VEHICLE PERIPHERY MONITORING APPARATUS

• US 20110234804A1
• Filed: 10/08/2009
• Published: 09/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Aimura, Makoto, Takatsudo, Izumi, Matsuda, Kodai
• Granted Patent: US 8,648,912 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/24 in front of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/30 providing vision in the non-visible spectrum, e.g. night or infrared vision
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/205 using a head-up display
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/305 merging camera image with lines or icons
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/308 by overlaying the real scene, e.g. through a head-up display on the windscreen
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/70 characterised by an event-triggered choice to display a specific image among a selection of captured images
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/8093 for obstacle warning
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/143 Sensing or illuminating at different wavelengths
• 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

Abstract

Bicycles present before a vehicle are identified. A picked-up image having intensity values that are in accordance with the temperatures of objects is acquired to extract image regions having intensity values representative of higher temperatures than a background. An object, which includes a pair of first object portions (legs) and a second object portion (a tire), would be identified as a bicycle if the pair of first object portions, which have greater dimensions in length in the vertical direction than in width in the horizontal direction and the distance between which is less than a predetermined value in the horizontal direction, are detected from the extracted image regions and further if the second object portion, which has a different intensity value from any one of the first object portions and also has a length greater than a predetermined value in the vertical direction, is existent between the pair of first object portions.

Claims

1. A vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus, mounted on a vehicle, for recognizing a bicycle operated by a driver around the vehicle, comprising:

an image capturing mechanism which captures an image around the vehicle to obtain a captured image having luminance values according to temperatures of an object;

an extracting mechanism which extracts, from the captured image, an image region having luminance values indicating temperatures greater than a temperature of a background by a predetermined value;

a bicycle determination mechanism which, if a pair of first object portions each having a length in the vertical direction greater than a width in the horizontal direction is detected from the extracted image region, a distance between one of the first object portion and the other of the first object portion being less than a predetermined value, and a second object portion having luminance values different from the first object portions and having a length in the vertical direction greater than a predetermined value exists between the pair of the first object portion, determines an object including the pair of the first object portions and the second object portion as a bicycle.

2. The vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus of claim 1,

wherein the bicycle determination mechanism determines the object including the pair of the first object portions and the second object portion as a bicycle if the second object portion has luminance values indicating temperatures lower than the temperature of the background.

3. The vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus of claim 1,

wherein the bicycle determination mechanism determines the object as a bicycle if it is detected that a position of a lowest point of the second object portion is lower than a position of a lowest point of the pair of the first object portions in the vertical direction.

4. The vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus of claim 1,

wherein the bicycle determination mechanism determines the object as a bicycle if an image region having an area greater than a predetermined value and having a uniform luminance is detected in a neighborhood of a lowest point of the second object portion.

5. The vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus of claim 2,

wherein the bicycle determination mechanism determines the object as a bicycle if it is detected that a position of a lowest point of the second object portion is lower than a position of a lowest point of the pair of the first object portions in the vertical direction.

6. The vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus of claim 2,

wherein the bicycle determination mechanism determines the object as a bicycle if an image region having an area greater than a predetermined value and having a uniform luminance is detected in a neighborhood of a lowest point of the second object portion.

7. The vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus of claim 3,

wherein the bicycle determination mechanism determines the object as a bicycle if an image region having an area greater than a predetermined value and having a uniform luminance is detected in a neighborhood of a lowest point of the second object portion.

8. The vehicle periphery monitoring apparatus of claim 5,

wherein the bicycle determination mechanism determines the object as a bicycle if an image region having an area greater than a predetermined value and having a uniform luminance is detected in a neighborhood of a lowest point of the second object portion.