JP2010139478A - Navigation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a navigation device improving accuracy in determining whether or not a self-vehicle has passed through an intersection. <P>SOLUTION: A camera 6 images road surfaces; an extraction-classification part 18 extracts and classifies pedestrian crossings or stop lines from the images of the road surfaces; a memory part 19 stores the classification result correspondingly to vehicle position information; an intersection determination part 20 determines whether or not there exists an intersection near the vehicle based on the vehicle position information stored at the memory part 19 with reference to map information stored at a map data storage part 4 and takes information in relation to the intersection width in the case that an intersection nearly exists; and a determination part 21 determines that the vehicle has passed through the intersection between two consecutive characteristic objects, when the vehicle position stored correspondingly to characteristic objects classified as a pedestrian crossing or a stop line by the extraction-classification part 18 is consecutive with a space slightly wider than the intersection width. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a navigation device, and in particular, relates to a navigation device that can accurately determine whether or not a vehicle has passed an intersection.

  In general, a navigation apparatus receives satellite radio waves from a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver or the like and acquires the current position of the host vehicle. Then, a map image centered on the host vehicle position is read from a disk or the like on which map information including map image and road information is recorded, and a map image synthesized by superimposing a symbol indicating the host vehicle position is displayed on a predetermined monitor And the like are known.

  As described above, satellite navigation is generally used for such a navigation device in which satellite radio waves are received by a GPS receiver or the like, and the position of the host vehicle is calculated according to the received satellite radio waves.

  However, this satellite navigation is normally expected to have an error of about several tens of meters, and as a countermeasure for this, many navigation devices have conventionally been observed with GPS receivers. Techniques for correcting vehicle position errors have been proposed.

For example, a road surface image in the vicinity of the vehicle is captured by a camera mounted on the vehicle, and a white line drawn on the road surface is detected from the captured road surface image. And when the white line determined to be a pedestrian crossing among the detected white lines exists twice in a short distance set in advance, a technique for determining that the vehicle has passed the intersection. It has been proposed (Patent Document 1).
JP-A-6-68391

  However, according to the technique proposed in Patent Document 1 described above, a determination is made based on whether or not there is a pedestrian crossing twice in a preset short distance. When a pedestrian crossing exists twice at short distance intervals on the road, the navigation device may erroneously determine that the vehicle has passed the intersection when passing the road.

  Even if the width of the intersection is large, it is possible that there are two pedestrian crossings at the intersection at intervals wider than a preset short distance so that the navigation device determines that the intersection is an intersection. . When a vehicle passes through such an intersection, the navigation device may not determine that the vehicle has passed the intersection even though the vehicle has actually passed through the intersection.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a navigation device that can further improve the accuracy of determining whether or not the host vehicle has passed an intersection.

  The navigation device according to the present invention determines whether or not there is an intersection near the vehicle based on the vehicle position information stored in the storage unit, and if there is an intersection in the vicinity, the width of the intersection is determined. Get information about.

  And if the position of the vehicle stored in association with the feature classified as a pedestrian crossing or a stop line was continuous at a slightly wider interval than the width of the intersection, the vehicle continued It is determined that the vehicle has passed an intersection between two features.

  That is, the navigation device according to the present invention includes vehicle position detection means for detecting vehicle position information including the position and traveling direction of the vehicle, a map data storage unit in which map information is recorded, and a camera mounted on the vehicle. Extracting a feature on a road surface based on an image captured by the camera, and classifying whether or not the feature is a pedestrian crossing or a temporary stop line, and for each feature, A storage unit that associates and stores the classification result by the extraction classification unit and the vehicle position information when the feature is imaged, and an intersection near the vehicle based on the vehicle position information stored in the storage unit It is determined whether or not there is an intersection, and if there is an intersection in the vicinity, an intersection determination unit that acquires information on the width of the intersection and the storage unit are searched, and If the position of the vehicle among the vehicle position information associated with the pedestrian crossing or the temporary stop line stored as an object is continuous at a slightly wider interval than the width of the intersection, And a determination unit that determines that the vehicle has passed the intersection between the two consecutive features.

  Here, the width of the intersection means the width of the road that intersects the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and moves from the time of entering the intersection to the time of leaving when the vehicle passes straight through the intersection. It corresponds to the distance to be.

  According to the navigation device of the present invention configured as described above, the intersection determination unit determines whether there is an intersection near the vehicle based on the vehicle position information stored in the storage unit with reference to the map information. If there is an intersection in the vicinity, information on the width of the intersection is acquired.

  In the vehicle position information stored in the storage unit in association with the feature classified as a pedestrian crossing or a temporary stop line, the determination unit continues at intervals slightly wider than the width of the intersection. If there are two pieces of vehicle position information (corresponding to two feature objects), it is determined that the vehicle has passed the intersection.

  That is, it is determined that the vehicle has passed the intersection based only on whether or not the vehicle has passed through a pedestrian crossing or a temporary stop line that is continuously present at an interval slightly wider than the width of the intersection near the vehicle. Instead, the information on whether or not there is an intersection nearby is also taken into account to determine whether or not the vehicle has passed the intersection. it can.

  Further, in the navigation device according to the present invention, when the determination unit determines that the vehicle has passed the intersection, the feature that is extracted later in time series among the two consecutive features The position of the vehicle stored in the storage unit in association with the distance from the center of the intersection to the width of the intersection or a distance half the distance between the two consecutive features in the traveling direction. It is preferable to have a configuration including a vehicle position correction unit that corrects the advanced position.

  According to the navigation device of the present invention configured as described above, when the determination unit determines that the vehicle has passed the intersection, the vehicle position correction unit corrects the position of the vehicle detected by the vehicle position detection unit. .

  As a specific correction method, the position of the vehicle when the feature extracted later in time series among two consecutive features is imaged, that is, the position of the vehicle when leaving the intersection, Correction is performed by setting the width of the intersection from the center point of the vehicle or the half of the distance between two consecutive features as the position advanced in the traveling direction of the vehicle.

  For this reason, even if there is an error in the position of the vehicle detected by the vehicle position detecting means, if the determination unit determines that the vehicle has passed the intersection, the position of the actual vehicle is The position can be corrected correctly.

  Further, these pieces of information used for such correction (information on the width of the intersection, vehicle position information stored in association with the feature, and information on the central point of the intersection) indicate whether or not the vehicle has passed the intersection. This information is already acquired when making a decision, and since this information can be used again, it is not necessary to acquire new information for correcting the vehicle position, and the correction process is smoothly performed. be able to.

  Furthermore, in the navigation device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the two consecutive feature objects are the same classification.

  Here, the features classified into the same classification mean pedestrian crossings or pause lines.

  According to the navigation device according to the present invention configured as described above, the vehicle is in an intersection when there are two consecutive pedestrian crossings or two continuous stop lines. Therefore, it is possible to further improve the accuracy of determining whether or not the own vehicle has passed the intersection.

  In the navigation device according to the present invention, the map data storage unit also includes information relating to the width of the intersection as the map information, and the intersection determination unit is configured to transmit the width of the intersection from the map data storage unit. It is preferable to be configured to acquire information regarding.

  According to the navigation device according to the present invention configured as described above, the intersection determination unit acquires information regarding the width of the intersection stored in the map data storage unit when it is determined that an intersection exists in the vicinity of the vehicle.

  Therefore, by referring to the map information stored in the map data storage unit, it is possible not only to determine whether there is an intersection in the vicinity of the vehicle, but also when there is an intersection in the vicinity. Information about the width of the intersection can also be acquired, and the determination process can be performed more smoothly.

  According to the navigation device of the present invention, whether or not an intersection exists in the vicinity of the vehicle, and further, the host vehicle determines the intersection by making a determination according to the width of the intersection determined to exist in the vicinity. The accuracy of determining whether or not it has passed can be further improved.

  Hereinafter, a navigation device 100 as the best embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a navigation device 100 according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the navigation device 100 includes a GPS receiver 1, a gyro sensor 2, a vehicle speed detector 3 (hereinafter collectively referred to as position information detection means 10), and map information. A map data storage unit 4 (for example, HDD, DVD-ROM, CD-ROM, etc.), a control unit 5 for performing information processing such as various controls, and a camera 6 for imaging a road surface around the host vehicle. Is provided.

  In addition, a display unit 13 such as a monitor of a liquid crystal panel on which a map image obtained by combining symbols representing the position of the vehicle is displayed, and an operation unit 14 such as a switch are provided. It is comprised so that the relationship between 14 and the control part 5 can be controlled.

  Further, the navigation device 100 stores a VICS receiver 16 (abbreviation for Vehicle Information and Communication System) that receives road traffic information from FM multiplex broadcasting and the like, and a memory 17 that stores the shapes of pedestrian crossings and temporary stop lines. Is provided.

  The camera 6 and the control unit 5 are connected via an image processing unit 7 and an image memory 8.

  Moreover, the control part 5 is provided with the extraction classification | category part 18, the memory | storage part 19, the intersection determination part 20, the judgment part 21, the vehicle position correction | amendment part 22, and the vehicle position calculation part 23, and each has the function mentioned later.

  The camera 6 is generally a CCD camera. For example, (1) a camera that is attached to the front nose (the front part of the vehicle) and for checking the surroundings when entering an intersection with poor visibility, (2) A camera that is attached to the rear of the vehicle and used to check the rear when the vehicle is backed. (3) Attached to the side of the vehicle (door mirror, etc.), detects white lines on the road, detects lane departures, etc. It is possible to use a camera or the like used in a system for warning the user.

  Further, the map information recorded in the map data storage unit 4 includes a map database in which roads and buildings are drawn, and a road network database in which road intersections (nodes) and communication paths (links) connecting the nodes are drawn. It consists of and.

  2 is a diagram showing a road network database of map information stored in the map data storage unit 4 of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a data configuration of the road network database of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the road network database of map information stored in the map data storage unit 4, nodes n1, n2, and n3 are attached to intersections, branch points, or inflection points of each road. They are connected by links L1, L2, L3 and the like.

  A plurality of links arranged in a straight line form a link row L10, L20, L30, L40, L50, and the like. For example, a link row L10 is made up of links L1, L2, and L3.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the data of the road network database is configured so that each node can be connected to a different link string. For example, in the node n2, the link string L10 to the link string L30 are configured. Connection to is possible.

  Next, the flow of the vehicle position correction process of the navigation device 100 will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the vehicle position correction process of the navigation device 100 of this embodiment.

  First, captured images of the road surface are continuously acquired by the camera 6 at predetermined time intervals, and input signals (analog) of the plurality of captured images are taken into the image processing unit 7 and digitally converted.

  Further, the image processing unit 7 performs overhead image processing, and a plurality of image data subjected to these processes is continuously stored in the image memory 8.

  And the image data memorize | stored in the image memory 8 are read by the extraction classification | category part 18 of the control part 5, and the characteristic object (white line) on a road surface is extracted (step S401). This feature extraction is performed based on, for example, a luminance signal.

  Thereafter, the extraction and classification unit 18 performs pattern matching with the shape of the extracted feature on the pedestrian crossing and the shape of the temporary stop line stored in the memory 17, and the extracted feature is Classification is made as to whether it is a temporary stop line or other feature (step S402).

  Then, these features classified as pedestrian crossings and temporary stop lines are stored in the storage unit 19 in association with the classification result and vehicle position information when these features are imaged. (Step S403).

  Here, the vehicle position information includes the position, traveling direction, time, and the like of the vehicle detected by the position information detection means 10. The vehicle position uses absolute position information measured by the GPS receiver 1, relative position information using the gyro sensor 2 and the vehicle speed detector 3, and map information stored in the map data storage unit 4. The vehicle position is calculated by the vehicle position calculation unit 23 in consideration of the position on the map.

  Further, the position of the vehicle when the feature is imaged means the position of the vehicle when the vehicle passes through the feature, and substantially corresponds to the position of the feature.

  As described above, after the classification result and the vehicle position information are stored in the storage unit 19, the intersection determination unit 20 in the control unit 5 performs the map data storage unit based on the vehicle position information stored in the storage unit 19. The map information (road network data) around the host vehicle stored in 4 is acquired (step S404).

  Then, it is determined from the acquired map information near the vehicle whether there is an intersection near the vehicle (step S405).

  Here, the search range may be limited to, for example, within 50 m ahead of the vehicle position and within 50 m rear of the vehicle position, and further to the road that has passed. This search range can be determined in consideration of the accuracy of the calculated vehicle position, the road width during traveling, and the like.

  The width of the intersection means the width of the road that intersects the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and moves from the time of entering the intersection K to the time of leaving when the vehicle passes straight through the intersection. It corresponds to the distance to be.

  Furthermore, the information regarding the width of the intersection includes not only the width of the intersection but also information from which the width of the intersection can be obtained, such as the number of lanes of the road that intersects the road on which the vehicle is traveling.

  When it is determined that there is no intersection (step S405), the present correction process is terminated. When it is determined that there is an intersection (step S405), the process proceeds to step S406.

  In step S406, the determination unit 21 searches the storage unit 19 based on the acquired intersection width D. Of the vehicle position information associated with the feature classified and stored as a pedestrian crossing or a temporary stop line, the position of the vehicle, that is, the position of the feature is continuous at an interval α slightly wider than the width of the intersection. In the case where the vehicle has passed, the determination unit 21 determines that the vehicle has passed through an intersection between two consecutive features (crosswalks or pause lines). If the vehicle is not searched, the correction process ends. (Step S407).

  Here, α is a distance for setting the search range, and may be uniquely determined to be within 5 m, for example, or may be increased or decreased according to the width of the intersection.

  In step S407, when it is determined that the vehicle has passed the intersection, the vehicle position correction unit 22 detects the vehicle position detected by the position information detection unit 10 and calculated by the vehicle position calculation unit 23. Then, the exit position of the intersection determined to have passed is corrected (step S408).

  Next, the details of the correction processing of the navigation device 100 according to the present embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the vehicle B on which the navigation device 100 of this embodiment is mounted enters the intersection K, and FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the vehicle B in FIG. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the vehicle B enters the intersection K, the pedestrian crossing 30 and the temporary stop line 31 are captured in the road surface image captured by the camera 6. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the vehicle B leaves the intersection K, a pedestrian crossing 30 ′ is captured in the road surface image captured by the camera 6.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the vehicle B leaves the intersection K, the vehicle B does not pass over the temporary stop line 31 '(on the opposite lane) on the opposite lane, but the road width at the intersection K is narrow. Depending on the installation position, angle, angle of view, etc. of the camera 6, a temporary stop line 31 ′ may be captured on the road surface image captured by the camera 6.

  Then, these imaged features (the pedestrian crossing 30, 30 ′, the temporary stop line 31) are subjected to the processing of steps S401 to S403, and the classification result and the vehicle when these features are imaged. The position information is associated with each other and stored in the storage unit 19.

  Thereafter, whether or not there is an intersection in the vicinity of the vehicle B is determined by the processes of steps S404 and S405. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, since there is an intersection K in the vicinity of the vehicle B, information regarding the width D of the intersection K is acquired by the intersection determination unit 20.

  Further, the storage unit 19 is searched for the position of the vehicle B associated with the pedestrian crossing 30, 30 ′ and the temporary stop line 31 by the processes of steps S <b> 406 and S <b> 407.

  In this case, since the interval between the pedestrian crossing 30 and the pedestrian crossing 30 ′ is slightly wider (D + α) than the width D of the intersection K, the interval between the positions of the vehicles B respectively associated with these features is The search of the storage unit 19 confirms that the distance (D + α) is slightly wider than the width D of the intersection K.

  Thereby, it is judged by the judgment part 21 that the vehicle B has passed the intersection K between the pedestrian crossing 30 and the pedestrian crossing 30 ', and the position of the vehicle B is corrected by the process of step S408.

  FIG. 7 is an example of a display in which the map information before the main correction processing by the navigation device 100 mounted on the vehicle B in FIG. 5 and a symbol indicating the position of the vehicle B are combined, and FIG. 6 is an example of a display in which the map information before the main correction process and the symbol indicating the position of the vehicle B by the navigation device 100 mounted on B are combined.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display in which the map information after the correction processing by the navigation device 100 mounted on the vehicle B in FIG. 6 and the symbol indicating the position of the vehicle B are combined.

  The vehicle B shown in FIG. 5 has entered the intersection K, but the display unit 13 at this time displays that the vehicle B is traveling ahead of the intersection K as shown in FIG. Suppose that

  Further, although the vehicle B shown in FIG. 6 has entered the intersection K, the display unit 13 at this time displays that the vehicle B is traveling ahead of the intersection K as shown in FIG. Suppose that

  As described above, when it is determined that the vehicle B has passed the intersection K, the vehicle position correction unit 22 determines the distance (D) that is half the width D of the intersection K to the coordinates of the center point (node) of the intersection K. / 2) is added to the traveling direction of the vehicle B, and the position coordinates of the vehicle B when the intersection K leaves is calculated.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the symbol indicating the position of the vehicle B displayed on the display unit 13 is displayed at an accurate position that matches the actual traveling position of the vehicle B.

  According to the navigation device 100 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, the vehicle has passed through a pedestrian crossing or a stop line that is continuously present at a slightly wider interval than the width of the intersection existing in the vicinity of the vehicle. Whether or not the vehicle has passed the intersection based on information not only that the vehicle has passed the intersection, but also whether or not there is an intersection nearby Therefore, it is possible to improve the determination accuracy of the intersection passage more than before.

  Furthermore, according to the navigation device 100 according to the present embodiment configured as described above, even if there is an error in the position of the vehicle detected by the position information detection means 10, it is determined that the vehicle has passed the intersection. When the unit 21 determines, the position of the vehicle can be correctly corrected to the actual traveling position of the vehicle.

  In addition, information used for the correction process (information on the width of the intersection, vehicle position information stored in association with the feature, information on the center point of the intersection) is used to determine whether the vehicle has passed the intersection. Since this information can be used again, it is not necessary to acquire new information for correcting the vehicle position, and the correction process can be performed smoothly. .

  Then, it is determined that the vehicle has passed the intersection when there are two consecutive pedestrian crossings or two continuous stop lines. That is, not only a pair of pedestrian crossings but also a pair of temporary stop lines, it can be determined that the vehicle B has passed the intersection K based on these, so a temporary stop line is provided rather than a crosswalk. Even when traveling on a narrow road, which is often the case, it is possible to accurately determine whether an intersection has passed.

  Furthermore, by referring to the map information stored in the map data storage unit 4, it is possible not only to determine whether there is an intersection in the vicinity of the vehicle, but if there is an intersection in the vicinity, Information about the width of the intersection can also be acquired, and the determination process can be performed more smoothly.

  Further, when there is no pedestrian crossing or temporary stop line in the road surface image, or when there is no intersection near the vehicle, this correction process is ended (steps S402 and S405), so that the determination process is performed more smoothly. be able to.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the vehicle B passes straight through the intersection K has been described. However, the navigation device according to the present invention has the same vehicle position even when the vehicle turns right (or left) at the intersection. Correction processing can be applied.

  Further, in this embodiment, the vehicle position correction unit 22 adds a distance (D / 2) that is half the width D of the intersection K to the coordinates of the center point (node) of the intersection K in the traveling direction of the vehicle B. It has been described that the position of the vehicle B is corrected by calculating the position coordinates of the vehicle B at the time of exit.

  However, the method for correcting the position of the vehicle by the navigation device according to the present invention is not limited to such a method. For example, a distance that is half the distance interval of the feature is set to the coordinates of the center point of the intersection. It may be added in the direction of travel.

  Even when such a method is used, the distance between the feature objects is already acquired when determining whether or not the vehicle has passed the intersection. Therefore, it is not necessary to acquire new information, and correction processing can be performed smoothly.

It is a block block diagram which shows one Example of the navigation apparatus 100 of this invention. It is the figure which showed the road network database of the map information stored in the map data storage part 4 of FIG. It is the figure which showed the data structure of the road network database of FIG. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the correction process of the vehicle position of the navigation apparatus 100 of a present Example. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state in which the vehicle B carrying the navigation apparatus 100 of a present Example approachs the intersection K. FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the vehicle B in FIG. 5 leaves the intersection K. It is an example of the display which the symbol which shows the map information before the correction process by the navigation apparatus 100 mounted in the vehicle B of FIG. 5, and the symbol which shows the position of the vehicle B (the 1). It is an example of the display which the symbol which shows the map information before the correction | amendment process by the navigation apparatus 100 mounted in the vehicle B of FIG. 6, and the symbol which shows the position of the vehicle B (the 2). It is the figure which showed the display which the symbol which shows the map information after the correction process by the navigation apparatus 100 mounted in the vehicle B of FIG. 6, and the position of the vehicle B was synthesize | combined.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 GPS receiver 2 Gyro sensor 3 Vehicle speed detector 4 Map data storage part 5 Control part 6 Camera 7 Image processing part 8 Image memory 10 Position information detection means 13 Display part 14 Operation part 15 User interface 16 VICS receiver 17 Memory 18 Extraction Classification unit 19 Storage unit 20 Intersection determination unit 21 Determination unit 22 Vehicle position correction unit 23 Vehicle position calculation unit 100 Navigation device

Claims (4)

Vehicle position detecting means for detecting vehicle position information including the position and traveling direction of the vehicle;
A map data storage section in which map information is recorded;
A camera mounted on the vehicle;
An extraction and classification unit that extracts features on a road surface based on an image captured by the camera and classifies whether or not the features are pedestrian crossings or temporary stop lines;
For each feature, a storage unit that associates and stores a classification result by the extraction classification unit and the vehicle position information when the feature is imaged;
Based on the vehicle position information stored in the storage unit, it is determined by referring to the map information whether there is an intersection in the vicinity of the vehicle. When there is an intersection in the vicinity, information on the width of the intersection is obtained. An intersection determination unit to be acquired;
The vehicle position in the vehicle position information associated with the pedestrian crossing or the temporary stop line stored as the feature is searched at a slightly wider interval than the width of the intersection. And a determination unit that determines that the vehicle has passed the intersection between the two consecutive features when the vehicle is continuous.   If the determination unit determines that the vehicle has passed the intersection, it is stored in the storage unit in association with the feature extracted later in time series among the two consecutive features. A vehicle position correction unit that corrects the position of the vehicle that has been moved from the center point of the intersection with the width of the intersection or a position that is half the distance between the two consecutive features in the traveling direction The navigation device according to claim 1, comprising:   The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the two consecutive feature objects are the same classification. The map data storage unit also includes information about the width of the intersection as the map information,
The navigation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the intersection determination unit acquires information related to the width of the intersection from the map data storage unit.

Images