Detection of traffic light signal changes

• US 10,366,286 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2016
• Issued: 07/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Glickman, Seth, Feig, Emil John
• Primary Examiner(s): Jiang, Zaihan
• Application Number:
  US15/377,008
• Publication Number:
  US 20180165500A1
• Time in Patent Office: 959 Days
• Field of Search: 348148
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10024 Color image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30041 Eye; Retina; Ophthalmic
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30268 Vehicle interior
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/90 Determination of colour characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/584 of vehicle lights or traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/59 inside of a vehicle, e.g. relating to seat occupancy, driver state or inner lighting conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/19 Sensors therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/193 Preprocessing; Feature extraction
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09623 Systems involving the acquisition of information from passive traffic signs by means mounted on the vehicle G08G1/0967 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/188 Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253

Abstract

Systems and methods of detecting traffic light signal changes are disclosed. For instance, it can be determined that a user is stopped at an intersection having a traffic light. A plurality of images can be captured in response to detecting that the user is stopped at the intersection having a traffic light. The plurality of images do not depict the traffic light. A tonal shift in one or more color values associated with at least one image of the plurality of images can be detected. The tonal shift is indicative of a change in signal provided by the traffic light. A notification indicative of the change in signal provided by the traffic light can be provided to the user.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of detecting a traffic light signal change, the method comprising:

determining, by a user device, that a user is stopped at an intersection having a traffic light;

capturing, by the user device, a plurality of images in response to detecting that the user is stopped at the intersection having a traffic light, wherein the plurality of images do not depict the traffic light;

detecting, by the user device, a tonal shift in one or more color values associated with at least one surface depicted in at least one image of the plurality of images, the at least one surface being separate from the traffic light, the tonal shift being indicative of a change in signal provided by the traffic light; and

providing, by the user device, a notification to the user indicative of the change in signal produced by the traffic light based at least in part on detecting the tonal shift in the one or more color values associated with the at least one surface that is separate from the traffic light.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining, by a user device, that a user is stopped at an intersection having a traffic light comprises:

determining, by the user device, a location of the user; and

comparing, by the user device, the location of the user to one or more known locations of traffic lights.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining, by a user device, that a user is stopped at an intersection having a traffic light comprises determining that the user device has been located proximate the traffic light for a threshold period of time.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of images are captured as a sequence of images.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least one surface includes one or more surfaces of an interior of a vehicle associated with the user.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the at least one surface includes an eye of the user.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein each image of the plurality of images have a plurality of color values, each color value associated with a pixel of the image.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 6, wherein the color values comprise color vectors having a plurality of components.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the tonal shift corresponds to an increase in a green intensity associated with the one or more color values.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising increasing, by the user device, a saturation of at least one of the plurality of images.

11. A computing system, comprising:

one or more processors; and

one or more memory devices, the one or more memory devices storing computer-readable instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform operations, the operations comprising;

determining that a user is stopped at an intersection having a traffic light;

capturing a plurality of images in response to detecting that the user is stopped at the intersection having a traffic light, wherein the plurality of images do not depict the traffic light;

detecting a tonal shift in one or more color values associated with at least one surface depicted in at least one image of the plurality of images, the at least one surface being separate from the traffic light, the tonal shift being indicative of a change in signal provided by the traffic light; and

providing a notification to the user indicative of the change in signal produced by the traffic light based at least in part on detecting the tonal shift in the one or more color values associated with the at least one surface that is separate from the traffic light.

12. One or more tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-readable instructions that when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform operations, the operations comprising:

determining that a user is stopped at an intersection having a traffic light;

capturing a plurality of images in response to detecting that the user is stopped at the intersection having a traffic light, wherein the plurality of images do not depict the traffic light;

detecting a tonal shift in one or more color values associated with at least one surface depicted in at least one image of the plurality of images, the at least one surface being separate from the traffic light, the tonal shift being indicative of a change in signal provided by the traffic light; and

providing a notification to the user indicative of the change in signal produced by the traffic light based at least in part on detecting the tonal shift in the one or more color values associated with the at least one surface that is separate from the traffic light.