Roadway type judgment method and apparatus

• US 20070024467A1
• Filed: 12/07/2005
• Published: 02/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Fujii, Asako
• Granted Patent: US 7,634,107 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/937
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/38 Outdoor scenes
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/56 exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle

Abstract

This invention is to provide a tunnel detection technique, which is hardly affected by external circumstance at each time. A roadway type judgment method according to the invention includes: calculating, with respect to image data from a camera mounted in or on a vehicle or image data obtained by carrying out a specified conversion on the image data from the camera, a feature amount of at least one component among plural components in a specified color space of the image and storing the calculated feature amount into a feature amount data storage; determining whether or not the feature amount stored in the feature amount data storage satisfies a predetermined condition; based on a determination result at the determining, judging whether or not the vehicle travels inside a tunnel.

Claims

1. A roadway type judgment method, comprising:

calculating, with respect to image data from a camera mounted in or on a vehicle or image data obtained by carrying out a specified conversion on said image data from said camera, a feature amount of at least one component among a plurality of components in a specified color space of the image, and storing the calculated feature amount into a feature amount data storage;

determining whether or not said feature amount stored in said feature amount data storage satisfies a predetermined condition; and

judging, based on a determination result in said determining, whether or not said vehicle travels inside a tunnel.

2. The roadway type judgment method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said feature amount in said calculating includes a feature amount of intensity and a feature amount of hue, and said predetermined condition includes a condition relating to said intensity and a condition relating to said hue.

3. The roadway type judgment method as set forth in claim 2, wherein said feature amount of said intensity is an average value of intensity values, and said feature amount of said hue is a variance value of hue values.

4. The roadway type judgment method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said feature amount in said calculating includes a feature amount with respect to the whole image data and a feature amount with respect to a specified portion of said image data, and said predetermined condition includes a condition with respect to the whole image data and a condition with respect to said specified portion of said image data.

5. The roadway type judgment method as set forth in claim 4, wherein said feature amount with respect to said whole image data includes an average value of intensity values and a variance value of hue values, and said feature amount with respect to said specified portion of said image data includes an average value of intensity values in an upper specified portion of said image data photographed in a forward direction of said vehicle, and said condition with respect to said whole image data includes a condition relating to said average value of intensity values and a condition relating to said variance value of hue values, and said condition with respect to said specified portion of said image data includes an average value of intensity values with respect to said upper specified portion of said image data photographed in said forward direction of said vehicle.

6. The roadway type judgment method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising:

calculating a feature amount concerning change between first image data and second image data photographed said first image data, and storing the calculated feature amount into said feature amount data storage; and

determining whether or not said feature amount concerning said change satisfies a condition representing entrance into said tunnel or a condition representing exit from said tunnel, and

wherein said judging is carried out based further on a result of determination using said feature amount concerning said change.

7. The roadway type judgment method as set forth in claim 6, wherein said feature amount concerning said change includes a variation or a change ratio of intensity.

8. The roadway type judgment method as set forth in claim 6, wherein said determining whether or not said feature amount concerning said change satisfies a condition representing entrance into said tunnel or a condition representing exit from said tunnel comprises:

upon detection that it is judged that said condition representing entrance into said tunnel is satisfied, determining whether or not said feature amount concerning said change satisfies said condition representing exit from said tunnel; and

upon detection that it is judged that said condition representing exit from said tunnel is satisfied, determining whether or not said feature amount concerning said change satisfies said condition representing entrance into said tunnel.

9. The roadway type judgment method as set forth in claim 6, wherein upon detection that it is not judged, based on said determination result in said determining whether or not said feature amount stored in said feature amount data storage satisfies said predetermined condition, that said vehicle travels inside said tunnel, said judging is carried out based on a result of determination using said feature amount concerning said change.

10. The roadway type judgment method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said judging comprises judging whether or not said vehicle travels inside said tunnel based further on an exposure control parameter of said camera.

11. The roadway type judgment method as set forth in claim 10, wherein said exposure control parameter is a shutter speed.

12. The roadway type judgment method as set forth in claim 10, wherein upon detection that it is judged, based on said exposure control parameter, that said vehicle travels inside said tunnel, said judging is carried out based on said determination result in said determining.

13. A roadway type judgment program embodied on a medium, said program comprising:

calculating, with respect to image data from a camera mounted in or on a vehicle or image data obtained by carrying out a specified conversion on said image data from said camera, a feature amount of at least one component among a plurality of components in a specified color space of the image, and storing the calculated feature amount into a feature amount data storage;

determining whether or not said feature amount stored in said feature amount data storage satisfies a predetermined condition; and

judging, based on a determination result in said determining, whether or not said vehicle travels inside a tunnel.

14. A roadway type judgment apparatus, comprising:

a calculation unit that calculates, with respect to image data from a camera mounted in or on a vehicle or image data obtained by carrying out a specified conversion on said image data from said camera, a feature amount of at least one component among a plurality of components in a specified color space of the image, and stores the calculated feature amount into a feature amount data storage;

a determination unit that determines whether or not said feature amount stored in said feature amount data storage satisfies a predetermined condition; and

a judgment unit that judges, based on a determination result in said determining, whether or not said vehicle travels inside a tunnel.

15. The roadway type judgment apparatus as set forth in claim 14, wherein said feature amount calculated by said calculation unit includes a feature amount of intensity and a feature amount of hue, and said predetermined condition includes a condition relating to said intensity and a condition relating to said hue.

16. The roadway type judgment apparatus as set forth in claim 14, wherein said feature amount calculated by said calculation unit includes a feature amount with respect to the whole image data and a feature amount with respect to a specified portion of said image data, and said predetermined condition includes a condition with respect to the whole image data and a condition with respect to said specified portion of said image data.

17. The roadway type judgment apparatus as set forth in claim 14, further comprising:

a unit that calculates a feature amount concerning an change between first image data and second image data photographed before said first image data, and stores the calculated feature amount into said feature amount data storage; and

a second determination unit that determines whether or not said feature amount concerning said change satisfies a condition representing entrance into said tunnel or a condition representing exit from said tunnel, and

wherein, said judgment unit judges whether or not said vehicle travels inside said tunnel based further on a determination result of said second determination unit.

18. The roadway type judgment apparatus as set forth in claim 14, wherein said judgment unit judges whether or not said vehicle travels inside said tunnel, based further on an exposure control parameter of said camera.