Roadway sensing systems

• US 10,055,979 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2016
• Issued: 08/21/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/15/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Image Sensing Systems Incorporated (Autoscope Technologies Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Image Sensing Systems Incorporated (Autoscope Technologies Corp.)
• Inventors: Stelzig, Chad, Govindarajan, Kiran, Swingen, Cory, Miezianko, Roland, Bekooy, Nico
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): LOUIE, WAE LENNY
• Application Number:
  US15/272,943
• Publication Number:
  US 20170011625A1
• Time in Patent Office: 698 Days
• Field of Search: 701117, 701118, 701119, 340907, 340909, 340933, 340937
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0116 from roadside infrastructure, e.g. beacons
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0133 for classifying traffic situation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0141 for traffic information dissemination
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/017 identifying vehicles G08G1/015, G08G1/054 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/095 Traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages

Abstract

A number of roadway sensing systems are described herein. An example of such is an apparatus to detect and/or track objects at a roadway with a plurality of sensors. The plurality of sensors can include a first sensor that is a radar sensor having a first field of view that is positionable at the roadway and a second sensor that is a machine vision sensor having a second field of view that is positionable at the roadway, where the first and second fields of view at least partially overlap in a common field of view over a portion of the roadway. The example system includes a controller configured to combine sensor data streams for at least a portion of the common field of view from the first and second sensors to detect and/or track the objects.

Claims

1. An apparatus to detect or track objects in a roadway area, comprising:

a sensor that is installed at a stationary position in association with a roadway; and

a controller configured to direct automated processing of a data stream for at least a portion of a field of view from the sensor to;

define roadway geometry and associated characteristics, the characteristics including traffic flow and trajectories, sensed during a known time period; and

detect a change in sensed traffic patterns, including traffic density and speed, and sensed events, including non-typical vehicular movement and vehicular collision, based on a comparison to the defined roadway geometry and associated characteristics.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:

identify particular changes in the sensed traffic patterns and sensed events in traffic lanes, crosswalks, intersections, and an environment in a vicinity of the roadway.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to:

utilize the data stream to distinguish between motorized vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians within a full field of view of the sensor.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to detect and predict a change in traffic behavior in the roadway area.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor is a machine vision sensor having the field of view.

6. A system to detect or track objects in a roadway area, comprising:

a sensor having a field of view to a vanishing point as a sensing modality that is installed at a stationary position in association with a roadway;

a communication device configured to communicate a data stream from the sensor to a processing resource that is remote from the sensor; and

a controller remote from the sensor configured to direct the processing resource to execute automated processing of the data stream for a full field of view of the sensor to the vanishing point to;

detect or track objects in the roadway area; and

distinguish the objects as motorized vehicles, cyclists, or pedestrians.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein:

the sensor has a wide angle field of view of at least 100 degrees; and

the sensor is positioned to simultaneously detect a number of objects positioned within two crosswalks or a number of objects traversing at least two stop lines at an intersection.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein:

the data stream includes detection of an object in a crosswalk associated with the roadway;

the processing resource determines a travel time for clearance of the object from the crosswalk; and

the controller controls a signal light associated with the crosswalk to modify traffic flow based on the determined travel time.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein:

the data stream includes detection of the motorized vehicles and cyclists associated with the roadway;

the processing resource tracks movement and speed of the motorized vehicles and cyclists relative to a defined roadway geometry and associated characteristics; and

the controller directs traffic control signals associated with the roadway to modify traffic flow based on the tracked movement and speed.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein:

the data stream includes detection of a pedestrian associated with the roadway;

the processing resource tracks movement and speed of the pedestrian relative to a defined roadway geometry and associated characteristics; and

the controller predicts a direction and speed of the pedestrian based on the tracked movement and speed.

11. The system of claim 6, wherein:

the data stream includes detection of a motorized vehicle associated with a lane of the roadway; and

the processing resource determines a stop line in the lane by;

determination of centerpoints of a plurality of motorized vehicles that have more motion vectors being close to zero as being closer to the stop line relative to motion vectors being close to zero for motor vehicles at other positions in the lane.

12. The system of claim 6, wherein:

the data stream includes detection of a motorized vehicle associated with a lane of the roadway; and

the processing resource determines directionality of the lane based on clustering or ranking of directional offset angles for a plurality of the motorized vehicles.

13. The system of claim 6, wherein:

the data stream includes detection of an event, including collision, congestion, stalled vehicles, and obstructive debris, associated with the roadway area; and

the controller determines whether a notification of the event is transmitted to an instrumented vehicle and a public service agency.

14. The system of claim 6, wherein:

the data stream includes detection of an incident, including non-typical vehicle turn movements and non-typical vehicle trajectories, involving at least one motorized vehicle associated with the roadway area; and

the controller determines whether a notification of the incident is transmitted to an instrumented vehicle and a public service agency.

15. The system of claim 6, wherein:

the sensor is a radar sensor having the field of view aimed horizontally relative to a direction of traffic flow.

16. The system of claim 6, wherein:

the controller is further configured to direct analysis of traffic in the roadway areas by;

detection of pixels that are not part of a determined background and labelling the detected pixels as foreground;

clustering pixels into foreground objects;

computation of a mass centerpoint of each foreground object;

determination and storage of a keypoint for each foreground object; and

determination of an optical flow by a match of a keypoint for a foreground object in a first frame with a keypoint for the foreground object in a second frame.

17. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions executable by a processing resource, the instructions executable to:

receive, from a roadway area, data input from a discrete sensor type having a sensor coordinate system;

assign a time stamp from a common clock to each of a number of putative points of interest in the data input from the discrete sensor type; and

determine a location and motion vector for each of the number of putative points of interest in the data input from the discrete sensor type in the roadway area.

18. The medium of claim 17, the instructions further executable to:

monitor traffic behavior in the roadway area by data input from the discrete sensor type related to vehicle position and velocity;

compare the vehicle position and velocity input to a number of predefined statistical models of the traffic behavior to cluster similar traffic behaviors;

if incoming vehicle position and velocity input does not match at least one of the number of predefined statistical models, generate a new model to establish a new pattern of traffic behavior; and

distinguish between typical and non-typical traffic patterns based on comparison to the new model of traffic behavior.

19. The medium of claim 17, the instructions further executable to analyze turn movement state transitions as a function of time.

20. The medium of claim 17, the instructions further executable to:

repeatedly receive data input from the discrete sensor type related to vehicle position and velocity;

classify lane types or geometries in the roadway area based on vehicle position and velocity orientation within one or more model; and

predict behavior of at least one vehicle based on a match of the vehicle position and velocity input with at least one model.