Apparatus and method for tracking the position of a peripheral vehicle

• US 9,025,819 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2012
• Issued: 05/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Original Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Inventors: Sung, Kap Je, Lee, Joong Ryoul, An, Jun Sik
• Primary Examiner(s): Lefkowitz, Sumati
• Assistant Examiner(s): JAMES, THOMAS AIDEN
• Application Number:
  US13/705,482
• Publication Number:
  US 20140119597A1
• Time in Patent Office: 881 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 382/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30261 Obstacle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/20 Analysis of motion motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/246 using feature-based methods, e.g. the tracking of corners or segments
• 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

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an apparatus and a method for tracking a position of a peripheral vehicle. The apparatus includes: a processor; memory; an image obtaining unit configured to receive one or more images from one or more cameras disposed on a vehicle; a peripheral vehicle detecting unit configured to analyze the one or more images to detect a peripheral vehicle in the peripheral one or more images; a position tracking unit configured to track the peripheral vehicle detected in the peripheral one or more images; a view converting unit configured to generate a view-converted image by converting a view of the peripheral image based on the tracked position of the peripheral vehicle; and an output controlling unit configured to output the view-converted image to a display provided in the vehicle.

Claims

1. An apparatus for tracking a position of a peripheral vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

a memory configured to store program instructions; and

a processor configured to execute the program instructions, the program instructions when executed configured to;

receive one or more images from one or more cameras disposed on a vehicle;

analyze the one or more images to detect a peripheral vehicle in the one or more images;

track a position of the peripheral vehicle detected in the one or more images;

implement a virtual camera based on position and attitude information of the cameras, and convert a view of the virtual camera according to the position of the peripheral vehicle detected in the peripheral images to generate a view-converted image for the peripheral; and

output the view-converted image to a display provided in the vehicle,

wherein the image of the peripheral vehicle is positioned at the center of the view-converted image, and

wherein the view converting unit defines a position relationship between the vehicle and the peripheral vehicle, and displays an image corresponding to the defined position relationship between the vehicle and the peripheral vehicle on the view-converted image.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program instructions when executed are further configured to crop the view-converted image so that only the peripheral vehicle remains in the view-converted image.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image corresponding to the defined position relationship between the vehicle and the peripheral vehicle is displayed with a moving trajectory of the peripheral vehicle on the view-converted image.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the information is selected from the group consisting of distance from the vehicle, positional angle relative to the vehicle, and movement direction relative to the vehicle.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the program instructions when executed are further configured to update positional information of the peripheral vehicle in real time during a period in which the peripheral vehicles is detected in the peripheral image.

6. A method for tracking a position of a peripheral vehicle, the method comprising:

receive one or more images from one or more cameras disposed on a vehicle;

analyzing the one or more images to detect a peripheral vehicle in the one or more images;

tracking a position of the peripheral vehicle detected in the one or more images;

implementing a virtual camera based on position and attitude information of the cameras, and converting a view of the virtual camera according to the position of the peripheral vehicle detected in the peripheral images to generate a view-converted image for the peripheral; and

outputting the view-converted image to a display provided in the vehicle,

wherein the image of the peripheral vehicle is positioned a center of the view-converted image, and

wherein an image corresponding to a position relationship defined between the vehicle and the peripheral vehicle is displayed on the view-converted image.

7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising cropping the view-converted image so that only the image of the peripheral vehicle remains in the view-converted image.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the image corresponding to the defined position relationship between the vehicle and the peripheral vehicle is displayed with a moving trajectory of the peripheral vehicle on the view-converted image.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the information is selected from the group consisting of distance from the vehicle, positional angle relative to the vehicle, and movement direction relative to the vehicle.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the positional information is updated in real time during a period in which the peripheral vehicles is detected in the peripheral image.