ENVIRONMENT RECOGNITION DEVICE AND ENVIRONMENT RECOGNITION METHOD

• US 20120288156A1
• Filed: 04/25/2012
• Published: 11/15/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Subaru Corp.
• Original Assignee: Fuji Heavy Industries Limited (Subaru Corp.)
• Inventors: Kido, Shinnosuke
• Granted Patent: US 8,737,689 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/104
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/73 Colour balance circuits, e.g. white balance circuits or colour temperature control camera processing pipelines for colour balance H04N23/88

Abstract

A environment recognition device obtains luminances of a target portion existing in an area specifies a road surface luminance and a reference portion luminance; when the road surface luminance changes by a predetermined value or more, the reference portion luminance does not change by another predetermined value or more, and the changed road surface luminance is not a predetermined color, maintains a white balance correction value prior to the change until the road surface luminance returns to the predetermined color, and, in other cases, derives a white balance correction value to recognize the road surface luminance as the predetermined color; derives a corrected luminance by performing a white balance correction using the white balance correction value on the obtained luminance; and provisionally determines a object corresponding to the target portion from a corrected luminance of the target portion based on an association of a luminance range and the specific object.

Claims

1. An environment recognition device comprising:

a data retaining unit that retains a luminance range in association with a specific object;

a luminance obtaining unit that obtains a luminance of a target portion in a detection area of an image;

a luminance specifying unit that specifies a luminance of a road surface and a luminance of a predetermined reference portion other than a road surface from among the obtained luminances;

a white balance deriving unit that derives a white balance correction value such that the luminance of the road surface is recognized as a specific color;

a white balance performing unit that derives a corrected luminance by performing a white balance correction using the white balance correction value on the obtained luminances; and

a specific object provisional determining unit that provisionally determines a specific object corresponding to the target portion with a corrected luminance of the target portion based on the association retained in the data retaining unit, wherein,

when the luminance of the road surface changes by a first predetermined value or more under a state in which the luminance of the reference portion does not change by a second predetermined value or more, and a luminance of the road surface after the change is not the predetermined color, the white balance deriving unit maintains the white balance correction value prior to the change from when the change occurs until the luminance of the road surface returns to the predetermined color.

2. The environment recognition device according to claim 1, wherein the reference portion is a line that restricts a track on the road surface within the detection area.

3. The environment recognition device according to claim 2, wherein the road surface is a neighborhood area of the reference portion.

4. The environment recognition device according to claim 1, wherein the white balance deriving unit obtains the luminances of the road surface and the luminances of the reference portion at different times in a predetermined first partial area within the detection area to derive a change in luminance of the road surface and the reference portion.

5. The environment recognition device according to claim 2, wherein the white balance deriving unit obtains the luminances of the road surface and the luminances of the reference portion at different times in a predetermined first partial area within the detection area to derive a change in luminance of the road surface and the reference portion.

6. The environment recognition device according to claim 3, wherein the white balance deriving unit obtains the luminances of the road surface and the luminances of the reference portion at different times in a predetermined first partial area within the detection area to derive a change in luminance of the road surface and the reference portion.

7. The environment recognition device according to claim 1, wherein the white balance deriving unit obtains the luminances of the road surface and the luminances of the reference portion in a predetermined first partial area within the detection area and a second partial area that is separated from the first partial area in a vertical direction of the image within the detection area to derive a change in luminance of the road surface and the reference portion.

8. The environment recognition device according to claim 2, wherein the white balance deriving unit obtains the luminances of the road surface and the luminances of the reference portion in a predetermined first partial area within the detection area and a second partial area that is separated from the first partial area in a vertical direction of the image within the detection area to derive a change in luminance of the road surface and the reference portion.

9. The environment recognition device according to claim 3, wherein the white balance deriving unit obtains the luminances of the road surface and the luminances of the reference portion in a predetermined first partial area within the detection area and a second partial area that is separated from the first partial area in a vertical direction of the image within the detection area to derive a change in luminance of the road surface and the reference portion.

10. The environment recognition device according to claim 1, wherein the white balance deriving unit determines that the luminance of the road surface changes if a difference between a difference in a color phase selected on the basis of the maximum phase value representing the road surface and a difference in a color phase selected on the basis of minimum phase value representing the road surface is a third predetermined value or more.

11. The environment recognition device according to claim 1, wherein

the white balance deriving unit determines as the white balance correction value a ratio that causes a phase value in a color phase different from the color phase selected on the basis of the maximum phase value representing the road surface to be the maximum value.

12. The environment recognition device according to claim 1, wherein the white balance deriving unit determines as the white balance correction Value a ratio that causes a phase value in a color phase different from the color phase selected on the basis of the second largest phase value representing the road surface to be the second largest.

13. The environment recognition device according to claim 1, wherein the white balance deriving unit determines as the white balance correction value a ratio that causes a phase value in a color phase different from the color phase selected on the basis of the minimum phase value representing the road surface to be the minimum value.

14. The environment recognition device according to claim 1, wherein the luminance specifying unit specifies the luminance of the road surface and the luminance of the reference area according to a predetermined area within the detection area that is limited in a vertical direction of the image based on a position of a preceding vehicle or a specific object in front of the subject vehicle.

15. An environment recognition method comprising:

obtaining a luminance of a target portion in a detection area of an image;

specifying a luminance of a road surface and a luminance of a predetermined reference portion that is other than the road surface from among the obtained luminances;

maintaining, when the luminance of the road surface changes by a first predetermined value or more under a state in which the luminance of the reference portion does not change by a second predetermined value or more, and if a luminance of the road surface after the change is not a predetermined color, a white balance correction value prior to the change from when the change occurs until the luminance of the road surface returns to the predetermined color, and deriving a white balance correction value so that the luminance of the road surface can be recognized as a specific color in cases other than the above;

deriving a corrected luminance by performing a white balance correction using the white balance correction value on the obtained luminance; and

provisionally determining a specific object corresponding to the target portion from a corrected luminance of the target portion based on an association of a luminance range and the specific object retained in the data retaining unit.