Vehicle tracking system
First Claim
1. A vehicle tracking system for a vehicle, comprising:
- a first camera mounted on the vehicle;
an image memory configured and arranged to store a first and second input images containing a remote vehicle received from the first camera;
a vehicle detecting section configured and arranged to detect the remote vehicle based on the first input image stored in the image memory;
a reference template creating section configured and arranged to extract an image region including the remote vehicle from the first input image to be used as a reference template;
a reference template storing memory configured and arranged to store the reference template and a position in the first input image where the reference template was extracted;
a vehicle tracking processing section configured and arranged to determine a position and an enlargement/reduction ratio for at least a portion of the second input image that provide a maximum correlation value between the portion of the second input image and the reference template with respect to the remote vehicle, while enlarging or reducing the portion of the second input image in consideration of a change in size of the remote vehicle in the second input image;
a processing result outputting section configured and arranged to determine a position of the remote vehicle relative to the vehicle based on the position and the enlargement/reduction ratio of the portion of the second input image that provide the maximum correlation value;
a vehicle image storage memory configured and arranged to consecutively store a vehicle image extracted from the portion of the second input image at the position and the enlargement/reduction ratio that provide the maximum correlation value; and
a reference template updating section configured and arranged to normalize the vehicle image and the reference template, calculate a dispersion of at least one pixel of the reference template with respect to a pixel at a corresponding position in the vehicle image, and update the reference template by deleting the at least one pixel when the dispersion of the at least one pixel is equal to or greater than a threshold value.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle tracking system for a vehicle is configured to track a remote vehicle by template matching between a reference image and an input image obtained by a camera mounted on the vehicle. The position and distance of a remote vehicle is determined by calculating a position and an enlargement/reduction ratio of a portion of the input image that provide a maximum correlation value between the portion of the input image and the reference template that is greater than a threshold value. The reference template is updated by calculating a dispersion of at least one pixel of the reference template with respect to a corresponding pixel in a vehicle image extracted from the input image that provides the maximum correlation value, and by deleting the at least one pixel when the dispersion of the at least one pixel is equal to or greater than a threshold value.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A vehicle tracking system for a vehicle, comprising:
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a first camera mounted on the vehicle;
an image memory configured and arranged to store a first and second input images containing a remote vehicle received from the first camera;
a vehicle detecting section configured and arranged to detect the remote vehicle based on the first input image stored in the image memory;
a reference template creating section configured and arranged to extract an image region including the remote vehicle from the first input image to be used as a reference template;
a reference template storing memory configured and arranged to store the reference template and a position in the first input image where the reference template was extracted;
a vehicle tracking processing section configured and arranged to determine a position and an enlargement/reduction ratio for at least a portion of the second input image that provide a maximum correlation value between the portion of the second input image and the reference template with respect to the remote vehicle, while enlarging or reducing the portion of the second input image in consideration of a change in size of the remote vehicle in the second input image;
a processing result outputting section configured and arranged to determine a position of the remote vehicle relative to the vehicle based on the position and the enlargement/reduction ratio of the portion of the second input image that provide the maximum correlation value;
a vehicle image storage memory configured and arranged to consecutively store a vehicle image extracted from the portion of the second input image at the position and the enlargement/reduction ratio that provide the maximum correlation value; and
a reference template updating section configured and arranged to normalize the vehicle image and the reference template, calculate a dispersion of at least one pixel of the reference template with respect to a pixel at a corresponding position in the vehicle image, and update the reference template by deleting the at least one pixel when the dispersion of the at least one pixel is equal to or greater than a threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of tracking a remote vehicle by using image processing of a plurality of images photographed by a camera mounted on a main vehicle, comprising
detecting the remote vehicle in a first input image; -
obtaining a reference template by extracting an image region containing the remote vehicle from the first input image when the remote vehicle is detected;
tracking the remote vehicle by determining a position of a portion of a second input image containing the remote vehicle and an enlargement/reduction ratio of the portion of the second input image that provide a maximum correlation value between the reference template and the portion of the second input image, while enlarging or reducing the portion of the second input image in consideration of a change in size of the remote vehicle in the second input image;
outputting a distance and a direction of the remote vehicle with respect to the vehicle as a remote vehicle detection result determined based on the position and the enlargement/reduction ratio of the second image at which the maximum correlation value was obtained;
storing at least one vehicle image extracted from the second image at the position and the enlargement/reduction ratio for which the maximum correlation value was obtained;
normalizing the reference template and the at least one vehicle image stored consecutively;
calculating a dispersion of at least one pixel in the reference template by comparing the reference template and the at least one vehicle image at a pixel that corresponds to the at least one pixel in the reference template;
updating the reference template by consecutively deleting the at least one pixel when the dispersion of the at least one pixel is equal to or greater than a threshold value to obtain an updated reference template; and
using the updated reference template to execute the tracking of the remote vehicle.
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19. A vehicle tracking system for a vehicle, comprising
image inputting means for inputting a first and second input images; -
image storing means for storing the first and second input images obtained in the image inputting means;
remote vehicle detecting means for detecting a remote vehicle in the first input image;
reference template creating means for creating a reference template including the remote vehicle extracted from the first input image based on a detection result in the remote vehicle detecting means;
vehicle tracking means for tracking the remote vehicle by calculating a position and an enlargement/reduction ratio of a portion of the second input image that provide a maximum correlation between the reference template and the second input image with respect to the remote vehicle;
tracking result outputting means for determining and outputting the position and the enlargement/reduction ratio of the portion of the second input image that provide the maximum correlation;
vehicle image storing means for storing a vehicle image extracted from the second input image at the position and the enlargement/reduction ratio that provide the maximum correlation; and
reference template updating means for updating the reference template by normalizing the vehicle image and the reference template, calculating a dispersion of at least one pixel of the reference template with respect to a pixel at a corresponding position in the vehicle image, and deleting the at least one pixel of the reference template when the dispersion of the at least one pixel is equal to or greater than a threshold value.
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Specification