VEHICLE EXTERIOR ENVIRONMENT RECOGNITION APPARATUS

• US 20170076161A1
• Filed: 08/19/2016
• Published: 03/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Subaru Corp.
• Original Assignee: Fuji Heavy Industries Limited (Subaru Corp.)
• Inventors: NOMURA, Naoki
• Granted Patent: US 10,102,437 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/42 Global feature extraction by analysis of the whole pattern, e.g. using frequency domain transformations or autocorrelation
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/44 Local feature extraction by analysis of parts of the pattern, e.g. by detecting edges, contours, loops, corners, strokes or intersections; Connectivity analysis, e.g. of connected components
• 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

Abstract

A vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus includes a computer configured to serve as a target region setting unit, an edge counter, and a wheel determiner. The target region setting unit sets, as one or more target regions, one or more predetermined ranges of a screen. The edge counter provides setting of a plurality of divided sections, by dividing each of the one or more target regions with borderlines radiated from a center of each of the one or more target regions, and counts the number of predetermined slant edges and the total number of blocks in each of the plurality of divided sections. The wheel determiner determines wheel-likeliness of each of the one or more target regions, based on a rate of the number of the slant edges to the total number of blocks in each of the plurality of divided sections.

Claims

1. A vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus, comprising

a computer configured to serve as:

a target region setting unit that sets, as one or more target regions, one or more predetermined ranges of a screen;

an edge counter that provides setting of a plurality of divided sections, by dividing each of the one or more target regions with borderlines radiated from a center of each of the one or more target regions, and counts the number of predetermined slant edges and the total number of blocks in each of the plurality of divided sections; and

a wheel determiner that determines wheel-likeliness of each of the one or more target regions, based on a rate of the number of the slant edges to the total number of blocks in each of the plurality of divided sections.

2. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the edge counter divides each of the one or more target regions with the borderlines radiated horizontally and vertically from the center of each of the one or more target regions.

3. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the edge counter derives one or more centers of gravity of the slant edges, for each of the plurality of divided sections, and

the wheel determiner determines the wheel-likeliness of each of the one or more target regions, based on relative distances from the centers of gravity to a reference position that is predetermined for each of the plurality of divided sections.

4. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the edge counter derives one or more centers of gravity of the slant edges, for each of the plurality of divided sections, and

the wheel determiner determines the wheel-likeliness of each of the one or more target regions, based on relative distances from the centers of gravity to a reference position that is predetermined for each of the plurality of divided sections.

5. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the wheel determiner weights the plurality of divided sections, to allow a movement-wise and road-surface-wise positioned one of the plurality of divided sections to be more heavily weighted against remaining ones of the plurality of divided sections.

6. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the wheel determiner weights the plurality of divided sections, to allow a movement-wise and road-surface-wise positioned one of the plurality of divided sections to be more heavily weighted against remaining ones of the plurality of divided sections.

7. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the wheel determiner weights the plurality of divided sections, to allow a movement-wise and road-surface-wise positioned one of the plurality of divided sections to be more heavily weighted against remaining ones of the plurality of divided sections.

8. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the wheel determiner weights the plurality of divided sections, to allow a movement-wise and road-surface-wise positioned one of the plurality of divided sections to be more heavily weighted against remaining ones of the plurality of divided sections.

9. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the one or more target regions include a plurality of target regions that are differently sized based on a plurality of specifications of a wheel of a bicycle, and the target region setting unit provides the setting of the plurality of target regions.

10. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the one or more target regions include a plurality of target regions that are differently sized based on a plurality of specifications of a wheel of a bicycle, and the target region setting unit provides the setting of the plurality of target regions.

11. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 3,

wherein the one or more target regions include a plurality of target regions that are differently sized based on a plurality of specifications of a wheel of a bicycle, and the target region setting unit provides the setting of the plurality of target regions.

12. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the one or more target regions include a plurality of target regions that are differently sized based on a plurality of specifications of a wheel of a bicycle, and the target region setting unit provides the setting of the plurality of target regions.

13. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the one or more target regions include a plurality of target regions that are differently sized based on a plurality of specifications of a wheel of a bicycle, and the target region setting unit provides the setting of the plurality of target regions.

14. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein the one or more target regions include a plurality of target regions that are differently sized based on a plurality of specifications of a wheel of a bicycle, and the target region setting unit provides the setting of the plurality of target regions.

15. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 7,

wherein the one or more target regions include a plurality of target regions that are differently sized based on a plurality of specifications of a wheel of a bicycle, and the target region setting unit provides the setting of the plurality of target regions.

16. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 8,

wherein the one or more target regions include a plurality of target regions that are differently sized based on a plurality of specifications of a wheel of a bicycle, and the target region setting unit provides the setting of the plurality of target regions.