Red-eye determination device

• US 9,298,995 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2011
• Issued: 03/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Hanita, Kiyoto, Takemae, Yoshinao
• Primary Examiner(s): Koziol, Stephen R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Azima, Shaghayegh
• Application Number:
  US14/232,161
• Publication Number:
  US 20140133705A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,723 Days
• Field of Search: 382/103, 382/117
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30041 Eye; Retina; Ophthalmic
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30201 Face
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30216 Redeye defect
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/75 involving models
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/90 Determination of colour characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/597 Recognising the driver's state or behaviour, e.g. attention or drowsiness
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/193 Preprocessing; Feature extraction

Abstract

A black eye position existence probability density distribution learning unit that records a black eye position which is detected in the daytime to a black eye position existence probability density distribution, a red-eye candidate detection unit that detects red-eye candidates from the image of the driver at night, and a red-eye determination unit that determines the red eye from the red-eye candidates. The red-eye determination unit determines the red eye on the basis of the relationship between a change in the direction of the face and the behavior of the red-eye candidate and determines, as the red eye, the red-eye candidate disposed at the position of high black eye position existence probability density with reference to the black eye position existence probability density distribution.

Claims

1. A red-eye determination device that determines a red eye from a red-eye candidate which is detected from image information of a captured image of a vehicle occupant, comprising:

circuitry configured to;

learn a black eye position existence probability density distribution from the image information acquired while the vehicle is being driven;

detect the red-eye candidate from the image information; and

determine a red-eye candidate, disposed at a position of high black eye position existence probability density in the learned black eye position existence probability density distribution, as the red-eye when two or more red-eye candidates are detected.

2. The red-eye determination device according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

detect a change in a direction of a face of the occupant;

detect a behavior of each detected red-eye candidate; and

determine the red eye on the basis of a relationship between the change in the direction of the face and the behavior of each detected red-eye candidate.

3. The red-eye determination device according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

calculate the amount of light outside the vehicle,

learn the existence probability density distribution at a time when the amount of light outside the vehicle is large, and

determine the red eye using the existence probability density distribution at a time when the amount of light outside the vehicle is small.

4. The red-eye determination device according to claim 1, wherein the black eye position existence probability density distribution includes black eye positions over a predetermined period.

5. The red-eye determination device according to claim 4, wherein the black eye position existence probability density distribution represents frequency of the black eye positions over the predetermined period.