In-vehicle surrounding environment recognition device

• US 9,721,460 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2013
• Issued: 08/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA), Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA), Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Kiyohara, Masahiro, Muramatsu, Shoji, Takemura, Masayuki, Utagawa, Akira, Fukata, Osamu, Hayakawa, Yasuhisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Perungavoor, Sath V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Brown, Jr., Howard D
• Application Number:
  US14/417,677
• Publication Number:
  US 20150161881A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,482 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30256 Lane; Road marking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30261 Obstacle
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/56 exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
• 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: G06V 20/588 Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/185 Signal analysis techniques for reducing or preventing false alarms or for enhancing the reliability of the system
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/165 for passive traffic, e.g. including static obstacles, trees
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/167 Driving aids for lane monitoring, lane changing, e.g. blind spot detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/168 Driving aids for parking, e.g. acoustic or visual feedback on parking space

Abstract

An in-vehicle surrounding environment recognition device includes: a photographic unit that photographs a road surface around a vehicle and acquires a photographic image; an application execution unit that recognizes another vehicle on the basis of the photographic image, and detects a relative speed of the other vehicle with respect to the vehicle; a reflection determination unit that, on the basis of the photographic image, determines upon presence or absence of a reflection of a background object from the road surface; a warning control unit that controls output of a warning signal on the basis of the result of recognition of the other vehicle; and a warning prevention adjustment unit that suppresses output of the warning signal on the basis of the relative speed of the other vehicle, if it has been determined that there is the reflection of the background object from the road surface.

Claims

1. An in-vehicle surrounding environment recognition device, comprising:

a photographic unit that photographs a road surface around a vehicle and acquires a photographic image;

an application execution unit that recognizes another vehicle that is traveling near the vehicle on the basis of the photographic image acquired by the photographic unit, and detects a relative speed of the other vehicle with respect to the vehicle;

a reflection determination unit that, on the basis of the photographic image, determines upon presence or absence of a reflection of a background object from the road surface;

a warning control unit that controls output of a warning signal on the basis of the result of recognition of the other vehicle by the application execution unit; and

a warning prevention adjustment unit that suppresses output of the warning signal on the basis of the relative speed of the other vehicle, if it has been determined by the reflection determination unit that there is the reflection of the background object from the road surface, and wherein

the warning prevention adjustment unit adjusts a level of suppression of output of the warning signal by changing a condition for the reflection determination unit to determine upon the presence or absence of the reflection of the background object from the road surface, according to the relative speed of the other vehicle.

2. An in-vehicle surrounding environment recognition device according to claim 1, further comprising an area setting unit that sets a background region and a reflection region in the photographic image, and wherein:

the reflection determination unit determines upon the presence or absence of the reflection of the background object from the road surface by comparing an image within the background region in the photographic image, and an image within the reflected region in the photographic image, and by determining whether or not their correlation is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value; and

the warning prevention adjustment unit adjusts the level of suppression of output of the warning signal by changing the threshold value according to the relative speed of the other vehicle.

3. An in-vehicle surrounding environment recognition device according to claim 1, further comprising:

an area setting unit that sets a background region and a reflection region in the photographic image; and

a feature amount calculation unit that detects edges that satisfy a predetermined detection condition, both in an image within the background region in the photographic image, and in an image within the reflection region in the photographic image, and that calculates feature amounts for both of the background region and the reflection region corresponding to the edges that have been detected therein, and wherein;

the reflection determination unit determines upon the presence or absence of the reflection of the background object from the road surface by comparing the feature amount of the background region and the feature amount of the reflection region; and

the warning prevention adjustment unit adjusts the level of suppression of output of the warning signal by changing the detection condition according to the relative speed of the other vehicle.

7. An in-vehicle surrounding environment recognition device according to claim 1, wherein,

when the reflection determination unit has determined that there is the reflection of the background object from the road surface, and subsequently has determined that there is no reflection of the background object from the road surface, the warning prevention adjustment unit adjusts the level of suppression of output of the warning signal by performing the suppression of output of the warning signal prolongedly according to the relative speed of the other vehicle.

8. An in-vehicle surrounding environment recognition device according to claim 1, wherein

the warning prevention adjustment unit changes the level of suppression of output of the warning signal according to whether the relative speed of the other vehicle satisfies or does not satisfy a predetermined speed condition.

9. An in-vehicle surrounding environment recognition device according to claim 8, wherein

the speed condition includes at least one of the relative speed of the other vehicle being within a predetermined range, and fluctuation of the relative speed of the other vehicle being within a predetermined range.

4. An in-vehicle surrounding environment recognition device, comprising:

a photographic unit that photographs a road surface around a vehicle and acquires a photographic image;

an application execution unit that recognizes another vehicle that is traveling near the vehicle on the basis of the photographic image acquired by the photographic unit, and detects a relative speed of the other vehicle with respect to the vehicle;

a reflection determination unit that, on the basis of the photographic image, determines upon presence or absence of a reflection of a background object from the road surface;

a warning control unit that controls output of a warning signal on the basis of the result of recognition of the other vehicle by the application execution unit; and

a warning prevention adjustment unit that suppresses output of the warning signal on the basis of the relative speed of the other vehicle, if it has been determined by the reflection determination unit that there is the reflection of the background object from the road surface, and wherein

the warning prevention adjustment unit adjusts the level of suppression of output of the warning signal by changing a condition for the application execution unit to recognize the other vehicle according to the relative speed of the other vehicle.

5. An in-vehicle surrounding environment recognition device according to claim 4, wherein:

the application execution unit recognizes the other vehicle by making a determination as to whether or not an image information value based upon an image within a detection region set in the photographic image is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value; and

the warning prevention adjustment unit adjusts the level of suppression of output of the warning signal by changing the threshold value according to the relative speed of the other vehicle.

6. An in-vehicle surrounding environment recognition device according to claim 4, wherein:

the application execution unit, if an image information value based upon an image within a detection region set in the photographic image satisfies a predetermined detection condition, detects this image information value as being a subject for detection, and recognizes the other vehicle on the basis of the image information value that has been detected; and

the warning prevention adjustment unit adjusts the level of suppression of output of the warning signal by changing the detection condition according to the relative speed of the other vehicle.

10. An in-vehicle surrounding environment recognition device, comprising:

a photographic unit that photographs a road surface around a vehicle and acquires a photographic image;

an application execution unit that recognizes another vehicle that is traveling near the vehicle on the basis of the photographic image acquired by the photographic unit; and

a reflection determination unit that distinguishes a background region and a reflection region of the photographic image, and determines upon presence or absence of a reflection of a background object from the road surface on the basis of correlation between image characteristics of those regions, and wherein,

if it has been determined by the reflection determination unit that the reflection of the background object from the road surface is present, recognition of the other vehicle by the application execution unit is suppressed.