Detecting device, detecting method, and program

• US 10,331,961 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2017
• Issued: 06/25/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lin, Ching-Yung, Murata, Masayuki, Shimizu, Shuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehta, Bhavesh M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lemieux, Ian L
• Application Number:
  US15/720,398
• Publication Number:
  US 20180046868A1
• Time in Patent Office: 634 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10021 Stereoscopic video; Stereoscopic image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30261 Obstacle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/74 involving reference images or patches
• 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

To detect a distant object that may become an obstacle to a traveling destination of a moving vehicle or the like more accurately than the conventional, there is provided a detecting device, a program used in the detecting device, and a detecting method using the detecting device, where the detecting device includes: an acquisition section for acquiring two or more images captured in two or more imaging devices provided at different heights; and a detection section for detecting a rising portion of an identical object toward the imaging devices based on a difference between the lengths of the identical object in the height direction in the two or more images.

Claims

1. A detecting device comprising:

an acquisition section for acquiring a plurality of images obtained at a same time from a plurality of imaging devices provided at different heights;

a detection section for detecting a rising portion of an identical object toward the imaging devices based on a difference between lengths of the identical object in a height direction in the plurality of images; and

an extraction section for extracting a plurality of obstacle candidates from the plurality of images obtained at a same time from the plurality of imaging devices;

wherein the extraction section is configured to;

divide one of the plurality of images into a plurality of regions, each region comprising a plurality of pixels and having a predetermined size and shape;

extract as a candidate obstacle, each of the plurality of regions that differs from surrounding regions by more than a reference amount; and

identify, as the identical object, a region similar to the extracted candidate obstacle from one of the plurality of images not used to extract the candidate obstacle;

wherein the detection section is configured to detect the rising portion based on a ratio of the lengths of the identical object in the height direction in the plurality of images and on a height ratio of the plurality of imaging devices;

wherein the detecting device further comprises;

a distance calculation section configured to calculate a distance to the identical object;

wherein the detection section is configured to provide a correspondence relationship between images of the identical object in the plurality of images to the distance calculation section;

wherein the distance calculation section is configured to calculate the distance to the identical object based on an amount of parallax of the identical object in the plurality of images in the height direction and in a longitudinal direction using the focal lengths and relative positions of the plurality of imaging devices and the parallax of the identical object having the correspondence relationship, at least three of the plurality of imaging devices located at respective vertices of a triangle having a horizontal base; and

a determination section for determining whether the identical object is an obstacle based on a determination result as to whether the identical object has a rising portion, wherein the determination section estimates a height of the identical object based on the calculated distance to the identical object, the length of the identical object in the height direction, and the focal lengths of plurality of imaging devices;

wherein the determination section determines that the identical object having a rising portion higher than or equal to a predetermined height, among the plurality of obstacle candidates, is the obstacle; and

an output section configured to display a direction of the determined obstacle and the distance to the determined obstacle on a display.