Object detection device using an image captured with an imaging unit carried on a movable body

• US 9,053,554 B2
• Filed: 04/22/2010
• Issued: 06/09/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Uchida, Naohide, Shiraishi, Tatsuya, Nishijima, Masakazu, Goto, Hiroki, Nanami, Takeshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Park, Chan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thomas, Mia M
• Application Number:
  US13/259,753
• Publication Number:
  US 20120027258A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,874 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30261 Obstacle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• 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

An object detection device including: an imaging unit (11) carried on a movable body; a first calculation unit (21; 22; 23) that calculate an observed value of an image displacement among a plurality of images captured by the imaging unit (11) at respective different timings; a first object detection unit (10, 21; 10, 22; 10, 23) that detects an object candidate and acquires information of the object candidate; a second calculation unit (21, 22, 23) that calculates a theoretic value of the image displacement on the basis of the information of the object candidate; and a second object detection unit (21; 22; 23) that compares the observed value of the image displacement and the theoretic value of the image displacement and determines whether the object candidate is an object on the basis of the comparison result.

Claims

1. An object detection device comprising:

an imager carried on a movable body;

a first calculator that calculates an observed value of an image displacement among a plurality of images captured by the imager at respective different timings;

a first object detector that detects an object candidate and acquires information of the object candidate;

a second calculator that calculates a theoretic value of the image displacement on the basis of the information of the object candidate; and

a second object detector that compares the observed value of the image displacement and the theoretic value of the image displacement and determines whether the object candidate is an object on the basis of the comparison result,

wherein the second calculator calculates the theoretic value of the image displacement corresponding to the object candidate, and

the second calculator calculates the theoretic value of the image displacement of a point that is located at a distance equal to a distance between the object candidate and the movable body.

2. The object detection device according to claim 1, further comprising a controller, wherein the controller includes the first calculator, the second calculator, and the second object detector.

3. An object detection device comprising:

an imager carried on a movable body;

a first calculator that calculates an observed value of an image displacement among a plurality of images captured by the imager at respective different timings;

a first object detector that detects an object candidate and acquires information of the object candidate;

a second calculator that calculates a theoretic value of the image displacement on the basis of the information of the object candidate; and

a second object detector that compares the observed value of the image displacement and the theoretic value of the image displacement and determines whether the object candidate is an object on the basis of the comparison result,

wherein the second object detector calculates a difference value between the observed value of the image displacement and the theoretic value of the image displacement for each of a plurality of segments on the image and determines whether the object candidate is the object on the basis of a segment for which the difference value is equal to or less than a first threshold.

4. The object detection device according to claim 3, wherein

the second object detector determines that the object candidate is the object if a ratio of the segment for which the difference value is equal to or less than the first threshold is equal to or greater than a predetermined ratio.

5. The object detection device according to claim 3, wherein the segment corresponds to a feature point.

6. The object detection device according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of segments is included in a processing region that is set in accordance with a position of the object candidate.

7. The object detection device according to claim 3, further comprising a controller, wherein the controller includes the first calculator, the second calculator, and the second object detector.