Driver Assisting System and Method for a Motor Vehicle

• US 20140078291A1
• Filed: 05/07/2012
• Published: 03/20/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Arriver Software AB (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Autoliv Development AB (Autoliv Incorporated)
• Inventors: Hammarstrm, Jonas, Hedberg, Ognjan
• Application Number:
  US14/114,960
• Publication Number:
  US 20140078291A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/118
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/584 of vehicle lights or traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/163 involving continuous checking

Abstract

A driver assisting system (10) for a motor vehicle (20) comprises an imaging means (11) adapted to acquire images from a surrounding of the motor vehicle (20), a processing means (14) adapted to apply image processing to images acquired by the imaging means (11), and a driver assisting means (18) controlled by the processing means (14) to provide information to the driver based on a result of the image processing. The processing means (14) is adapted to detect from the image processing a periodically blinking warning light (22), and to control the driver assisting means (18) in order to inform and/or alert the driver in case a periodically blinking warning light (22) is detected.

Claims

1. A driver assisting system (10) for a motor vehicle (20), comprising an imaging means (11) adapted to acquire images from a surrounding of the motor vehicle (20), a processing means (14) adapted to apply image processing to the images acquired by the imaging means (11), and a driver assisting means (18) controlled by the processing means (14) for providing information to the driver based on a result of the image processing, the processing means (14) further is adapted to detect from the image processing a periodically blinking warning light (22), and to control the driver assisting means (18) in order to inform or alert the driver in case the periodically blinking warning light (22) is detected.

2. The driver assisting system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising wherein the processing means (14) is further adapted to determine the blinking frequency of the warning light (22).

3. The driver assisting system as claimed in claim 2, further comprising wherein the processing means (14) is adapted to verify that the determined blinking frequency corresponds to at least one pre-defined blinking frequency.

4. The driver assisting system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising wherein the processing means (14) is further adapted to determine the color of the warning light (22).

5. The driver assisting system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the processing means (14) is further adapted to verify that the determined color corresponds to at least one pre-defined color.

6. The driver assisting system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising wherein the processing means (14) is further adapted to verify that the warning light (22) belongs to a stationary vehicle (21) or a moving vehicle (21).

7. The driver assisting system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising wherein the processing means (14) is further adapted to verify that the warning light (22) has a pre-defined pattern.

8. The driver assisting system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising wherein the processing means (14) is further adapted to verify that the warning light (22) has a pre-defined positional relationship to a second motor vehicle (21).

9. The driver assisting system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising wherein the processing means is further adapted to classify the warning light (22) as belonging to at least one category of an emergency second vehicle (21).

10. The driver assisting system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising wherein the processing means (14) is further adapted to determine a speed or a distance of a second vehicle (21) generating the warning light (22).

11. The driver assisting system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the processing means (14) is further adapted to control the driver assisting means (18) depending on at least one of the determined speed and distance of the second vehicle (21) generating the warning light (22).

12. The driver assisting system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising wherein the processing means (14) is further adapted to control the driver assisting means (18) depending on geographical position information.

13. The driver assisting system as claimed in claim 1 further comprising wherein the processing means (14) is further adapted to obtain the geographical position information from a vehicle receiver (15) of at least one of a navigation satellite system, a cellphone network, and a wireless network, and from image processing of the acquired images.

14. The driver assisting system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the imaging means (11) comprises a rear view camera (12).

20. The driver assisting method as claimed in claim 5 further comprising wherein the processing means (14) is further verifying that the warning light (22) has a pre-defined positional relationship to a second motor vehicle (21).

15. A driver assisting method for a motor vehicle, comprising acquiring images from a surrounding of the motor vehicle, applying image processing to the acquired images, and providing driver assistance information to the driver of the vehicle based on a result of the image processing, detecting, from the image processing, a periodically blinking warning light, and informing or alerting the driver in case a periodically blinking warning light is detected.

16. The driver assisting method as claimed in claim 15, further comprising wherein the processing means (14) further determining the blinking frequency of the warning light (22) and determining if the blinking frequency corresponds to at least one pre-defined blinking frequency.

17. The driver assisting method as claimed in claim 15 further comprising wherein the processing means (14) further determining the color of the warning light (22) and determining that the determined color corresponds to at least one predefined color.

18. The driver assisting method as claimed in claim 15 further comprising the processing means (14) further verifying that the warning light (22) belongs to a stationary second vehicle (21) or a moving second vehicle (21).

19. The driver assisting method as claimed in claim 15 further comprising wherein the processing means (14) further verifying that the warning light (22) has a pre-defined pattern.

21. The driver assisting method as claimed in claim 15 further comprising wherein the processing means further classifying the warning light (22) as belonging to at least one category of an emergency second vehicle (21).

22. The driver assisting method as claimed in claim 15 further comprising wherein the processing means (14) further determining a speed or a distance of a second vehicle (21) generating the warning light (22).

23. The driver assisting method as claimed in claim 15 further comprising wherein the processing means (14) further controlling the driver assisting means (18) depending on geographical position information.