Target recognition system and target recognition method executed by the target recognition system

• US 8,977,006 B2
• Filed: 05/30/2013
• Issued: 03/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Guan, Haike
• Primary Examiner(s): BHATNAGAR, ANAND P
• Application Number:
  US13/905,214
• Publication Number:
  US 20130322691A1
• Time in Patent Office: 649 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/103, 382/154, 382/181, 382/190, 382/195, 382/199, 382/203, 382/206, 382/209, 348169-172, 356/12, 345419-427, 707/1, 707/23, 707/45, 707/93, 707/96
• US Class Current: 382/103
• 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 target recognition system operatively connected to a stereo imaging device to capture a stereo image of an area ahead of the target recognition system, includes a parallax calculator to calculate parallax of the stereo image including two captured images; a target candidate detector to detect a candidate set of recognition target areas based on a luminance image of one of the captured images; and a target recognition processor to limit the candidate set of recognition target areas detected by the target candidate detector within a range of threshold values of characteristics in the candidate set of recognition target areas set in advance based on the parallax calculated by the parallax calculator to extract and output the one or more recognition targets.

Claims

1. A target recognition system to recognize one or more recognition targets, operatively connected to a stereo imaging device to capture a stereo image of an area ahead of the target recognition system,

the target recognition system comprising:

a parallax calculator to calculate parallax of the stereo image including two captured images acquired by the stereo imaging device;

a target candidate detector to detect a candidate set of recognition target areas, based on a luminance image of one of the captured images; and

a target recognition processor to limit the candidate set of recognition target areas detected by the target candidate detector within a range of threshold values of characteristics in the candidate set of recognition target areas set in advance based on the parallax calculated by the parallax calculator to extract and output the one or more recognition targets.

2. The target recognition system according to claim 1, wherein the target recognition processor is configured to:

calculate an average of the parallax of the candidate set of recognition target areas detected by the target candidate detector based on the parallax calculated by the parallax calculator;

calculate distances from the stereo imaging device to the candidate set of recognition target areas detected by the target candidate detector, using the calculated parallax average;

calculate sizes of the candidate set of recognition target areas, using the calculated parallax average and the distance from the stereo imaging device; and

extract and output one or more recognition targets from the candidate set of recognition target areas detected by the target candidate detector, so that actual sizes of the extracted candidate set of recognition target areas depending on the calculated distance area are limited within a range of the threshold values of the characteristics in the candidate set of recognition target areas set in advance.

3. The target recognition method according to claim 1, further comprising:

calculating an average of the parallax of the candidate set of recognition target areas based on the calculated parallax;

calculating distances from the stereo imaging device to the candidate set of recognition target areas, using the calculated parallax average;

calculating sizes of the candidate set of recognition target areas, using calculated parallax average and the distance from the stereo imaging device; and

extracting and outputting the one or more recognition targets from the candidate set of recognition target areas, so that actual sizes of the extracted candidate set of recognition target areas depending on the calculated distance area limited within a range of the threshold values of the characteristics in the candidate set of recognition target areas set in advance.

4. A target recognition method executed by a target recognition system to recognize one or more recognition targets, operatively connected to a stereo imaging device to capture a stereo image of an area ahead of the target recognition system,

the method comprising the steps of:

calculating parallax of the stereo image including two captured images acquired by the stereo imaging device;

detecting a candidate set of recognition target areas, based on a luminance image of one of the captured images;

limiting the candidate set of recognition target areas within a range of threshold values of characteristics in the candidate set of recognition target areas set in advance based on the parallax; and

extracting and outputting the one or more recognition targets.