METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DETECTING ROAD REGION AS WELL AS METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DETECTING ROAD LINE

• US 20130163821A1
• Filed: 12/05/2012
• Published: 06/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Jichuan Zheng
• Inventors: YOU, Ganmei, ZHENG, Jichuan
• Granted Patent: US 8,861,791 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/104
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 11/04 Interpretation of pictures
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/28 with correlation of data from several navigational instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10028 Range image; Depth image; 3D point clouds
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30256 Lane; Road marking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/13 Edge detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/443 by matching or filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/588 Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/647 by matching two-dimensional images to three-dimensional objects

Abstract

Disclosed are a road line detection method and a road line detection device. The road line detection method comprises a step of obtaining a first disparity map including one or more road regions and a corresponding V-disparity image; a step of sequentially detecting plural sloped line segments in the corresponding V-disparity image according to a big-to-small order of disparities and a big-to-small order of V-values, to serve as plural sequentially adjacent road surfaces; a step of obtaining a second disparity map of plural road line regions of interest corresponding to the plural sloped line segments; and a step of detecting one or more road lines in the second disparity map of the plural road line regions of interest.

Claims

1. A road line detection method comprising:

a step of obtaining a first disparity map including one or more road regions and a corresponding V-disparity image;

a step of sequentially detecting plural sloped line segments in the corresponding V-disparity image according to a big-to-small order of disparities and a big-to-small order of V-values, to serve as plural sequentially adjacent road surfaces;

a step of obtaining a second disparity map of plural road line regions of interest corresponding to the plural sloped line segments; and

a step of detecting one or more road lines in the second disparity map of the plural road line regions of interest.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

a step of, for each of the road lines detected in the second disparity map, obtaining points in a U-disparity image, corresponding to this road line;

determining whether the obtained points are located on a non-vertical and non-horizontal sloped line; and

discarding this road line if it is determined that the obtained points are not located on the sloped line.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, the step of sequentially detecting the plural sloped line segments in the corresponding V-disparity image includes:

a first step of detecting a first sloped line segment from a start point, whose disparity is maximum and whose V-value is maximum, to serve as a first road surface;

a second step of seeking a second sloped line segment in a region, which is adjacent to and located above a horizontal region corresponding to the first sloped line, to serve as a second road surface; and

a third step of replacing the first sloped line segment with the second sloped line segment so as to repeatedly carry out the second step until a sloped line segment cannot be sought.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein, the first step includes:

a step of finding all of the sloped line segments in the corresponding V-disparity image by utilizing a Hough transform; and

a step of selecting, from all of the sloped lines segments, one sloped line segment on which the number of pass points is maximum or whose disparity is maximum or whose length is maximum, and then letting the selected sloped line segment be the first sloped line.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein:

the first disparity map is obtained by performing calculation with regard to left and right images of a scene in front of a vehicle; and

the first step includes a step of seeking points satisfying

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

a step of, before detecting the plural sloped line segments, removing at least one vertical line, whose length is greater than a predetermined threshold value, in the corresponding V-disparity image.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

a step of, if a V-axis length of any one of the plural road line regions of interest in a second disparity map is greater than a predetermined threshold, then dividing this road line region of interest along its height direction so as to obtain plural new road line regions of interest.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

a step of, if a slope of any one of the detected road lines is not within a predetermined range, then discarding this road line.

9. A road region detection method comprising:

a step of obtaining a V-disparity image including one or more road regions; and

a step of sequentially detecting plural sloped line segments in the V-disparity image according to a big-to-small order of disparities and a big-to-small order of V-values, to serve as plural sequentially adjacent road surfaces.

10. A road line detection device comprising:

a first obtaining unit configured to obtain a first disparity map including one or more road regions and a corresponding V-disparity image;

a first detection unit configured to sequentially detect plural sloped line segments in the corresponding V-disparity image according to a big-to-small order of disparities and a big-to-small order of V-values, to serve as plural sequentially adjacent road surfaces;

a second obtaining unit configured to obtain a second disparity map of plural road line regions of interest corresponding to the plural sloped line segments; and

a second detection unit configured to detect one or more road lines in the second disparity map of the plural road line regions of interest.