APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR OBJECT DETECTION AND TRACKING AND ROADWAY AWARENESS USING STEREO CAMERAS

• US 20070255480A1
• Filed: 04/23/2007
• Published: 11/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ZAMA Innovations LLC
• Original Assignee: SRI International, Inc.
• Inventors: Bansal, Mayank, Camus, Theodore, Southall, John, Eledath, Jayakrishnan, Fields, John, Kumar, Manish, Greene, Gary, Jain, Aastha, Das, Aveek
• Granted Patent: US 8,108,119 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/96
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 2201/089 using optical detection
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/22 initiated by contact of vehicle, e.g. bumper, with an external object, e.g. another vehicle , or by means of contactless obstacle detectors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/08 Active safety systems predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision or attempting to minimise its consequences
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/095 Predicting travel path or likelihood of collision
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/285 using a sequence of stereo image pairs
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/593 from stereo images
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/58 Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/584 of vehicle lights or traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/588 Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/64 Three-dimensional objects
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

The present invention provides a collision avoidance apparatus and method employing stereo vision applications for adaptive vehicular control. The stereo vision applications are comprised of a road detection function and a vehicle detection and tracking function. The road detection function makes use of three-dimensional point data, computed from stereo image data, to locate the road surface ahead of a host vehicle. Information gathered by the road detection function is used to guide the vehicle detection and tracking function, which provides lead motion data to a vehicular control system of the collision avoidance apparatus. Similar to the road detection function, stereo image data is used by the vehicle detection and tracking function to determine the depth of image scene features, thereby providing a robust means for identifying potential lead vehicles in a headway direction of the host vehicle.

Claims

1. A method for adaptive regulation of distance between a host vehicle and a lead vehicle, comprising:

receiving a preset cruise speed for said host vehicle;

receiving a stereo image of a roadway scene in a headway direction of said host vehicle;

identifying lane boundary markers in said stereo image of said roadway scene;

identifying potential lead vehicle detections on said roadway scene in said headway direction of said host vehicle using said identified lane boundary marker data;

verifying said potential lead vehicle detections;

tracking said verified lead vehicle detection and estimating forward and lateral notion of said lead vehicle with respect to said host vehicle; and

adjusting said preset cruise speed of said host vehicle based on said estimated forward and lateral motion data associated with said lead vehicle.

2. An apparatus for adaptive regulation of distance between a host vehicle and a lead vehicle, comprising:

a stereo imaging device mountably affixed to said host vehicle for providing an image scene of a roadway in a headway direction of said host vehicle and at least one said lead vehicle on said roadway;

an image processing part for identifying road boundary markers and at least one said lead vehicle in said image scene; and

a vehicular system controller for adjusting a preset cruise speed of said host vehicle in response to image processing data associated with identification of said lead vehicle.

3. A computer readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of instructions, the plurality of instructions including instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the steps of a method for adaptive regulation of distance between a host vehicle and a lead vehicle, comprising the steps of:

receiving a preset cruise speed for said host vehicle;

receiving a stereo image of a roadway scene in a headway direction of said host vehicle;

identifying lane boundary markers in said stereo image of said roadway scene;

identifying potential lead vehicle detections on said roadway scene in said headway direction of said host vehicle using said identified lane boundary marker data;

verifying said potential lead vehicle detections;

tracking said verified lead vehicle detection and estimating forward and lateral motion of said lead vehicle with respect to said host vehicle; and

adjusting said preset cruise speed of said host vehicle based on said estimated forward and lateral motion data associated with said lead vehicle.