System for monitoring the area around a vehicle

• US 8,766,816 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2009
• Issued: 07/01/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arriver Software AB (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Takatsudo, Izumi, Nagaoka, Nobuharu, Aimura, Makoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Bugg, George
• Assistant Examiner(s): AKKI, MUNEAR T
• Application Number:
  US13/124,253
• Publication Number:
  US 20110199197A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,833 Days
• Field of Search: 340/903, 340/425.5, 340/436, 340/3.41, 701/301
• US Class Current: 340/903
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/24 in front of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/30 providing vision in the non-visible spectrum, e.g. night or infrared vision
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/103 using camera systems provided with artificial illumination device, e.g. IR light source
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/105 using multiple cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/205 using a head-up display
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/301 combining image information with other obstacle sensor information, e.g. using RADAR/LIDAR/SONAR sensors for estimating risk of collision
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/305 merging camera image with lines or icons
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/307 virtually distinguishing relevant parts of a scene from the background of the scene
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/8093 for obstacle warning
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/58 Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads

Abstract

A system 1 for monitoring the area around a vehicle of the present invention capable of visually notifying the passenger in the vehicle 10 of not only the presence but also the kind of an object in images around the vehicle displayed in an HUD 7, for example, according to a difference in the display mode of the presence of the object, wherein the driver of the vehicle 10 is able to recognize which of a human or a four-footed animal the object belongs to, according to either a difference in the design between a first mark M1 and a second mark M2 or a difference in the design between a first frame F1 and a second frame F2 displayed on the HUD 7.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring the area around a vehicle, which uses a captured image taken by an imaging device mounted on the vehicle, so that an notification device notifies a passenger in the vehicle of the presence of an object in the case of high contacting possibility between the vehicle and the object, the system comprising:

an object extracting unit, which extracts an image area corresponding to the object as an object area from the captured image;

an object kind deciding unit, which decides which of a human or a four-footed animal the object belongs to on the basis of the shape and size of the object area extracted by the object extracting unit;

a notification control unit, which causes the notification device to give notification on the presence of the object in a different mode according to a difference in the kind of the object decided by the object kind deciding unit; and

a distance measuring unit, which measures a distance between the vehicle and the object, wherein the object kind deciding unit decides whether to identify the object based on the distance between the vehicle and the object such that;

the object kind deciding unit decides the kind of the object with a requirement that the distance measured by the distance measuring unit is a reference distance or less, so that the notification control unit causes the notification device to give notification on the presence of the object by a first notification process in the case where it is decided that the kind of the object belongs to a human, while causing the notification device to give notification on the presence of the object by a second notification process, which is different from the first notification process, in the case where it is decided that the kind of the object belongs to a four-footed animal; and

the object kind deciding unit does not make decision on the kind of the object with a requirement that the distance is longer than the reference distance, so that the notification control unit causes the notification device to give notification on the presence of the object by a third notification process, which is different from each of the first notification process and the second notification process.

2. The system for monitoring the area around a vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a vehicle speed measuring unit, which measures the speed of the vehicle, wherein the notification control unit causes the notification device to give notification on the presence of the object in a different mode according to not only a difference in the kind of the object decided by the object kind deciding unit but also the level of the speed of the vehicle measured by the vehicle speed measuring unit.

3. The system for monitoring the area around a vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising an image display device, which displays images around the vehicle, as the notification device, wherein the image display device displays the presence of the object in a different mode according to a difference in the kind of the object decided by the object kind deciding unit.

4. The system for monitoring the area around a vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a sound output device, which outputs a sound indicating the presence of the object, as the notification device, wherein the sound output device outputs the sound indicating the presence of the object in a different mode according to a difference in the kind of the object decided by the object kind deciding unit.