DRIVING SUPPORT DEVICE, DRIVING SUPPORT METHOD, AND PROGRAM

• US 20120123613A1
• Filed: 04/26/2010
• Published: 05/17/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Waki, Yuki, Iwai, Kazuhiko, Nogami, Tateaki
• Application Number:
  US13/384,010
• Publication Number:
  US 20120123613A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• 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: G06V 20/588 Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road
• 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 1/09626 where the origin of the information is within the own vehicle, e.g. a local storage device, digital map
• 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

Disclosed are a driving support device, a driving support method, and a program, which are capable of relieving driver'"'"'s concern by making it possible to easily identify the travelling position of a vehicle in a lane. Specifically disclosed is a driving support device (100) which is provided with: a lane detection unit (120) for detecting the right and left ends of a lane on which a vehicle is travelling from a captured image; a vehicle position calculating unit (130) for calculating the displacement direction and displacement amount toward the lane width direction of the vehicle relative to the center of the lane on which the vehicle is travelling; and a display image generating unit (140) for generating a display image in which a vehicle image (330) is displaced in the center of the travelling lane from the position of a lane center marker (320) toward the lane width direction in accordance with the displacement direction and displacement amount that are calculated by the vehicle position calculating unit (130), and superimposed on a lane image composed of lane boundary markers (310) indicating the right and left ends of the lane and the lane center marker (320) indicating the center of the travelling lane.

Claims

1. A driving support apparatus comprising:

an imaging section that images surroundings of a vehicle;

a lane detection section that detects left and right edges of a traveling lane in which the vehicle is traveling from a captured image;

a vehicle position calculation section that calculates a displacement direction and displacement amount of the vehicle in the lane width direction with respect to a center of the traveling lane;

a display image generation section that generates a display image in which, in a lane image that includes lane boundary markers indicating left and right edges of the traveling lane and a lane center marker indicating a center of the traveling lane, a center position of a vehicle image is superimposed displaced in a lane width direction from a position of the lane center marker in accordance with a displacement direction and displacement amount calculated by the vehicle position calculation section; and

a display section that outputs the display image.

2. The driving support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a displacement amount of the vehicle in a lane width direction calculated by the vehicle position calculation section is a value calculated based on a proportion of displacement from a center of the traveling lane of a center position of a lateral width of the vehicle with respect to a width of the traveling lane.

3. The driving support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lane detection section detects left and right edges of a plurality of lanes that include a traveling lane of the vehicle.

4. The driving support apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display section is a head-up display installed so that an image is displayed on a windshield.

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

an appropriate speed calculation section that calculates an appropriate speed using speed limit information relating to a road on which the vehicle is traveling; and

a vehicle speed calculation section that acquires speed information of the vehicle, and calculates a relative speed of the vehicle with respect to the appropriate speed,

wherein the display image generation section further displays in the vehicle image an appropriate speed marker indicating an appropriate speed that is positioned so as to be perpendicular to the lane boundary markers or the lane center marker, and

generates a display image on which a position of the vehicle image is superimposed displaced in a front-back direction of the traveling lane from a position of the appropriate speed marker in accordance with a relative speed of the vehicle with respect to the appropriate speed.

6. The driving support apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the appropriate speed calculation section detects an appropriate speed based on a road environment of a road on which a vehicle travels in addition to speed limit information relating to a road on which the vehicle is traveling.

7. The driving support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a forward obstacle detection section that detects an obstacle ahead of a vehicle, and gives notification of a position of an obstacle in a lane width direction;

wherein the display image generation section superimposes a center position of a recommended traveling position marker indicating a recommended traveling position of the vehicle on the lane center marker in the vehicle image when there is no notification of an obstacle from the forward obstacle detection section; and

superimposes the recommended traveling position marker on the vehicle image displaced from the lane center marker according to a position of the obstacle in a lane width direction when there is notification of an obstacle from the forward obstacle detection section.

8. The driving support apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the recommended traveling position marker is an image identical in shape to the vehicle image.

9. The driving support apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the display image generation section generates a display image that also incorporates an obstacle marker indicating a position of an image when there is notification of an obstacle from the forward obstacle detection section.

10. The driving support apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a lane width calculation section that calculates a width of a traveling lane as a lane width; and

a storage section that stores a lane boundary marker width standard value, vehicle image vehicle width, and actual vehicle width information,

wherein the display image generation section displays the lane boundary markers with a width thereof changed according to the lane width.

11. A driving support method comprising:

a step of imaging surroundings of a vehicle;

a step of detecting left and right edges of a traveling lane in which the vehicle is traveling from a captured image;

a step of calculating a displacement direction and displacement amount of the vehicle in the lane width direction with respect to a center of the traveling lane;

a display image generation step of generating a display image in which, in a lane image that includes lane boundary markers indicating left and right edges of the traveling lane and a lane center marker indicating a center of the traveling lane, a center position of a vehicle image is superimposed displaced in a lane width direction from a position of the lane center marker in accordance with a displacement direction and displacement amount calculated by the calculation step; and

a step of outputting a generated display image.

12. The driving support method according to claim 11, further comprising:

a step of calculating an appropriate speed using speed limit information relating to a road on which the vehicle is traveling; and

a step of acquiring speed information of the vehicle, and calculating a relative speed of the vehicle with respect to the appropriate speed, wherein;

the display image generation step displays in the vehicle image an appropriate speed marker indicating an appropriate speed that is positioned so as to be perpendicular to the lane boundary markers or the lane center marker, and

generates a display image on which a position of the vehicle image is superimposed displaced in a front-back direction of the traveling lane from a position of the appropriate speed marker in accordance with a relative speed of the vehicle with respect to the appropriate speed.

13. The driving support method according to claim 11, further comprising:

a step of detecting an obstacle ahead of a vehicle, and giving notification of a position of an obstacle in a lane width direction;

wherein the display image generation step superimposes a center position of a recommended traveling position marker indicating a recommended traveling position of the vehicle on the lane center marker in the vehicle image when there is no notification of an obstacle from the notification step; and

superimposes the recommended traveling position marker on the vehicle image displaced from the lane center marker according to a position of the obstacle in a lane width direction when there is notification of an obstacle from the notification step.

14. The driving support method according to claim 11, further comprising:

a step of calculating a width of a traveling lane as a lane width; and

a step of storing a lane boundary marker width standard value, vehicle image vehicle width, and actual vehicle width information,

wherein the display image generation step displays the lane boundary markers with a width thereof changed according to the lane width.

15. A program that causes a computer to execute each step of the driving support method according to claim 11.