The first commercially-available driver assist systems required a compromise between the resolution of the scanning and the extent of the scanned region, according to application. Conventional video-based systems have a good compromise between resolution and recording range, however do not generally provide direct distance information. According to the new arrangement of the object of the invention, it is possible to achieve a system, which, on installation in a road vehicle, can record complex dynamic scenes, for example the lateral 3D geometry to the road edge from the point of view of the dynamically operating vehicle and use the same to advantage on parking. According to the invention, the monitoring and measuring of the lateral environment of a vehicle is displayed on the one hand by means of a camera with the digital images and on the other hand with a computer unit which serves to provide the images with a time stamp and to buffer the same. The movements of the vehicle are further recorded, in order to select image pairs from the buffered images, based on the above data. A local 3D depth image of the lateral environment of a vehicle can thus be generated by an algorithm for stereo image processing.

US Patent application by Thomas Bräunl, Uwe Franke no. WO2004029877, pdf
Implementation by Axel Waggershauser