APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING OBJECT

• US 20090214081A1
• Filed: 02/23/2009
• Published: 08/27/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation), Toshiba Digital Solutions Corporation (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: NAKANO, Tsuyoshi, Okamoto, Yasukazu, Kubota, Susumu
• Granted Patent: US 8,094,884 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10021 Stereoscopic video; Stereoscopic image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30236 Traffic on road, railway or crossing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/248 involving reference images or patches
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/54 of traffic, e.g. cars on the road, trains or boats

Abstract

A disparity profile indicating a relation between a perpendicular position on time series images and a disparity on a target monitoring area based on an arrangement of a camera is calculated. Processing areas are set, by setting a height of each of the processing areas using a length at the bottom of the image obtained by converting a reference value of a height of an object according to the profile, while setting a position of each bottom of processing areas on the image. An object having a height higher than a certain height with respect to the monitoring area, unify an object detection result in each processing area according to the disparity of the object, and detect the object of the whole monitoring area from each processing area is detected. Position and speed for the object detected by the object primary detection unit are estimated.

Claims

1. An object detection apparatus, comprising:

an image capturing unit configured to capture time series images of a target monitoring area using stereo cameras,

a disparity profile calculation unit configured to calculate a disparity profile indicating a relation between a vertical position on the time series images and a disparity on a plane of the target monitoring area, based on an arrangement of the stereo cameras,

a processing area setting unit configured to set a plurality of processing areas, by setting a position of the bottom of each of the plurality of processing areas on the time series images and setting a height of each of the processing areas using a length obtained by converting a reference value of a height of an object at the bottom of the processing area according to the disparity profile,

an object detection unit configured to detect an object having a height higher than a certain height with respect to a plane of the monitoring area from each of the processing areas, unify an object detection result in each of the processing areas according to the disparity of the object, and detect the object of the whole monitoring area,

an object movement information estimation unit configured to estimate position and speed for the object detected by the object primary detection unit.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the object detection unit includes:

an object existence area detection unit configured to detect a boundary line between a plane of the monitoring area and the object from the time series images for each of the processing areas and set a area with edge density greater than a certain density between the top of each of the processing areas and the boundary line to be an object existence area of each of the processing areas,

an object position detection unit configured to unify an object existence area of each of the processing areas according to disparity, and detect the unified area as an object when areas, which have substantially the same coordinate value in a vertical direction of an image, has a width greater than a certain width in a horizontal direction of an image on the boundary of the object existence area unified with a plane of the monitoring area,

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the object movement information estimation unit includes:

a new object registration unit configured to register position and texture information newly for an area of an object obtained from the object detection unit,

an object tracking unit configured to track a registered object based on the texture information,

an object information updating unit configured to calculate an object position averaged by a certain weight of a tracked object position and an object position obtained from the object detection unit, and update an object position and texture information.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing area setting unit sets the plurality of processing areas in a perpendicular direction on the time series images at a predetermined interval and extends a height of the processing areas in upper and lower directions according to disparity of an object.

5. A computer implemented method for causing a computer to detect an object, comprising:

capturing time series images of a target monitoring area using stereo cameras,

calculating a disparity profile indicating a relation between a perpendicular position on the time series images and a disparity on a plane of the target monitoring area, based on an arrangement of the stereo cameras,

setting the plurality of processing areas, by setting a position of the bottom of each of the plurality of processing areas on the time series images and setting a height of each of the processing areas using a length obtained by converting a reference value of a height of an object at the bottom of the processing area according to the disparity profile,

detecting an object having a height higher than a certain height with respect to a plane of the monitoring area from each of the processing areas, unifying an object detection result in each of the processing areas according to the disparity of the object, and detecting the object of the whole monitoring area,

estimating position and speed for the object detected in the detecting step.