Vehicle Detecting System

• US 20090184845A1
• Filed: 01/21/2009
• Published: 07/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Subaru Corp.
• Original Assignee: Fuji Heavy Industries Limited (Subaru Corp.)
• Inventors: Saito, Toru
• Granted Patent: US 8,749,631 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/937
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/58 Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection

Abstract

A vehicle detecting system includes image taking means for taking an image of the surroundings of a subject vehicle, vehicle detecting means for detecting a vehicle from the taken image, and lateral-position detecting means for detecting a lateral position of the vehicle in the taken image. The lateral-position detecting means vertically divides, into a plurality of sections, a region set in a portion of the taken image in which an image of the vehicle is included or is presumed to be included. The lateral-position detecting means calculates average brightnesses of pixels belonging to pixel columns vertically extending in the sections and having a width corresponding to one pixel or a plurality of number of pixels. The lateral-position detecting means calculates differences in average brightness between pixel columns adjacent in a lateral direction, and detects the lateral position of the vehicle on the basis of absolute values of the differences.

Claims

1. A vehicle detecting system comprising:

image taking means for taking an image of the surroundings of a subject vehicle;

vehicle detecting means for detecting a vehicle from the taken image; and

lateral-position detecting means for detecting a lateral position of the detected vehicle in the taken image,

wherein the lateral-position detecting means vertically divides, into a plurality of sections, a region set in a portion of the taken image in which an image of the vehicle is included or is presumed to be included,

wherein the lateral-position detecting means calculates average brightnesses of pixels belonging to pixel columns vertically extending in the sections and having a width corresponding to one pixel or a plurality of number of pixels, and

wherein the lateral-position detecting means calculates differences between the average brightnesses of the pixel columns and average brightnesses of adjacent pixel columns adjacent in a lateral direction, and detects the lateral position of the vehicle on the basis of absolute values of the differences.

2. The vehicle detecting system according to claim 1, wherein the lateral-position detecting means detects the lateral position of the vehicle on the basis of the sum of the absolute values of the differences of pixel columns in the sections that have the same lateral coordinate in the taken image.

3. The vehicle detecting system according to claim 1, wherein the lateral-position detecting means detects, as the lateral position of the vehicle, a position of a pixel column that provides the highest peak value, of peak values in the sum of the absolute values of the differences calculated for the sections or the sum of the absolute values of the differences of pixel columns in the sections that have the same lateral coordinate in the taken image, the peaks exceeding a predetermined threshold value, a position of a pixel column having a peak value detected closest to a previously detected lateral position of the vehicle, or a position of a pixel column having a peak value detected farthest from a center position of the vehicle.

4. The vehicle detecting system according to claim 1, wherein the lateral-position detecting means vertically divides the region into at least a lower section serving as an image portion in which a portion of the vehicle hidden by a body of the vehicle is presumed to be included, and the other section serving as the other image portion.

5. The vehicle detecting system according to claim 1, wherein the lateral-position detecting means vertically divides the region into at least a lower section serving as an image portion in which a portion of the vehicle hidden by a body of the vehicle is presumed to be included, an upper section serving as an image portion in which an image of a window glass is presumed to be included, and the other section serving as the other image portion.

6. The vehicle detecting system according to claim 5, wherein the lateral-position detecting means divides the region into the lower section and the other section, or into the lower section, the upper section, and the other section, on the basis of a vertical proportion and the number of sections preset in accordance with a shape of the vehicle detected currently or previously.

7. The vehicle detecting system according to claim 1, wherein, when dividing the region into the sections, the lateral-position detecting means determines a vertical proportion for dividing the region and the number of sections obtained by division, on the basis of a distribution of brightnesses of pixels belonging to a pixel column extending in the vertical direction of the region and having a width equal to one pixel or a predetermined number of pixels.

8. The vehicle detecting system according to claim 1, wherein the lateral-position detecting means adopts right and left lateral positions of the vehicle detected by the lateral-position detecting means or right and left lateral positions of the vehicle detected by the vehicle detecting means or a sensor, the adopted positions providing a lateral width of the vehicle that is closer to a previously detected lateral width of the vehicle.