Driving Support System And Vehicle

• US 20090015675A1
• Filed: 07/07/2008
• Published: 01/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/09/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: YANG, Changhui
• Application Number:
  US12/168,470
• Publication Number:
  US 20090015675A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/00 Optical viewing arrangements; Real-time viewing arrangements for drivers or passengers using optical image capturing systems, e.g. cameras or video systems specially adapted for use in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/26 to the rear of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/305 merging camera image with lines or icons
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/607 from a bird's eye viewpoint
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/806 for aiding parking
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/8093 for obstacle warning
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30264 Parking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/246 using feature-based methods, e.g. the tracking of corners or segments

Abstract

A driving support system includes a camera fitted to a moving body to photograph the surrounding thereof, obtains from the camera a plurality of chronologically ordered camera images, and outputs a display image generated from the camera images to a display device. The driving support system has: a movement vector deriving part that extracts a characteristic point from a reference camera image included in the plurality of camera images and that also detects the position of the characteristic point on each of the camera images through tracing processing to thereby derive the movement vector of the characteristic point between the different camera images; and an estimation part that estimates, based on the movement vector, the movement speed of the moving body and the rotation angle in the movement of the moving body. Based on the camera images and the estimated movement speed and the estimated rotation angle, the display image is generated.

Claims

1. A driving support system including a camera fitted to a moving body to photograph surrounding thereof, obtaining from the camera a plurality of chronologically ordered camera images, and outputting a display image generated from the camera images to a display device, the driving support system comprising:

a movement vector deriving part extracting a characteristic point from a reference camera image included in the plurality of camera images and also detecting a position of the characteristic point on each of the camera images through tracing processing to thereby derive a movement vector of the characteristic point between the different camera images; and

an estimation part estimating, based on the movement vector, a movement speed of the moving body and a rotation angle in movement of the moving body,

wherein, based on the camera images and the estimated movement speed and the estimated rotation angle, the display image is generated.

2. The driving support system according to claim 1, further comprising a mapping part mapping the characteristic point and the movement vector on a coordinate system of the camera images onto a predetermined bird'"'"'s-eye view coordinate system through coordinate conversion,

wherein the estimation part, based on the movement vector on the bird'"'"'s-eye view coordinate system arranged in accordance with a position of the characteristic point on the bird'"'"'s-eye view coordinate system, estimates the movement speed and the rotation angle.

3. The driving support system according to claim 2,

wherein the plurality of camera images include first, second, and third camera images obtained at first, second, and third times that come sequentially,

wherein the mapping part maps onto the bird'"'"'s-eye view coordinate system the characteristic point on each of the first to third camera images, a movement vector of the characteristic point between the first and second camera images, and a movement vector of the characteristic point between the second and third camera images,

wherein, when the movement vector of the characteristic point between the first and second camera images and the movement vector of the characteristic point between the second and third camera images are called a first bird'"'"'s-eye movement vector and a second bird'"'"'s-eye movement vector, respectively,

the mapping part arranges a start point of the first bird'"'"'s-eye movement vector at a position of the characteristic point at the first time on the bird'"'"'s-eye view coordinate system, arranges an end point of the first bird'"'"'s-eye movement vector and a start point of the second bird'"'"'s-eye movement vector at a position of the characteristic point at the second time on the bird'"'"'s-eye view coordinate system, and arranges an end point of the second bird'"'"'s-eye movement vector at a position of the characteristic point at the third time on the bird'"'"'s-eye view coordinate system, and

the estimation part, based on the first and second bird'"'"'s-eye movement vectors and a position of the moving body on the bird'"'"'s-eye view coordinate system, estimates the movement speed and the rotation angle.

4. The driving support system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a bird'"'"'s-eye conversion part subjecting coordinates of each of the camera images to coordinate conversion onto a predetermined bird'"'"'s-eye view coordinate system to thereby convert each of the camera images into a bird'"'"'s-eye view image; and

a passage area estimation part estimating a predicted passage area of the moving body on the bird'"'"'s-eye view coordinate system based on the estimated movement speed, the estimated rotation angle, and a position of the moving body on the bird'"'"'s-eye view coordinate system,

wherein an index in accordance with the predicted passage area is superimposed on the bird'"'"'s-eye view image to thereby generate the display image.

5. The driving support system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a bird'"'"'s-eye conversion part subjecting coordinates of each of the camera images to coordinate conversion onto a predetermined bird'"'"'s-eye view coordinate system to thereby convert each of the camera images into a bird'"'"'s-eye view image; and

a solid object region estimation part making, through image matching, position adjustment of two bird'"'"'s-eye view images based on two camera images obtained at mutually different times and then obtaining a difference between the two bird'"'"'s-eye view images to thereby estimate a position, on the bird'"'"'s-eye view coordinate system, of a solid object region having a height.

6. The driving support system according to claim 1, further comprising a bird'"'"'s-eye conversion part subjecting coordinates of each of the camera images to coordinate conversion onto a predetermined bird'"'"'s-eye view coordinate system to thereby convert each of the camera images into a bird'"'"'s-eye view image,

wherein, when two bird'"'"'s-eye view images based on the two camera images obtained at first and second times, which are mutually different, are called first and second bird'"'"'s-eye view images,

the driving support system further comprises a solid object region estimation part including a coordinate conversion part,

the coordinate conversion part, based on a movement distance of the moving body between the first and second times based on the estimated movement speed and also based on the estimated rotation angle corresponding to the first and second times, converts coordinates of either of the first and second bird'"'"'s-eye view images so that the characteristic points on the two bird'"'"'s-eye view images overlap each other, and

the solid object region estimation part, based on a difference between either of the bird'"'"'s-eye view images subjected to the coordinate conversion and the other bird'"'"'s-eye view image, estimates a position, on the bird'"'"'s-eye view coordinate system, of a solid object region having a height.

7. The driving support system according to claim 5, further comprising:

a passage area estimation part estimating a predicted passage area of the moving body on the bird'"'"'s-eye view coordinate system based on the estimated movement speed and the estimated rotation angle and a position of the moving body on the bird'"'"'s-eye view coordinate system; and

a solid object monitoring part judging whether or not the predicted passage area and the solid object region overlap each other.

8. The driving support system according to claim 7,

wherein, when it is judged that the predicted passage area and the solid object region overlap each other, the solid object monitoring part, based on the position of the solid object region and the position and the movement speed of the moving body, estimates a time length until the moving body and a solid object corresponding to the solid object region collide with each other.

9. A vehicle as a moving body,

wherein the driving support system according to claim 1 is installed.