Requirements for motion estimation in image sequences for traffic applications

In traffic applications research in devices that can increase the safety and comfort of vehicles is an important topic. In this paper a digital rear-view mirror is presented that helps the driver to analyse situations on the road behind hint. From the observations from a camera the optical motion in the image plane can be estimated. Based on this motion estimation the real-world motion of the vehicles behind our car is interpreted. The motion interpretation problem is very sensitive for errors introduced in the motion estimation. This paper describes a method that shows how accurate the motion estimation must be to enable the required accuracy of the motion interpretation. This will be done by means of simulation experiments for characteristic situations (vehicle approaching, retreating or shifting lane)