Vehicle moving image processing method and system

• US 6,075,559 A
• Filed: 08/12/1998
• Issued: 06/13/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Harada, Tomoyasu
• Primary Examiner(s): LIN, BRYAN T
• Application Number:
  US09/132,715
• Time in Patent Office: 671 Days
• Field of Search: 348/61, 348/113, 348/116, 348/118, 348/143, 348/148, 348/149
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 9/00 Image coding bandwidth or redundancy reduction for static pictures H04N1/41; coding or decoding of static colour picture signals H04N1/64; methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/00

Abstract

A vehicle moving image processing method of compressing image data in a travel direction of a vehicle photographed from the vehicle which moves on a road, the method comprising the steps of: photographing an image in the travel direction of the vehicle and acquiring image data; dividing the image data into image data in a first area with a small change degree and image data in a second area with a large change degree in response to a change degree of the image data with a move of the vehicle; and compressing the image data in the first area by a first compression process and the image data in the second area by a second compression process different from the first compression process.

Claims

1. A vehicle moving image processing method of compressing image data in a travel direction of a vehicle photographed from the vehicle which moves on a road, the method comprising:

photographing an image in the travel direction of the vehicle and acquiring image data;

dividing the image data into image data in a first area with a small change degree and image data in a second area with a large change degree in response to a change degree of the image data with a move of the vehicle; and

compressing the image data in the first area by a first compression process and the image data in the second area by a second compression process different from the first compression process.

2. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the compressing step compressed the image data in the first area by a compression process fitted to a still image and the image data in the second area by a compression process fitted to a moving image.

3. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the compression process for the first area includes a wavelet conversion method.

4. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the compression process for the first area includes a fractal mothod.

5. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the compression process for the second area includes a MPEG2 method.

6. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the compressing step compressed the image data in the second area by coarser quantization as compared with the image data in the first area.

7. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

acquiring road width information of a road on which the vehicle moves, wherein the dividing steps sets a width of the first area in response to the road width information.

8. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the compressing step compresses the image data in the first area by a compression process fitted to a still image and the image data in the second area by a compression process fitted to a moving image.

9. The vehicle moving image process method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the compression process for the first area include a wavelet conversion method.

10. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the compression process for the first area includes a fractal mothod.

11. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the compression process for the second area includes a MPEG2 method.

12. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the compressing step compressed the image data in the second area by coarser quantization as compared with the image data in the first area.

13. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

acquiring moving vehicle speed information, wherein the dividing step sets a size of the first area in response to the moving vehicle speed information.

14. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the compressing step compressed the image data in the first area by a compression process fitted to a still image and the image data in the second area by a compression process fitted to a moving image.

15. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the compression process for the first area includes a wavelet conversion method.

16. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the compression process for the first area includes a fractal mothod.

17. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the compression process for the second area includes a MPEG2 method.

18. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the compressing step compresses the image data in the second area by coarser quantization as compared with the image data in the first area.

19. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the dividing step adopts a far part in front of the vehicle in the travel direction.

20. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the compressing step compresses the image data in the first area by a compression process fitted to a still image and the image data in the second area by a compression process fitted to a moving image.

21. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 20, wherein the compression process for the first area includes a wavelet conversion method.

22. The method moving image processing method as claimed in claim 20, wherein the compression process for the first area includes a fractal mothod.

23. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 20, wherein the compression process for the second area includes a MPEG2 method.

24. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 19, wherein the compressing step compresses the image data in the second area by coarser quantization as compared with the image data in the first area.

25. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 19, further comprising:

acquiring road width information of a road on which the vehicle moves, wherein the dividing step sets a width of the first area in response to the road width information.

26. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the compressing step compresses the image data in the first area by a compression process fitted to a still image and the image data in the second area by a compression process fitted to a moving image.

27. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 26, wherein the compression process for the first area includes a wavelet conversion method.

28. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 26, wherein the compression process for the first area includes a fractal mothod.

29. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 26, wherein the compression process for the second area includes a MPEG2 method.

30. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the compressing step compresses the image data in the second area by coarser quantization as compared with the image data in the first area.

31. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 19, further comprising:

acquiring moving vehicle speed information, wherein the dividing step sets a size of the first area in response to the moving vehicle speed information.

32. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 31, wherein the compressing step compresses the image data in the first area by a compression process fitted to a still image and the image data in the second area by a compression process fitted to a moving image.

33. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 32, wherein the compression process for the first area includes a wavelet conversion method.

34. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 32, wherein the compression process for the first area includes a fractal mothod.

35. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 32, wherein the compression process for the second area includes a MPEG2 method.

36. The vehicle moving image processing method as claimed in claim 31, wherein the compressing step compresses the image data in the second area by coarser quantization as compared with the image data in the first area.

37. A vehicle moving image processing system of compressing image data in a travel direction of a vehicle photographed from the vehicle moving on a road, the method comprising:

image getting means for photographing an image in the travel direction of the vehicle and acquiring image data;

division means for dividing the image data into image data in a first area with a small change degree and image data in a second area with a large degree in response to a change degree of the image data with a move of the vehicle; and

image compression means for compressing the image data in the first area by a first compression process and the image data in the second area by a second compression process different from the first compression process.