Driving support system

• US 6,993,159 B1
• Filed: 09/20/2000
• Issued: 01/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Corporation of America (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ishii, Hirofumi, Nakagawa, Masamichi, Okamoto, Shusaku, Morimura, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Miriam, Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): MISTRY, O NEAL RAJAN
• Application Number:
  US10/088,593
• Time in Patent Office: 1,959 Days
• Field of Search: 382/106, 382/107, 382/275
• US Class Current: 382/104
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/00 Optical viewing arrangements; Real-time viewing arrangements for drivers or passengers using optical image capturing systems, e.g. cameras or video systems specially adapted for use in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/105 using multiple cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/107 using stereoscopic cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/207 using multi-purpose displays, e.g. camera image and navigation or video on same display
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/30 characterised by the type of image processing
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/303 using joined images, e.g. multiple camera images
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/305 merging camera image with lines or icons
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/307 virtually distinguishing relevant parts of a scene from the background of the scene
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/8066 for monitoring rearward traffic
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/8093 for obstacle warning
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 3/085 with electronic parallax measurement
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10021 Stereoscopic video; Stereoscopic image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20016 Hierarchical, coarse-to-fine, multiscale or multiresolution image processing; Pyramid transform
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20021 Dividing image into blocks, subimages or windows
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/238 using non-full search, e.g. three-step search
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/593 from stereo images
• 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: H04N 13/221 using the relative movement between cameras and objects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/239 using two 2D image sensors having a relative position equal to or related to the interocular distance H04N13/243 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2013/0081 Depth or disparity estimation from stereoscopic image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2013/0085 : Motion estimation from stereoscopic image signals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/181 : for receiving images from a plurality of remote sources

Abstract

A driving support system for enabling a driver to appropriately confirm environmental conditions of a moving body is provided. A plurality of imaging means for taking an image of the rear of the moving body is installed on the moving body. The plurality of imaging means have an area (OL) where their imaging areas overlap with each other, and the overlap area (OL) includes an area in the vicinity of a vanishing point (VP). Detection means obtains a stereo parallax (VD) between one imaging means and another imaging means in the overlap area (OL), and obtains a distance to an object based on the stereo parallax (VD).

Claims

1. A system for supporting driving of a moving body comprising:

a plurality of imaging means installed on said moving body for taking camera images of the rear of said moving body; and

detection means for detecting movement of an object present in the rear of said moving body based on said camera images of said plurality of imaging means,

wherein said plurality of imaging means have, in camera images thereof, an overlap area that includes an area in the vicinity of a vanishing point and in which imaging areas of first imaging means and second imaging means overlap with each other,

said detection means obtains a stereo parallax between said first imaging means and said second imaging means in said overlap area, and obtains a distance to said object on the basis of said obtained stereo parallax, and

wherein said detection means detects flows corresponding to movement with time of an image in the imaging area of said first imaging means excluding said overlap area, and detects movement of said object present in the rear of said moving body on the basis of said detected flows.

2. The driving supporting system of claim 1, further comprising image synthesizing means for generating an image representing the rear of said moving body through image synthesis using said camera images of said plurality of imaging means.

3. The driving supporting system of claim 1, further comprising:

danger level determining means for determining a possibility of collision of said moving body with an approaching object from the rear of said moving body on the basis of information output from said detection means and for outputting an indicator signal when it is determined that there is a strong possibility of the collision; and

external warning means for providing a warning to the rear of said moving body when said indicator signal is output form said danger level determining means.

4. The driving supporting system of claim 1, further comprising:

danger level determining means for determining a possibility of collision of said moving body with an approaching object from the rear of said moving body on the basis of information output from said detection means and for outputting an indicator signal when it is determined that there is a strong possibility of the collision; and

passenger protecting means for taking measure to protect a passenger of said moving body when said indicator signal is output from said danger level determining means.

5. A system for supporting driving of a moving body comprising:

imaging means installed on said moving body for taking a camera image of a surrounding region of said moving body;

image generating means for converting said camera image of said imaging means into an image seen from a visual point positioned differently from said imaging means; and

detecting means for detecting a distance from said moving body to an object imaged in said camera image,

wherein said image generating means corrects distortion of an image of said object by using said distance detected by said detection means in converting said image.

6. The driving supporting system of claim 5,

wherein said imaging means is plural in number,

said plural imaging means have, in camera images thereof, an overlap area in which imaging areas of first imaging means and second imaging means overlap with each other, and

said detection means obtains a stereo parallax between said first imaging means and said second imaging means in said overlap area, and obtains a distance to said object on the basis of said obtained stereo parallax.

7. The system for supporting driving of a moving body of claim 5,

wherein said detection means obtains a distance to said object on the basis of flows corresponding to movement with time of said camera image.

8. A system for supporting driving of a moving body comprising:

imaging means installed on said moving body for taking a camera image of a surrounding region of said moving body; and

detection means for obtaining flows corresponding to movement with time on the basis of said camera image of said imaging means and for detecting movement of an object present in the surrounding region of said moving body on the basis of said flows,

wherein said detection means obtains, as preparation for detecting the movement of said object, an offset estimated value from each of said obtained flows and cancels said offset estimated value from each of said flows as a vibration component derived from jolt of said moving body wherein a detection means detects flows corresponding to movement with time of an image in the imaging area of a first imaging means excluding a area, and detects movement of a object present in the rear of a moving body on the basis of a detected flows.