Failure-determination apparatus

• US 8,917,321 B1
• Filed: 07/08/2013
• Issued: 12/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Sasabuchi, Yoji, Koike, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): KOSTAK, VICTOR R
• Application Number:
  US14/362,511
• Publication Number:
  US 20140368668A1
• Time in Patent Office: 533 Days
• Field of Search: 348/118, 348/119, 348/148, 382/104, 382/106, 382/107, 340/435, 340/436, 340/438, 340901-905, 701/45, 701/93, 701/96, 701/97, 701/301, 342/29, 342/41, 342/455
• US Class Current: 348/119
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/588 deriving the velocity value from the range measurement
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/867 Combination of radar systems with cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93185 Controlling the brakes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/932 using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/9325 for inter-vehicle distance regulation, e.g. navigating in platoons
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/93271 in the front of the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2218/08 Feature extraction
• 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: H04N 17/002 for television cameras
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/56 provided with illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

A failure-determination apparatus is provided with: a radar device (2); a camera unit (3); a moving target determination unit (12) that determines whether or not the object detected by the radar device (2) is a moving target; an object extraction unit (13) that extracts a specific object from the image captured by the camera unit (3); and a failure-determination unit (14) that determines that the camera unit (3) is in an abnormal state when the object which has been determined to be the moving target by the moving target determination device (12), cannot be determined to be the specific object by the object extraction unit (13).

Claims

1. A failure-determination apparatus comprising:

a transmitting and receiving device that transmits an electromagnetic wave toward a predetermined region in the surroundings of a vehicle, and that receives a reflected wave caused by the electromagnetic wave reflected from an object in the surroundings of the vehicle;

an image capturing device that captures an image of the predetermined region in the surroundings of the vehicle;

a moving target determination device that determines whether or not the object detected by the transmitting and receiving device is a moving target;

an object extraction device that extracts a pedestrian or another vehicle from the image captured by the image capturing device; and

a failure-determination device that determines that the image capturing device is in an abnormal state when the object which has been determined to be the moving target by the moving target determination device, cannot be determined to be the pedestrian or the another vehicle by the object extraction device,

wherein the lower the moving speed of the object, which has been determined as being the moving target by the moving target determination device, the less likely it will be that the image capturing device will be determined as being in the abnormal state.

2. A failure-determination apparatus comprising:

a transmitting and receiving device that transmits an electromagnetic wave toward a predetermined region in the surroundings of a vehicle, and that receives a reflected wave caused by the electromagnetic wave reflected from an object in the surroundings of the vehicle;

an image capturing device that captures an image of the predetermined region in the surroundings of the vehicle;

a moving target determination device that determines whether or not the object detected by the transmitting and receiving device is a moving target;

an object extraction device that extracts a pedestrian or another vehicle from the image captured by the image capturing device; and

a failure-determination device that determines that the image capturing device is in an abnormal state when the object which has been determined to be the moving target by the moving target determination device, cannot be determined to be the pedestrian or the another vehicle by the object extraction device,

wherein the lower the reflection level of the reflected wave, which has been reflected from the object determined as being the moving target by the moving target determination device, the less likely it will be that the image capturing device will be determined as being in the abnormal state.

3. A failure-determination apparatus comprising:

a transmitting and receiving device that transmits an electromagnetic wave toward a predetermined region in the surroundings of a vehicle, and that receives a reflected wave caused by the electromagnetic wave reflected from an object in the surroundings of the vehicle;

an image capturing device that captures an image of the predetermined region in the surroundings of the vehicle;

a moving target determination device that determines whether or not the object detected by the transmitting and receiving device is a moving target;

an object extraction device that extracts a pedestrian or another vehicle from the image captured by the image capturing device; and

a failure-determination device that determines that the image capturing device is in an abnormal state when the object which has been determined to be the moving target by the moving target determination device, cannot be determined to be the pedestrian or the another vehicle by the object extraction device,

wherein, in a case where the object extraction device is unable to determine that the object, which has been determined as being the moving target by the moving target determination device, is the pedestrian or the another vehicle, the failure-determination device determines that the image capturing device is in the abnormal state in a case where an illumination device illuminates the predetermined region in the surroundings of the vehicle before determining that the image capturing device is in the abnormal state, and the object extraction device is still unable to determine that the object is the pedestrian or the another vehicle even if illuminated by the illumination device.