DETECTION APPARATUS AND DETECTION METHOD

• US 20120300074A1
• Filed: 04/18/2012
• Published: 11/29/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Honda Elesys Co., Ltd. (Nidec Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Honda Elesys Co., Ltd. (Nidec Corporation)
• Inventors: HASEGAWA, Keiichi
• Application Number:
  US13/450,111
• Publication Number:
  US 20120300074A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10144 Varying exposure
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20061 Hough transform
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30256 Lane; Road marking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30261 Obstacle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/73 using feature-based methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/70 Circuitry for compensating brightness variation in the scene

Abstract

A detection apparatus includes a control unit configured to switch an exposure time of an imaging device at a predetermined time, an image acquiring unit configured to acquire image data captured under different exposure times, and an object detecting unit configured to detect objects from the image data of the different exposure times acquired by the image acquiring unit.

Claims

1. A detection apparatus comprising:

a control unit configured to switch an exposure time of an imaging device at a predetermined time;

an image acquiring unit configured to acquire image data captured under different exposure times; and

an object detecting unit configured to detect objects from the image data of the different exposure times acquired by the image acquiring unit.

2. The detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the control unit is configured to switch an amplification sensitivity of the imaging device at a predetermined time,

the image acquiring unit is configured to acquire image data captured under different exposure times and different amplification sensitivities, and

the object detecting unit is configured to detect objects from the image data of the different exposure times and the different amplification sensitivities acquired by the image acquiring unit.

3. The detection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an area extracting unit configured to extract image data of candidate areas of the objects from the image data captured under the different exposure times;

an absolute luminance calculating unit configured to calculate an absolute luminance in the image data of the candidate areas of the objects extracted by the area extracting unit; and

a correction unit configured to correct at least one of the exposure time and the amplification sensitivity based on the absolute luminance in the image data of the candidate areas of the objects calculated by the absolute luminance calculating unit,

wherein the control unit switches the exposure time or amplification sensitivity of the imaging device to the exposure time or amplification sensitivity corrected by the correction unit.

4. The detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the different exposure times include a first exposure time and a second exposure time shorter than the first exposure time.

5. The detection apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the first exposure time is an exposure time used to detect at least a light-emitting object, and

the second exposure time is an exposure time used to detect at least a reflecting object.

6. The detection apparatus according to claim 5, wherein

the light-emitting object is at least a headlight, and

the reflecting object is an object including any one of a traveling lane marking line, a vehicle, and a person on a vehicle traveling road.

7. A detection method in a detection apparatus, comprising:

a control step of causing a control unit to switch an exposure time of an imaging device at a predetermined time;

an image acquiring step of causing an image acquiring unit to acquire image data captured under different exposure times; and

an object detecting step of causing an object detecting unit to detect objects from the image data of the different exposure times acquired in the image acquiring step.