POSITIONING DEVICE

• US 20100004856A1
• Filed: 06/08/2007
• Published: 01/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Kagawa, Kazunori, Kobori, Norimasa
• Granted Patent: US 8,725,412 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/208
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/1656 with passive imaging devices, e.g. cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/28 with correlation of data from several navigational instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/485 whereby the further system is an optical system or imaging system
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/49 whereby the further system is an inertial position system, e.g. loosely-coupled
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09623 Systems involving the acquisition of information from passive traffic signs by means mounted on the vehicle G08G1/0967 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map

Abstract

A positioning device 9 includes a map data storing unit 5 configured to store map data; autonomous sensors 2, 3 configured to detect behavior information of a moving object; an inertial positioning unit 82 configured to detect an estimated position of the moving object by applying the behavior information detected by the autonomous sensors to positioning results obtained by an electronic navigation positioning unit such as a GPS; a planimetric feature detecting unit 84 configured to detect a planimetric feature located around a road; a planimetric feature position identifying unit 83 configured to identify a position of the planimetric feature; a planimetric feature reference positioning unit 85 configured to estimate a planimetric feature estimated position of the moving object by using the position of the planimetric feature as a reference; and a position estimating unit 86 configured to estimate a position of the moving object by applying the estimated position and the planimetric feature estimated position to a Kalman filter.

Claims

1. A positioning device comprising:

a map data storing unit configured to store map data;

an autonomous sensor configured to detect behavior information of a moving object;

an inertial positioning unit configured to detect an estimated position of the moving object by applying the behavior information detected by the autonomous sensor to positioning results obtained by an electronic navigation positioning unit such as a GPS;

a planimetric feature detecting unit configured to detect a planimetric feature located around a road and calculate planimetric feature position information of the planimetric feature;

a planimetric feature position identifying unit configured to identify a position of the planimetric feature in the map data in the event of acquiring four or more items of the planimetric feature position information that has been repeatedly calculated by the planimetric feature detecting unit;

a planimetric feature reference positioning unit configured to estimate a planimetric feature estimated position of the moving object by using the position of the planimetric feature as a reference; and

a position estimating unit configured to estimate a position of the moving object by applying the estimated position and the planimetric feature estimated position to a Kalman filter.

2. The positioning device according to claim 1, wherein:

the planimetric feature detecting unit comprises an eye vector detecting unit configured to detect the planimetric feature from image data obtained by a photographing unit, and to acquire an eye vector joining the moving object and the planimetric feature thus detected; and

the planimetric feature position identifying unit comprises a planimetric feature position calculating unit configured to calculate the planimetric feature position information of the planimetric feature by a least squares method with the use of lengths and directions of plural of the eye vectors.

3. The positioning device according to claim 2, wherein:

the planimetric feature position calculating unit extracts, from the map data storing unit, intersection position information corresponding to an intersection which is located within a predetermined distance from the planimetric feature, and sets the intersection position information as an initial value used for calculating the planimetric feature position information by the least squares method.

4. The positioning device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a map data registering unit configured to register the planimetric feature position information of the planimetric feature acquired by the planimetric feature position identifying unit, in the map data storing unit in association with the planimetric feature and a link or a node.

5. The positioning device according to claim 2, wherein:

in the event that a number of the eye vectors detected by the eye vector detecting unit is less than or equal to three, the planimetric feature detecting unit does not calculate the planimetric feature position information by the least squares method, and the position estimating unit outputs the estimated position.