Vehicle surroundings monitoring device, and image production method/program
First Claim
1. A vehicle surroundings monitoring device for producing a synthesized image showing the situation around a vehicle from images taken with a camera capturing the surroundings of the vehicle and presenting the synthesized image, the device comprising:
- a position computation section for computing position information and reliability of the position information, for a plurality of points in the camera images;
an image variable-synthesis section for producing a first synthesized image from the camera images using the position information;
an image fixed-synthesis section for producing a second synthesized image from the camera images by a predetermined method without use of the position information; and
a synthesis scheme selection section for selecting either one of the first and second synthesized images according to the reliability as the synthesized image to be presented.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A synthesized image showing the situation around a vehicle is produced from images taken with cameras capturing the surroundings of the vehicle and presented to a display. A position computation section computes position information and the reliability of the position information, for a plurality of points in the camera images. An image variable-synthesis section produces a first synthesized image from the camera images using the position information. An image fixed-synthesis section produces a second synthesized image by road surface projection, for example, without use of the ,..position information. A synthesis scheme selection section selects either one of the first and second synthesized images according to the reliability as the synthesized image to be presented.
164 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A vehicle surroundings monitoring device for producing a synthesized image showing the situation around a vehicle from images taken with a camera capturing the surroundings of the vehicle and presenting the synthesized image, the device comprising:
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a position computation section for computing position information and reliability of the position information, for a plurality of points in the camera images;
an image variable-synthesis section for producing a first synthesized image from the camera images using the position information;
an image fixed-synthesis section for producing a second synthesized image from the camera images by a predetermined method without use of the position information; and
a synthesis scheme selection section for selecting either one of the first and second synthesized images according to the reliability as the synthesized image to be presented. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An image production method for producing a synthesized image showing the situation around a vehicle from images taken with a camera capturing the surroundings of the vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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(1) computing position information and reliability of the position information, for a plurality of points in the camera images;
(2) comparing the reliability computed in the step (1) with a predetermined reference;
(3) producing the synthesized image from the camera images using the position information computed in the step (1) if the reliability is determined higher than the predetermined reference in the step (2); and
(4) producing the synthesized image from the camera images by a predetermined method without use of the position information if the reliability is determined lower than the predetermined reference in the step (2). - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A program enabling a computer to execute a method for producing a synthesized image showing the situation around a vehicle from images taken with a camera capturing the surroundings of the vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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(1) computing position information and reliability of the position information, for a plurality of points in the camera images;
(2) comparing the reliability computed in the step (1) with a predetermined reference;
(3) producing the synthesized image from the camera images using the position information computed in the step (1) if the reliability is determined higher than the predetermined reference in the step (2); and
(4) producing the synthesized image from the camera images by a predetermined method without use of the position information if the reliability is determined lower than the predetermined reference in the step (2).
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Specification