Image Processing System and Method

• US 20090303077A1
• Filed: 03/02/2007
• Published: 12/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Onome, Hirohisa, Watanabe, Koji
• Granted Patent: US 8,134,480 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/901
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/582 of traffic signs
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/584 of vehicle lights or traffic lights
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09623 Systems involving the acquisition of information from passive traffic signs by means mounted on the vehicle G08G1/0967 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096791 where the origin of the information is another vehicle

Abstract

An image processing system is provided, which includes: a front monitoring device that obtains an image of a view ahead of a vehicle; a vehicle position detecting device that detects the position and orientation of the vehicle; a map database that stores road maps; a traffic indicator position estimating portion that estimates the position of a traffic indicator (23) based on the shape of a road ahead of the vehicle that has been extracted from the map database, according to the position of the vehicle that has been detected by the vehicle position detecting device; an image processing region setting portion that sets an image processing region within the image obtained by the front monitoring device based on the position of the traffic indicator that has been estimated by the traffic indicator position estimating portion; and a traffic indicator detecting portion that detects the traffic indicator from the image processing region.

Claims

1. An image processing system, comprising:

a front monitoring device that obtains an image of a view ahead of a vehicle;

a vehicle position detecting device that detects a position and an orientation of the vehicle;

a map database that stores a road map;

a traffic indicator position estimating portion that estimates a position of a traffic indicator based on a shape of an intersection ahead of the vehicle that has been extracted from the map database, according to the position of the vehicle that has been detected by the vehicle position detecting device;

an image processing region setting portion that sets, within the image obtained by the front monitoring device, an image processing region over which a predetermined image processing is performed, based on the position of the traffic indicator that has been estimated by the traffic indicator position estimating portion; and

a traffic indicator detecting portion that detects the traffic indicator from the image processing region through the predetermined image processing.

2. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein

when the shape of the road indicates an intersection, the traffic indicator position estimating portion estimates a traffic indicator or traffic indicators to be located:

a) above a road on which the vehicle is traveling;

b) before and after the intersection, respectively, as viewed in the traveling direction of the vehicle;

c) before and after the intersection, respectively, across a crossing road, as viewed in the traveling direction of the vehicle;

d) within a predetermined distance from each corner of the intersection;

e) before the intersection by a distance that is determined in accordance with a curvature of a curve, as viewed in the traveling direction of the vehicle;

f) before the intersection by a distance that is determined in accordance with an inclination of a road, as viewed in the traveling direction of the vehicle;

or

g) substantially at the lateral center of a road on which the vehicle is traveling.

3. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein

the image processing region is set based on the width of a road on which the vehicle is traveling.

4. The image processing system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an output device that displays the image of the view ahead of the vehicle and a textual information for a driver, wherein a speaker is connected to the output device, and the speaker outputs an alert when the traffic indicator detecting portion detects the traffic indicator.

5. The image processing system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a traffic indicator position calculating portion that calculates a coordinate of the position of the traffic indicator, wherein

the traffic indicator position calculating portion calculates the coordinate of the position of the traffic indicator using, as an initial value, the position of the traffic indicator that has been estimated by the traffic indicator position estimating portion, based on the position and orientation of the vehicle that have been detected by the vehicle position detecting device and the position of the traffic indicator in the image that has been detected by the traffic indicator detecting portion.

6. The image processing system according to claim 5, further comprising:

a spatial model database that records the coordinate of the position of the traffic indicator that has been calculated by the traffic indicator position calculating portion, wherein

if the coordinate of the position of the traffic indicator is recorded in the spatial model database, the recorded coordinate is set as the initial value in the calculation by the traffic indicator position calculating portion.

7. The image processing system according to claim 1, wherein

the traffic indicator includes a traffic signal.

9. The image processing system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a traffic indicator position calculating portion that calculates a coordinate of the position of the traffic indicator, wherein

the traffic indicator position calculating portion calculates the coordinate of the position of the traffic indicator using, as an initial value, the position of the traffic indicator that has been estimated by the traffic indicator position estimating portion, based on the position and orientation of the vehicle that have been detected by the vehicle position detecting device and the position of the traffic indicator in the image that has been detected by the traffic indicator detecting portion.

8. An image processing method, comprising:

obtaining an image of a view ahead of a vehicle;

detecting a position and an orientation of the vehicle;

extracting a shape of an intersection ahead of the vehicle from a road map database that pre-stores a road map, based on the detected position of the vehicle;

estimating a position of a traffic indicator based on the shape of the road;

setting an image processing region over which a predetermined image processing is performed, based on the estimated position of the traffic indicator; and

detecting the traffic indicator from the image processing region through the predetermined image processing.