CN115965941A - Method and apparatus for warning of vehicle light anomalies - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for warning vehicle light abnormity and corresponding equipment. The method comprises the following steps: acquiring a target image containing preset light of a second vehicle by using an image acquisition device of a first vehicle; analyzing and identifying the target image; judging whether the preset lamplight is abnormal or not at least partially according to the analysis and identification result of the target image; and sending warning information indicating that the preset light is abnormal to the second vehicle under the condition that the preset light is judged to be abnormal. By utilizing the method for warning the abnormal vehicle light, the abnormal vehicle light condition in the road traffic can be found and warned in an automatic, convenient, rapid and reliable manner, and the safety and efficiency of a road traffic system are greatly improved.

Description

Method and apparatus for warning of vehicle light anomalies

Technical Field

The invention belongs to the technical field of vehicle intellectualization, and particularly relates to a method and equipment for automatically warning a vehicle on a road of abnormal light through image recognition and an interconnection communication technology.

Background

The vehicle lighting system is one of the vehicle-mounted electronic devices, is mainly used for night driving illumination, prompting the driving state of a vehicle and the like, and is an important guarantee for the safety driving of the vehicle and the safety and the order of the whole road traffic system. Especially for the lights/lamps outside the vehicle (such as turn lights, clearance lights, fog lights, etc.), if the lights of the vehicle are abnormally operated, for example, if the lights are not turned on due to the forgotten operation of the vehicle driver or the failure or damage of the lights themselves when the lights should be turned on, or if the lights are turned on due to the misoperation of the vehicle driver when the lights should not be turned on, misleading information may be given to other participants of road traffic, which may cause a safety hazard or disorder of traffic order, thereby reducing the safety and efficiency of the road traffic system.

For the abnormality of the vehicle light, generally, the fault or damage of the light can be found only during the vehicle maintenance, and the light abnormality caused by the forgetting or error operation of the driver is often more difficult to be detected, and only the good reminding can be actively sent out after the detection of the abnormality is hoped by others. Obviously, in the complex and variable road traffic practice, it is difficult to have proper time and opportunity to find and remind the abnormal light of the vehicle in time, which brings safety and efficiency risks to the road traffic.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to solving the above-mentioned problems and/or other deficiencies in the prior art by enabling convenient and reliable detection and warning of vehicle light anomalies in road traffic.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for warning of vehicle light abnormality, comprising the steps of: acquiring a target image containing preset light of a second vehicle by using an image acquisition device of a first vehicle; analyzing and identifying the target image; judging whether the preset lamplight is abnormal or not at least partially according to the analysis and identification result of the target image; and sending warning information indicating that the preset light is abnormal to the second vehicle under the condition that the preset light is judged to be abnormal.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the predetermined light may be a turn signal of a second vehicle, and the step of analyzing and identifying the target image may include detecting whether the turn signal is on; the step of determining whether the predetermined lighting is abnormal at least partially according to the analysis and recognition result of the target image may include: and under the condition that the turn lamp is detected to be turned on, if the vehicle-mounted sensor of the first vehicle detects that the time that the second vehicle keeps running in the original lane in the state that the turn lamp is turned on exceeds a preset time period and the adjacent lane indicated by the turned-on turn lamp in the time is an empty lane, the turn lamp is judged to be abnormally turned on.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the predetermined light may be a tail light of a second vehicle, and the step of analyzing to identify the target image may include detecting whether the tail light is illuminated; the step of determining whether the predetermined lighting is abnormal at least partially according to the analysis and recognition result of the target image may include: when it is detected that the ambient brightness is lower than a predetermined threshold value by an in-vehicle sensor of the first vehicle, if it is detected that the tail lamp is not lit, it is determined that the tail lamp is damaged or not normally turned on.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the predetermined light may be a turn signal of a second vehicle, and the step of analyzing and identifying the target image may include detecting whether the turn signal is on and a corresponding flashing frequency; the step of determining whether the predetermined lighting is abnormal at least partially according to the analysis and recognition result of the target image may comprise: and under the condition that the turn light is detected to be turned on and the flicker frequency exceeds a preset range, determining that the turn light has a fault.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the predetermined light may be a rear fog light of a second vehicle, and analyzing to identify the target image may include detecting whether the rear fog light is on; the step of determining whether the predetermined lighting is abnormal at least partially according to the analysis and recognition result of the target image may include: when the non-rainy and foggy weather environment is detected by the vehicle-mounted sensor of the first vehicle, if the rear fog lamp is detected to be turned on, the rear fog lamp is judged to be turned on by mistake.

According to an exemplary embodiment, analyzing the target image may include identifying predetermined lighting in the target image using an image classification algorithm, such as a trained convolutional neural network.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the step of transmitting warning information indicating the abnormality of the predetermined light to the second vehicle in a case where it is determined that the abnormality of the predetermined light occurs may include: acquiring a license plate image of a second vehicle by using the image acquisition device; analyzing and identifying the number plate image to obtain number plate information; broadcasting a signal containing the number plate information and the warning information to vehicles around a first vehicle through inter-vehicle communication; receiving, by the second vehicle, the warning information if the number plate information is consistent with a number plate of the second vehicle.

According to an exemplary embodiment, receiving the warning information by the second vehicle may include presenting the warning information on the second vehicle in the form of text and/or sound.

Another aspect of the invention provides a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program comprising executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement a method according to any one of the configurations described above.

Yet another aspect of the present invention provides an apparatus for alerting a vehicle of a light abnormality, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing executable instructions of the processor; wherein the processor is configured to execute the executable instructions to implement a method according to any of the configurations described above.

According to the method and the equipment for warning the abnormal vehicle light, the image acquisition device carried on one vehicle can be used for acquiring a target image containing the preset light on another vehicle (target vehicle), then the state of the preset light is analyzed and identified through an image processing and identification technology, and optionally other conditions are combined to judge whether the preset light is abnormal or not according to the situation; and under the condition that the preset light is judged to be abnormal, the abnormal information is timely sent to the target vehicle for warning through an interconnection communication technology, so that appropriate countermeasures can be quickly taken. Therefore, the discovery and the warning treatment of the abnormal conditions of the vehicle light in the road traffic are realized in an automatic, convenient, rapid and reliable mode, and the safety and the efficiency of a road traffic system are greatly improved.

Drawings

The features and advantages of the invention are described in detail below by way of non-limiting examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are schematic only and not necessarily drawn to scale, and which show only those parts which are necessary in order to elucidate the invention, while other parts may be omitted or merely mentioned briefly. That is, the present invention may include other components or elements in addition to those shown in the drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a method for alerting a vehicle of a light anomaly according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of an exemplary scenario in which the method for alerting a vehicle of light anomalies according to the present invention is applied;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of another exemplary scenario in which the method for alerting of vehicle light anomalies according to the present invention is applied;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an exemplary implementation of step S140 shown in FIG. 1;

fig. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a system for alerting a vehicle of an abnormality in light according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Exemplary embodiments according to the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of the present invention to those skilled in the art. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details. Furthermore, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described. Rather, it is contemplated that the invention may be practiced with any combination of the features and elements described herein, whether or not they relate to different embodiments. Thus, the following aspects, features, embodiments and advantages are merely illustrative and should not be considered elements or limitations of the claims except where explicitly recited in a claim.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a flow diagram of a method for alerting a vehicle of a light anomaly is shown, according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the present application, a vehicle in which a light abnormality is likely to occur and for which light abnormality detection is required is referred to as a target vehicle, and the light "abnormality" includes both a case where the corresponding light/lamp fails to be normally turned on/on or off/off due to a malfunction or damage of the light/lamp itself and a case where the corresponding light/lamp is not appropriately turned on/on or off/off due to a forgetting operation or a malfunction of the vehicle driver.

As shown in fig. 1, in one possible implementation manner, the method for warning a vehicle light abnormality according to the present invention may include a step S110 of acquiring a target image of a target vehicle, the target image including predetermined light, a step S120 of analyzing and identifying the target image, a step S130 of determining whether the predetermined light is abnormal at least partially according to the analysis and identification result of the target image, and a step S140 of sending warning information indicating the predetermined light abnormality to the target vehicle if it is determined that the predetermined light is abnormal.

In step S110, the target image may be acquired, for example, by an image acquisition device mounted on another vehicle near the target vehicle. In the present application, for the sake of convenience of distinction, this other vehicle is also referred to as a first vehicle, and the target vehicle is referred to as a second vehicle. The image acquisition device may typically be a vehicle-mounted camera capable of acquiring one or more still or moving images within a corresponding field of view. The target image should include at least one predetermined light on the target vehicle, such as a turn signal light, a position light, a brake light, a fog light, etc., where a malfunction may occur. In an exemplary embodiment, the first vehicle and the second vehicle are respectively a rear vehicle and a front vehicle which are driven adjacently in front and back in the same lane, so that a front camera on the rear vehicle can be used for acquiring a target image containing at least one predetermined light (such as a rear steering lamp, a rear outline marker lamp, a rear fog lamp and the like) at the rear part of the front vehicle. Of course, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a rear camera or a side camera on a first vehicle may be used to acquire a target image of predetermined lighting on a second vehicle located behind or to the side of the first vehicle.

In step S120, the target image acquired in step S110 is analyzed and recognized. The purpose of this analysis recognition is to identify the type and state of the predetermined lighting in the target image. For example, whether the target image includes the turn signal and the orientation (left or right) and the flicker frequency of the turn signal, or whether the target image includes the on/off state and the light emission intensity of the tail light and the tail light, or the like can be recognized through analysis of the target image. The analysis and recognition of the target image can be performed by computer image processing and recognition technology, and mainly comprises various image classification algorithms, such as a convolutional neural network which is continuously trained by utilizing a large number of images.

In step S130, it is determined whether the predetermined lighting in the target image is abnormal or not at least partially according to the analysis recognition result of the target image obtained in step S120. That is, the light abnormality is determined based on the type and state of the predetermined light recognized in step S120. Here, as those skilled in the art will readily understand, some light abnormality determination may be combined with other determination conditions in addition to the state of the light itself. For example, it does not make sense to simply detect the turning on or off of the vehicle clearance lights, because the clearance lights are normally turned off in the daytime; only when the outline marker lamp is still detected to be turned off at night or in the occasion of dark ambient light, the abnormal operation of the outline marker lamp is indicated; therefore, the abnormality detection of the position light needs to be performed in accordance with the ambient brightness condition in addition to the recognition of the state (on or off) of the position light itself. For this reason, depending on the specific situation of the predetermined light to be detected, it may be necessary (i.e., optional) to acquire other judgment bases in step S125 besides the state of the predetermined light itself, and to use them as input conditions of step S130 as well.

When it is determined in step S130 that the predetermined lighting is abnormal based on the target image analysis recognition result obtained in step S120 and optionally other determination bases obtained in step S125 (i.e., the determination result in step S130 is yes), the flow proceeds to step S140; on the contrary, when it is determined in step S130 that the predetermined lighting is not abnormal (i.e. the determination result in step S130 is "no"), the process may return to step S110 to continue to acquire the target image of the predetermined lighting on the target vehicle, in other words, to continue to monitor the operating state of the predetermined lighting on the target vehicle.

In step S140, warning information indicating the predetermined light abnormality on the target vehicle is sent to the target vehicle so as to remind the driver of the target vehicle, so that he/she can take corresponding measures in time to avoid possible risks due to the light abnormality. An exemplary specific implementation of step S140 will be described in detail below.

Several exemplary specific situations to which the method for warning of a vehicle light abnormality according to the present invention is applicable will be described next with reference to fig. 2 and 3.

In the embodiment of fig. 2, the second vehicle (target vehicle) to be detected for light abnormality and the first vehicle to be detected are respectively a preceding vehicle B and a following vehicle a that travel adjacently in the front-rear direction (rightward in the drawing) in the direction indicated by the blank arrow in the same lane. Here, it is the abnormality of the turn signal lamp on the preceding vehicle B that is to be detected.

For the embodiment of fig. 2, there is a case where the preceding vehicle B is forgotten to be turned off by the driver and always keeps a flashing on state after the turn signal is turned on and the corresponding lane change is completed, or the driver of the preceding vehicle B mistakenly touches the turn signal without the intention of lane change to cause the turn signal to flash on, and these cases all belong to abnormality of the turn signal, and may mislead the following vehicle in the same lane or an adjacent lane, interfere with the driving of the following vehicle, and affect the traffic efficiency. In this regard, the target image of the preceding vehicle B including its turn lights (e.g., the left turn light 21 and/or the right turn light 22) may be acquired by an image acquisition device (e.g., the front camera 10 as illustrated) mounted on the following vehicle a (corresponding to step S110 in fig. 1). The front camera 10 can photograph an object within a sector area defined between two dotted lines in fig. 2. After the target image is obtained, it may be detected by image processing and recognition techniques that, for example, the left winker lamp 21 therein is in an on state (corresponding to step S120 in fig. 1). This can be accomplished by various image classification algorithms including, but not limited to, a generic pattern classifier or a convolutional neural network trained on a large number of sample images, etc. In the case where it is detected that the left turn signal 21 of the preceding vehicle B is turned on, it is possible to further detect, with the on-vehicle sensor of the following vehicle a, whether the preceding vehicle B keeps running in the original lane for a sufficiently long time with the left turn signal 21 turned on, and whether the adjacent lane (left lane) indicated by the turned-on left turn signal 21 is an empty lane during that time (corresponding to step S125 in fig. 1). The vehicle-mounted sensor mentioned here may be an image acquisition device (such as the front camera 10) of the rear vehicle a as well, or may be other sensing devices such as a general radar, a laser radar, etc. mounted on the rear vehicle a. Two millimeter wave radars 11 and 12 installed at the front left and right corners of the front of the rear vehicle a are illustrated in fig. 2, and their detection ranges are two sector areas defined by four dotted lines in fig. 2. For example, the front camera 10 of the rear vehicle a may be used to monitor whether the front vehicle B is always running in the current lane, so as to count the time that the front vehicle B keeps running in the current lane in the state that the left turn light 21 is turned on; whether the left lane is always an empty lane in the time can be monitored in real time by using the millimeter wave radar 11 at the front left corner of the head of the rear vehicle A. If it is detected that the preceding vehicle B has kept running in the original lane with the left winker 21 on for more than a predetermined period of time (for example, for tens of seconds or tens of seconds) and the left lane has been empty during that time, it indicates that the driver of the preceding vehicle B is likely to forget to turn off the left winker or erroneously turn on the left winker, and at this time, it may be determined that the left winker is abnormally turned on (corresponding to step S130 in fig. 1). Then, the preceding vehicle B may be notified of the information as a warning to alert the driver of the preceding vehicle (corresponding to step S140 in fig. 1).

The embodiment shown in fig. 2 is also applicable to another case where abnormality in the blinking frequency of the turn signal lamp is detected. This also involves taking an image of the target of the preceding vehicle B containing its turn signal by the front camera 10 of the following vehicle a (corresponding to step S110 in fig. 1), and then detecting, for example, by image processing and recognition techniques, that the left turn signal 21 therein is on and its frequency of flashing (corresponding to step S120 in fig. 1). More specifically, a plurality of images of the left winker 21 may be taken within a predetermined time, and since it is blinking, the plurality of images will alternately include an image showing that it is turned on and an image showing that it is turned off. The number of images in which the lights are extinguished is counted, and the flicker frequency of the left turn light 21 is calculated by combining the shooting frequency of the front camera 10. Then, the calculated blinking frequency is compared with the normal frequency range of the turn signals of the vehicle, and it is determined whether the blinking frequency of the left turn signal 21 is normal. In the case where the blinking frequency is not normal (e.g., too fast), it may be determined that there is a malfunction in the left winker (corresponding to step S130 in fig. 1). Subsequently, the preceding vehicle B may be notified of the information as a warning to alert the driver of the preceding vehicle (corresponding to step S140 in fig. 1).

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the front vehicle B and the rear vehicle a are located in the same lane, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The front vehicle B and the rear vehicle a may also be located in different lanes (e.g. two adjacent lanes), as long as the image capturing device (not necessarily a front camera, but also a side-view camera) on the rear vehicle a can capture the corresponding turn light of the front vehicle B. It is even further contemplated that the first vehicle may be located in front of a second vehicle as the subject vehicle, where a side or rear-view camera on the first vehicle may be utilized to photograph the respective turn lights of the second vehicle.

For the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the second vehicle (target vehicle) to be detected with abnormal light and the first vehicle to be detected are respectively the front vehicle B and the rear vehicle a which are running adjacently in the front-rear direction (rightward in the figure) in the direction indicated by the blank arrow in the same lane. In this embodiment, it is the tail lamp abnormality on the preceding vehicle B that is detected.

The rear lights are typically left and right rear position indicators 31 and 32 of the preceding vehicle B. Under normal circumstances, when the light of the external environment is not good or the brightness is not sufficient (for example, at night, in a rainy or snowy day, in a foggy day, in a case where the vehicle passes through a tunnel, etc.), the tail lamp should be turned on to light up, thereby prompting the following vehicle, for example, to avoid rear-end collision. Thus, when the driver of the preceding vehicle B forgets to turn on the tail lamp or the tail lamp is broken and cannot be turned on, it is necessary to warn the preceding vehicle B. For this purpose, an on-vehicle sensor (e.g., the front camera 10, the rainfall sensor, the ambient light sensor, etc.) on the rear vehicle a may be used to directly or indirectly detect the ambient brightness, and determine whether the ambient brightness is lower than a predetermined threshold (corresponding to step S125 in fig. 1). On the other hand, the front camera 10 of the following vehicle a can capture the target image of the preceding vehicle B including its tail lights in real time (corresponding to step S110 in fig. 1), and detect whether or not its tail lights 31, 32 are not lit by image processing and recognition techniques (corresponding to step S120 in fig. 1). This can also be achieved by various image classification algorithms, for example, whether the leading vehicle B exists in the image captured by the front camera 10 of the trailing vehicle a can be identified by a target classifier or a convolutional neural network trained by a large number of sample images, and after the leading vehicle B is detected, whether any one or both of the tail lamps 31 and 32 of the leading vehicle B are not lighted can be further identified by a trained light source classifier or a corresponding convolutional neural network. When it is detected by the in-vehicle sensor of the following vehicle a that the ambient brightness is lower than the predetermined threshold value, if it is further detected that one or both of the tail lamps are not lit (for example, the right tail lamp 32 in fig. 3 is not lit), it is determined that the one or both of the tail lamps are damaged or not normally turned on (corresponding to step S130 in fig. 1). Subsequently, the information may be notified to the preceding vehicle B as a warning to remind the driver of the preceding vehicle to take a countermeasure (corresponding to step S140 in fig. 1).

As another case applicable to the embodiment of fig. 3, it is also possible to detect whether or not the rear fog lamp of the front vehicle B is erroneously turned on in a non-rainy and foggy weather environment. The rear fog lamp can also be regarded as a kind of tail lamp of the preceding vehicle B, and therefore can also be detected by capturing a target image (corresponding to step S110 in fig. 1) of the tail lamp area of the preceding vehicle B with the front camera 10 of the following vehicle a. For example, whether or not the rear fog lamp located at a specific position is turned on may be directly detected by performing image processing and recognition on the target image (corresponding to step S120 in fig. 1). Alternatively, by performing image processing and recognition on the target image, it is possible to detect that there is a tail lamp that is lit in the tail lamp region and the light emission intensity thereof, and then compare the light emission intensity with that of an ordinary tail lamp (e.g., a tail marker lamp), and if the light emission intensity is significantly higher than that of an ordinary tail lamp, it is determined that the rear fog lamp is lit. On the other hand, an on-board sensor (e.g., a rain sensor or an ambient light sensor) of the following vehicle a may be used to detect whether the current driving environment is a rainy fog day in which the fog lamp needs to be turned on (corresponding to step S125 in fig. 1). When it is detected that the environment is not a rainy and foggy day at present, if it is detected that the rear fog lamp is turned on through analysis and recognition of the target image, it is determined that the rear fog lamp is turned on by mistake (corresponding to step S130 in fig. 1). Then, the preceding vehicle B may be notified of this information as a warning to remind the driver of the preceding vehicle to turn off the rear fog light so as not to interfere with the traveling of the following vehicle (corresponding to step S140 in fig. 1).

What has been described above with reference to fig. 2 and 3 are only a few exemplary situations in which the method for warning of a vehicle light abnormality according to the present invention is applicable. However, the invention is not limited to these situations, but may also be extended to detect and alert other light anomalies of the vehicle, such as brake lights, backup lights, etc.

The flow of an exemplary implementation of step S140 in the flowchart shown in fig. 1 is described below in conjunction with fig. 4. In order to perform step S140, i.e., send the corresponding warning information to the target vehicle, the target vehicle needs to be correctly identified first. For this purpose, a number plate image of the target vehicle (second vehicle) may be acquired in step S141, which may be achieved by directly photographing the number plate of the second vehicle (e.g., a number plate installed at the rear of a vehicle) using an image acquisition device (e.g., a front camera) on the first vehicle. Next, in step S142, the photographed number plate image is analyzed and recognized, thereby deriving the number plate information (a combination of a string of numbers and/or letters) of the target vehicle. Then, in step S143, the obtained number plate information and the corresponding warning information are broadcasted to the nearby vehicles in a signal manner, and such broadcasting may be performed, for example, in a vehicle-to-vehicle communication (V2V) manner such as a typical dedicated short-range communication (DSRC). Next, in step S144, when the broadcasted signal is sent to each nearby vehicle, the number plate information in the signal may be compared with the number plate of the corresponding nearby vehicle (for example, pre-stored in the nearby vehicle in the form of a received code), and if the two are consistent (i.e., "yes" in step S144), it indicates that the nearby vehicle is the target vehicle, and then the flow goes to step S145; on the contrary, if the two are not consistent (for all the nearby vehicles) (i.e., the determination result of step S144 is no), it indicates that the license plate of the target vehicle may be recognized erroneously, and the flow may return to step S141 to retrieve the license plate of the target vehicle, for example. In step S145, the target vehicle identified by the broadcasted signal receives the warning information contained in the signal and may be presented to the driver in the target vehicle, for example, in the form of text, text and/or sound. For example, the warning message may be displayed directly on the center control screen of the target vehicle in the form of warning text, such as the two cases described for the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 showing "Please turn off the turn signal! And turn signal flicker failure! ", and the two situations described for the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 may show" taillight not on or malfunctioning! "and" please turn off the rear fog light! And/or corresponding warning voice can be played through vehicle-mounted audio equipment of the target vehicle, so that a driver of the target vehicle is reminded to take corresponding measures in time.

The method for warning the abnormal vehicle light can be used for discovering and warning the abnormal vehicle light condition in road traffic in an automatic, convenient, rapid and reliable mode, and greatly improves the safety and efficiency of a road traffic system.

Corresponding to the method for warning the abnormal vehicle light, the invention also provides a system for warning the abnormal vehicle light. Fig. 5 shows a schematic block diagram of an exemplary configuration of such a system. The system generally includes a device 400 for alerting a vehicle of light anomalies according to the present invention, which device 400 may include a processor 410 and a memory 420 for storing executable instructions for the processor. Wherein the processor 410 is configured to perform the steps of the method for alerting of a vehicle light anomaly according to any of the embodiments described above via execution of the executable instructions. The device 400 may take the form of a general-purpose computing device such as an in-vehicle high-performance computer. The system may also include an image capture device as described above and optionally other in-vehicle sensors that interact with the apparatus 400, and the apparatus 400 may control the image capture device and other in-vehicle sensors to capture the various target images described above and/or other information needed for vehicle light anomaly determination. Optionally, the device 400 may also communicate with one or more devices inside and outside the vehicle (e.g., a cloud-side server, other internet-of-vehicles device, etc.) through various network communication ports to obtain other information required for determining the abnormal vehicle light.

The present invention also provides a computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program comprising executable instructions which, when executed by a processor for example, may carry out the steps of the method for warning of a vehicle light abnormality according to any of the embodiments described above. In some possible embodiments, the various aspects of the invention may also be implemented in the form of a program product comprising program code for causing a terminal device to carry out the steps of the various exemplary embodiments of the method for warning of a vehicle light anomaly according to the invention, when said program product is run on the terminal device.

The program product for implementing the method for warning the vehicle light abnormality according to the embodiment of the present invention may employ a portable compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM) and include program codes, and may be run on a terminal device such as an in-vehicle computer. However, the program product of the present invention is not limited thereto, and in this context, a readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

The program product may employ any combination of one or more readable media. The readable medium may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. A readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the readable storage medium include: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable disk, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

The computer readable storage medium may include a propagated data signal with readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated data signal may take many forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A readable storage medium may also be any readable medium that is not a readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. Program code embodied on a readable storage medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Program code for carrying out operations of the present application may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, C + + or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computing device, partly on the user's device, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computing device and partly on a remote computing device, or entirely on the remote computing device or server. In the case of a remote computing device, the remote computing device may be connected to the user computing device through any kind of network, including a Local Area Network (LAN) or a Wide Area Network (WAN), or may be connected to an external computing device (e.g., through the internet using an internet service provider).

Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will readily understand that the exemplary embodiments described herein may be implemented by software, or by software in combination with necessary hardware. Therefore, the technical solution according to the embodiment of the present invention may be embodied in the form of a software product, which may be stored in a non-volatile storage medium (which may be a CD-ROM, a usb disk, a removable hard disk, etc.) or on a network, and includes several instructions to enable a computing device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute the method for warning the vehicle light abnormality according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure disclosed herein. This disclosure is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

Claims (10)

1. A method for alerting a vehicle of light anomalies, comprising the steps of:

acquiring a target image containing preset light of a second vehicle by using an image acquisition device of a first vehicle;

analyzing and identifying the target image;

judging whether the preset lamplight is abnormal or not at least partially according to the analysis and identification result of the target image; and

and sending warning information indicating the abnormity of the preset light to the second vehicle under the condition that the abnormity of the preset light is determined.

2. The method of claim 1,

the preset light is a steering light of a second vehicle, and the step of analyzing and identifying the target image comprises the steps of detecting whether the steering light is turned on or not;

the step of determining whether the predetermined lighting is abnormal at least partially according to the analysis recognition result of the target image comprises: and under the condition that the turn lamp is detected to be turned on, if the vehicle-mounted sensor of the first vehicle detects that the time that the second vehicle keeps running in the original lane in the state that the turn lamp is turned on exceeds a preset time period and the adjacent lane indicated by the turned-on turn lamp in the time is an empty lane, the turn lamp is judged to be abnormally turned on.

3. The method of claim 1,

the predetermined light is a tail light of a second vehicle, and the step of analyzing and identifying the target image includes detecting whether the tail light is on;

the step of determining whether the predetermined lighting is abnormal at least partially according to the analysis recognition result of the target image comprises: when it is detected that the ambient brightness is lower than a predetermined threshold value by an in-vehicle sensor of the first vehicle, if it is detected that the tail lamp is not lit, it is determined that the tail lamp is damaged or not normally turned on.

4. The method of claim 1,

the preset lamp light is a steering lamp of a second vehicle, and the step of analyzing and identifying the target image comprises the steps of detecting whether the steering lamp is turned on or not and detecting the corresponding flicker frequency;

the step of determining whether the predetermined lighting is abnormal at least partially according to the analysis recognition result of the target image comprises: and under the condition that the turn lamp is detected to be turned on and the flicker frequency exceeds a preset range, determining that the turn lamp is in fault.

5. The method of claim 1,

the preset lamp is a rear fog lamp of a second vehicle, and the step of analyzing and identifying the target image comprises the steps of detecting whether the rear fog lamp is turned on or not;

the step of determining whether the predetermined lighting is abnormal based at least in part on the analysis and recognition result of the target image comprises: when the non-rainy and foggy weather environment is detected by the vehicle-mounted sensor of the first vehicle, if the rear fog lamp is detected to be turned on, the rear fog lamp is judged to be turned on by mistake.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

the step of analytically identifying the target image includes identifying predetermined lighting in the target image using an image classification algorithm, such as a trained convolutional neural network.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

the step of sending warning information indicating that the predetermined light is abnormal to the second vehicle when it is determined that the predetermined light is abnormal includes:

acquiring a license plate image of a second vehicle by using the image acquisition device;

analyzing and identifying the number plate image to obtain number plate information;

broadcasting a signal containing the number plate information and the warning information to vehicles around a first vehicle through inter-vehicle communication;

receiving, by the second vehicle, the warning information if the number plate information is consistent with a number plate of the second vehicle.

8. The method of claim 7,

receiving the alert message by the second vehicle includes displaying the alert message on the second vehicle in graphical text and/or audible form.

9. A computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, the computer program comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. An apparatus (400) for alerting a vehicle of light anomalies, comprising:

a processor (410); and

a memory (420) for storing executable instructions of the processor;

wherein the processor is configured to execute the executable instructions to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 8.

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