Road situation perceiving system
First Claim
1. A road situation perceiving system, comprising:
- a map information outputting means for outputting map information as an aggregate of a plurality of coordinate points constituting a map;
a subject-vehicle position detecting means for detecting the position of a subject vehicle on the map;
a road shape detecting means for detecting a shape of a road ahead of the position of the subject vehicle based on the map information;
an image forming means for forming an image of a road area ahead of the vehicle based on the detected road shape;
a temperature profile detecting means for detecting a temperature profile ahead of the vehicle;
a superposing means for superposing said temperature profile on said image of the road area;
an abnormal-temperature zone judging means for judging whether there is an abnormal-temperature zone in said road area;
an alarm means for providing an alarm to a driver of the subject vehicle; and
a control means for operating said alarm means when it is determined that there is the abnormal-temperature zone.
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Abstract
An image of a road area ahead of a vehicle is formed based on road data read from a navigation system, or based on an image shot by a camera means such as a video camera. A temperature profile ahead of the vehicle detected by a temperature detecting means such as an infrared camera is superposed on the image of the road area. As a result, if a low-temperature zone is detected on the road area, it is determined that there is snow or ice existing on the road area, or if a high-temperature zone is detected, it is determined that there is a person or animal existing on the road area, thereby informing a driver by an alarm means or a display means to avoid such an obstruction or hazard. Thus, it is possible to perceive snow, ice, a person and an animal existing on a road ahead of the vehicle without relying on a driver'"'"'s visual judgment, and to give an alarm so that the driver may timely take an appropriate countermeasure to avoid the obstruction or hazardous situation.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A road situation perceiving system, comprising:
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a map information outputting means for outputting map information as an aggregate of a plurality of coordinate points constituting a map; a subject-vehicle position detecting means for detecting the position of a subject vehicle on the map; a road shape detecting means for detecting a shape of a road ahead of the position of the subject vehicle based on the map information; an image forming means for forming an image of a road area ahead of the vehicle based on the detected road shape; a temperature profile detecting means for detecting a temperature profile ahead of the vehicle; a superposing means for superposing said temperature profile on said image of the road area; an abnormal-temperature zone judging means for judging whether there is an abnormal-temperature zone in said road area; an alarm means for providing an alarm to a driver of the subject vehicle; and a control means for operating said alarm means when it is determined that there is the abnormal-temperature zone. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 9)
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2. A road situation perceiving system, comprising;
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a camera means for taking an image ahead of a vehicle, a road area judging means for judging a road area within said image by an image-processing; a temperature profile detecting means for detecting a temperature profile ahead of the vehicle; a superposing means for superposing said temperature profile on said image of said road area; an abnormal-temperature zone judging means for judging whether there is an abnormal-temperature zone on or above a surface of said road area based on the superposed temperature profile on the image of the road area; an alarm means for providing an alarm to a driver of the vehicle; and a control means for operating said alarm means when it is determined that there is the abnormal-temperature zone. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 10)
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11. A road situation perceiving system, comprising:
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road image determining means for determining an image of a road area ahead of a subject vehicle; temperature profile detecting means for detecting a temperature profile of temperatures throughout a space ahead of the subject vehicle; abnormal-temperature zone judging means for judging abnormal-temperature zones on and above a surface of the road area ahead of the subject vehicle based on outputs from said road image determining means and said temperature profile detecting means; and alarm means for providing an alarm to a driver of the vehicle when it is judged that there is an abnormal-temperature zone in the road area ahead of the subject vehicle; said abnormal-temperature zone judging means judging whether there is an abnormal-temperature zone by comparing the output from the road image determining means to the output of said temperature profile detecting means; and said abnormal-temperature zone judging means compares said outputs of said road image determining means and said temperature profile detecting means by superposing one of said outputs over the other. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A road situation perceiving system, comprising:
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road image determining means for determining an image of a road area ahead of a subject vehicle; temperature profile detecting means for detecting a temperature profile of a space ahead of the subject vehicle; abnormal-temperature zone judging means for judging whether there is an abnormal-temperature zone in the road area ahead of the subject vehicle based on outputs from said road image determining means and said temperature profile detecting means; alarm means for providing an alarm to a driver of the subject vehicle when it is judged that there is the abnormal-temperature zone in the road area ahead of the subject vehicle; and a superposing means for superposing said temperature profile on said image of the road area; and said abnormal-temperature zone judging means judges whether there is the abnormal-temperature zone in said road area based on the superposed temperature profile on said image of the road area.
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18. A road situation perceiving system, comprising:
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road image determining means for determining an image of a road area ahead of a subject vehicle; temperature profile detecting means for detecting a temperature profile of a space ahead of the subject vehicle; abnormal-temperature zone judging means for judging whether there is an abnormal-temperature zone in the road area ahead of the subject vehicle based on outputs from still road image determining means and said temperature profile detecting means; alarm means for providing an alarm to a driver of the subject vehicle when it is judged that there is the abnormal-temperature zone in the road area ahead of the subject vehicle; and a display means for displaying the image of the road area; and said alarm means displays the position of said abnormal-temperature zone on the display image of the road area when it is determined that there is the abnormal-temperature zone.
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Specification