Vehicle external environment recognition device

• US 9,280,900 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2014
• Issued: 03/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Subaru Corp.
• Original Assignee: Fuji Heavy Industries Limited (Subaru Corp.)
• Inventors: Nomura, Naoki
• Primary Examiner(s): Tweel, Jr., John A
• Application Number:
  US14/478,928
• Publication Number:
  US 20150091715A1
• Time in Patent Office: 550 Days
• Field of Search: 340/435, 348/116, 348/118, 348/148, 382/103, 701/301
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10012 Stereo images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10021 Stereoscopic video; Stereoscopic image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30196 Human being; Person
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30252 Vehicle exterior; Vicinity of vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/75 involving models
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/10 Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/20 Image signal generators
• 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 13/257 Colour aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2013/0081 Depth or disparity estimation from stereoscopic image signals

Abstract

A vehicle exterior environment recognition device includes a three-dimensional position deriving module that derives three-dimensional positions of subject parts in a real space based on an image obtained by imaging a detection area, an object identifying module that groups the subject parts of which differences in the three-dimensional positions are within a predetermined range to identify an object, a positional point deriving module that derives a positional point based on positional information of the object, an appearance point deriving module that derives an appearance point based on appearance information of the object, and a pedestrian identifying module that identifies the object to be a pedestrian when a pedestrian point that is obtained by at least adding the positional point to the appearance point equals to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

Claims

1. A vehicle external environment recognition device, comprising:

a three-dimensional position deriving module that derives three-dimensional positions of subject parts in a real space based on an image obtained by imaging a detection area;

an object identifying module that groups the subject parts of which differences in the three-dimensional positions are within a predetermined range to identify an object;

a positional point deriving module that derives a positional point based on positional information related to the position of the object;

an appearance point deriving module that derives an appearance point based on appearance information related to the appearance of the object; and

a pedestrian identifying module that identifies the object to be a pedestrian when a pedestrian point that is obtained by at least adding the positional point to the appearance point equals to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

2. The vehicle external environment recognition device of claim 1, wherein the pedestrian identifying module identifies the object to be a pedestrian when the appearance point is a predetermined value or greater and the pedestrian point equals to or greater than the threshold.

3. The vehicle external environment recognition device of claim 1, wherein the positional point is derived based on one or more parameters selected from the group consisting of a traveling path lateral position, a traveling speed, and an accumulated moving amount of the object.

4. The vehicle external environment recognition device of claim 2, wherein the positional point is derived based on one or more parameters selected from the group consisting of a traveling path lateral position, a traveling speed, and an accumulated moving amount of the object.

5. The vehicle external environment recognition device of claim 1, wherein the appearance point is derived based on one or more parameters selected from the group consisting of a height, an aspect ratio, a spatial relationship, a partiality, an artificiality, a contour agreement, and a caution level of the object.

6. The vehicle external environment recognition device of claim 2, wherein the appearance point is derived based on one or more parameters selected from the group consisting of a height, an aspect ratio, a spatial relationship, a partiality, an artificiality, a contour agreement, and a caution level of the object.

7. The vehicle external environment recognition device of claim 3, wherein the appearance point is derived based on one or more parameters selected from the group consisting of a height, an aspect ratio, a spatial relationship, a partiality, an artificiality, a contour agreement, and a caution level of the object.

8. The vehicle external environment recognition device of claim 4, wherein the appearance point is derived based on one or more parameters selected from the group consisting of a height, an aspect ratio, a spatial relationship, a partiality, an artificiality, a contour agreement, and a caution level of the object.

9. The vehicle external environment recognition device of claim 1, further comprising:

a contour identifying module that identifies a contour of the object from an edge based on luminance of the image; and

a color tone determining module that compares color tones of pixels inside and outside the contour of the object o identify the object o be a pedestrian based on a result of the comparison.

10. The vehicle external environment recognition device of claim 2, further comprising:

a contour identifying module that identifies a contour of the object from an edge based on luminance of the image; and

a color tone determining module that compares color tones of pixels inside and outside the contour of the object to identify the object to be a pedestrian based on a result of the comparison.

11. The vehicle external environment recognition device of claim 3, further comprising:

a contour identifying module that identifies a contour of the object from an edge based on luminance of the image; and

a color tone determining module that compares color tones of pixels inside and outside the contour of the object to identify the object to be a pedestrian based on a result of the comparison.

12. The vehicle external environment recognition device of claim 4, further comprising:

a contour identifying module that identifies a contour of the object from an edge based on luminance of the image; and

a color tone determining module that compares color tones of pixels inside and outside the contour of the object to identify the object to be a pedestrian based on a result of the comparison.

13. The vehicle external environment recognition device of claim 5, further comprising:

a contour identifying module that identifies a contour of the object from an edge based on luminance of the image; and

a color tone determining module that compares color tones of pixels inside and outside the contour of the object to identify the object to be a pedestrian based on a result of the comparison.

14. The vehicle external environment recognition device of claim 6, further comprising:

a contour identifying module that identifies a contour of the object from an edge based on luminance of the image; and

a color tone determining module that compares color tones of pixels inside and outside the contour of the object to identify the object to be a pedestrian based on a result of the comparison.

15. The vehicle external environment recognition device of claim 7, further comprising:

a contour identifying module that identifies a contour of the object from an edge based on luminance of the image; and

a color tone determining module that compares color tones of pixels inside and outside the contour of the object to identify the object to be a pedestrian based on a result of the comparison.

16. The vehicle external environment recognition device of claim 8, further comprising:

a contour identifying module that identifies a contour of the object from an edge based on luminance of the image; and

a color tone determining module that compares color tones of pixels inside and outside the contour of the object to identify the object to be a pedestrian based on a result of the comparison.

17. A vehicle external environment recognition device, comprising:

a three-dimensional position deriving module that derives three-dimensional positions of subject parts in a real space based on an image obtained by imaging a detection area;

an object identifying module that groups the subject parts of which differences in the three-dimensional positions are within a predetermined range to identify an object;

a contour identifying module that identifies a contour of the object from an edge based on luminance of the image; and

a color tone determining module that compares color tones of pixels inside and outside the contour of the object to identify the object to be a pedestrian based on a result of the comparison.