Methods and apparatus to facilitate environmental visibility determination

• US 10,748,012 B2
• Filed: 02/13/2018
• Issued: 08/18/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Diedrich, Jonathan, Reed, Eric L., Siddiqui, Adil Nizam, Gehrke, Mark
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Nay A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Torres, Jose M
• Application Number:
  US15/895,675
• Publication Number:
  US 20190251371A1
• Time in Patent Office: 917 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/00 Arrangement or adaptation of signal devices not provided for in one of main groups B60Q1/00 - B60Q7/00 , e.g. haptic signalling
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/008 for anti-collision purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/96 Management of image or video recognition tasks
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/588 Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/165 for passive traffic, e.g. including static obstacles, trees
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

Methods and apparatus are disclosed to facilitate environmental visibility determination. An example vehicle comprises a sensor and a processor and memory. The sensor is to generate road image information. The processor and memory are in communication with the sensor and are configured to: detect vanishing points of lane markings in the road image information, convert an average pixel row value of the vanishing points to a distance value, and if the distance value is below a threshold, stop execution of at least one road condition monitoring feature.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

a sensor to generate road image information; and

a processor and memory in communication with the sensor and configured to;

detect vanishing points where lane markings are no longer visible in front of the vehicle to the sensor in the road image information;

convert an average pixel row value of the vanishing points to a distance value, wherein the distance value is calculated based on a nonlinear relationship between the average pixel row value and the distance value; and

if the average pixel row value is below a threshold, stop execution of at least one road condition monitoring feature.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the nonlinear relationship comprises an exponential growth relationship between the average pixel row value and the distance value.

3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to look up the average pixel row value in a look up table stored in the memory to determine the distance value, the look up table corresponding pixel row values to distance values.

4. The vehicle of claim 3, wherein the look up table reflects placement and orientation of the sensor, wherein the distance values are recalculated based on changes of the placement and orientation of the sensor and corresponding pixel row values.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising an infotainment head unit (IHU) and wherein the processor is configured to generate a message for display on the IHU warning a driver that execution of the at least one road condition monitoring feature is stopped.

6. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein:

the lane markings include a first lane marking and a second lane marking;

the vanishing points include a first vanishing point where the first lane marking is no longer visible in front of the vehicle to the sensor and a second vanishing point where the second lane marking is no longer visible in front of the vehicle to the sensor; and

the processor is configured to;

determine a first pixel row value of the first vanishing point;

determine a second pixel row value of the second vanishing point; and

average the first and second pixel row values to generate the average pixel row value.

7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the average pixel row value being below the threshold indicates low environmental visibility.

8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the at least one road condition monitoring feature executes using the road image information.

9. A method comprising:

generating, with a sensor, road image information;

detecting, with a processor, vanishing points where lane markings are no longer visible in front of a vehicle to the sensor in the road image information;

converting, with the processor, an average pixel row value of the vanishing points to a distance value, wherein the distance value is calculated based on a nonlinear relationship between the average pixel row value and the distance value; and

stopping, with the processor, execution of at least one road condition monitoring feature if the average pixel row value is below a threshold.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising detecting, with the processor, the lane markings in the road image information.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein converting the average pixel row value to the distance value includes looking up the average pixel row value in a look up table that corresponds pixel row values to distance values.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the look up table reflects placement and orientation of the sensor in the vehicle, wherein the distance values are recalculated based on changes of the placement and orientation of the sensor and corresponding pixel row values.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

generating, with the processor, a message warning a driver that execution of the at least one road condition monitoring feature is stopped; and

displaying, with the processor, the message on an infotainment head unit (IHU).

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising detecting, with the processor, a first lane marking and a second lane marking;

and

wherein;

detecting the vanishing points includes;

detecting a first vanishing point where the first lane marking is no longer visible in front of the vehicle to the sensor; and

detecting a second vanishing point where the second lane marking is no longer visible in front of the vehicle to the sensor; and

converting the average pixel row value to the distance value includes;

determining a first pixel row value of the first vanishing point;

determining a second pixel row value of the second vanishing point; and

averaging the first and second pixel row values.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising

generating, with the processor, a message warning a driver of low environmental visibility;

and

displaying, with the processor, the message on an infotainment head unit (IHU).

16. A system comprising:

a central facility having a database of visibility information;

a dedicated short range communication (DSRC) transceiver disposed in a vehicle and in communication with the database;

a sensor disposed in the vehicle to generate road image information;

a global positioning system (GPS) receiver disposed in the vehicle to generate location information of the vehicle; and

a processor in communication with the DSRC transceiver, the sensors, and the GPS receiver and configured to;

detect vanishing points where lane markings are no longer visible in front of the vehicle to the sensor in the road image information;

convert an average pixel row value of the vanishing points to a distance value, wherein the distance value is calculated based on a nonlinear relationship between the average pixel row value and the distance value; and

if the average pixel row value is below a threshold, stop execution of at least one road condition monitoring feature.

17. The system of claim 16, further comprising a memory disposed in the vehicle and in communication with the processor and wherein the processor is configured to look up the average pixel row value in a look up table stored in the memory to determine the distance value, the look up table corresponding pixel row values to distance values.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the look up table reflects placement and orientation of the sensor in the vehicle, wherein the distance values are recalculated based on changes of the placement and orientation of the sensor and corresponding pixel row values.

19. The system of claim 16, further comprising an infotainment head unit (IHU) disposed in the vehicle and wherein the processor is configured to generate a message for display on the IHU warning a driver that execution of the at least one road condition monitoring feature is stopped.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein:

the lane markings include a first lane marking and a second lane marking;

the vanishing points include a first vanishing point where the first lane marking is no longer visible in front of the vehicle to the sensor and a second vanishing point where the second lane marking is no longer visible in front of the vehicle to the sensor; and

the processor is configured to;

determine a first pixel row value of the first vanishing point;

determine a second pixel row value of the second vanishing point; and

average the first and second pixel row values to generate the average pixel row value.