VEHICLE ENVIRONMENT MONITORING APPARATUS

• US 20100156616A1
• Filed: 10/29/2009
• Published: 06/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: AIMURA, Makoto, SAKA, Masakazu, HASHIMOTO, Hideki
• Granted Patent: US 8,242,897 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/436
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10021 Stereoscopic video; Stereoscopic image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10048 Infrared image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30261 Obstacle
• 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: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

A vehicle environment monitoring apparatus is equipped with a monitored object detecting unit 26 which detects an object having possibility of contact by applying an object detecting algorithm for short range when the distance calculated from data on one disparity by the first distance calculating unit 24 is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, and detects the object having possibility of contact by applying an object detecting algorithm for long range when the distance is longer than the predetermined distance, using the distance between the object and the vehicle calculated from a disparity gradient by the second distance calculating unit 25.

Claims

1. A vehicle environment monitoring apparatus which monitors an environment around a vehicle, using images obtained from at least one imaging unit mounted on the vehicle, comprising:

an object extracting unit which extracts from the image an image area of an object in the real space;

a first distance calculating unit which calculates a distance between the vehicle and the object; and

a monitored object detecting unit which detects an object having a possibility of coming into contact with the vehicle using an object detecting algorithm for short range, when the distance calculated by the first distance calculating unit is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, and which detects the object having the possibility of coming into contact with the vehicle using an object detecting algorithm for long range, when the distance calculated by the first distance calculating unit is longer than the predetermined distance.

2. The vehicle environment monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, comprising:

a disparity calculating unit which calculates a disparity between the image areas of the identical object extracted by the object extracting unit from each image taken at the same time by the two imaging units;

a disparity rate of change calculating unit which calculates a disparity rate of change per predetermined time from the data of the disparity calculated in time series by the disparity calculating unit for the identical object in real space;

a velocity detecting unit which detects a velocity of the vehicle; and

a second distance calculating unit which calculates the distance between the vehicle and the object on the basis of the disparity rate of change and the velocity of the vehicle;

wherein the first distance calculating unit calculates the distance between the vehicle and the object from the data of one disparity calculated by the disparity calculating unit; and

the monitored object detecting unit detects the object having the possibility of coming into contact with the vehicle using the distance between the vehicle and the object calculated by the second distance calculating unit in the object detecting algorithm for long range.

3. The vehicle environment monitoring apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the monitored object detecting unit detects the object having the possibility of coming into contact with the vehicle by applying both of the object detecting algorithm for short range and the object detecting algorithm for long range, when a difference between the distance calculated by the first distance calculating unit and the predetermined distance is within a predetermined range.

4. The vehicle environment monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a velocity detecting unit for detecting a velocity of the vehicle,

wherein the monitored object detecting unit detects the object having the possibility of coming into contact with the vehicle by applying the object detecting algorithm for short range when the detected velocity by the velocity detecting unit is equal to or slower than a predetermined velocity, and which detects the object having the possibility of coming into contact with the vehicle by applying the object detecting algorithm for long range when the detected velocity by the velocity detecting unit is faster than the predetermined velocity.

5. The vehicle environment monitoring apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the monitored object detecting unit detects the object having the possibility of coming into contact with the vehicle by applying both the object detecting algorithm for short range and the object detecting algorithm for long range, when a difference between the detected velocity by the velocity detecting unit and the predetermined velocity is within a predetermined range.

6. The vehicle environment monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the monitored object detecting unit continues the process by the object detecting algorithm for short range even when the detected distance by the first distance calculating unit becomes longer than the predetermined distance, when detecting the object having the possibility of coming into contact with the vehicle by applying the object detecting algorithm for short range to the image at a predetermined point in time.

7. The vehicle environment monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the monitored object detecting unit continues the process by the object detecting algorithm for long range even when the detected distance by the first distance calculating unit becomes equal to or less than the predetermined distance, when detecting the object having the possibility of coming into contact with the vehicle by applying the object detecting algorithm for long range to the image at a predetermined point in time.

8. A vehicle environment monitoring apparatus which monitors an environment around a vehicle, using images obtained from at least one imaging unit mounted on the vehicle, comprising:

an object extracting unit which extracts from the image an image area of an object in the real space;

a velocity detecting unit which detects a velocity of the vehicle; and

a monitored object detecting unit which detects an object having a possibility of coming into contact with the vehicle using an object detecting algorithm for short range, when the distance calculated by the first distance calculating unit is equal to or less than a predetermined distance, and which detects the object having the possibility of coming into contact with the vehicle using an object detecting algorithm for long range, when the distance calculated by the first distance calculating unit is longer than the predetermined distance.