Risk potential calculation apparatus

• US 9,058,247 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2010
• Issued: 06/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Fukamachi, Hideo
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lee, Tyler J
• Application Number:
  US13/821,395
• Publication Number:
  US 20130204516A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,742 Days
• Field of Search: 701/36, 701/41, 701/44, 701/45, 701/46, 701/48, 701/58, 701/70, 701/77, 701 93- 98, 701300-302, 340435-438, 340901-905
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/02 using radio waves G01S19/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/93 for anti-collision purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10021 Stereoscopic video; Stereoscopic image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10028 Range image; Depth image; 3D point clouds
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30261 Obstacle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/73 using feature-based methods
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

A risk potential estimating device 20 of a driving support apparatus 10 calculates the risk potential of an object at each of a plurality of points which are set around a host vehicle 100. When there is a pedestrian M2 in a blind spot B caused by a pedestrian M1 in the field of view of the host vehicle 100, the risk potential estimating device 20 omits the calculation of the risk potential of the pedestrian M2. When there is the pedestrian M1 close to the host vehicle 100, first, the behavior of avoiding the pedestrian M1 is performed. Therefore, the risk potential of the pedestrian M1 may be calculated at each point. In many cases, the calculation of the risk potential of the pedestrian M2 which is located in the blind spot B caused by the pedestrian M1 and is away from the host vehicle 100 is redundant. When the calculation of the risk potential of the pedestrian M2 which is located in the blind spot B caused by the pedestrian M1 is omitted, it is possible to reduce the load of an operation for calculating the risk potential while maintaining the accuracy of calculating the risk potential around the vehicle.

Claims

1. A risk potential calculation apparatus comprising:

a risk potential calculation unit including executable program logic configured to calculate a risk potential at each intersection point of lattice-shaped regions set for a host vehicle or in each region within the lattice-shaped regions, the risk potential being based on an object detected in the lattice-shaped regions by an obstacle detecting device mounted on the host vehicle,

wherein the lattice shaped regions are set in a field of view of the host vehicle, and

wherein, when there is a second object present in a blind spot behind a first object in the lattice shaped regions, the second object being detected by the obstacle detecting device, the risk potential calculation unit omits the calculation of the risk potential based on the second object.

2. The risk potential calculation apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the risk potential calculation unit searches for objects in ascending order of distance from the host vehicle using the obstacle detecting device.

3. The risk potential calculation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the risk potential calculation unit omits the calculation of the risk potential at the intersection point or in the region where the one object is present but the risk potential of another object is already applied.

4. The risk potential calculation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the risk potential calculation unit omits the calculation of the risk potential at the intersection point or in the region where the one object is present but the risk potential of another object is already applied.

5. A risk potential calculation apparatus comprising:

a risk potential calculation unit including executable program logic configured to calculate a risk potential at each intersection point of lattice-shaped regions set for a host vehicle or in each region within the lattice-shaped regions, the risk potential being based on an object detected in the lattice-shaped regions by an obstacle detecting device mounted on the host vehicle,

wherein the lattice shaped regions are set in a field of view of the host vehicle, and

wherein, when there is a second object present in a blind spot behind a first object in the lattice shaped regions, the second object being detected by the obstacle detecting device;

(a) the risk potential calculation unit omits the calculation of the risk potential based on the second object if the second object does not exist in a region where the host vehicle will pass through, or

(b) the risk potential calculation unit calculates the risk potential based on the second object if the second object exists in the region where the host vehicle will pass through.

6. The risk potential calculation apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the risk potential calculation unit searches for objects in ascending order of distance from the host vehicle using the obstacle detecting device.

7. The risk potential calculation apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the risk potential calculation unit omits the calculation of the risk potential at the intersection point or in the region where the one object is present but the risk potential of another object is already applied.

8. The risk potential calculation apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein the risk potential calculation unit omits the calculation of the risk potential at the intersection point or in the region where the one object is present but the risk potential of another object is already applied.