JP2006250533A - System and method for image correction - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system and a method for image correction for preventing a feeling of visual strangeness from being given to a driver and erroneous driving operation from being brought about by false recognition. <P>SOLUTION: This system for image correction is equipped with an imaging device 6, equipped with a traffic road imaging means for imaging a cross-point 30 while a vehicle is traveling and a display part 7, and a display means for displaying the cross-point 30 imaged by the imaging means as an image. This system is equipped with an image correction means for correcting an image 40A on the cross-point 30 displayed on the display part 7 to an image 40B closely resembling an image based on imaging from a lane 34a of a traffic road being traveled on a return trip when again traveling the imaged cross-point 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular travel guidance device that presents road traffic information to a driver while a vehicle is traveling, and more particularly to an image correction system and an image correction method that correct an image of a traffic road captured while the vehicle is traveling.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a vehicular travel guidance device that receives position information where a vehicle is currently traveling from an artificial satellite, displays vehicle position information together with map information on a display unit, and guides a driver has been put into practical use. Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for reducing the burden required for route confirmation when traveling on the same road again using road traffic information collected at a point where the vehicle passes during the travel. Further, in Patent Document 2, it is possible to arbitrarily record road conditions and the traveling state of the host vehicle as image data, and store the recorded predetermined image data for a predetermined period and reproduce them at an arbitrary time. A road condition recording system is proposed.
JP-A-6-344832 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-186047

However, in these proposed technologies, when the vehicle travels again at a point where the vehicle has passed, if the vehicle is traveling in a lane different from the lane that originally traveled, the displayed image is the lane that is actually traveling. Different from the line of sight. Therefore, it gives a visual discomfort to the driver. Further, when the vehicle travels again at a point where the vehicle has passed, it is necessary to display an image recorded backward in the opposite lane if the traveling direction of the vehicle is the reverse direction. For this reason, the driver is greatly discomforted visually, and erroneous driving operation may be caused by misunderstanding.
Accordingly, the present invention provides an image correction system and an image correction method capable of solving the above-described problems of the prior art and suppressing the driver from giving a visually uncomfortable feeling and inducing an erroneous driving operation due to misidentification. For the purpose.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is provided with an imaging device, includes a traffic road imaging unit that images a traffic road while the vehicle is running, and a display unit, and images the traffic road captured by the traffic road imaging unit. An image correction system comprising: a display unit configured to display the image of the traffic road displayed on the display unit when the imaged traffic road is traveled again from a lane of the traveling traffic road. Image correction means for correcting an image approximate to an image based on imaging is provided. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when performing route confirmation by the image displayed on the display part, it can suppress giving a driver a visual discomfort.

  Further, according to the present invention, the first lane position data at the time of image capturing and the second lane position at the time of traveling again on the captured traffic road based on the reception information from the GPS receiving unit 4 included in the vehicular travel guidance device. Data, traffic road width data is acquired from a database of the vehicle travel guidance device, and the image correction means includes the first lane position data, the second lane position data, and the traffic road width. The captured image is expanded or compressed with a correction magnification determined from the data, and the lane position of the captured image is identified by associating it with the first lane position data and the second lane position data. The second lane position of the captured image may be corrected so as to be displayed near the center in the left-right direction of the display unit. According to the present invention, when the vehicle is again traveled on the captured traffic road using the information received from the GPS receiving unit 4 included in the vehicular travel guidance device and the database, The image can be corrected to an image approximate to the image based on the image taken from the lane where the vehicle is traveling.

  In the present invention, the imaging device may be an imaging device directed toward the front of the vehicle. As a result, when the captured traffic road is traveled again in the same traveling direction as the previous time, the captured image can be corrected to an image approximate to an image based on the image captured from the actually traveling lane.

  In the present invention, the imaging device may be an imaging device directed toward the rear of the vehicle. As a result, when the captured road is traveled again in the direction of travel opposite to the previous time, the captured image can be corrected to an image approximate to an image based on the image captured from the actually traveling lane. In addition, it is possible to suppress an erroneous driving operation due to misidentification.

  Further, the present invention is an imaging device in which the imaging device continuously records the traffic road, and continuously reproduces the image corrected by the correction means when traveling on the captured traffic road again. May be. When the imaging device is imaged toward the front of the vehicle, the driver can check the route more easily by reproducing the captured image as a moving image on the display unit.

  Further, the present invention is an imaging device in which the imaging device continuously records the traffic road, and continuously replays the image corrected by the correction means when traveling on the captured traffic road again. May be. As a result, when the imaging device is imaged toward the rear of the vehicle, the driver feels uncomfortable when the image captured during traveling travels again in the traveling direction opposite to the previous travel direction. And can be displayed on the display unit as a moving image.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the image correction system and the image correction method which can suppress giving a visually uncomfortable feeling to a driver | operator and inducing the wrong driving operation by misidentification can be provided.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  A configuration of the navigation apparatus 10 including the image correction system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, the configuration surrounded by a two-dot broken line is the configuration of the navigation device 10. In FIG. 1, the structure indicated by the double line is the structure of the image correction system according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, a reading mechanism 1 is configured to read a recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disc) -ROM (Read Only Memory) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) -ROM storing map data and other guidance data. . However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a storage device such as a hard disk drive can also be applied.

  The operation unit 2 is configured to allow a user such as a driver (hereinafter referred to as a driver) to input various operations and settings to the in-vehicle navigation device 10. This may be configured individually such as a remote controller device or a control panel, or may be configured as a touch panel type input device formed integrally with a display unit 7 to be described later. Furthermore, it may be constituted by a microphone for voice input.

  The VICS (road traffic information communication system) receiving unit 3 is configured to receive VICS information transmitted from a radio wave beacon or an optical beacon. The GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving unit 4 is configured to receive a GPS signal transmitted from a GPS satellite and detect the latitude and longitude of the current position of the vehicle. The self-contained navigation sensor 5 includes an angle sensor 5a including a gyro for detecting the vehicle direction, and a distance sensor 5b that generates a pulse for every predetermined travel distance. Detect speed.

  The imaging device 6 is provided to face the front or rear of the vehicle, and is a configuration for imaging a traveling traffic road based on a command from the control unit 17. The command from the control unit 17 is issued when the driver operates the operation unit 2. The imaging device 6 may correspond to a device that captures a traffic road as a still image, such as a digital camera, or may correspond to a device that captures a traffic road as a moving image, such as a digital video camera.

  The display unit 7 is configured by, for example, a liquid crystal display type display device or the like, and is configured to display various information such as a map, a guide route, a current position of a vehicle, a building, and other icons input from the navigation device 10. is there. The display unit 7 is also configured to display image data captured by the imaging device 6 as an image. Similarly, the speaker 8 is configured to output voice guidance information and the like input from the navigation device 10. In addition, the speaker 8 can also output music input from an audio device or the like.

  In the navigation device 10, the buffer memory 11 is configured to temporarily store map data and the like input from the reading mechanism 1 under the control of the control unit 17 described later. The I / F (interfaces) 12, 13, 14, and 15 are configured to connect the operation unit 2, the VICS receiving unit 3, the GPS receiving unit 4, the self-contained navigation sensor 5, and the internal bus in the vehicle-mounted navigation device 10, respectively. It is.

  The control part 17 is comprised by arithmetic processing apparatuses, such as a microcomputer and CPU (central processing unit), for example. The control unit 17 has a built-in navigation program, and a map to be detected or displayed based on signals output from the GPS receiving unit 4 and the self-contained navigation sensor 5 according to the program. Or the like is read from the reading mechanism 1 to the buffer memory 11, the guide route is searched from the map data read to the buffer memory 11, or the guide route that matches the set search condition is read to the buffer memory 11. Various processes related to navigation such as searching for one or more using data or the like are executed. However, for example, the above program can be stored in a CD-ROM, a DVD-ROM, or the like. In this case, the control unit 17 reads and executes it as necessary.

  Further, the control unit 17 executes processing for recording the image data captured by the imaging device 6 in the memory 16 in accordance with the navigation program. However, the control unit 17 may incorporate a program different from the navigation program to execute the processing related to the imaging device 6. At the same time, the control unit 17 executes a process of storing the spot where the image is taken in the memory 16 as, for example, spot registration information. The image correction unit 25 corrects the image data recorded in the memory 16 based on a command from the control unit 17 and displays the corrected image data on the display unit 7. The command of the control unit 17 is issued based on the point registration information stored in the memory 16 when the imaged traffic road is traveled again. However, it may be emitted when the driver operates the operation unit 2.

  The map drawing unit 18 is configured to perform a map image drawing process using the map data read to the buffer memory 11. The display information generation unit 19 is configured to generate various menu screens (operation screens) and various marks such as a cursor according to the operation status. The guide route storage unit 20 stores data on all nodes of the guide route searched for in the control unit 17 based on the starting point, destination and other search conditions, and data of guide routes changed during the search (hereinafter referred to as these Is referred to as guidance route data). The guide route drawing unit 21 is configured to read the guide route data from the guide route storage unit 20 and draw the guide route in a display mode (highlighted display using colors and line widths) different from other roads. . The icon drawing unit 22 is a configuration for performing a drawing process of an icon such as a building or a spot to be drawn on a map image, or the own vehicle or another vehicle. The audio output unit 23 includes, for example, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) and the like, and outputs an audio signal to the speaker 8 based on a signal from the control unit 17.

  The image synthesizing unit 24 includes, on the map image drawn by the map drawing unit 18, the guidance route drawn by the guidance route drawing unit 21, the operation screen and various marks drawn by the display information generation unit 19, and the icon drawing unit In this configuration, various icons drawn at 22 and images input from the control unit 17 are appropriately overlapped and displayed on the display unit 7.

  Next, the correction of the captured image performed by the image correction unit 25 will be described in detail. FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an intersection 30 where the vehicle travels. The arrow 31a indicates the travel route of the vehicle that has traveled the intersection 30 on the forward route, and the arrow 32a indicates the travel route of the vehicle that has traveled the intersection 30 again on the return route. In the forward path, the vehicle travels from left to right in the figure, turns right, passes through the intersection 30, and travels on the lane 33a, as indicated by an arrow 31a. In addition, the vehicle travels in the lane 34a from the front to the back in the figure, as shown by an arrow 32a, and turns left and passes the intersection 30 on the return path.

  FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating an image 40 </ b> A of the intersection 30 captured during traveling on the lane 33 a in the forward path when the imaging device 6 is provided toward the rear of the vehicle. When the vehicle images the intersection 30 on the forward path, the navigation device 10 registers the point where the image 40A is captured. Thereby, as shown by the arrow 32a, when the vehicle passes the intersection 30 on the return path, the captured image can be automatically displayed on the display unit 7 based on the point registration information. At the same time, the navigation device 10 may detect the traveling direction of the vehicle at the time of imaging with the angle sensor 5 a and store it in the memory 16. As a result, even when the imaging apparatus is provided toward the front and rear of the vehicle, it is possible to select and display an image to be displayed in accordance with the traveling direction when traveling again at the imaged point. .

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the road width of the lane 33b is projected to be larger than the road width of the lane 34b in the image of the intersection 30 imaged in the forward path. Further, the lane 33b is projected near the center in the left-right direction of the display unit than the lane 34b. Therefore, when the image 40A is displayed on the display unit 7 on the return path, the actual vehicle travels on the lane 34b along the travel route indicated by the arrow 32b. Therefore, when confirming the route, the driver feels visually uncomfortable. Will give.

  For this reason, in the present embodiment, the position of the lane 33a is acquired as the first lane position data when an image is captured in the forward path based on the reception information from the GPS receiver 4. Similarly, the position of the lane 34a is acquired as the second lane position data when the vehicle travels again on the spot registered on the return path. Then, the image correction unit 25 performs image analysis, and determines and specifies the position of the lane 33b in the image 40A shown in FIG. Here, as long as the imaging device 6 is always fixed in a fixed direction, the traveling lane position at the time of imaging is always a fixed position in the captured image. From this, it can be determined whether the position of the specified lane 33b corresponds to the travel lane position at the time of imaging, that is, the first lane position data. As a result, the lane 33b is identified as the lane that was traveled at the time of imaging, and is associated with the first lane position data.

  At the same time, the image correction unit 25 determines and specifies the position of the lane 34b in the image 40A. Here, the positional relationship of the lanes between the first lane position data and the second lane position data on the traffic road at the imaged point can be specified based on a database included in the navigation device 10. Therefore, based on the positional relationship of the lanes, it can be determined whether the lane 34b corresponds to the second lane position data on the basis of the lane 33b specified as the first lane position data in the image 40A. As a result, the lane 34b is identified as a lane that is traveling again on the return path, and is associated with the second lane position data. As described above, as shown in FIG. 2B, when the horizontal width of the image 40A is set to a ratio of 1 in the drawing, the position of the lane 33b is a ratio 0 with respect to the left end of the image 40A on the near side of the image 40A. Suppose that it is specified at position 35 of .6. Similarly, it is assumed that the position of the lane 34b is specified as a position 36 with a ratio of 0.3 on the front side of the image 40A with the left end of the image 40A as a reference.

  FIG. 2C is a diagram illustrating an image 40B that is a result of the image correcting unit 25 correcting the image 40A. The image correction unit 25 performs image processing for correcting the position of the lane 34b specified in the image 40A to, for example, a position 37 having a ratio of 0.5 in the image 40B. At the same time, the image correction unit 25 performs image processing for correcting the expansion of the road width of the lane 34b to the road width of the lane 34c with a predetermined correction magnification. On the other hand, the image correction unit 25 performs image processing for compressing and correcting the road width of the lane 33b to the road width of the lane 33c with a predetermined correction magnification in accordance with the extension correction of the road width of the lane 34b. The road widths of the lane 33b and the lane 34b are specified by the image correction unit 25 performing image analysis of the image 40A. The image correction unit 25 similarly performs such correction at a predetermined correction magnification from the near side of the image 40A in the figure toward the depth direction. Thereby, the image correction unit 25 corrects the image 40A to the image 40B.

  The predetermined correction magnification described above is determined based on the lane position when imaged on the forward path, the traffic road width 56 at this point, and the lane position traveling on the return path. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing the relationship between the imaging range on the forward path and the display correction on the return path when traveling on a one-lane traffic road. In FIG. 3A, the vehicle 51 a on the forward road travels in the lane 54 and images the imaging range 52. The vehicle 51b travels on the lane 55 on the return path. In this case, the image correction unit 25 indicates the display correction 53 based on the position of the lane 54 when imaged on the forward path, the traffic road width 56 at this point, and the position of the lane 55 traveling on the return path. A correction magnification that can be corrected is determined. The imaging device 6 acquires the traffic road width 56 from, for example, a database included in the navigation device 10.

  FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the imaging range on the forward path and the display correction on the return path when the vehicle travels on a two-lane traffic road. In FIG. 3B, the vehicle 61 a on the forward road travels on the lane 64 b and images the imaging range 62. On the return path, the vehicle 61b is traveling on the lane 65b. In this case, the image correction unit 25 shows the display correction 63a based on the position of the lane 64b when imaged on the forward path, the traffic road width 66 at this point, and the position of the lane 65b traveling on the return path. A correction magnification that can be corrected is determined. Similarly, when the vehicle 61c is traveling on the lane 65a on the return road, the image correction unit 25 determines a correction magnification that provides the correction indicated by the display correction 63b.

  Next, correction processing performed by the image correction system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, first, the driver operates the operation unit 2 of the navigation device 10 to capture an image of a traffic road that is traveling on the forward path (step 11). The control part 17 performs the process which memorize | stores the point which imaged in the memory 16 as point registration information (step 12). At the same time, the control unit 17 acquires the running lane position as the first lane position data based on the reception information from the GPS receiving unit 4, and records it in the memory 16 (step 13). Next, when traveling at a registration point related to imaging, the control unit 17 inquires of the driver by displaying on the display unit 7 whether to display an image captured during the outward trip. However, based on the registration point information, an image captured during traveling at the registration point may be automatically displayed, and the display for inquiring the driver may not be performed. The driver selects whether to operate and display the operation unit 2 (step 14). When “not display” is selected, the display unit 7 continues to display, for example, the map information and current location information of the navigation device 10.

  When “display” is selected, the image correction unit 25 determines whether or not there is a center line in the image captured at the registration point as the first image analysis processing based on the instruction of the control unit 17 ( Step 15). When there is no center line, the road width is usually such that the driver does not feel uncomfortable even if an image captured without image correction is displayed. Therefore, if it is determined in step 15 that there is no center line, no image correction is required and an image is displayed on the display unit 7 (step 25).

  Next, the control part 17 acquires the lane position data currently driving | running | working in a return route by the receiving information from the GPS receiving part 4, and records it on the memory 16 (step 16). However, for example, the traffic road may be imaged even on the return road, and the current lane position may be determined and specified by the image analysis unit of the image correction unit 25. This is because, as long as the imaging device 6 is always fixed in a fixed direction, the traveling lane position at the time of imaging is always a fixed position in the captured image. The position is to be specified. Thus, it is possible to grasp the positions of the forward path and the return path on the traffic road at the registration point based on the identified lane position on the return path and the lane position on the outbound path specified in the same manner. Alternatively, if the database used by the navigation device 10 has data on the lane position during traveling, it may be used, and by combining these, the reliability of the means for identifying the lane position on the traffic road at the registration point is improved. It doesn't matter.

  Next, the control part 17 acquires the data of the traffic road width in a registration point from the database which the navigation apparatus 10 has, and records it on the memory 16 (step 17). Next, as a second image analysis process, the image correction unit 25 determines the lane position of the traffic road in the image captured at the registration point (step 18). Next, it is determined whether or not the lane position determined in the captured image is the lane position when imaged on the forward path and the lane position traveling on the return path (step 19). Next, as the third image analysis process, the image correction unit 25 specifies the road width at the time of imaging on the forward path and the road width at the time of traveling on the return path (step 20). However, the road width may be determined if there is data on the lane width during traveling in the database of the navigation device 10. Further, the road width may be detected by a sensor such as a radar, and the reliability may be improved by a combination thereof.

  On the other hand, in step 13, step 16 and step 17, the memory 16 holds lane position data when imaged on the forward path, traffic road width data at this point, and lane position data traveling on the return path. ing. Based on this, the image correction unit 25 determines a correction magnification between the extension correction of the lane traveling on the return road and the compression correction of the lane traveling on the forward path (step 21). As the first image processing, the image correction unit 25 performs image processing for correcting the lane position that is identified as traveling on the return path in the captured image to a position near the center in the left-right direction of the display unit (step 22). ). Next, the image correction unit 25 corrects the captured image with the determined correction magnification as the second image processing (step 23). Thereby, the image correction unit 25 displays the corrected image on the display unit 7 (step 24).

  As described above, it is possible to realize an image correction system capable of suppressing a visually uncomfortable feeling to the driver and inducing an erroneous driving operation due to misidentification. The embodiment described above is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

1 is a configuration diagram of a navigation device 10 including an image correction system according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the image correction by the image correction system which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the correction magnification of the image correction by the image correction system which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the image correction by the image correction system which concerns on this invention with a flowchart.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reading mechanism 2 Operation part 3 VICS receiving part 4 GPS receiving part 5 Autonomous navigation sensor 5a Angle sensor 5b Distance sensor 6 Imaging device 7 Display part 8 Speaker 10 Navigation apparatus 11 Buffer memory 12, 13, 14, 15 I / F
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 16 Memory 17 Control part 18 Map drawing part 19 Display information production | generation part 20 Guidance route memory | storage part 21 Guidance route drawing part 22 Icon drawing part 23 Audio | voice output part 24 Image composition part 25 Image correction part 30 Intersection 31a, 31b, 31c Arrows indicating routes 32a, 32b, 32c Arrows indicating travel routes on the return path 33a, 33b, 33c Travel lanes on the forward path 34a, 34b, 34c Travel lanes on the return path 35 Position of the ratio of 0.6 36 Position of the ratio of 0.3 37 Position 0.5 Ratio 40A Image of intersection 30 imaged on outbound path 40B Image 40A image corrected image 51A Outbound vehicle 51b Inbound path vehicle 52 Imaging range 53 Display correction 54, 55 Lane 56 Traffic road width 61a Outbound path vehicle 61b, 61c Return vehicle 62 Imaging range 63 Display correction 64a, 64b Road lane 65a, 65b Return lane 66 Traffic road width

Claims (7)

An image correction system provided with an imaging device, comprising a traffic road imaging unit that images a traffic road while the vehicle is running, and a display unit that includes a display unit and displays the traffic road imaged by the traffic road imaging unit. Because
When the imaged traffic road is traveled again, image correction means for correcting the image of the traffic road displayed on the display unit to an image approximate to an image based on an image captured from the lane of the traffic road being traveled. An image correction system characterized by that. Based on the reception information from the GPS receiver 4 of the vehicular travel guidance device, the first lane position data at the time of image capture and the second lane position data at the time of traveling again on the captured traffic road are acquired,
Obtain traffic road width data from the database of the vehicle travel guidance device,
The image correction means expands and compresses the captured image with a correction magnification determined from the first lane position data and the second lane position data and the traffic road width data,
Identify the lane position of the captured image by associating with the first lane position data and the second lane position data,
The image correction system according to claim 1, wherein the image correction system is a unit that corrects an image so that a second lane position of the captured image is displayed near a center in a left-right direction of the display unit. The image correction system according to claim 1, wherein the image pickup apparatus is an image pickup apparatus directed toward the front of the vehicle. The image correction system according to claim 1, wherein the imaging device is an imaging device directed toward the rear of the vehicle. The imaging apparatus is an imaging apparatus that continuously records the traffic road, and continuously reproduces the image corrected by the correction means when traveling on the captured traffic road again. Item 4. The image correction system according to Item 3. The imaging apparatus is an imaging apparatus that continuously records the traffic road, and continuously reverse-reproduces the image corrected by the correction means when traveling on the captured traffic road again. The image correction system according to claim 4. In an electronic device provided in a vehicle provided with an imaging device that images a traveling traffic road,
Determining the correction magnification of the captured image based on the position data of the travel lane at the time of imaging, the position data of the travel lane when traveling again on the captured traffic road, and the traffic road width data;
An image correction method comprising: expanding and compressing the captured image according to the correction magnification.

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