EXTERIOR ENVIRONMENT RECOGNITION DEVICE AND EXTERIOR ENVIRONMENT RECOGNITION METHOD

• US 20130129150A1
• Filed: 11/19/2012
• Published: 05/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Subaru Corp.
• Original Assignee: Fuji Heavy Industries Limited (Subaru Corp.)
• Inventors: Saito, Toru
• Granted Patent: US 8,908,924 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/104
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/584 of vehicle lights or traffic lights

Abstract

There is provided an exterior environment recognition device and an exterior environment recognition method. The exterior environment recognition device obtains a first image in a first exposure mode according to a level of light of an exterior environment, and obtains a second image in a second exposure mode of which exposure time is different from the first exposure mode and which allows determination as to whether a light emitting source is emitting light by itself or not. The exterior environment recognition device identifies, based on the first image, a vehicle area occupied by a vehicle preceding in a detection area, identifies a position of the light emitting source, based on luminance of the second image, and associates the position of the light emitting source and the vehicle area.

Claims

1. An exterior environment recognition device comprising:

an image obtaining unit for obtaining a first image in a first exposure mode according to a level of light of an exterior environment, and obtaining a second image in a second exposure mode of which exposure time is different from the first exposure mode and which allows determination as to whether a light emitting source is emitting light by itself or not;

a vehicle identifying unit for identifying, based on the first image, a vehicle area occupied by a vehicle preceding in a detection area;

a light emitting source identifying unit for identifying a position of the light emitting source, based on luminance of the second image; and

a position associating unit for associating the position of the light emitting source and the vehicle area.

2. The exterior environment recognition device according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting source identifying unit groups, on the basis of a relative distance between pixels which are adopted as candidates of a light emitting source, multiple pixels into one light emitting source candidate, and only when a size of the light emitting source candidate is equal to or more than a first threshold value defined in advance, the light emitting source candidate is identified as the light emitting source.

3. The exterior environment recognition device according to claim 2, wherein multiple first threshold values are provided in advance at multiple steps in accordance with the level of light of the exterior environment.

4. The exterior environment recognition device according to claim 1, further comprising an arrangement determining unit which determines whether relative arrangement of the position of the light emitting source and the vehicle area associated by the position associating unit is appropriate arrangement or not.

5. The exterior environment recognition device according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting source is at least one of a brake lamp, a high mount stop lamp, a tail lamp, and a turn signal.

6. The exterior environment recognition device according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting source includes a brake lamp and a tail lamp, and

the exterior environment recognition device further includes a brake lamp identifying unit for identifying the position of the brake lamp, on the basis of relationship in terms of luminance between the brake lamp and the tail lamp and the position of the tail lamp.

7. An exterior environment recognition method comprising the steps of:

obtaining a first image in a first exposure mode according to a level of light of an exterior environment, and obtaining a second image in a second exposure mode of which exposure time is different from the first exposure mode and which allows determination as to whether a light emitting source is emitting light by itself or not;

identifying, based on the first image, a vehicle area occupied by a vehicle preceding in a detection area;

identifying a position of the light emitting source, based on luminance of the second image; and

associating the position of the light emitting source and the vehicle area.