Apparatus for determining the presence of fog using image obtained by vehicle-mounted imaging device
First Claim
1. An apparatus that detects the presence of fog which is present ahead of a vehicle comprising:
- means for capturing an image of space, the image being viewed from the vehicle and comprising arrays of pixels having luminance values;
means for extracting a reference image from the image captured by the capturing means, the reference image including a portion of the image of the space located a predetermined distance from the vehicle;
means for estimating the luminance values of the arrays of the pixels in the reference image;
means for detecting an obstacle from the reference image to obtain a contour of the obstacle in the reference image;
means for masking a region including a picture of the obstacle in the reference image in accordance with a contour of the obstacle detected by the means for detecting the obstacle to produce a masked reference image;
means for calculating a reliability of determining the presence of the fog based on the region which is masked in producing the masked reference image;
means for calculating a total luminance intensity as a function of the luminance values of the arrays of the pixels in the masked reference image to obtain a total luminance intensity; and
means for determining the presence of the fog in accordance with the total luminance intensity calculated by the means for calculating the total luminance intensity and the reliability of determining the presence of the fog calculated by the means for calculating the reliability;
whereinthe means for calculating the reliability calculates a first reliability of determining the presence of the fog based on a shape of the contour of the obstacle in the reference image which relates to each individual number of unmasked continuous parts of the corresponding array of the pixels, the arrays of the pixels constituting the masked reference image, andthe means for determining determines the presence of the fog in the environmental atmosphere around the vehicle in accordance with both the total luminance intensity and the first reliability of determining the presence of the fog.
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Abstract
An apparatus that determines the presence of an element such as fog interfering with the visibility of a frontal view of an driver in an vehicle in an environmental atmosphere in ahead of the vehicle equipped with the apparatus in the daytime is provided. In this apparatus, the determination of whether the presence of the element is determined based on an image that captured by a vehicle-mounted camera and in which a picture of an obstacle located on a road over which the vehicle is traveling is masked. In the determination, a reliability of determining the presence of the element is considered by measuring the effect of masking the obstacle.
19 Citations
11 Claims
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1. An apparatus that detects the presence of fog which is present ahead of a vehicle comprising:
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means for capturing an image of space, the image being viewed from the vehicle and comprising arrays of pixels having luminance values; means for extracting a reference image from the image captured by the capturing means, the reference image including a portion of the image of the space located a predetermined distance from the vehicle; means for estimating the luminance values of the arrays of the pixels in the reference image; means for detecting an obstacle from the reference image to obtain a contour of the obstacle in the reference image; means for masking a region including a picture of the obstacle in the reference image in accordance with a contour of the obstacle detected by the means for detecting the obstacle to produce a masked reference image; means for calculating a reliability of determining the presence of the fog based on the region which is masked in producing the masked reference image; means for calculating a total luminance intensity as a function of the luminance values of the arrays of the pixels in the masked reference image to obtain a total luminance intensity; and means for determining the presence of the fog in accordance with the total luminance intensity calculated by the means for calculating the total luminance intensity and the reliability of determining the presence of the fog calculated by the means for calculating the reliability;
whereinthe means for calculating the reliability calculates a first reliability of determining the presence of the fog based on a shape of the contour of the obstacle in the reference image which relates to each individual number of unmasked continuous parts of the corresponding array of the pixels, the arrays of the pixels constituting the masked reference image, and the means for determining determines the presence of the fog in the environmental atmosphere around the vehicle in accordance with both the total luminance intensity and the first reliability of determining the presence of the fog. - View Dependent Claims (3, 5, 8, 11)
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2. An apparatus that detects the presence of fog which is present ahead of a vehicle comprising:
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means for capturing an image of space, the image being viewed from the vehicle and comprising arrays of pixels having luminance values; means for extracting a reference image from the image captured by the capturing means, the reference image including a portion of the image of the space located a predetermined distance from the vehicle; means for estimating the luminance values of the arrays of the pixels in the reference image; means for detecting an obstacle from the reference image to obtain a contour of the obstacle in the reference image; means for masking a region including a picture of the obstacle in the reference image in accordance with a contour of the obstacle detected by the means for detecting the obstacle to produce a masked reference image; means for calculating a reliability of determining the presence of the fog based on the region which is masked in producing the masked reference image; means for calculating a total luminance intensity as a function of the luminance values of the arrays of the pixels in the masked reference image to obtain a total luminance intensity; and means for determining the presence of the fog in accordance with the total luminance intensity calculated by the means for calculating the total luminance intensity and the reliability of determining the presence of the fog calculated by the means for calculating the reliability;
whereinthe means for calculating the reliability calculates a second reliability of determining the presence of the fog based on an area surrounded by the contour of the obstacle which relates to a fraction of an area of unmasked regions to an area of masked region in the reference image, and the means for determining determines the presence of the fog in the environmental atmosphere around the vehicle in accordance with both the total luminance intensity and the second reliability of determining the presence of the constituent. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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4. An apparatus that detects the presence of fog which is present ahead of a vehicle comprising:
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means for capturing an image of space, the image being viewed from the vehicle and comprising arrays of pixels having luminance values; means for extracting a reference image from the image captured by the capturing means, the reference image including a portion of the image of the space located a predetermined distance from the vehicle; means for estimating the luminance values of the arrays of the pixels in the reference image; means for detecting an obstacle from the reference image to obtain a contour of the obstacle in the reference image; means for masking a region including a picture of the obstacle in the reference image in accordance with a contour of the obstacle detected by the means for detecting the obstacle to produce a masked reference image; means for calculating a reliability of determining the presence of the fog based on the region which is masked in producing the masked reference image; means for calculating a total luminance intensity as a function of the luminance values of the arrays of the pixels in the masked reference image to obtain a total luminance intensity; and means for determining the presence of the fog in accordance with the total luminance intensity calculated by the means for calculating the total luminance intensity and the reliability of determining the presence of the fog calculated by the means for calculating the reliability;
whereinthe means for determining classifies a result of determination into three categories, that is, the fog is existing, the fog is not existing, and the determination whether the presence of the fog is impossible, based on the reliability.
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6. An apparatus that detects the presence of fog which is present ahead of a vehicle comprising:
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means for capturing an image of space, the image being viewed from the vehicle and comprising arrays of pixels having luminance values; means for extracting a reference image from the image captured by the capturing means, the reference image including a portion of the image of the space located a predetermined distance from the vehicle; means for estimating the luminance values of the arrays of the pixels in the reference image; means for detecting an obstacle from the reference image to obtain a contour of the obstacle in the reference image; means for masking a region including a picture of the obstacle in the reference image in accordance with a contour of the obstacle detected by the means for detecting the obstacle to produce a masked reference image; means for calculating a reliability of determining the presence of the fog based on the region which is masked in producing the masked reference image; means for calculating a total luminance intensity as a function of the luminance values of the arrays of the pixels in the masked reference image to obtain a total luminance intensity; and means for determining the presence of the fog in accordance with the total luminance intensity calculated by the means for calculating the total luminance intensity and the reliability of determining the presence of the fog calculated by the means for calculating the reliability;
whereinthe means for calculating the total luminance intensity transforms luminance data including sequential values of luminance of the pixels in each individual array as a sum of base functions with respective coefficients and calculates a total spatial power spectrum of the image based on the coefficients calculated in the transformation of the luminance data, the masked reference image being expressed by sequential values of luminance of the unmasked pixels in each individual array such that a length of the luminance data becomes shorter as the number of values of luminance of the unmasked pixels becomes smaller, and the means for calculating the total luminance intensity determines the presence of the fog in the environmental atmosphere around the vehicle in accordance with both the total spatial power spectrum calculated by the total luminance calculating block and the reliability of determining the presence of the fog calculated by the reliability calculating block using a fact that the fog in the atmosphere scatters light from the sun which results a smaller value of the total spatial power spectrum than that obtained in the case where the fog is absent in the environmental atmosphere around the vehicle.
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7. An apparatus that detects the presence of fog which is present ahead of a vehicle comprising:
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means for capturing an image of space, the image being viewed from the vehicle and comprising arrays of pixels having luminance values; means for extracting a reference image from the image captured by the capturing means, the reference image including a portion of the image of the space located a predetermined distance from the vehicle; means for estimating the luminance values of the arrays of the pixels in the reference image; means for detecting an obstacle from the reference image to obtain a contour of the obstacle in the reference image; means for masking a region including a picture of the obstacle in the reference image in accordance with a contour of the obstacle detected by the means for detecting the obstacle to produce a masked reference image; means for calculating a reliability of determining the presence of the fog based on the region which is masked in producing the masked reference image; means for calculating a total luminance intensity as a function of the luminance values of the arrays of the pixels in the masked reference image to obtain a total luminance intensity; and means for determining the presence of the fog in accordance with the total luminance intensity calculated by the means for calculating the total luminance intensity and the reliability of determining the presence of the fog calculated by the means for calculating the reliability;
whereinthe means for calculating a total luminance intensity applies an edge operator to each of the pixels in the masked reference image to calculate each individual edge intensity of the corresponding pixel and calculates a total edge intensity as a sum of the individual edge intensities of the pixels in the masked reference image, and the means for determining determines the presence of the fog in the environmental atmosphere around the vehicle in accordance with both the total edge intensity calculated by the total luminance calculating means and the reliability of determining the presence of the fog calculated by the reliability calculating means using a fact that the fog in the atmosphere scatters light from the sun which results a smaller value of the total edge intensity than that obtained in the case where the fog is absent in the environmental atmosphere around the vehicle.
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Specification