Image processing apparatus

• US 8,947,508 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2011
• Issued: 02/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Subaru Corp.
• Original Assignee: Fuji Heavy Industries Limited (Subaru Corp.)
• Inventors: Morimitsu, Noboru
• Primary Examiner(s): Vaughn, Jr., William C
• Assistant Examiner(s): PEREZ FUENTES, LUIS M
• Application Number:
  US13/307,258
• Publication Number:
  US 20120133739A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,161 Days
• Field of Search: 348/46
• US Class Current: 348/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 11/24 for measuring contours or curvatures
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 11/06 by comparison of two or more pictures of the same area
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 17/125 by using a video camera to detect fire or smoke

Abstract

An image processing apparatus which employs a basic configuration including an image processing controller which processes images captured by a stereo camera and a recognition processing controller which recognizes an object based on information from the image processing controller includes a target object area specifying unit, feature amount extracting unit and smoke determining unit as functions of enabling recognition of a smoky object. The target object specifying unit specifies an area of an object which is a detection target, by canceling the influence of the background, the feature amount extracting unit extracts an image feature amount for recognizing a smoky object in a target object area and the smoke deciding unit decides whether the object in the target object area is a smoky object or an object other than the smoky object, based on the extracted image feature amount.

Claims

1. An image processing apparatus that processes comprising:

a stereo camera including a reference camera to capture a reference image and a comparison camera to capture a comparison image;

an image processing controller configured to

obtain disparity information of each point commonly found in the reference image and

the comparison image for calculating three-dimensional distance information to be used to specify an obiect captured by the stereo camera;

a recognition processing controller configured to;

specify a target object area encircling the object in one of the reference image and

the comparison image based on the three-dimensional distance information,

the object including a plurality of objects located within a predetermined distance;

perform spatial filter processing of the target object area to extract

an image feature amount including at least one of a brightness mode value which is cumulative frequencies of edge strength of the object in the target area, and

an average value of the edge strength of the object in the target area; and

determine whether or not the object in the target object area is a smoky object, based on the image feature amount in the target object area.

2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the recognition processing controller is configured to extract feature amount extracting unit extracts a spatial integral value of at least brightness as the image feature amount.