vehicle was the first in the world to autonomously complete a roughly 100-kilometer overland route, from Mannheim to Pforzheim, on the historic route of Bertha Benz.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

approx. 100 km<\/h3><\/div>

autonomously completed overland route by the Mercedes-Benz S-Class INTELLIGENT DRIVE.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

in series production<\/h3><\/div>

algorithms implemented by SCS on FPGA.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Services Used<\/h2><\/div><\/div><\/div>

FPGA Engineering<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Computer Vision<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Automotive & Measurement Technology<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
\"A<\/div><\/div>

Your Contact Person<\/h2><\/div>
Felix Eberli<\/div><\/div>

Embedded Systems & Automotive
\n+41 43 456 16 00<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>

Speak with the responsible specialist<\/span>Speak with the responsible specialist<\/span><\/div><\/a><\/div>

For questions regarding FPGA signal processing, radar systems, and functional safety in the automotive sector.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Further Case Studies<\/h2><\/div>