Complex marking determining device and complex marking determining method

• US 9,990,549 B2
• Filed: 01/13/2016
• Issued: 06/05/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Kataoka, Yusuke, Kawasaki, Naoki, Sakai, Tadashi, Watanabe, Akihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Aghevli, Reza
• Application Number:
  US14/994,421
• Publication Number:
  US 20160210519A1
• Time in Patent Office: 874 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/24 in front of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/22 Matching criteria, e.g. proximity measures
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30256 Lane; Road marking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/13 Edge detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/73 using feature-based methods
• 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

Abstract

A complex marking determining device includes a brightness state calculating portion configured to calculate a lane marking representative value indicative of a brightness state of a plurality of pixels that make up a lane marking display region, and calculate a road surface representative value indicative of a brightness state of a plurality of pixels that make up the road surface display region; and a complex marking determining portion configured to determine that the lane marking is a complex marking at least when a degree of deviation between the lane marking representative value and the road surface representative value is equal to or greater than a first threshold value.

Claims

1. A complex marking determining device comprising:

a camera that captures an image of a traveling road of a vehicle, and obtains a traveling road image; and

an electronic control unit configured to;

set a lane marking display region in a position where a lane marking is displayed, in the traveling road image obtained by the camera, and set a road surface display region in a position that is closer to a center of the traveling road than the lane marking display region, and where a road surface other than the lane marking is displayed, in the traveling road image;

calculate a lane marking representative value indicative of a brightness state of a plurality of pixels that make up the lane marking display region, and calculate a road surface representative value indicative of a brightness state of a plurality of pixels that make up the road surface display region;

determine that the lane marking is a complex marking at least when a degree of deviation between the lane marking representative value and the road surface representative value is equal to or greater than a first threshold value;

detect a number of edge points in the lane marking display region, and

determine that the lane marking is a complex marking when the degree of deviation is equal to or greater than the first threshold value, and the number of edge points is equal to or greater than a second threshold value.

2. The complex marking determining device according to claim 1, wherein:

the electronic control unit is further configured to calculate, as the lane marking representative value, a median value of brightness values of the plurality pixels that make up the lane marking display region, and calculate, as the road surface representative value, a median value of brightness values of the plurality of pixels that make up the road surface display region.

3. The complex marking determining device according to claim 1, wherein:

the electronic control unit is further configured to calculate, as the lane marking representative value, an average value of brightness values of the plurality pixels that make up the lane marking display region, and calculate, as the road surface representative value, an average value of brightness values of the plurality of pixels that make up the road surface display region.

4. The complex marking determining device according to claim 1, wherein:

the degree of deviation is a difference between the lane marking representative value and the road surface representative value.

5. The complex marking determining device according to claim 1, wherein:

the degree of deviation is a ratio of the lane marking representative value and the road surface representative value.

6. A complex marking determining method comprising:

capturing an image of a traveling road of a vehicle, and obtaining a traveling road image;

setting a lane marking display region in a position where a lane marking is displayed, in the traveling road image, and setting a road surface display region in a position that is closer to a center of the traveling road than the lane marking display region, and where a road surface other than the lane marking is displayed, in the traveling road image;

calculating a lane marking representative value indicative of a brightness state of a plurality of pixels that make up the lane marking display region, and calculating a road surface representative value indicative of a brightness state of a plurality of pixels that make up the road surface display region;

determining that the lane marking is a complex marking when a degree of deviation between the lane marking representative value and the road surface representative value is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value;

detecting a number of edge points in the lane marking display region; and

determining that the lane marking is a complex marking when the degree of deviation is equal to or greater than the first threshold value, and the number of edge points is equal to or greater than a second threshold value.