ROAD MEASUREMENT DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MEASURING ROAD

• US 20110205365A1
• Filed: 10/23/2009
• Published: 08/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Pasco Corporation (Secom Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Pasco Corporation (Secom Company Limited)
• Inventors: Kishida, Masanori, Kurosu, Hideaki
• Application Number:
  US13/126,304
• Publication Number:
  US 20110205365A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/02 for measuring length, width or thickness G01B11/08 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3822 Road feature data, e.g. slope data
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3837 Data obtained from a single source
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/56 exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle

Abstract

In a road measurement device according to an embodiment, a calibration unit generates formation parameters used for formation of a scale image, from a result of photographing a pattern for calibration by a photographing means. An image obtaining unit obtains a road image from the photographing means every predetermined traveled distance. At this time, a coordinate information obtaining unit associates coordinate information obtained from a coordinate obtaining device, with the road image. A scale forming unit selects appropriate ones of the formation parameters based on a height and an angle formed by the direction parallel to the road surface which are obtained by a photographing height and angle obtaining unit from a photographing height and angle measuring unit, and generates a scale image using those formation parameters.

Claims

1. A road measurement device comprising:

photographing means for photographing a road surface of a road and a roadside at every predetermined time;

scale formation means for forming, by a predetermined processing procedure, a scale image on a road image photographed by the photographing means, from changes in a height of the photographing means from the road surface and changes in an angle that a photographing direction of the photographing means forms with a direction parallel to the road surface; and

a measurement vehicle that holds the photographing means and the scale formation means and travels on the road, the road being a photographing target.

2. The road measurement device according to claim 1, wherein the processing procedure includes a table that holds formation parameters of a scale image, for each set of a height of the photographing means from a road surface and an angle that a photographing direction of the photographing means forms with a direction parallel to the road surface.

3. The road measurement device according to claim 1, wherein the scale image is a grid image where rectangles of a predetermined size are arranged side by side on a horizontal plane of the road image.

4. The road measurement device according to claim 1, wherein when the measurement vehicle changes its traveling direction, the scale formation means rotates the scale image in accordance with a rotation angle at which the photographing means rotates using the photographing direction as an axis, such that the scale image is parallel to the road surface in the road image.

5. The road measurement device according to claim 1, wherein the photographing means photographs a predetermined number of images between the predetermined times, and controls brightness of an image obtained at every predetermined time, based on a change in brightness between the images.

6. The road measurement device according to claim 1, wherein the measurement vehicle is any one of a motorcycle, a small motor tricycle, and a bicycle.

7. The road measurement device according to claim 1, wherein the measurement vehicle includes an input device for inputting instruction information to the photographing means during traveling.

8. A method for measuring a road comprising the steps of:

photographing, using photographing means, a road surface of a road and a roadside at every predetermined time; and

forming, using a predetermined processing procedure, a scale image on a road image photographed by the photographing means, from changes in a height of the photographing means from the road surface and changes in an angle that a photographing direction of the photographing means forms with a direction parallel to the road surface.