Movable-body navigation information display method and movable-body navigation information display unit

• US 8,195,386 B2
• Filed: 09/27/2005
• Issued: 06/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kumamoto University
• Original Assignee: Kumamoto University
• Inventors: Hu, Zhencheng, Uchimura, Keiichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Dager, Jonathan M
• Application Number:
  US11/663,909
• Publication Number:
  US 20080195315A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,443 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/212
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3647 Guidance involving output of stored or live camera images or video streams
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/365 Guidance using head up displays or projectors, e.g. virtual vehicles or arrows projected on the windscreen or on the road itself
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096861 where the immediate route instructions are output to the driver, e.g. arrow signs for next turn
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0969 having a display in the form of a map

Abstract

A movable-body navigation information display unit is provided. In the movable-body navigation information display unit, a driver can intuitively and accurately recognize a relation between navigation information and a real picture or a real landscape. In addition, it is possible to avoid a state that visibility of a caution-needed picture such as a pedestrian in the real picture and a real picture of a road construction site is inhibited by an image of the navigation information. An image data creating section (405) matches road shape data with a road shape model to estimate posture data. In addition, the image data creating section creates picture (image) data for accurately compositing and displaying the image of the navigation information in an appropriate position in a real picture (or in a real landscape) of a road ahead of a movable body, and displays the navigation information as a three-dimensional icon or the like. A picture display section (5) performs display based on the picture data.

Claims

1. A movable-body navigation information display method comprising the steps of:

detecting a current position of a movable body, and capturing a real picture with an object of a landscape including a road in a traveling direction of the movable body by an in-vehicle camera set in the movable body;

reading navigation information on travel of the movable body corresponding to the detected current position of the movable body from navigation information previously stored in association with road map data;

creating a road shape model of a road assumed to be captured from the current position, based on the current position of the movable body and the road map data;

extracting road shape data as image data of the road included in the landscape from the real picture;

converting the road shape data to image data in a perspective two-dimensional characteristics space and the data of the road shape model to image data in the perspective two-dimensional characteristics space;

obtaining an existence probability of a road white line included in the landscape from the real picture and calculating an RSL value by using a road look-up table (RSL);

matching the two-dimensional road shape data with the two-dimensional data of the road shape model in the two-dimensional characteristics space so that an evaluation value based on the RSL value becomes the maximum, and thereby estimating the posture data of the in-vehicle camera or the movable body to the road as the object;

determining a display position in the captured real picture of the navigation information read according to the current position of the movable body based on the posture data; and

displaying an image in which the read navigation information is composited with display dimensions and tone set by a user in the determined position in the captured real picture.

2. The movable-body navigation information display method according to claim 1, wherein in creating the road shape model, the road shape model of a multilane road is created by performing modeling while considering a road structure in which one-way grade of a traveling road surface in a curved road is set to change according to a horizontal curvature of the curved road.

3. The movable-body navigation information display method according to claim 1, wherein the navigation information is at least one of a course guide of a route to reach a destination of the movable body, a position of a vehicle, a driving lane of the vehicle, and a building as an eyemark for a driver of the movable body to check the course guide or the position of the vehicle.

4. A movable-body navigation information display unit comprising:

a current position detecting means for detecting a current position of a movable body;

a capturing means for capturing a real picture with an object of a landscape including a road in a traveling direction of the movable body by an in-vehicle camera set in the movable body;

a data processing means for reading navigation information on travel of the movable body corresponding to the detected current position of the movable body from navigation information previously stored in association with road map data, creating a road shape model of a road assumed to be captured from the current position based on the current position of the movable body and the road map data, extracting road shape data as image data of the road included in the landscape from the real picture, converting the road shape data to image data in a perspective two-dimensional characteristics space and the data of the road shape model to image data in the perspective two-dimensional characteristics space, obtaining an existence probability of a road white line included in the landscape from the real picture and calculating an RSL value by using a road look-up table (RSL), matching the two-dimensional road shape data with the two dimensional data of the road shape model in the two-dimensional characteristics space so that an evaluation value based on the RSL value becomes the maximum and thereby estimating the posture data of the in-vehicle camera or the movable body to the road as the object, determining a display position in the captured real picture of the navigation information read according to the current position of the movable body based on the posture data, and outputting data for displaying an image in which the read navigation information is composited as an image displayed with display dimensions and tone set by a user in the determined position in the captured real picture; and

an image display means for compositing and displaying the read navigation information as the image displayed with the display dimensions and the tone set by the user in the determined position of the captured real picture based on the data outputted from the data processing means.

5. The movable-body navigation information display unit according to claim 4, wherein in creating the road shape model, the data processing means creates the road shape model of a multilane road by performing modeling while considering a road structure in which one-way grade of a traveling road surface in a curved road is set to change according to a horizontal curvature of the curved road.

6. The movable-body navigation information display unit according to claim 4, wherein the navigation information is at least one of a course guide of a route to reach a destination of the movable body, a position of a vehicle, a driving lane of the vehicle, a building as an eyemark for a driver of the movable body to check the course guide or the position of the vehicle.