Vehicle Turn Signal Detection

• US 20170174261A1
• Filed: 12/17/2015
• Published: 06/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Micks, Ashley Elizabeth, Banvait, Harpreetsingh, Reiff, Brielle, Jain, Jinesh J, Kadetotad, Sneha
• Granted Patent: US 10,800,455 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/403 Image sensing, e.g. optical camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/00 Purposes of road vehicle drive control systems not related to the control of a particular sub-unit, e.g. of systems using conjoint control of vehicle sub-units
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0027 using trajectory prediction for other traffic participants
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0255 Automatic changing of lane, e.g. for passing another vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0265 Automatic obstacle avoidance by steering
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/029 Steering assistants using warnings or proposing actions to the driver without influencing the steering system
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 6/00 Arrangements for automatically controlling steering depending on driving conditions sensed and responded to, e.g. control circuits means for initiating a change in direction B62D1/00; steering valves B62D5/06; combined with means for inclining the vehicle body or wheels on bends B62D9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0276 using signals provided by a source external to the vehicle involving a plurality of vehicles G05D1/0287; automatically controlling vehicle speed responsive to externally generated signals B60K31/0058

Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices for detecting a vehicle'"'"'s turn signal status for collision avoidance during lane-switching maneuvers or otherwise. A method includes detecting, at a first vehicle, a presence of a second vehicle in an adjacent lane. The method includes identifying, in an image of the second vehicle, a sub-portion containing a turn signal indicator of the second vehicle. The method includes processing the sub-portion of the image to determine a state of the turn signal indicator. The method also includes notifying a driver or performing a driving maneuver, at the first vehicle, based on the state of the turn signal indicator.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

detecting, at a first vehicle, a presence of a second vehicle in an adjacent lane;

identifying, in an image of the second vehicle, a sub-portion of the image containing a turn signal indicator of the second vehicle, wherein identifying the sub-portion containing the turn signal indicator comprises processing the image of the second vehicle using a first neural network trained to recognize one or more turn signal regions of interest;

processing the sub-portion of the image to determine a state of the turn signal indicator using a second neural network trained to determine a state of one or more turn signal indicators; and

notifying a driver or performing a driving maneuver, at the first vehicle, based on the state of the turn signal indicator.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the driving maneuver for the first vehicle based on the state of the turn signal indicator.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining the driving maneuver comprises providing the state of the turn signal indicator into a lane-changing decision matrix and processing the lane-changing decision matrix to select the driving maneuver.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein notifying the driver comprises notifying the driver of the determined driving maneuver.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising predicting future movement of the second vehicle based on a state of the turn signal indicator.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein predicting future movement comprises predicting a lane change from the adjacent lane into a same lane as the first vehicle.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein notifying the driver comprises notifying the driver of the predicted future movement of the second vehicle.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a direction of movement of the first vehicle corresponding to the state of the turn signal indicator.

2. (canceled)

3. (canceled)

11. A driving control system for a vehicle, the system comprising:

one or more sensors for obtaining sensor data in a region near a vehicle, the one or more sensors comprising a camera;

a boundary component configured to identify a sub-portion of an image containing a turn signal indicator of a proximal vehicle, wherein the boundary component identifies the sub-portion containing the turn signal indicator by processing the image of the second vehicle using a first neural network trained to recognize one or more turn signal regions of interest;

a turn signal component configured to process the sub-portion of the image to determine a state of the turn signal indicator using a second neural network trained to determine a state of one or more turn signal indicators; and

a driving maneuver component configured to determine a driving maneuver for the first vehicle based on the state of the turn signal indicator.

12. The driving control system of claim 11, wherein the driving maneuver comprises a suggested driving maneuver, the driving control system further comprising a notification component configured to provide the suggested driving maneuver to a human driver or an automated driving system.

14. The driving control system of claim 11, further comprising a detection component configured to determine that the proximal vehicle is within a risk zone with respect to the vehicle, wherein the driving control system is further configured to obtain the image in response to the detection component determining that the proximal vehicle is within the risk zone.

15. The driving control system of claim 11, further comprising a detection component configured to determine a lane of one or more of the vehicle and the proximal vehicle.

13. (canceled)

16. Non-transitory computer readable storage media storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

obtain, at a first vehicle, a plurality of images of a second vehicle on a road near the first vehicle;

identify a sub-portion of the plurality of images containing a turn signal indicator of the second vehicle, wherein identifying the sub-portion containing the turn signal indicator in the plurality of images comprises processing the plurality of images using a first neural network trained to recognize one or more turn signal regions of interest;

process the sub-portion of the plurality of images to determine a state of the turn signal indicator using a second neural network trained to determine a state of one or more turn signal indicators; and

predict a driving maneuver for the second vehicle based on the state of the turn signal indicator.

17. The computer readable storage of claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to determine a driving maneuver for the first vehicle based on the predicted driving maneuver for the second vehicle.

18. The computer readable storage of claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to determine whether or not to cause the first vehicle to perform a lane change based on the turn signal indicator.

19. The computer readable storage of claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to determine that the second vehicle is one or more of:

in a lane immediately adjacent a lane of the first vehicle;

driving in a similar direction along a roadway as the first vehicle; and

within a risk zone of the first vehicle, wherein the risk zone corresponds to an area where there is a risk of collision between the first vehicle and the second vehicle.

20. The computer readable storage of claim 16, wherein the instructions further cause the one or more processors to determine that the state of the turn signal indicator corresponds to a direction of movement of the first vehicle.