Vehicle travel support device, vehicle, vehicle travel support program

• US 8,306,270 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2009
• Issued: 11/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Sato, Hidenori
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, BRIAN Q
• Application Number:
  US12/809,769
• Publication Number:
  US 20110044503A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,397 Days
• Field of Search: 382/103, 382/104, 382/106, 382/107, 382/199, 382/266, 382/270, 382/276, 382/281
• US Class Current: 382/104
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20061 Hough transform
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30256 Lane; Road marking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/13 Edge detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/48 by mapping characteristic values of the pattern into a parameter space, e.g. Hough transformation
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/588 Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/16 Anti-collision systems road vehicle drive control systems for predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision otherwise than by control of a particular sub-unit B60W30/08
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

A vehicle travel support device determines presence of a recognition inhibiting factor of a lane mark on a road on which a vehicle is traveling with high accuracy irrespective of an imaging history by a vehicular camera from the same position. The vehicle travel support system generates an edge image by extracting an edge or actualizing an edge in an image obtained through the vehicular camera. When Hough transform of the edge image is performed, votes for a specified vote value of a linear component is evaluated in a ρ-θ space (Hough space). Presence of a recognition inhibiting factor of a lane mark on a road is determined by determining whether or not the votes of a specified vote value in a specified region denoting a standard travel lane of a vehicle in the real space is ≧a threshold in the ρ-θ space.

Claims

1. A vehicle travel support device configured to recognize a travel environment of a vehicle according to an image indicating a situation in a travel direction of the vehicle which is obtained by an imaging device mounted in the vehicle, comprising:

a first processing element configured to generate an edge image through performing on the image an edge extraction process which extracts a line segment with a luminance varying greater than a threshold in a scanning direction as an edge,

a second processing element configured to perform a Hough transform process on the edge image generated by the first processing element and evaluate a vote value of a line segment in a ρ

-θ

space according to the Hough transform result, and

a third processing element configured to determine the presence of a recognition inhibiting factor which reduces recognition accuracy of a lane mark on a road where the vehicle is traveling according to whether or not the votes of a specified vote value evaluated by the second processing element in a specified region denoting a predicted travel region of the vehicle in the real space is equal to or greater than a threshold in the ρ

-θ

space, wherein a boundary of the specified region is set in such a way that the votes of the specified vote value is smaller than the threshold in the specified region for a road without the presence of the recognition inhibiting factor of the lane mark.

2. The vehicle travel support device according to claim 1, wherein the third processing element determines the presence of the recognition inhibiting factor of the land mark on the road where the vehicle is traveling according to whether or not the votes of a first specified vote value serving as the specified vote value in a first specified region serving as the specified region defined according to ρ

value in the ρ

-θ

space is equal to or greater than a first threshold serving as the threshold.

3. The vehicle travel support device according to claim 1, wherein the third processing element determines the presence of the recognition inhibiting factor of the land mark on the road where the vehicle is traveling according to whether or not the votes of a second specified vote value serving as the specified vote value in a second specified region serving as the specified region defined according to θ

value in the ρ

-θ

space is equal to or greater than a second threshold serving as the threshold.

4. The vehicle travel support device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle travel support device suspends or stops the recognition process of the lane mark if the recognition inhibiting factor for the lane mark is determined to be present by the third processing element.

5. The vehicle travel support device according to claim 1, wherein the third processing element determines deposited snow or an object extended along a side of the road as the recognition inhibiting factor of the lane mark.

6. A vehicle provided with an imaging device and the vehicle travel support device of claim 1.

7. A vehicle travel support program causing a vehicular computer to function as the vehicle travel support device of claim 1.