A DEVICE FOR MONITORING SURROUNDINGS OF A VEHICLE

• US 20130229525A1
• Filed: 11/09/2011
• Published: 09/05/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arriver Software AB (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Nagaoka, Nobuharu, Aimura, Makoto
• Granted Patent: US 9,160,986 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/148
• 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: G08G 1/163 involving continuous checking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

A device for monitoring surroundings of a vehicle mounted in a vehicle, captures an image of surroundings of the vehicle, extracts from the captured image an image area for a predetermined part of a desired type of object, and sets a predetermined area below the extracted image area. The device extracts candidates for the desired type of object present outside the vehicle based on the predetermined area and determines, for each of the extracted object candidates, whether the object candidate is the desired type of object. When no pattern different from the background is captured in the predetermined area, or when a pattern different from the background is captured only in one of a first and a second areas, then the object in the image area is excluded from the candidates for the desired type of object. Thus, a pedestrian, for example, can be distinguished from an artificial structure.

Claims

1. A vehicle surroundings monitoring device comprising:

imaging unit which is mounted in a vehicle and captures an image of surroundings of the vehicle; and

an image processing unit having a processor and a memory,

the image processing unit being configured to;

extract an image area for a predetermined part of a desired type of object in the captured image;

extract, on the basis of a predetermined area below the extracted image area, a candidate for a desired type of object;

determine, for each object candidate extracted, whether the object candidate is the desired type of object; and

exclude an object in the image area from candidates for the desired type of object when no pattern different from a background is captured in the predetermined area, or when a pattern different from the background is captured only in one of a first and a second areas each of which is a half of the predetermined area divided in a horizontal direction.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit is an infrared camera, and the extracted image area in the captured image is a high-intensity area having an intensity value higher than a predetermined value, and

wherein the image processing unit is configured to exclude the object in the image area from the candidate for the desired type of object when left-right symmetry of an object in the first and the second areas is determined to be low by examining the left-right symmetry on the basis of intensity values in the first and the second areas.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the image processing unit is configured to determine that the left-right symmetry is low when a difference between a sum of intensity values of pixels in the first area and a sum of intensity values of pixels in the second area is not smaller than a predetermined value, or when a difference between a variance of the intensity values of the pixels in the first area and a variance of the intensity values of the pixels in the second area is not smaller than a predetermined value.

4. A method of monitoring surroundings of a vehicle, comprising:

capturing an image of surroundings of the vehicle with an imaging unit;

extracting an image area for a predetermined part of a desired type of object in the captured image;

extracting, on the basis of a predetermined area below the extracted image area, a candidate for a desired type of object;

determining, for each object candidate extracted, whether the object candidate is the desired type of object; and

excluding an object in the image area from candidates for the desired type of object when no pattern different from a background is captured in the predetermined area, or when a pattern different from the background is captured only in one of a first and a second areas each of which is a half of the predetermined area divided in a horizontal direction.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the extracted image area in the captured image is a high-intensity area having an intensity value higher than a predetermined value, and

wherein the said excluding an object in the image area comprises:

excluding the object in the image area from the candidate for the desired type of object when left-right symmetry of an object in the first and the second areas is determined to be low by examining the left-right symmetry on the basis of intensity values in the first and the second areas.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein said excluding an object in the image area comprises:

determining that the left-right symmetry is low when a difference between a sum of intensity values of pixels in the first area and a sum of intensity values of pixels in the second area is not smaller than a predetermined value, or when a difference between a variance of the intensity values of the pixels in the first area and a variance of the intensity values of the pixels in the second area is not smaller than a predetermined value.

7. A vehicle surroundings monitoring device comprising:

imaging unit which is mounted in a vehicle and captures an image of surroundings of the vehicle; and

an image processing unit having a processor and a memory,

the image processing unit comprising;

a means for extracting an image area for a predetermined part of a desired type of object in the captured image;

a means for extracting, on the basis of a predetermined area below the extracted image area, a candidate for a desired type of object;

a means for determining, for each object candidate extracted, whether the object candidate is the desired type of object; and

a means for excluding an object in the image area from candidates for the desired type of object when no pattern different from a background is captured in the predetermined area, or when a pattern different from the background is captured only in one of a first and a second areas each of which is a half of the predetermined area divided in a horizontal direction.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein the imaging unit is an infrared camera, and the extracted image area in the captured image is a high-intensity area having an intensity value higher than a predetermined value, and

wherein the image processing unit comprises a means for excluding the object in the image area from the candidate for the desired type of object when left-right symmetry of an object in the first and the second areas is determined to be low by examining the left-right symmetry on the basis of intensity values in the first and the second areas.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the image processing unit comprises a means for determining that the left-right symmetry is low when a difference between a sum of intensity values of pixels in the first area and a sum of intensity values of pixels in the second area is not smaller than a predetermined value, or when a difference between a variance of the intensity values of the pixels in the first area and a variance of the intensity values of the pixels in the second area is not smaller than a predetermined value.