In-vehicle camera device, monitoring system and method for estimating moving speed of vehicle

• US 10,755,423 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2018
• Issued: 08/25/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Getac Technology Company Limited (MiTAC Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Getac Technology Company Limited (MiTAC Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Tsai, Kun-Yu
• Primary Examiner(s): Ismail, Omar S
• Application Number:
  US16/164,048
• Publication Number:
  US 20200126240A1
• Time in Patent Office: 677 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30252 Vehicle exterior; Vicinity of vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/246 using feature-based methods, e.g. the tracking of corners or segments
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/248 involving reference images or patches

Abstract

A method for estimating a moving speed of a vehicle includes: sequentially capturing, by an image capturing unit, a first driving vehicle image and a second driving vehicle image having a time difference; performing image analysis on the first driving vehicle image to obtain a first pixel area and a first inclination of a first license plate image; performing image analysis on the second driving vehicle image to obtain a second pixel area and a second inclination of a second license plate image; and estimating the moving speed according to the first pixel area, the first inclination, the second pixel area, the second inclination and the time difference.

Claims

1. A method for estimating a moving speed of a vehicle, comprising:

sequentially capturing, by an image capturing unit, a first driving vehicle image and a second driving vehicle image, wherein the first driving vehicle image and the second driving vehicle image have a time difference therebetween;

performing image analysis on the first driving vehicle image to obtain a first pixel area and a first inclination of a first license plate image;

performing image analysis on the second driving vehicle image to obtain a second pixel area and a second inclination of a second license plate image; and

estimating the moving speed according to the first pixel area, the first inclination, the second pixel area, the second inclination and the time difference, comprising;

converting the first pixel area to a corresponding first relative distance;

converting the second pixel area to a corresponding second relative distance;

calculating a moving distance of the vehicle according to the first relative distance, the second relative distance, the first inclination and the second inclination; and

estimating the moving speed according to the moving distance and the time difference.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of performing image analysis on the first driving vehicle image to obtain the first pixel area and the first inclination of the first license plate image comprises:

obtaining the first license plate image from the first driving vehicle image;

calculating the first pixel area of the first license plate image; and

turning the first license plate image upright to obtain the first inclination.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of performing image analysis on the second driving vehicle image to obtain the second pixel area and the second inclination of the second license plate image comprises:

obtaining the second license plate image from the second driving vehicle image;

calculating the second pixel area of the second license plate image; and

turning the second license plate image upright to obtain the second inclination.

4. An in-vehicle camera device, comprising:

an image capturing unit, sequentially capturing a first driving vehicle image and a second driving vehicle image of a vehicle, wherein the first driving vehicle image and the second driving vehicle image have a time difference therebetween; and

a processing unit, performing image analysis on the first driving vehicle image to obtain a first pixel area and a first inclination of a first license plate image, performing image analysis on the second driving vehicle image to obtain a second pixel area and a second inclination of a second license plate image, and estimating the moving speed of the vehicle according to the first pixel area, the first inclination, the second pixel area, the second inclination and the time difference,

wherein the step of estimating the moving speed of the vehicle comprises;

converting the first pixel area to a corresponding first relative distance;

converting the second pixel area to a corresponding second relative distance;

calculating a moving distance of the vehicle according to the first relative distance, the second relative distance, the first inclination and the second inclination; and

estimating the moving speed according to the moving distance and the time difference.

5. The in-vehicle camera device according to claim 4, wherein the step of performing image analysis on the first driving vehicle image comprises:

obtaining the first license plate image from the first driving vehicle image;

calculating the first pixel area of the first license plate image; and

turning the first license plate image upright to obtain the first inclination.

6. The in-vehicle camera device according to claim 4, wherein the step of performing image analysis on the second driving vehicle image comprises:

obtaining the second license plate image from the second driving vehicle image;

calculating the second pixel area of the second license plate image; and

turning the second license plate image upright to obtain the second inclination.

7. A monitoring system, comprising:

an in-vehicle camera device, sequentially capturing a first driving vehicle image and a second driving vehicle image of a vehicle, wherein the first driving vehicle image and the second driving vehicle image have a time difference therebetween; and

a server device, receiving the first driving vehicle image and the second driving vehicle image, performing image analysis on the first driving vehicle image to obtain a first pixel area and a first inclination of a first license plate image, performing image analysis on the second driving vehicle image to obtain a second pixel area and a second inclination of a second license plate image, and estimating the moving speed of the vehicle according to the first pixel area, the first inclination, the second pixel area, the second inclination and the time difference,

wherein the step of estimating the moving speed of the vehicle comprises;

converting the first pixel area to a corresponding first relative distance;

converting the second pixel area to a corresponding second relative distance;

calculating a moving distance of the vehicle according to the first relative distance, the second relative distance, the first inclination and the second inclination; and

estimating the moving speed according to the moving distance and the time difference.

8. The monitoring system according to claim 7, wherein the step of performing image analysis on the first driving vehicle image comprises:

obtaining the first license plate image from the first driving vehicle image;

calculating the first pixel area of the first license plate image; and

turning the first license plate image upright to obtain the first inclination.

9. The monitoring system according to claim 7, wherein the step of performing image analysis on the second driving vehicle image comprises:

obtaining the second license plate image from the second driving vehicle image;

calculating the second pixel area of the second license plate image; and

turning the second license plate image upright to obtain the second inclination.