RISK POTENTIAL CALCULATION APPARATUS

• US 20130204516A1
• Filed: 09/08/2010
• Published: 08/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Fukamachi, Hideo
• Granted Patent: US 9,058,247 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/300
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/02 using radio waves G01S19/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/93 for anti-collision purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10021 Stereoscopic video; Stereoscopic image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10028 Range image; Depth image; 3D point clouds
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30261 Obstacle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/73 using feature-based methods
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

A risk potential estimating device 20 of a driving support apparatus 10 calculates the risk potential of an object at each of a plurality of points which are set around a host vehicle 100. When there is a pedestrian M2 in a blind spot B caused by a pedestrian M1 in the field of view of the host vehicle 100, the risk potential estimating device 20 omits the calculation of the risk potential of the pedestrian M2. When there is the pedestrian M1 close to the host vehicle 100, first, the behavior of avoiding the pedestrian M1 is performed. Therefore, the risk potential of the pedestrian M1 may be calculated at each point. In many cases, the calculation of the risk potential of the pedestrian M2 which is located in the blind spot B caused by the pedestrian M1 and is away from the host vehicle 100 is redundant. When the calculation of the risk potential of the pedestrian M2 which is located in the blind spot B caused by the pedestrian M1 is omitted, it is possible to reduce the load of an operation for calculating the risk potential while maintaining the accuracy of calculating the risk potential around the vehicle.

Claims

1-4. -4. (canceled)

5. A risk potential calculation apparatus comprising:

a risk potential calculation unit that calculates a risk potential of an object at each of a plurality of points which are set around a host vehicle,

wherein, when there is a second object in a blind spot caused by a first object in a field of view of the host vehicle, the risk potential calculation unit omits the calculation of the risk potential of the second object.

6. The risk potential calculation apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the risk potential calculation unit calculates the risk potential of the objects in the order of the first object which is close to the host vehicle and the second object which is further away from the host vehicle than the first object.

7. The risk potential calculation apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein, when there is the second object in the blind spot caused by the first object in the field of view of the host vehicle and the host vehicle travels toward the point where the second object is present, the risk potential calculation unit calculates the risk potential of the second object.

8. The risk potential calculation apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein, when there is the second object in the blind spot caused by the first object in the field of view of the host vehicle and the host vehicle travels toward the point where the second object is present, the risk potential calculation unit calculates the risk potential of the second object.

9. The risk potential calculation apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein, when the risk potential of the second object is calculated after the risk potential of the first object is calculated, the risk potential calculation unit omits the calculation of the risk potential of the second object at the point where the risk potential of the first object has been calculated.

10. The risk potential calculation apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein, when the risk potential of the second object is calculated after the risk potential of the first object is calculated, the risk potential calculation unit omits the calculation of the risk potential of the second object at the point where the risk potential of the first object has been calculated.

11. The risk potential calculation apparatus according to claim 7,

wherein, when the risk potential of the second object is calculated after the risk potential of the first object is calculated, the risk potential calculation unit omits the calculation of the risk potential of the second object at the point where the risk potential of the first object has been calculated.

12. The risk potential calculation apparatus according to claim 8,

wherein, when the risk potential of the second object is calculated after the risk potential of the first object is calculated, the risk potential calculation unit omits the calculation of the risk potential of the second object at the point where the risk potential of the first object has been calculated.