Calibrating apparatus for on-board camera of vehicle

• US 8,248,471 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2010
• Issued: 08/21/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Saiki, Mitsuyoshi, Inui, Yoji, Kuboyama, Tsuyoshii, Nakamura, Keiichi
• Primary Examiner(s): VU, NGOC YEN T
• Application Number:
  US12/728,104
• Publication Number:
  US 20100245592A1
• Time in Patent Office: 886 Days
• Field of Search: 348/118, 348/148, 348187-188
• US Class Current: 348/148
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/80 Analysis of captured images to determine intrinsic or extrinsic camera parameters, i.e. camera calibration

Abstract

Provided is a calibrating apparatus for an on-board camera of a vehicle, which apparatus allows completion of calibration process with a simple additional calibration, even when rejection has issued on the result of automatic calibration. Based upon a camera parameter obtained at the time of completion of adjustment by an automatic adjusting section, a confirmation marker indicating the position of coordinate of a calibration point is displayed in superposition with a camera-captured image. A manual adjusting section adjusts the camera parameter, based on an amount of displacement of the coordinate of the calibration point corresponding to an amount of movement of the confirmation marker moved in response to input of adjustment instruction. In response to input of a determination instruction, a camera parameter setting section sets an undetermined camera parameter at the time of completion of the most recent adjustment by the automatic adjusting section and the manual adjusting section, as the camera parameter.

Claims

1. A calibrating apparatus for an on-board camera of a vehicle, comprising:

an image acquiring section for acquiring a captured image captured by the camera including, within a field of view, calibration markers arranged at a plurality of predetermined differing positions;

a calibration point specifying section for specifying each calibration point in each one of the calibration markers in the captured image;

an automatic adjusting section for effecting automatic adjustment of a camera parameter of the on-board camera, with using the specified calibration point;

a display controlling section for causing a displaying section to display a confirmation marker in the form of a graphic image in superposition with the captured image, the confirmation marker being configured to specify, in the captured image, a position of theoretical coordinate of the calibration point calculated with using the camera parameter at the time of completion of the automatic adjustment;

an instruction input receiving section for receiving an instruction capable of moving the confirmation marker in a screen displayed at the displaying section;

a manual adjusting section for effecting manual adjustment on the automatically adjusted camera parameter, based on a displacement amount of the theoretical coordinate of the calibration point corresponding to a movement amount of the confirmation marker; and

a camera parameter setting section for setting an undetermined camera parameter which is the camera parameter at the time of completion of most recent adjustment by the automatic adjusting section and the manual adjusting section, as said camera parameter, in response to a determination instruction received by the instruction input receiving section.

2. The on-board camera calibrating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the confirmation marker comprises a confirmation marker sized to accommodate the calibration marker in the captured image with a predetermined margin.