INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT

• US 20190318176A1
• Filed: 02/26/2019
• Published: 10/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: SANO, Yuma, WATANABE, Tomoki
• Granted Patent: US 10,817,734 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/607 from a bird's eye viewpoint
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/146 Display means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/09 Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/18 for evaluating statistical data , e.g. average values, frequency distributions, probability functions, regression analysis forecasting specially adapted for a specific administrative, business or logistic context G06Q10/04
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/20 Perspective computation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/00 Three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/10 Terrestrial scenes scenes under surveillance with static cameras G06V20/52; scenes perceived from the exterior of a vehicle G06V20/56; scenes perceived from the interior of a vehicle G06V20/59
• 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: G06V 20/584 of vehicle lights or traffic lights

Abstract

An information processing apparatus according to an embodiment includes one or more processors configured to: acquire an image and three-dimensional point information on a three-dimensional point of acquired surroundings of the image; assign an attribute to each region in the image; set, to the three-dimensional point, the attribute assigned to the corresponding region in the image; and generate an obstacle map based on the three-dimensional point information and the attribute that is set to the three-dimensional point.

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus comprising:

one or more processors configured to;

acquire an image and three-dimensional point information on a three-dimensional point of acquired surroundings of the image;

assign an attribute to each region in the image;

set, to the three-dimensional point, the attribute assigned to the corresponding region in the image; and

generate an obstacle map based on the three-dimensional point information and the attribute that is set to the three-dimensional point.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors generate the obstacle map corresponding to a bird'"'"'s-eye view.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attribute indicates being passable, being impassable, or a solid object.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors generate the obstacle map indicating a degree of being passable or impassable for each sectional region.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the one or more processors generate the obstacle map based on the three-dimensional point information and an impassableness probability corresponding to the attribute set to the three-dimensional point.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the one or more processors

generate a first obstacle map in which the impassableness probability is specified to the sectional region corresponding to the three-dimensional point to which the attribute indicating a solid object has been set, the first obstacle map specifying the impassableness probability,

generate a second obstacle map in which the impassableness probability is specified to the sectional region corresponding to the three-dimensional point to which the attribute indicative of being passable or impassable has been set, and

generate the obstacle map in which the first obstacle map and the second obstacle map are integrated.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein, in the first obstacle map generated by the one or more processors,

a first impassableness probability, as the impassableness probability, is specified to the sectional region corresponding to the three-dimensional point to which the attribute indicating a solid object has been set,

a second impassableness probability that is lower than the first impassableness probability, as the impassableness probability, is specified to another sectional region being in a range from a reference position to the sectional region to which the first impassableness probability has been specified, and

an intermediate probability between the first impassableness probability and the second impassableness probability, as the impassableness probability, is specified to another sectional region being in a range farther away from the reference position than the sectional region to which the first impassableness probability has been specified.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, in the second obstacle map generated by the one or more processors,

the first impassableness probability is specified to the sectional region corresponding to the three-dimensional point to which the attribute indicative of being impassable has been set,

the second impassableness probability is specified to the sectional region corresponding to the three-dimensional point to which the attribute indicative of being passable has been set, and

the impassableness probability based on the sectional region to which the first impassableness probability or the second impassableness probability has been specified is specified to the sectional region to which neither the first impassableness probability nor the second impassableness probability is specified.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the one or more processors specify the impassableness probability, which corresponds to the attribute indicative of being impassable, to the sectional region corresponding to both the three-dimensional point to which the attribute indicative of being passable has been set and the three-dimensional point to which the attribute indicative of being impassable has been set.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the one or more processors generate the obstacle map, in which the first obstacle map and the second obstacle map are integrated, based on priority of the impassableness probability indicating that the first impassableness probability is highest, the second impassableness probability is second highest, and the intermediate probability is lowest, by specifying the impassableness probability of higher priority to each sectional region included in the obstacle map out of the impassableness probability specified to the sectional region corresponding to the first obstacle map and the impassableness probability specified to the sectional region corresponding to the second obstacle map.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors display a display screen including the obstacle map on a display.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor configured to photograph the image and measure the three-dimensional point information on the three-dimensional point of the acquired surroundings at time of photographing the image,

wherein the one or more processors acquire the image and the three-dimensional point information from the sensor.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the one or more processors measure the three-dimensional point information by using a laser.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the one or more processors measure the three-dimensional point information based on an irradiation direction of the laser and information on reflected light of the laser at the three-dimensional point.

15. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more processors include a processor configured to control a power unit of a mobile body based on information indicating the obstacle map.

16. A computer program product including a computer-readable medium in which programmed instructions are stored, the programmed instructions causing, when executed by a computer, the computer to perform:

acquiring an image and three-dimensional point information on a three-dimensional point of acquired surroundings of the image;

assigning an attribute to each region in the image;

setting, to the three-dimensional point, the attribute assigned to the corresponding region in the image; and

generating an obstacle map based on the three-dimensional point information and the attribute that is set to the three-dimensional point.

17. An information processing method comprising:

acquiring an image and three-dimensional point information on a three-dimensional point of acquired surroundings of the image;

assigning an attribute to each region in the image;

setting, to the three-dimensional point, the attribute assigned to the corresponding region in the image; and

generating an obstacle map based on the three-dimensional point information and the attribute that is set to the three-dimensional point.