Collision determination device and vehicle behavior control device

• US 7,864,032 B2
• Filed: 10/05/2006
• Issued: 01/04/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fuji Heavy Industries Limited (Subaru Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Heavy Industries Limited (Subaru Corp.)
• Inventors: Tsukasaki, Yuichiro, Kogure, Masaru
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Benjamin C
• Assistant Examiner(s): BEE, ANDREW W.
• Application Number:
  US11/543,070
• Publication Number:
  US 20070080968A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,552 Days
• Field of Search: 340/435, 340/436, 701/301, 701/300, 702/181
• US Class Current: 340/435
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 10/18 including control of braking systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/408 Radar; Laser, e.g. lidar
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/08 Active safety systems predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision or attempting to minimise its consequences
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/09 Taking automatic action to avoid collision, e.g. braking and steering
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/095 Predicting travel path or likelihood of collision
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/18172 Preventing, or responsive to skidding of wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/165 for passive traffic, e.g. including static obstacles, trees
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

A control unit 5 calculates, by a statistical processing, the current front/rear-directional acceleration, the current front/rear-directional velocity, and the current front/rear-directional position of the three-dimensional object to be determined while considering an error caused by a camera. These values are used in the statistical processing so as to calculate the front/rear-directional acceleration after Δt seconds, the front/rear-directional velocity after Δt seconds, and the front/rear-directional position after Δt seconds, and so as to obtain a probability of contact after Δt seconds based on the front/rear-directional position after Δt seconds.

Claims

1. A collision determination device, comprising:

three-dimensional object detection means for detecting a three-dimensional object;

current state processing means for calculating current motion and positional states of the three-dimensional object, based at least on a current detected data of the three-dimensional object, as probability distributions by a statistical process;

state estimation means for estimating motion and positional states of the three-dimensional object after a preset time period, by a statistical process, based on the calculated current motion and positional states in relationship to a subject vehicle; and

contact probability calculation means for calculating a probability of contact with the three-dimensional object based on the estimated positional state of the three-dimensional object as a probability distribution after the preset time period,

wherein the current state processing means calculates the current motion and positional states as a normal distribution having axes on a true value, and

wherein the contact probability calculation means calculates the probability of contact based on an integration of the estimated positional state of the three-dimensional object, and a range of the integration is determined based on a position of the subject vehicle after the preset time period, where the estimated positional state of the three-dimensional object is calculated in relation to current motion and position data of the subject vehicle.

2. The collision determination device according to claim 1, wherein the collision determination device is mounted on a movable body, and

the collision determination device further comprises control means for performing at least one of deceleration control, alarm control and provision of alert information based on the contact probability.

3. The collision determination device according to claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional object comprises a three-dimensional object existing ahead of the subject vehicle,

the current motion and positional states of the three-dimensional object calculated by the current state processing means by the statistical process are obtained using a front/rear-directional distribution of the subject vehicle,

the motion and positional states of the three-dimensional object after the preset time period estimated by the state estimation means are obtained using a front/rear-directional distribution of the subject vehicle after the preset time period, and

the contact probability calculation means calculates the probability of contact based on the front/rear-directional distribution of the positional states of the three-dimensional object after the preset time period and the position of the subject vehicle.

4. The collision determination device according to claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional object comprises a three-dimensional object existing on a plane ahead of the subject vehicle,

the current motion and positional states of the three-dimensional object calculated by the current state processing means by the statistical process are obtained using a front/rear-directional distribution and a lateral distribution of the subject vehicle,

the motion and positional states of the three-dimensional object after the preset time period estimated by the determination object state estimation means are obtained using the front/rear-directional distribution and the lateral distribution of the subject vehicle after the preset time period, and

the contact probability calculation means calculates the probability of contact based on the front/rear-directional distribution and the lateral distribution of the positional state of the three-dimensional object after the preset time period and the position of the subject vehicle.

5. The collision determination device according to claim 4, further comprising:

target three-dimensional object selection means for extracting three-dimensional objects for determining possibilities of contact from among the detected three-dimensional objects,

wherein more than one three-dimensional object is selected by the target three-dimensional object selection means.

6. The collision determination device according to claim 5, wherein the control means performs at least one of deceleration control, alarm control and provision of alert information based on a sum value of the contact probability calculated for each of the target three-dimensional objects.

7. The collision determination device according to claim 1, wherein the estimated positional state of the three-dimensional object includes a positional information, and

wherein an integration of the positional information comprises a constant value over time.

8. The collision determination device according to claim 1, wherein the current state processing means generates the positional state information by using a deviation amount between corresponding positions through a triangulation technique from a stereo image ahead of the subject vehicle.

9. The collision determination device according to claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional object detection means comprises a stereo camera, and the state processing means calculates the current motion and positional states as a normal distribution whose axes are on a true value.

10. The collision determination device according to claim 1, wherein the contact probability calculation means calculates the probability of contact without obtaining an actual position of the object.

11. The collision determination device according to claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional object detection means detects objects ahead of the subject vehicle in a horizontal two-dimensional plane.

12. The collision determination device according to claim 1, wherein the current motion and positional states of the three-dimensional object include a position, a velocity, and an acceleration.

13. The collision determination device according to claim 1, wherein a front/rear-directional distribution of the subject vehicle comprises a position distribution in a direction comprising a normal distribution.

14. A vehicle behavior control device, comprising:

target behavior calculation means for calculating a target behavior of a subject vehicle based on a driving state of the subject vehicle;

three-dimensional object information detection means for detecting three-dimensional object information ahead of the subject vehicle;

determination object selection means for extracting a determination object whose possibility of contact with the subject vehicle is determined out of the detected three-dimensional objects;

determination object current state processing means for calculating current motion and positional states of the determination object, based at least on a current detected state data of the three-dimensional object, as probability distributions;

determination object state estimation means for estimating motion and positional states of the determination object as probability distributions after a preset time period based on the calculated current motion and positional states of the determination object;

contact probability calculation means for calculating a probability of contact of the subject vehicle with the determination object based on the motion and positional states of the determination object after the preset time period estimated by the determination object state estimation means;

target behavior correction amount calculation means for setting an objective function relating at least the probability of contact and a target behavior correction amount and providing a minimum value, and calculating the target behavior correction amount where the objective function takes the minimum value; and

control means for setting a control amount based on the target behavior and the target behavior correction amount,

wherein the determination object current state processing means calculates the current motion and positional states as a normal distribution having axes on a true value, and

wherein the contact probability calculation means calculates the probability of contact based on an integration of the estimated positional state of the three-dimensional object, and a range of the integration is determined based on a position of the subject vehicle after the preset time period, where the estimated positional state of the three-dimensional object is calculated in relation to current motion and position data of the subject vehicle.

15. The vehicle behavior control device according to claim 14, wherein the target behavior of the subject vehicle calculated by the target behavior calculation means includes a target front/rear-directional force and a target yaw moment.

16. The vehicle behavior control device according to claim 14, wherein the determination object current state processing means calculates the current motion and positional states of the determination object by a statistical process, and

the determination object state estimation means estimates the motion and positional states of the determination object after the preset time period based on the current motion and positional states of the determination object calculated by the statistical process.

17. The vehicle behavior control device according to claim 14, wherein the determination object extracted by the determination object selection means comprises a three-dimensional object existing on a plane ahead of the subject vehicle,

the current motion and positional states of the determination object calculated by the determination object current state processing means by the statistical processing are obtained using a front/rear-directional distribution and a lateral distribution of the subject vehicle,

the motion, and positional states of the determination object after the preset time period estimated by the determination object state estimation means are obtained using the front/rear-directional distribution and lateral distribution of the subject vehicle after the preset time period, and

the contact probability calculation means calculates the probability of contact based on the front/rear-directional distribution and lateral distribution of the positional state of the determination object after the preset time period and the position of the subject vehicle.

18. The vehicle behavior control device according to claim 17, wherein more than one determination objects are set by the determination object selection means.

19. The vehicle behavior control device according to claim 14, further comprising:

frictional circle utilization factor calculation means for calculating a frictional circle utilization factor of the subject vehicle after the preset time period,

wherein the target behavior correction amount calculation means presets the objective function including at least the frictional circle utilization factor, the probability of contact and the target behavior correction amount and providing the minimum value, and calculates the target behavior correction amount where the objective function takes the minimum value.

20. The collision determination device according to claim 14, wherein the estimated positional state of the determination object includes a positional information, and

wherein an integration of the positional information comprises a constant value over time.