JP2008139295A - Device and method for intersection guide in vehicle navigation using camera - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an intersection guide device in vehicle navigation using a camera, in which the center point of the intersection is determined based on a vehicle forward picture acquired with a camera and a traffic sign recognized in the forward picture, and the turn-by-turn information of the vehicle is overlaid on the center point, thereby minimization of the disturbance of the driver and correct road guidance for him in the intersection. <P>SOLUTION: The device includes an intersection recognition means for determining whether the vehicle approaches the intersection within a previously set distance or not, based on the present position information of the vehicle and the intersection position information obtained by a navigation information means, an intersection center point recognition means for recognizing the center point of the intersection based on the traffic sign recognition information obtained by a picture recognition means, a control means for changing the turn-by-turn information represented by the center point of the intersection, the intersection position information, and the present position, corresponding to the approach of the vehicle to the intersection, and a direction display means for overlaying the turn-by-turn information changed by the control means on the forward picture to present the overlaid information via a picture output means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle navigation intersection guidance apparatus using a camera and a method thereof, and more particularly, to a vehicle front image acquired using a camera and a traffic sign recognized from the front image. Using a camera that finds the center point and overlays the turn-by-turn (TBT) information of the vehicle to minimize driver confusion at the intersection and provide accurate guidance The present invention relates to an intersection guidance apparatus and method for vehicle navigation.

  Further, the present invention stores in advance the coordinate information displayed on the screen corresponding to the distance from the vehicle position to the intersection position and the turn-by-turn information of the intersection using the camera, The present invention relates to a vehicle navigation intersection guide device using a camera and an overlay method for displaying an overlay on an actually captured image based on the coordinate information corresponding to the distance from the vehicle to the position of the intersection and the turn-by-turn information of the intersection.

  The present invention is derived from research conducted as part of the IT New Growth Dynamic Core Technology Development Project of the Information Communication Department and the Information Communication Research Promotion Agency [Problem Management Number: 2005-S-114, Project Name: Realistic content construction / management technology development for telematics].

  Conventional vehicle navigation uses a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver that obtains current position information via a satellite to display a map of the area in which the vehicle is running, the current position, and a route on the screen. Make it easy to find the desired destination.

  Hereinafter, a conventional intersection guidance method for vehicle navigation will be described. FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a conventional intersection guidance method for vehicle navigation.

  As shown in the figure, the conventional vehicle navigation starts traveling after setting the destination and main waypoint information (S1, S2). Conventional vehicle navigation confirms the current position using a GPS receiver and, when approaching an intersection (S3), extracts the distance from the intersection and confirms whether or not the vehicle is within a set distance (S4). , S5). At this time, when the vehicle approaches within a set distance from the intersection, the conventional vehicle navigation sends a direction information message and guides the traveling direction at the intersection with arrows (S6, S7). Thereafter, when the conventional vehicle navigation vehicle travels a certain distance through the intersection (S8), the intersection guidance is terminated (S9).

  In general, conventional vehicle navigation is based on a map, but has a disadvantage that the volume of map data provided to the driver is enormous and the production cost is high. In particular, since conventional vehicle navigation is based on a map, it may occur when the vehicle does not match the traveling screen that the driver sees. On the other hand, in Japan, vehicle navigation that provides map data such as buildings as three-dimensional (3D) information has been proposed. However, the three-dimensional vehicle navigation system must construct the main intersections throughout the country as three-dimensional information, so it must be built around the main buildings and signposts. There is a disadvantage that readability is reduced.

  The video-based vehicle navigation system proposed to overcome the disadvantages of the map-based vehicle navigation system described above uses a camera to capture the driver's driving screen and displays the direction information at the intersection on the driving screen. provide. That is, the vehicular navigation based on the video displays the direction information at the intersection on the driving screen of the driver.

  However, conventional vehicle navigation based on video displays direction information using road terrain data. However, there is a problem that it takes time and cost to construct the road terrain data and the update time is long. is there. Further, conventional vehicle navigation based on video has a disadvantage that it cannot be used in a city center where reception of GPS information is not smooth by assuming accurate GPS information and camera posture information. That is, it is difficult to achieve the intended purpose of conventional video navigation based on video without GPS information.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described necessity and solves the above-described problems, and the object thereof is to obtain a vehicle front image acquired using a camera, and the front image. The center of the intersection is obtained using the traffic sign recognized from the vehicle, and the vehicle turn-by-turn information is overlaid to minimize the driver's confusion at the intersection and to provide accurate directions. An object of the present invention is to provide an intersection guidance device for vehicle navigation and a method thereof.

  Another object of the present invention is to store in advance the coordinate information displayed on the screen corresponding to the distance from the position of the vehicle to the position of the intersection and the turn-by-turn information of the intersection using a camera, Crossing guidance device for vehicle navigation using a camera, and method thereof, overlaid on the actually captured image based on the coordinate information corresponding to the distance from the position of the vehicle to the position of the intersection and the turn-by-turn information of the intersection Is to provide.

  Other objects and advantages of the present invention can be understood from the following description, and should be further clarified by embodiments of the present invention. It will be readily apparent that the objects and advantages of the invention can be realized by means of the means recited in the claims and combinations thereof.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a video input means, a video output means, a GPS receiving means, navigation information means for storing intersection position information and turn-by-turn information located on the travel route of the vehicle, and a forward video. In an intersection guidance apparatus for vehicle navigation provided with image recognition means for recognizing traffic signs from the vehicle, preset using the current position information of the vehicle measured by the GPS receiving means and the intersection position information from the navigation information means An intersection confirmation unit that determines whether or not the vehicle is approaching an intersection within a predetermined distance, and an approach to an intersection within a preset distance by the intersection confirmation unit is An intersection center confirmation means for confirming the center point of the intersection using the traffic sign recognition information, the center point of the intersection confirmed by the intersection center confirmation means, The control means for changing the intersection position information of the legal information means and the turn-by-turn information expressed by using the current position confirmed by the GPS receiving means according to the approach of the vehicle to the intersection, and the control means Directional display means provided via the video output means by overlaying turn-by-turn information on the forward video.

  Further, the present invention provides a vehicle navigation intersection guide method using a front image of a vehicle actually captured by a camera. When a travel route is set, the intersection on the travel route of the vehicle is extracted and The first step of generating turn-by-turn information of the intersection, and in order to provide the turn-by-turn information of the intersection by checking the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the position of the intersection as the vehicle travels When approaching the critical distance, the second step of confirming whether or not there is recognition information for the traffic sign, and if there is recognition information for the traffic sign, use the traffic sign recognition information to determine the center point of the intersection in the forward image. A third step to confirm and a fourth step to vary the turn-by-turn information represented by using the current position of the vehicle according to the approach of the vehicle to the intersection. When the turn-by-turn information the change was overlaid on the front image, after a traveling a predetermined distance intersections, and a fifth step of ending provision of intersection of turn-by-turn information.

  Furthermore, another embodiment of the present invention is for a vehicle comprising video input means, video output means, GPS receiving means, and navigation information means for storing intersection position information and turn-by-turn information located on the travel route of the vehicle. In the navigation intersection guidance apparatus, coordinate information storage means for storing coordinate information displayed on the screen of the video output means based on the distance from the vehicle position to the intersection position and turn-by-turn information, and the GPS receiving means The coordinates confirmed by the coordinate information storage means corresponding to the distance from the current position of the vehicle confirmed by the navigation information means to the position of the intersection confirmed by the navigation information means and the turn-by-turn information of the intersection confirmed by the navigation information means Control means for overlaying turn-by-turn information on the forward video actually captured by the video input means using the information; Provided.

  According to another embodiment of the present invention, in a vehicle navigation intersection guide method using a front image of a vehicle actually captured by a camera, an intersection guide point on a route set in advance as the vehicle travels. A first step for confirming whether or not the vehicle is present, a second step for confirming the distance and turn-by-turn information from the current position of the vehicle to the position of the intersection when confirmed as an intersection guide point, and the current position of the vehicle Based on the distance to the position of the intersection and the turn-by-turn information, the third step of confirming the coordinate information to be displayed on the screen, based on the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the position of the intersection and the turn-by-turn information, A fourth step of overlaying the actually captured image on the confirmed coordinate information, and the vehicle traveling more than a certain distance at the intersection , And a fifth step to end the intersection guidance.

  The above-described objects, features, and advantages will become more apparent through the following detailed description of the accompanying drawings, so that those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can The idea can be easily implemented. Further, in the description of the present invention, when it is determined that a specific description of a known technique according to the present invention may obscure the gist of the present invention, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 2A is a configuration diagram showing an intersection guide device for vehicle navigation using a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “intersection guide device”).

  As shown in the figure, the intersection guidance device according to the present invention includes a video input unit 200, a video output unit 210, a GPS receiving unit 220, a navigation information unit 230, a video recognition unit 240, an intersection confirmation unit 250, and an intersection center confirmation unit. 260, a direction display unit 270, and a control unit 280.

  The video input unit 200 captures a front video of the vehicle using a camera mounted on the vehicle. At this time, the video input unit 200 removes blurring, noise, and the like of the shot video using a normal video processing method. The video input unit 200 processes the captured video according to a normal video processing method, and then provides the video to the video output unit 210 and the video recognition unit 240.

  The video output unit 210 outputs the captured video from the video input unit 200 in real time. At this time, the video output unit 210 displays a video via its own display screen mounted in the vehicle such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a vehicle computer, a personal portable terminal, a telematics terminal, or the like. By outputting, a front image during traveling is provided to the driver.

  Furthermore, the video output unit 210 overlays the turn-by-turn information of the intersection transmitted from the direction display unit 270 via the control unit 280 and the front image captured by the video input unit 200, thereby overlapping the intersection. Displays the traveling direction of the vehicle at.

  The GPS receiving unit 220 measures the current position of the vehicle according to a normal GPS position measurement method. That is, the GPS receiving unit 220 can accurately check the current position of the vehicle by receiving a signal transmitted from a satellite. At this time, the GPS receiving unit 220 provides the control unit 280 with GPS information that is the current position information of the confirmed vehicle.

  The navigation information unit 230 manages navigation information such as road information located on the travel route of the vehicle, intersection position information, turn-by-turn information at the intersection, and attribute information of traffic signs (that is, signal lights, sign boards, etc.). At this time, it is preferable that the navigation information unit 230 stores and manages the information in the form of an electronic map having a minimum capacity capable of confirming the information.

  The video recognition unit 240 recognizes a traffic sign from the video provided from the video input unit 200.

  In addition, the image recognition unit 240 recognizes traffic signs in order to recognize traffic sign color information, traffic sign position information (that is, information that the sign is on the road, etc.), traffic sign shape (that is, spherical, (Square shape etc.) etc. Here, since the image recognition unit 240 recognizes traffic signs, it can be applied to various detection methods and can be easily understood by those skilled in the art. Omitted.

  The intersection confirmation unit 250 receives from the control unit 280 critical distance information (hereinafter referred to as “intersection recognition distance information”) for providing the driver with turn-by-turn information of an intersection located on the travel route. And using the intersection recognition distance information, it is determined whether or not the traveling vehicle is approaching an intersection located on the traveling route. That is, the intersection confirmation unit 250 determines whether the traveling vehicle is approaching within the intersection recognition distance. As an example, the intersection confirmation unit 250 compares the current position information of the vehicle confirmed by the GPS reception unit 220 with the intersection position information confirmed by the navigation information unit 230, and determines whether or not the intersection recognition distance is approaching. To check.

  Thereafter, when the vehicle approaches within the intersection recognition distance, the intersection confirmation unit 250 notifies the intersection center confirmation unit 260 and the direction display unit 270.

  When the intersection center confirmation unit 260 receives a signal indicating that the vehicle is approaching within the intersection recognition distance from the intersection confirmation unit 250, the traffic sign recognition information recognized by the video recognition unit 240 is received from the control unit 280. Communicated. At this time, the intersection center confirmation unit 260 confirms the center point of the intersection in the forward image using the pixel information corresponding to the distance to the intersection included in the traffic sign recognition information and the height information of the traffic sign. .

  Specifically, the intersection center confirmation unit 260 confirms the center point of the intersection in the forward image using the traffic light signal lights recognized by the image recognition unit 240 as follows.

  Here, the center point of the intersection is the image coordinates (x, y). The center point of the intersection is located at a point where the position of the signal lamp is confirmed in the front image and lowered by the height of the signal lamp. Therefore, the x coordinate is placed at the center point of the front image, and the y coordinate is calculated using a proportional expression. Additionally, the x-coordinate can be assigned as the coordinates of the center point of the lane when the coordinates of the center point of the current lane can be obtained.

  FIG. 2B is an explanatory diagram for deriving a proportional expression for confirming the center point of an intersection using a signal lamp in the intersection center confirmation unit 260 of the present invention.

In the proportional expression shown in the figure, the proportional expression for deriving “the size of the signal light captured by the camera” is as shown in [Formula 1] below. Here, in order to represent the “size of the signal lamp captured by the camera” in the video, the “size of the signal lamp captured by the camera” calculated using the above [Equation 1] is multiplied by “pixel size”. . This is shown in the following [Equation 2].

  At this time, the height of the signal lamp is normally set to a fixed value (for example, 5 m), and the pixel size represents the size of a physical cell of the camera, and can be easily confirmed.

On the other hand, the y-coordinate of the center point of the intersection is calculated as shown in the following [Equation 3] using the “size of the signal lamp captured by the camera” and the “y-coordinate of the signal lamp” obtained in the above [Equation 2]. Is done.

  In contrast to this, the intersection center confirmation unit 260 may detect when the image recognition unit 240 fails to recognize a traffic sign due to interference with other vehicles, weather, or the like, and when the vehicle approaches within the intersection recognition distance. If not, the position information of the traffic sign is extracted from the navigation information unit 230, and the center point of the intersection in the front image (that is, the image coordinates) is confirmed. At this time, the intersection center confirmation unit 260 provides the direction display unit 270 with information on the confirmed center point of the intersection. As an example, the intersection center confirmation unit 260 can confirm the image coordinates that are the center point of the intersection such as “(x, y)” from the navigation information unit 230.

  When the intersection confirmation unit 250 confirms that the vehicle is within the intersection recognition distance, the direction display unit 270 displays the GPS information of the intersection provided via the control unit 280, and turn-by-turn information corresponding to the GPS information. Is transmitted to the video output unit 210. In addition, the direction display unit 270 transmits the turn-by-turn information to the video output unit 210, thereby providing the video input unit with the turn-by-turn information to be traveled at the intersection of the vehicle via the video output unit 210. It is possible to overlay the front image captured by the 200 cameras and provide it to the driver.

  In particular, the direction display unit 270 uses the current position information of the GPS receiving unit 220 and the intersection position information of the navigation information unit 230 to display an indication of the traveling direction of the vehicle whose size changes according to the distance. And the video output unit 210 together with the turn-by-turn information. That is, the direction display unit 270 uses the current position information “(x, y, z)” of the GPS receiving unit 220 and the intersection position information “(x1, y1, z1)” of the navigation information unit 230, The distance between two points in three dimensions is obtained, and in the video position of the center point of the intersection of the intersection center confirmation unit 260, a display showing the traveling direction of the vehicle whose size changes according to the distance, along with turn-by-turn information, This is provided to the video output unit 210.

  Provided to the video output unit 210, along with turn-by-turn information, a display showing the traveling direction of the vehicle whose size changes according to the distance from the current position of the GPS receiving unit 220 to the center point of the intersection of the intersection center confirmation unit 260 To do.

  The control unit 280 controls the video input unit 200, the video output unit 210, the GPS reception unit 220, the navigation information unit 230, the video recognition unit 240, the intersection confirmation unit 250, the intersection center confirmation unit 260, and the direction display unit 270.

  In addition, the control unit 280 uses the navigation information unit 230 to preset intersection recognition distance information by calculating the guide point of the intersection, the position of the next intersection, the curvature of the road, and the like according to a normal method. . At this time, the control unit 280 transmits information regarding the intersection recognition distance to the intersection confirmation unit 250 so that the intersection confirmation unit 250 can determine whether the vehicle is approaching the intersection.

  Further, the control unit 280 performs normal route guidance using the navigation information unit 230. That is, at the time of departure of the vehicle, the control unit 280 sets a route from the departure point to the destination and an optimum travel route for the main route along the route according to a normal method. In particular, the control unit 280 uses the navigation information unit 230 to extract and set an intersection located on the travel route, and generates turn-by-turn information and GPS information of the extracted intersection at this time. Accordingly, the control unit 280 provides turn-by-turn information corresponding to the extracted GPS information of the intersection to the direction display unit 270 so that the front image finally output through the video output unit 210 is displayed. Enable output after overlaying turn-by-turn information.

  Here, as the vehicle approaches the intersection on the travel route, the control unit 280 reflects and provides the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the center point of the intersection in the turn-by-turn information. In general, the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the center of the intersection becomes shorter as the vehicle approaches an intersection on the travel route. As a result, the control unit 280 passes the image via the video output unit 210 as the vehicle approaches the intersection on the travel route (that is, as the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the center point of the intersection decreases). It is reflected in the turn-by-turn information of the forward video that is output.

  For example, the control unit 280 may determine the coordinates (x, y) of the intersection center point confirmed by the intersection center confirmation unit 260 and the coordinates (x1, y1) in the image of the current position of the vehicle measured by the GPS reception unit 220. ) To project a line connecting two coordinates onto a plane to represent turn-by-turn information. Here, on the coordinate plane with the center point of the front image as a reference, if the horizontal axis is the x axis and the vertical axis is the y axis, the coordinates (x1, y1) of the current position of the vehicle are the above-mentioned representing the front image It is preferable to indicate the coordinates on the coordinate plane (the x coordinate of the center point of the front image, the lowest coordinate of the y axis of the center point of the front image).

  As a result, as the vehicle approaches the intersection on the travel route, the distance between the center point of the intersection and the current position of the vehicle is shortened, and the x coordinate of the center point of the front image is constant. In addition, the y-coordinate of the center point of the front image varies according to the distance, and naturally represents turn-by-turn information.

  In addition, the control unit 280 uses the current position information of the GPS receiving unit 220 to travel the intersection more than a certain distance, and then finishes the guidance for the turn-by-turn information of the intersection represented in the video output unit 210 via the direction display unit 270. The route guidance by the normal method is continued.

  3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating an example of an output screen of a front video representing turn-by-turn information according to a distance in the intersection guide device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 3A shows a case where the vehicle is approaching an intersection 100 m ahead, and FIG. 3B shows a case where the vehicle is approaching an intersection 50 m ahead.

  As shown in these figures, the turn-by-turn information is displayed as an overlay on the actually captured front image. That is, FIG. 3A shows that the turn-by-turn information is lowered from top to bottom as in FIG. 3B.

  Further, the display indicating the traveling direction of the vehicle in FIG. 3A, that is, the arrow “301” in the drawing is enlarged as the vehicle approaches an intersection on the traveling route as indicated by “302” in FIG. 3B. Is done.

  Therefore, the intersection guidance device according to the present invention provides turn-by-turn information with a natural overlay on the actually captured front image when the vehicle approaches the intersection on the travel route.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of turn-by-turn information using a three-dimensional virtual camera to which the present invention is applied.

  This figure shows another example, which represents turn-by-turn information using a virtual camera on a three-dimensional image, and the turn-by-turn information is synthesized by a method of synthesizing this information with an image captured by an actual camera. It represents.

  As shown in the figure, when the camera is installed on the ceiling of the vehicle and the traffic sign is not recognized, it is assumed that the camera is oriented in a direction parallel to the road. If there is a traffic sign recognition, the angle when the actual camera is facing the video coordinates of the traffic sign is obtained, and the virtual camera is turned in the direction rotated by that angle.

  The virtual camera has the same angle of view as the actual camera, and the distance to the intersection is obtained using the current position information of the GPS receiving unit 220 and the intersection position information of the navigation information unit 230.

  The position of the camera is arbitrarily determined using the height of the vehicle from the ground [eg (0, 2, 0) etc.], and the intersection is assumed to be three-dimensional and on the z-axis [eg (0, 0, the distance to the intersection)]], using a virtual camera, render turn-by-turn information to acquire a video, and synthesize it with a video shot by an actual camera to represent the turn-by-turn information. Thus, after constructing a three-dimensional virtual object using distance information with the virtual camera and synthesizing it with a two-dimensional video imaged by the camera, video processing that handles the three-dimensional object (for example, OpenGL is used). A person skilled in the art relating to the video processing used) can easily understand it, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In addition, with reference to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, another embodiment representing turn-by-turn information according to distance in the intersection guide device of the present invention will be described.

  These diagrams are diagrams illustrating an example of an output screen of a front image representing turn-by-turn information according to a distance in an intersection guide device according to another embodiment of the present invention. At this time, the output screen will be described by taking a 480 × 272 screen as an example.

  The coordinate information “(240, 272)” in the middle of the lowest position on the output screen represents a coordinate point corresponding to the current position of the vehicle.

  At this time, in the left turn-by-turn information, the coordinate information “(240, 0 ≦ y ≦ 272)” is a starting point for indicating the direction of the turn-by-turn information at the intersection, and the coordinate information “(0, 0 ≦ y ≦ 272) ”is an end point for indicating the direction of turn-by-turn information at the intersection. In the right turn-by-turn information, the coordinate information “(240, 0 ≦ y ≦ 272)” is a starting point for indicating the direction of the turn-by-turn information at the intersection, and the coordinate information “(480, 0 ≦ y ≦ 272)”. 272) "is an end point for indicating the direction of turn-by-turn information at the intersection. The starting point and the end point are preferably equal.

  As shown in these drawings, the intersection guide device can also provide turn-by-turn information according to distance as follows.

  In order to overlay the turn-by-turn information according to the distance, the intersection guidance device preliminarily designates and stores the coordinate information [that is, (x, y)] of the screen displaying the turn-by-turn information according to the distance. This is overlaid on the actual video shot by the video input unit 200. For this reason, the said intersection guidance apparatus is provided with the coordinate information storage part which is not shown by FIG. 2A.

  The coordinate information storage unit stores coordinate information displayed on the screen in a table according to the distance from the position of the vehicle to the position of the intersection. At this time, the coordinate information storage unit displays the left or right direction of the turn-by-turn information on the screen according to the distance from the vehicle position to the intersection position. The starting point (a) and the end point (b), which are coordinate information corresponding to the distance up to, are stored in advance. Here, the coordinate information storage unit includes a line connecting from the starting point (a) to the end point (b) so that a line connecting the starting point (a) to the end point (b) can be recognized by the driver, It is preferable that the upper and lower pixels can be further displayed with a display range of “± α” around the coordinate point corresponding to the current position of the vehicle from the starting point (a). At this time, “± α” of the display range can be adjusted by the user.

Hereinafter, the coordinate information storage unit can show a table for representing turn-by-turn information as shown in these drawings as shown in [Table 1] below.

  The control unit 280 confirms the current position information of the vehicle from the GPS receiving unit 220 and confirms the intersection position information from the navigation information unit 230. Accordingly, the controller 280 confirms the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the position of the intersection. For example, the control unit 280 can confirm that an intersection located in front of the vehicle approaches 100m, 90m, 80m, or the like. The controller 280 confirms turn-by-turn information of the intersection by the navigation information unit 230. That is, the control unit 280 can confirm whether the turn-by-turn information of the intersection is on the left side or the right side by the navigation information unit 230.

  Further, when the control unit 280 confirms the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the position of the intersection and the turn-by-turn information, the starting point displayed on the screen according to the distance from the table stored in the coordinate information storage unit. Check the end point and display range. Thereafter, the controller 280 overlays the left turn-by-turn information or the right turn-by-turn information on the actually captured forward image using the confirmed start point, end point, and display range.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an intersection guidance method for vehicle navigation using a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, when the navigation operates, the intersection guide device according to the present invention sets the destination and main waypoint information and sets the optimum travel route (S501). At this time, the intersection guidance device extracts and sets an intersection located on the travel route, and generates turn-by-turn information and GPS information of the extracted intersection at this time. The intersection guidance device presets an intersection recognition distance.

  Thereafter, when the traveling is started, the intersection guidance device confirms the traveling position of the vehicle and confirms the distance from the extracted intersection (S502). At this time, the intersection guidance device confirms the current position information using GPS information.

  On the other hand, the intersection guidance device checks whether or not the vehicle is approaching within a preset intersection recognition distance while traveling along the set optimal travel route (S503).

  Thereafter, when approaching within the intersection recognition distance (S503), the intersection guide device checks whether there is recognition information for the traffic sign in the forward image through the camera (S504).

  Here, if there is recognition information for the traffic sign (S504), the intersection guidance device confirms the video coordinates of the center point of the intersection using the traffic sign recognition information (S505).

  On the other hand, if there is no recognition information for the traffic sign (S504), the intersection guide device confirms the video coordinates of the center point of the intersection using the preset navigation information (S506).

  Thereafter, the intersection guidance device changes the turn-by-turn information expressed by using the current position of the vehicle and the center point of the intersection according to the approach of the vehicle to the intersection (S507). At this time, the intersection guidance device overlay-displays the turn-by-turn information that has changed as described above on the actually captured forward image (S508).

  Next, the intersection guidance device finishes providing the turn-by-turn information of the intersection provided to the driver after traveling the intersection more than a predetermined distance (S509).

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an intersection guidance method for vehicle navigation using a camera according to another embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in the figure, the intersection guide device confirms the travel position when the travel is started (S601). At this time, the intersection guidance device continues to check the distance from the vehicle to the intersection. That is, the intersection guidance device can confirm the distance by confirming the current position of the vehicle from the GPS receiver 220 and confirming the position of the intersection from the navigation information unit 230.

  Thereafter, the intersection guidance device checks whether or not it is a preset intersection guidance point (S602). At this time, when the intersection guide device is confirmed as an intersection guide point, the intersection guide device confirms the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the position of the intersection and confirms turn-by-turn information of the intersection (S603).

  Next, the intersection guidance device is configured to display coordinate information (that is, a start point, an end point, and an end point) based on the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the position of the intersection confirmed in the “S603” and the turn-by-turn information. And the display range) are confirmed (S604).

  Thereafter, the intersection guide device overlay-displays the turn-by-turn information displayed on the screen on the actually captured image based on the confirmed coordinate information (S605).

  In addition to this, the intersection guidance device checks whether or not the vehicle has traveled the intersection more than a certain distance (S606). When the vehicle travels the intersection more than a certain distance, the intersection guidance is terminated (S607).

  The present invention as described above has an effect of contributing to a driver traveling at a complicated intersection by recognizing an actual image captured by a camera and providing accurate turn-by-turn information of the intersection.

  In addition, the present invention has an effect of contributing to more accurate intersection guidance by using information input from a camera for traffic signs and the like at complicated urban intersections where GPS information is not smoothly received.

  Furthermore, the present invention has the effect of reducing the cost and time for constructing road terrain data by using video actually captured using a camera, while not requiring the update of map data. .

  The above-described method of the present invention is realized as a program and can be stored in a recording medium (CD-ROM, RAM, ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, etc.) in a computer-readable form. Such a process can be easily performed by a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs, and therefore, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The present invention described above can be variously replaced, modified, and changed by those who have ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs without departing from the technical idea of the present invention. It is not limited by the form and attached drawings.

It is a flowchart which shows the intersection guidance system of the conventional vehicle navigation. It is a block diagram which shows the intersection guidance apparatus of the navigation for vehicles using the camera which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. In the intersection center confirmation part of this invention, it is explanatory drawing for guide | inducing the proportionality formula which confirms the center point of an intersection using a signal lamp. It is a figure which shows an example of the output screen of the front image | video showing the turn-by-turn information according to distance in the intersection guidance apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the output screen of the front image | video showing the turn-by-turn information according to distance in the intersection guidance apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example showing turn-by-turn information using the virtual camera on three dimensions to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows an example of the output screen of the front image | video showing the turn-by-turn information according to distance in the intersection guidance apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the output screen of the front image | video showing the turn-by-turn information according to distance in the intersection guidance apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the intersection guidance method of the navigation for vehicles using the camera which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the intersection guidance method of the navigation for vehicles using the camera which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

200 Video Input Unit 210 Video Output Unit 220 GPS Reception Unit 230 Navigation Information Unit 240 Video Recognition Unit 250 Intersection Confirmation Unit 260 Intersection Center Confirmation Unit 270 Direction Display Unit 280 Control Unit

Claims (12)

Vehicle provided with video input means, video output means, GPS receiving means, navigation information means for storing intersection position information and turn-by-turn information located on the travel route of the vehicle, and video recognition means for recognizing traffic signs from the front video In the intersection guidance device for navigation,
An intersection confirmation means for judging whether or not the vehicle is approaching an intersection within a preset distance by using the current position information of the vehicle measured by the GPS reception means and the intersection position information from the navigation information means; ,
An intersection center confirmation means for confirming the center point of the intersection using the traffic sign recognition information from the image recognition means by determining approach to an intersection within a preset distance by the intersection confirmation means,
The turn-by-turn information represented by using the center point of the intersection confirmed by the intersection center confirmation means, the intersection position information of the navigation information means, and the current position confirmed by the GPS receiving means is approached to the intersection of the vehicle. Control means to vary according to
An intersection guidance device for vehicle navigation using a camera, comprising: direction display means provided via the video output means by overlaying turn-by-turn information changed by the control means on a forward video. . The intersection center confirmation means
The vehicle navigation system using a camera according to claim 1, wherein the center point of the intersection is confirmed by using the traffic sign recognition information from the video recognition means and using the height of the traffic sign in the forward video. Intersection guide device. The intersection center confirmation means
2. The vehicle using a camera according to claim 1, wherein when the traffic sign cannot be recognized by the video recognition means, the position information of the traffic sign is extracted from the navigation information means and the center point of the intersection is confirmed. Navigation intersection guidance device. The direction display means
The present invention provides a traveling direction display that changes in size according to the distance from the current position of the vehicle measured by the GPS receiving means to the center point of the intersection confirmed by the intersection center confirmation means. An intersection guide apparatus for vehicle navigation using the camera according to 1. In a vehicle navigation intersection guidance method using a front image of a vehicle actually captured by a camera,
When a travel route is set, a first step of extracting an intersection on the travel route of the vehicle and generating turn-by-turn information of the intersection;
As the vehicle travels, to confirm the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the position of the intersection and provide turn-by-turn information of the intersection, is there any recognition information for traffic signs when approaching a preset critical distance? A second step to confirm whether or not,
If there is recognition information for the traffic sign, the third step of confirming the center point of the intersection in the forward image using the traffic sign recognition information;
A fourth step of changing the turn-by-turn information represented by using the current position of the vehicle according to the approach of the vehicle to the intersection;
And a fifth step of ending provision of turn-by-turn information at the intersection after traveling the intersection for a predetermined distance and displaying the changed turn-by-turn information on the front image. Intersection guidance method for vehicle navigation. After the second step,
6. The vehicle navigation intersection guide according to claim 5, further comprising a step of confirming a center point of the intersection using preset navigation information if there is no recognition information for the traffic sign. Method. In the fourth step,
6. The vehicle navigation intersection guide method using a camera according to claim 5, wherein a display of a traveling direction of the intersection whose size changes as the vehicle approaches the intersection is displayed together with turn-by-turn information. . In an intersection guidance device for vehicle navigation comprising video input means, video output means, GPS receiving means, and navigation information means for storing intersection position information and turn-by-turn information located on the travel route of the vehicle,
Coordinate information storage means for storing coordinate information displayed on the screen of the video output means based on the distance from the position of the vehicle to the position of the intersection and turn-by-turn information;
The coordinate information storage means corresponding to the distance from the current position of the vehicle confirmed by the GPS receiving means to the position of the intersection confirmed by the navigation information means and the turn-by-turn information of the intersection confirmed by the navigation information means An intersection guidance device for vehicle navigation using a camera, comprising: control means for overlaying turn-by-turn information on the forward video actually captured by the video input means using the confirmed coordinate information . The coordinate information storage means is
The coordinate information is stored in a table relating to a starting point, an ending point, and a display range to be displayed on the screen based on the distance from the vehicle position to the position of the intersection and the turn-by-turn information.
The control means is
Based on the distance from the position of the vehicle to the position of the intersection and the coordinate information confirmed by the coordinate information storage means corresponding to the turn-by-turn information, the start point to the end point are connected by a line, and the display range area along the line Is displayed on a screen, The intersection guidance apparatus of the navigation for vehicles using the camera of Claim 8 characterized by the above-mentioned.   9. The intersection guide device for vehicle navigation using a camera according to claim 8, wherein the display range stored in the coordinate information storage means is adjustable by a user. In a vehicle navigation intersection guidance method using a front image of a vehicle actually captured by a camera,
A first step of confirming whether or not the vehicle is an intersection guide point on a predetermined route as the vehicle travels;
A second step of confirming the distance and turn-by-turn information from the current position of the vehicle to the position of the intersection when confirmed as an intersection guide point;
A third step of confirming coordinate information for display on the screen based on the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the position of the intersection and the turn-by-turn information;
A fourth step of overlaying and displaying the actually captured image on the confirmed coordinate information based on the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the position of the intersection and the turn-by-turn information;
An intersection guidance method for vehicle navigation using a camera, comprising: a fifth step of ending intersection guidance when a vehicle travels an intersection for a predetermined distance or more. In the fourth step,
Based on the start point, end point, and display range, which are coordinate information corresponding to the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the intersection and the turn-by-turn information, the start point to the end point are connected by a line and displayed along the line. 12. The vehicle navigation intersection guide method using a camera according to claim 11, wherein the range area is displayed on a screen.