Support apparatus for sense of vision

• US 20060268110A1
• Filed: 05/27/2005
• Published: 11/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company), Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company), Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Kondo, Shugo, Sugimoto, Yoichi, Koike, Hiroyuki, Masaki, Ichiro, Kondo, Izumi
• Granted Patent: US 7,570,286 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/159
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30252 Vehicle exterior; Vicinity of vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/50 using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction

Abstract

A support apparatus for sense of vision includes: a filter device that extracts low frequency components, and respective high frequency components in at least a horizontal direction and a vertical direction from original images obtained by image capture by a plurality of image pickup devices, a frequency component combining device that combines the low frequency components of each of the original images extracted by the filter device to generate a combined low frequency component, and combines the high frequency components of each of the original images extracted by the filter device in at least the horizontal direction and the vertical direction to generate a combined horizontal high frequency component and a combined vertical high frequency component; and a composite image formation device that combines the low combined frequency component, the combined horizontal high frequency component, and the combined vertical high frequency component, generated by the frequency component combining device, to generate a composite image.

Claims

1. A support apparatus for sense of vision comprising:

a filter device that extracts low frequency components, and respective high frequency components in at least a horizontal direction and a vertical direction from original images obtained by image capture by a plurality of image pickup devices;

a frequency component combining device that combines the low frequency components of each of the original images extracted by the filter device to generate a combined low frequency component, and combines the high frequency components of each of the original images extracted by the filter device in at least the horizontal direction and the vertical direction to generate a combined horizontal high frequency component and a combined vertical high frequency component; and

a composite image formation device that combines the low combined frequency component, the combined horizontal high frequency component, and the combined vertical high frequency component, generated by the frequency component combining device, to generate a composite image.

2. A support apparatus for sense of vision according to claim 1, wherein

the filter device extracts high frequency components in a diagonal direction from each of the original images obtained by image capture by the plurality of image pickup devices,

the frequency component combining device combines each of the high frequency components for each of the original images extracted by the filter device, and generates a combined diagonal high frequency component, and

the composite image generating device combines the combined low frequency component, the combined horizontal high frequency component, the combined vertical high frequency component, and the combined diagonal high frequency component generated by the frequency component combining device, and generates a composite image.

3. A support apparatus for sense of vision according to claim 1, wherein the frequency component combining device combines the low frequency components for each of the original images extracted by the filter device, in proportions corresponding to the brightness values of each of the low frequency components, and generates the combined low frequency component.

4. A support apparatus for sense of vision according to claim 1, wherein the frequency component combining device combines the low frequency components for each of the original images extracted by the filter device in proportions corresponding to the brightness values of each of the high frequency components corresponding to each of the low frequency components, and generates the combined low frequency component.

5. A support apparatus for sense of vision according to claim 1, wherein the frequency component combining device generates the combined high frequency components using the high frequency components at which the brightness values in each direction of the high frequency components, for each of the original images extracted by the filter device, are at a maximum.