IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT

• US 20080089557A1
• Filed: 11/07/2007
• Published: 04/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Miyoshi, Takashi, Iwaki, Hidekazu, Kosaka, Akio
• Application Number:
  US11/936,641
• Publication Number:
  US 20080089557A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/106
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 3/06 Use of electric means to obtain final indication
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/12 using electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/867 Combination of radar systems with cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9322 using additional data, e.g. driver condition, road state or weather data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9329 cooperating with reflectors or transponders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4972 Alignment of sensor
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/74 involving reference images or patches
• 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: G08G 1/161 Decentralised systems, e.g. inter-vehicle communication

Abstract

An image processing apparatus include an imaging unit that picks up a predetermined view to create an image; a processing region setting unit that sets a region to be processed in the image created by the imaging unit; and a processing calculating unit that performs a predetermined processing calculation on the region set by the processing region setting unit.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus comprising:

an imaging unit that picks up a predetermined view to create an image;

a processing region setting unit that sets a region to be processed in the image created by the imaging unit; and

a processing calculating unit that performs a predetermined processing calculation on the region set by the processing region setting unit.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an identification unit that identifies a region occupied by an object included in the view and a type of the object based on an image signal group included in the image created by the imaging unit, wherein

the processing region setting unit includes a calculation range setting unit that sets a calculation range for calculating a distance to the object based on an identification result by the identification unit, and

the processing calculating unit includes a distance calculation unit that performs a distance calculation in the calculation range set by the calculation range setting unit.

3. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the identification unit obtains vertical direction information indicating a boundary of the object within the view in a vertical direction and horizontal direction information indicating the boundary of the object within the view in a horizontal direction, based on the image signal group, and identifies a region occupied by the object within the view by combination of the vertical direction information and the horizontal direction information.

4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the identification unit identifies the type of the object based on the region occupied by the object within the view.

5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the calculation range setting unit sets the calculation range based on the region occupied by a predetermined type of the object within the view, of types of objects identified by the identification unit.

6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the calculation range setting unit sets the calculation range corresponding to a region obtained by adding a predetermined margin to the region occupied by the object identified by the identification unit within the view.

7. The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the imaging unit creates a first image signal group picked up through a first optical path and a second image signal group picked up through a second optical path,

the processing calculating unit detects from the second image signal group an image signal which matches an arbitrary image signal of the first image signal group, and the processing calculating unit calculates a distance to the object based on a shift amount from the arbitrary image signal in the detected image signal.

8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

the identification unit identifies the region occupied by the object within the view and the type of the object based on one of the first image signal group and the second image signal group.

9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a distance information creating unit that calculates a distance from an imaging position of the imaging unit to at least one of component points forming the image, and creates distance information including the calculated distance; and

a processing selecting unit that selects an image processing method corresponding to the distance information created by the distance information creating unit, from a plurality of image processing methods, wherein

the processing calculating unit includes an image processing unit that performs the image processing on the image by using the image processing method selected by the processing selecting unit.

10. The image processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein

the processing region setting unit includes a distance image creating unit that creates a distance image by superimposing the distance information created by the distance information creating unit on the image, and sets closed regions based on the created distance information, the closed regions being different for each set of component points of the image within a predetermined range of distance from the imaging position.

11. The image processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

the processing selecting unit selects an image processing method for each of the closed regions set by the distance image creating unit.

12. The image processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising an object detecting unit that detects a predetermined object for each of the closed regions set by the distance image creating unit.

13. The image processing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a selecting method changing unit that changes a method for selecting the image processing method in the processing selecting unit.

14. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a storage unit which stores therein the image created by the imaging unit together with time information concerning the image;

an object detecting unit that detects a target object for an image processing from the image picked up by the imaging unit;

a distance calculating unit that calculates a distance from an imaging position of the imaging unit to the target object detected by the object detecting unit; and

a position predicting unit that extracts at least two images picked up at different times from the images stored in the storage unit, and predicts a relative position of the target object with respect to a movable object at an elapse of predetermined time by using the extracted at least two images and the distance to the target object in each of the images, wherein

the image processing apparatus is installed in the movable object,

the processing region setting unit sets a processing region to be subjected to the image processing, based on a prediction result by the position predicting unit, and

the processing calculating unit includes an image processing unit that performs a predetermined image processing on the processing region set by the processing region setting unit.

15. The image processing apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:

a model forming unit that forms a three-dimensional space model to be projected on the image using the prediction result by the position predicting unit, wherein

the processing region setting unit sets the processing region by projecting the three-dimensional space model formed by the model forming unit on the image.

16. The image processing apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising a processing changing unit that changes a method for the image processing to be performed on the processing region set by the processing region setting unit.

17. The image processing apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising an output unit that displays and outputs an image obtained by superimposing a three-dimensional movement of the target object over time detected by the object detecting unit on the image in time series.

18. The image processing apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising a movement situation detecting unit that detects a movement situation including a position or a speed of the movable object, wherein

the position predicting unit uses the position or the speed of the movable object detected by the movement situation detecting unit in order to predict the relative position of the target object with respect to the movable object.

19. The image processing apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:

a movement situation detecting unit that detects the movement situation including the position of the movable object; and

a map information storage unit that stores therein three-dimensional map information including surroundings of the region where the movable object is moving, wherein

the position predicting unit reads out from the map information storage unit the map information near a current position of the movable object detected by the movement situation detecting unit and refers to the information, in order to predict the relative position of the target object with respect to the movable object.

20. The image processing apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising an external information detecting unit that detects external information outside of the movable object, wherein

the position predicting unit uses the information outside of the movable object detected by the external information detecting unit, in order to predict the relative position of the target object with respect to the movable object.

21. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the imaging unit includes

a pair of imaging optical systems;

and

a pair of image pickup devices that convert optical signals output by the pair of the imaging optical systems into electric signals.

22. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the imaging unit includes

a pair of light guiding optical systems;

and

an image pickup device that has imaging regions corresponding respectively to the light guiding optical systems, and converts the optical signals guided by the respective light guiding optical systems into electric signals in the respective imaging regions.

23. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, mounted on a vehicle.

24. An image processing method comprising:

picking up a predetermined view to create an image;

setting a region to be processed in the created; and

performing a predetermined processing calculation on the region.

25. A computer program product having a computer readable medium including programmed instructions for an image processing on an image created by an imaging unit that picks up a predetermined view, wherein the instructions, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform:

setting a region to be processed in the image; and

performing a predetermined processing calculation on the region.