Method for Recognizing Traffic Signs
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Abstract
The invention relates to a method for the recognition of traffic signs that at least include one main sign and one assigned additional sign, and to a respective device. A method according to the invention comprises the following steps:
A camera records at least one image of the vehicle environment.
The presence and class of one or several main traffic signs is recognized from the data of the image recorded by the camera.
The presence of one or several additional sign(s) assigned to the main sign is recognized.
The additional sign(s) is/are classified to the extent possible using a pattern recognition method.
If classification was not or not completely possible using the pattern recognition method, a text recognition method reads and interprets the text of the additional sign to determine its information content.
In a further step, a relevance assessment is performed in which the recognized text is compared with situational information such as time of day, weekday, distance the vehicle has traveled since passing the traffic sign and additional sign that were recognized, weight of the vehicle, whether the road is wet, outside temperature, position of the lane the vehicle is in, activation of the turn signal and/or a recommended turn from an active route planning feature.
31 Citations
33 Claims
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1-12. -12. (canceled)
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13. A method of traffic sign recognition comprising the steps:
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a) using a camera, recording image data of at least one image of a vehicle environment outside of a vehicle driving along a road; b) from the image data, recognizing the presence and class of at least one main sign present in the vehicle environment; c) recognizing the presence of at least one additional sign assigned to the main sign; d) classifying the additional sign using a pattern recognition method to the extent possible; e) if the classifying was not possible or not completely possible, then reading and interpreting and thereby recognizing text of the additional sign using a text recognition method; and f) assessing relevance in a relevance assessment, in which the recognized text is compared to situational information. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of traffic sign recognition comprising the steps:
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a) using a camera, recording image data of at least one image of a vehicle environment outside of a vehicle driving along a road; b) from the image data, recognizing the presence and class of at least one main sign present in the vehicle environment; c) recognizing the presence of at least one additional sign assigned to the main sign; d) deciding whether the additional sign includes varying text, and if so, then reading and interpreting and thereby recognizing the text of the additional sign using a text recognition method; e) deciding whether the additional sign includes other information, and if so, then classifying the other information using a pattern recognition method; and f) assessing relevance in a relevance assessment, in which the recognized text is compared to situational information. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. A device for recognizing traffic signs,
comprising a camera for recording image data of at least one image of a vehicle environment outside of a vehicle, an image evaluating unit, and a relevance assessment unit, wherein the image evaluation unit can recognize, from the recorded image data, the presence and class of at least one main sign and the presence of at least one additional sign assigned to the recognized main sign, wherein the image evaluation unit comprises a pattern recognition unit and a text recognition unit, wherein the text recognition unit can read and interpret variable text information on the additional sign, and wherein the relevance assessment unit compares the recognized text with situational information.
Specification