Method for Road Sign Recognition
First Claim
1. A method for road sign recognition, in which images of a region surrounding the vehicle are acquired by means of a camera,the image data of the camera are analyzed, wherein at least one image region (10) that contains a potential road sign (1) is determined,the image region (10) that contains the potential road sign (1) is submitted to a first classification unit that identifies the potential road sign (1), on the basis of at least one class-specific feature, as a road sign (1) belonging to this particular class, characterized in thatthe brightness of the or the color intensity of the surface of the road sign (1) is analyzed along radially extending scanning beams (5) starting from a defined starting point within the surface of the road sign (1),potential contour points (6) of an information-bearing part (3) of the road sign (1) are determined from the results of brightness or color intensity analysis,a region of the surface of the road sign (1) is extracted as an information-bearing part (3) of the road sign that includes all determined potential contour points (6), andthe extracted region is submitted to a second classification unit for semantic interpretation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to a method and to a device for the recognition of road signs (1). According to an inventive method for road sign recognition, images of a region surrounding the vehicle are acquired by means of a camera. The image data of the camera are analyzed, wherein at least one image region (10) that contains a potential road sign is determined. The image region is submitted to a first classification unit that identifies the potential road sign, on the basis of at least one class-specific feature, as a road sign (1) belonging to this particular class. After that, the brightness of the or the color intensity of the surface of the road sign (1) is analyzed along radially extending scanning beams (5) starting from a defined starting point. Potential contour points (6) of an information-bearing part (3) of the road sign (1) are determined from the results of brightness or color intensity analysis. A region of the surface of the road sign (1) is extracted as an information-bearing part (3) of the road sign (1) that includes all determined potential contour points (6). The extracted region is submitted to a second classification unit for semantic interpretation. The inventive method stands out due to a fast performance of the method on account of the brightness or color intensity analysis performed along scanning beams (5) that makes considerably lower demands on the control unit of a vehicle than two-dimensional edge detection operators (e.g., Sobel or Canny operators) that are usually employed for road sign recognition.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method for road sign recognition, in which images of a region surrounding the vehicle are acquired by means of a camera,
the image data of the camera are analyzed, wherein at least one image region (10) that contains a potential road sign (1) is determined, the image region (10) that contains the potential road sign (1) is submitted to a first classification unit that identifies the potential road sign (1), on the basis of at least one class-specific feature, as a road sign (1) belonging to this particular class, characterized in that the brightness of the or the color intensity of the surface of the road sign (1) is analyzed along radially extending scanning beams (5) starting from a defined starting point within the surface of the road sign (1), potential contour points (6) of an information-bearing part (3) of the road sign (1) are determined from the results of brightness or color intensity analysis, a region of the surface of the road sign (1) is extracted as an information-bearing part (3) of the road sign that includes all determined potential contour points (6), and the extracted region is submitted to a second classification unit for semantic interpretation.
Specification