Estimating distance to an object using a sequence of images recorded by a monocular camera
First Claim
1. In a computerized system including a camera mounted in a moving vehicle, wherein the camera acquires consecutively in real time a plurality of image frames including respectively a plurality of images of an object within a field of view of the camera, a method for determining a range of the object from the moving vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) measuring in at least two of said image frames a dimension in the respective images of the object thereby producing at least two measurements of said dimension;
(b) processing said at least two measurements thereby producing a smoothed measurement of said dimension;
(c) measuring said dimension in at least one of said image frames subsequent to said at least two image frames, thereby producing at least one subsequent measurement of said dimension; and
(d) calculating the range in real time based on said smoothed measurement and said at least one subsequent measurement.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a computerized system including a camera mounted in a moving vehicle. The camera acquires consecutively in real time image frames including images of an object within the field of view of the camera. Range to the object from the moving vehicle is determined in real time. A dimension, e.g. a width, is measured in the respective images of two or more image frames, thereby producing measurements of the dimension. The measurements are processed to produce a smoothed measurement of the dimension. The dimension is measured subsequently in one or more subsequent frames. The range from the vehicle to the object is calculated in real time based on the smoothed measurement and the subsequent measurements. The processing preferably includes calculating recursively the smoothed dimension using a Kalman filter.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. In a computerized system including a camera mounted in a moving vehicle, wherein the camera acquires consecutively in real time a plurality of image frames including respectively a plurality of images of an object within a field of view of the camera, a method for determining a range of the object from the moving vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) measuring in at least two of said image frames a dimension in the respective images of the object thereby producing at least two measurements of said dimension; (b) processing said at least two measurements thereby producing a smoothed measurement of said dimension; (c) measuring said dimension in at least one of said image frames subsequent to said at least two image frames, thereby producing at least one subsequent measurement of said dimension; and (d) calculating the range in real time based on said smoothed measurement and said at least one subsequent measurement. - 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 computerized system including a camera mounted in a moving vehicle, wherein the camera acquires consecutively in real time a plurality of image frames including respectively a plurality of images of an object within a field of view of the camera, wherein the system determines in real time a range from the moving vehicle to the object, the system comprising:
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(a) a measurement mechanism adapted to measure in at least two of said image frames a dimension in the respective images of the object thereby producing a series of at least two measurements of said dimension; and (b) a processor which processes said at least two measurements thereby producing a smoothed measurement of said dimension; wherein said measurement mechanism is adapted to measure said dimension in at least one of said image frames subsequent to said at least two image frames, thereby producing at least one subsequent measurement of said dimension; and wherein said processor is adapted to calculate the range in real time based on said smoothed measurement and said at least one subsequent measurement. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification