JP2010169583A - Illumination environment determination apparatus and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately determine a brightness in a peripheral environment of a movable body by an illumination. <P>SOLUTION: An image is obtained by an imaging apparatus 12 for imaging the front and the back of a vehicle, and divided into a sky region, a road surface region and a roadside region by a region dividing section 28. An average intensity, the number of light source regions and an area of the light source region as the characteristic quantity are calculated in each divided region by a characteristic quantity calculating section 30. A weight indicating the degree of a contribution to the brightness in the peripheral environment is applied to the each calculated characteristic quantity in each divided region by a weighting section 32. An illumination index is calculated in each divided region. A brightness level in the peripheral environment of the vehicle by the illumination is determined by a brightness determining section 34 from each calculated illumination index in each divided region. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an illumination environment determination apparatus and program, and more particularly, to an illumination environment determination apparatus and program for determining the brightness of a surrounding environment of a moving object due to illumination.

  Conventionally, a vehicular lighting system that realizes a safe and comfortable light distribution for drivers and pedestrians is known (Patent Document 1). This vehicle illumination system is a vehicle illumination system that illuminates the front of the vehicle, and a plurality of light sources illuminate different illumination areas, thereby forming a predetermined light distribution pattern as a whole. In addition, the control unit determines a traffic scene in which the vehicle travels, and independently changes at least one of the directions and light amounts of a plurality of light sources for each light source, thereby setting a target light distribution preset for each traffic scene. A pattern is formed.

  In addition, an imaging system that enables appropriate video display corresponding to the traveling environment of the vehicle is known (Patent Document 2). This imaging system is an imaging system that is installed in a vehicle and images the outside of the vehicle. The imaging system captures the outside of the vehicle with a camera, obtains the current traveling environment information of the vehicle from the car navigation system, and adjusts the camera according to the traveling environment. Controls the output of captured images.

  In addition, a navigation device that displays a map in a form suitable for each characteristic of an urban area and a rural area is known (Patent Document 3). This navigation device determines whether the map display area is an urban area or a rural area from the number of building figures in the area corresponding to the map display area among the building figures indicating buildings, houses, etc. on the map. A map image is generated by drawing with a color set according to a country color palette or a daytime urban color palette.

JP 2005-353477 A JP 2004-123061 A JP 2005-338748 A

  However, the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not describe in detail how to determine the surrounding environment, and there is a problem that the brightness of the surrounding environment cannot be accurately determined. .

  Further, in the technique described in Patent Document 3 above, it is determined whether the traveling road is an urban area or a rural area based on the building distribution information of the navigation map. There is a problem that the brightness of the surrounding environment cannot be accurately determined because it is not necessarily proportional to the number. For example, city streets have many street lamps and are bright, but in a quiet residential area, there are many dark roads even if there are many buildings. In addition, there are few street lamps on main roads and roads located under the highway, and in many cases it is as dark as country roads if there are no shopping streets around.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an illumination environment determination apparatus and program that can accurately determine the brightness of the surrounding environment of a moving object due to illumination. .

  In order to achieve the above object, an illumination environment determination device according to the present invention provides an image obtained by capturing an image of the periphery of a moving object traveling on a traveling road, an empty region, a road surface region, the empty region, and An area dividing means for dividing the area into areas other than the road surface area, a feature quantity represented by luminance, a feature quantity represented by the number of high-luminance areas having a predetermined luminance or higher, and the high luminance for each of the divided areas A feature amount calculating unit that calculates at least one of the feature amounts represented by the area of the region; and the feature in the region with respect to the feature amount of each of the divided regions calculated by the feature amount calculating unit. Weighting means for calculating a value with a predetermined weight representing the degree of contribution of the amount to the brightness of the surrounding environment, and the surrounding environment of the moving body based on the value calculated by the weighting means It is configured to include a determination means for determining brightness.

  The program according to the present invention provides an image obtained by capturing an image of the periphery of a moving body traveling on a traveling road into a sky region, a road surface region, and the region other than the sky region and the road surface region. An area dividing means for dividing, for each of the divided areas, a feature quantity expressed by luminance, a feature quantity expressed by the number of high luminance areas above a predetermined luminance, and a feature quantity expressed by the area of the high luminance area A feature amount calculation unit that calculates at least one, and the feature amount in the region contributes to brightness of the surrounding environment with respect to the feature amount of each of the divided regions calculated by the feature amount calculation unit Weighting means for calculating each value with a predetermined weight representing the degree, and determination for determining the brightness of the surrounding environment of the moving body based on the value calculated by the weighting means Is a program for functioning as a stage.

  According to the present invention, the image obtained by imaging the periphery of the moving body traveling on the traveling road by the region dividing means is divided into the sky region, the road surface region, and the region other than the sky region and the road surface region. To do.

  Then, for each of the divided regions by the feature amount calculation means, the feature amount represented by the luminance, the feature amount represented by the number of high luminance regions above the predetermined luminance, and the feature amount represented by the area of the high luminance region Calculate at least one. A value obtained by assigning a predetermined weight to each feature amount of the divided area calculated by the feature amount calculation unit by the weighting unit, which represents the degree to which the feature amount in the region contributes to the brightness of the surrounding environment Are calculated respectively.

  Then, the brightness of the surrounding environment of the moving body is determined by the determination unit based on the value calculated by the weighting unit.

  In this way, the feature amount in each of the sky region, the road surface region, and the other region is calculated, and the moving object is considered in consideration of the degree to which the feature amount in each divided region contributes to the brightness of the surrounding environment. It is possible to accurately determine the brightness of the surrounding environment.

  The determination unit according to the present invention can determine the brightness of the surrounding environment of the moving object based on the total value calculated by the weighting unit.

  The lighting environment determination apparatus according to the present invention includes a control unit that emits light so that at least one of an image display unit and instruments provided in the moving body becomes brighter as the brightness of the surrounding environment determined by the determination unit is higher. Further, it can be included. Thereby, the visibility of the image display unit and the instruments can be improved.

  The illumination environment determination device according to the present invention is such that the higher the brightness of the surrounding environment determined by the determination unit, the lower the direction of light emitted by the front illumination device provided on the moving body is. Control means for controlling can be further included. Thereby, when the surrounding environment is bright, it is possible to prevent the sight of the pedestrian or the driver of another moving body from being obstructed by the light irradiated by the front illumination device.

  The illumination environment determination device according to the present invention is configured so that, when the brightness of the surrounding environment determined by the determination unit is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the front illumination device is irradiated with the low beam by the front illumination device provided on the moving body. Control means for controlling can further be included. Thereby, when the surrounding environment is bright, it is possible to prevent the sight of the pedestrian or the driver of another moving body from being obstructed by the light irradiated by the front illumination device.

  The illumination environment determination device according to the present invention is configured so that the lower the brightness of the surrounding environment determined by the determination unit, the higher the brightness of light emitted by the front illumination device provided on the moving body. Control means for controlling can be further included. Thereby, according to the brightness of surrounding environment, the light of appropriate brightness can be irradiated ahead.

  The moving body includes a light source that irradiates light to the driver's face and an imaging device that images the driver's face, and the illumination environment determination device has a high brightness of the surrounding environment determined by the determination unit. Further, it can further include control means for controlling the light source so that the brightness of the light emitted from the light source is lowered. Accordingly, the driver's face can be reliably imaged by irradiating the driver's face with light of appropriate brightness according to the brightness of the surrounding environment.

  The moving body includes an imaging device that images the driver's face, and the lighting environment determination device controls the imaging device so that the exposure time is shortened as the brightness of the surrounding environment determined by the determination unit increases. And a control means. Thus, the driver's face can be reliably imaged by controlling to an appropriate exposure time according to the brightness of the surrounding environment.

  As described above, according to the lighting environment determination device of the present invention, each feature amount in each of the sky region, the road surface region, and the other region is calculated, and the feature amount in each divided region is the surrounding environment. In consideration of the degree of contribution to the brightness, the brightness of the surrounding environment of the moving body can be determined with high accuracy.

It is the schematic which shows the structure of the illumination environment determination apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is an image figure which shows the boundary line for area | region division. It is an image figure for demonstrating the calculation method of the boundary line for area | region division. It is a graph which shows the average brightness | luminance in each area | region divided | segmented about each of the image which imaged the city road and the image which imaged the suburban road. It is a graph which shows the number of the light source area | regions in each area | region divided | segmented about each of the image which imaged the city road and the image which imaged the suburban road. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the illumination environment determination processing routine in the computer of the illumination environment determination apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A)-(C) The image figure which shows the image which imaged the city road, and (D)-(F) The image figure which shows the image which imaged the suburb road. It is an image figure which shows a mode that the road surface area | region was divided | segmented into the depth direction. It is the schematic which shows the structure of the illumination environment determination apparatus which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is an image figure which shows a mode that the rectangular area | region containing the part showing the lighting of another vehicle was excluded.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. A case where the present invention is applied to a lighting environment determination device mounted on a vehicle will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an illumination environment determination device 10 according to the present embodiment is configured by a camera attached to a vehicle (not shown), and captures an image of the front of the vehicle to generate an image. An image display unit 14 provided in the vehicle and displaying a navigation screen of the navigation system, an instrument panel unit 16 provided in the vehicle and including instruments, and provided in the vehicle. To the driver's face to be imaged by the vehicle interior lamp 18, a headlight 20 as a front illumination device that irradiates light ahead of the host vehicle, and a face camera (not shown) that images the driver's face The brightness of the surrounding environment by illumination is determined by the face camera light source 22 that emits light and the captured image obtained from the imaging device 12, and the image display unit 14, the instrument panel unit 16, the vehicle interior 18, and a computer 24 for controlling the headlight 20 and the face camera light source 22,.

  The imaging device 12 captures the front of the vehicle by receiving light, generates an image signal of the image, and performs A / D conversion of the image signal generated by the imaging unit. A conversion unit (not shown) and an image memory (not shown) for temporarily storing the A / D converted image signal are provided. The captured image may be a monochrome image, a color image, or an infrared image. Moreover, you may make it image the image ahead of the own vehicle using a several imaging device.

  The image display unit 14 has a configuration capable of controlling the brightness of a screen to be displayed, and the instrument panel unit 16 has a configuration capable of controlling the brightness of instruments.

  Each of the interior lamp 18, the headlight 20, and the face camera light source 22 has a configuration capable of controlling the brightness of light to be emitted. Moreover, the headlight 20 switches and irradiates either the high beam or the low beam as the irradiation light.

  The computer 24 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM that stores a program for executing a lighting environment determination processing routine described later, and is functionally configured as follows. The computer 24 includes an image acquisition unit 26 that acquires an image captured from the imaging device 12, and a captured image acquired by the image acquisition unit 26 as a region representing the sky, a region representing the road surface, and a roadside as a region other than those. A region dividing unit 28 that divides the region into regions, a feature amount calculating unit 30 that calculates the average luminance, the number of light source regions, and the area of the light source region for each divided region, Each feature quantity is multiplied by a correspondingly determined weighting coefficient to calculate the lighting index of each divided area, and the brightness of the surrounding environment due to lighting based on the lighting index of each divided area A brightness determination unit 34 that determines the brightness level, and a display control unit that controls the brightness of the screen of the image display unit 14 and the brightness of the instruments of the instrument panel unit 16 based on the determined brightness level of the surrounding environment. 6 and based on the determined brightness level of the surrounding environment, the brightness of the illumination of each of the passenger compartment light 18, the headlight 20, and the face camera light source 22 is controlled and irradiated from the headlight 20. And an illumination control unit 38 that controls switching between the low beam and the high beam.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the area dividing unit 28 divides the captured image into an empty area, a roadside area, and a road surface area by using a radial boundary line centered on the vanishing point. The boundary line for area division is calculated based on the mounting state of the imaging device and the road information on the road, as will be described below.

First, the calculation method of two boundary lines for dividing into an empty area and a roadside area will be described. Here, description will be made on the assumption that the following values are known.
(A) The center position of the imaging device 12 and the mounting angle of the imaging device 12 with respect to the vehicle body of the host vehicle (b) The distance from the center position of the imaging device 12 to the left and right road boundaries (c) The height of the streetlight The distance to the road boundary may be estimated from the lane width and the number of lanes obtained from the image recognition process.

Based on the value of (a) above, the coordinates of the vanishing point are calculated. Also, one boundary line (see boundary line A in FIG. 2) for dividing the sky area and the roadside area is calculated by the following equation (1) as shown in FIGS. 3 (A) and 3 (B). Is done.
y = a ₁ x + b ₁ (1)
However, a ₁ and b ₁ are represented by the following equations.

The other boundary line (see boundary line B in FIG. 2) for dividing the sky area and the roadside area is expressed by the following equation (2).
y = a ₂ x + b ₂ (1)
_However, a 2, _{b 2} is expressed by the following equation.

In the above formula, H is the height of the streetlight, h is the height from the ground of the imaging device 12, X _L is the distance road boundary on the left, X _R is to the right side of the road boundary Distance. (Xc, Yc) is the coordinates of the vanishing point.

  Further, two boundary lines divided into a road surface area and a roadside area are calculated based on the values (a) and (b).

  The above values (a) and (b) may be calculated by detecting a white line by image recognition processing and using the detected white line. Moreover, you may use the assumed value about the height of the streetlight of said (c), and road structure (the number of lanes, lane width, a curvature, etc.).

  As described above, the area dividing unit 28 calculates four boundary lines and divides the captured image into an empty area, a roadside area, and a road surface area.

  As described below, the feature amount calculation unit 30 calculates the average luminance, the number of light source regions, and the area of the light source region for each divided region. First, for each divided area, the brightness distribution (histogram) is examined to calculate the average luminance. Then, the calculated average luminance is divided into levels in comparison with thresholds provided in multiple stages, and the average luminance is expressed as a score corresponding to the level.

  Further, from each divided area, a pixel having a luminance value equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold is selected, and a high luminance area including the selected pixel is extracted as a light source area. Calculate the area. The calculated number of light source regions is divided into levels in comparison with thresholds provided in multiple stages, and the number of light source regions is expressed as a score corresponding to the level. Further, the calculated area of the light source region is divided into levels in comparison with thresholds provided in multiple stages, and the area of the light source region is expressed as a score corresponding to the level.

  As will be described below, the weighting unit 32 calculates an illumination index for each divided region. First, each feature amount calculated for each of the divided regions is multiplied by a weighting factor determined in advance corresponding to the divided region and the feature amount. The weighting factor is determined for each feature amount for each of the sky region, the roadside region, and the road surface region (determined for each of the average luminance, the number of light source regions, and the area of the light source region), and the weighting factor is In the divided area, the feature amount represents the degree of contribution to the determination of the brightness level of the surrounding environment by illumination. These weighting factors may be obtained by learning feature amounts of sample images collected in advance.

  For the sky region and the roadside region, the weighting factor is set so that the weighting factor for each of the number and the area of the light source regions is larger than the weighting factor for the average luminance. The road surface area is set such that the weight coefficient for the average luminance is larger than the weight coefficient for each of the number and area of the light source areas.

  In addition, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, since the average luminance of the roadside region greatly contributes to the determination of the brightness level of the surrounding environment by illumination, the weighting factor for the average luminance of the roadside region is the sky region and the road surface. It is set to be larger than the weighting factor for the average luminance of each area.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, since the number of light source regions in the sky region greatly contributes to the determination of the brightness level of the surrounding environment due to illumination, the weighting factor for the number of light source regions in the sky region In addition, the weight coefficient is set to be larger than the weighting factor for the number of light source regions in each of the road surface regions.

  Then, based on each weighted feature amount, an illumination index indicating the brightness of the surrounding environment by illumination is calculated for each divided region.

  The brightness determination part 34 determines the brightness level of the surrounding environment by illumination based on the illumination index of each divided area. For example, if the total value of the lighting index of each divided area is equal to or greater than the threshold value, it is determined that the brightness level of the surrounding environment by lighting is the street level, and the total value of the lighting index of each divided area is less than the threshold value. If there is, it is determined that the brightness level of the surrounding environment by illumination is a suburban road level.

  The display control unit 36 causes the image display unit 14 to emit light so that the screen of the image display unit 14 becomes brighter and the instrumentation of the instrument panel unit 16 becomes brighter as the determined brightness level of the surrounding environment is higher. The instrument panel unit 16 is caused to emit light.

  The lighting control unit 38 controls the headlight 20 so that the lower the brightness level of the determined surrounding environment is, the higher the lighting brightness of the headlight 20 is. The vehicle interior lamp 18 is controlled to be higher. In addition, the illumination control unit 38 controls the face camera light source 22 so that the brightness of the illumination of the face camera light source 22 decreases as the determined brightness level of the surrounding environment increases.

  In addition, when the brightness level of the determined surrounding environment is equal to or higher than a predetermined value (for example, in the case of an urban street level), the illumination control unit 38 turns the headlight 20 so that a low beam is emitted from the headlight 20. If the brightness level of the determined surrounding environment is less than a predetermined value (for example, a suburban road level), the headlight 20 is controlled so that a high beam is emitted by the headlight 20.

  Next, the effect | action of the illumination environment determination apparatus 10 which concerns on this Embodiment is demonstrated. In the following, a case where a vehicle equipped with the lighting environment determination device 10 is traveling on a traveling road at night will be described as an example. When the front of the host vehicle is imaged by the imaging device 12, a lighting environment determination processing routine shown in FIG.

  First, in step 100, an image captured from the imaging device 12 is acquired, and in step 102, the image acquired in step 100 is divided into an empty area, a roadside area, and a road surface area.

  In step 104, the average luminance is calculated for each area divided in step 102. In the next step 106, a high luminance area having a luminance value equal to or greater than a threshold value is extracted as a light source area from each area divided in the above step 102. In step 108, a light source is obtained for each area divided in the above step 102. The number of regions and the area of the light source region are calculated.

  In step 110, the average brightness, the number of light source regions, and the area of the light source region in each of the sky region, the roadside region, and the road surface region calculated in steps 104 and 108 are determined correspondingly. The obtained weighting factor is multiplied and scored, and an illumination index is calculated for each of the sky region, the roadside region, and the road surface region.

  In step 112, the brightness level of the surrounding environment due to illumination is determined based on the illumination index of each divided area calculated in step 110. In the next step 114, the brightness of the screen of the image display unit 14 and the brightness of the instruments of the instrument panel unit 16 are controlled based on the brightness level determined in step 112. In step 116, the brightness of each of the vehicle compartment lamp 18, the headlight 20, and the face camera light source 22 is controlled based on the brightness level determined in step 112. The switching of the low beam or the high beam irradiated from is controlled, and the illumination environment determination processing routine is ended.

  When the lighting environment determination processing routine is executed as described above, for example, when an image representing a night city street as shown in FIGS. It is determined that the brightness level is the street level, and the image display unit 14 emits light so that the screen of the image display unit 14 becomes bright, and the instrument panel unit 16 emits light so that the instruments of the instrument panel unit 16 become bright. Let In addition, the headlight 20 is controlled so that the illumination brightness of the headlight 20 is lowered, the interior lamp 18 is controlled so that the illumination brightness of the interior lamp 18 is lowered, and the face camera light source 22 is controlled. The face camera light source 22 is controlled so that the brightness of the illumination becomes low. Further, the headlight 20 is controlled so that a low beam is irradiated by the headlight 20.

  When an image representing a night suburb road as shown in FIGS. 7D to 7F is captured, it is determined that the brightness level of the surrounding environment due to illumination is a suburban road level. The image display unit 14 is caused to emit light so that the screen brightness of the display unit 14 is lowered, and the instrument panel unit 16 is caused to emit light so that the brightness of instruments of the instrument panel unit 16 is lowered. Further, the headlight 20 is controlled so that the brightness of the illumination of the headlight 20 is increased, and the interior lamp 18 is controlled so that the brightness of the illumination of the interior lamp 18 is increased. The face camera light source 22 is controlled to increase the brightness of the illumination. Further, the headlight 20 is controlled so that a high beam is irradiated by the headlight 20.

  As described above, according to the lighting environment determination device according to the first embodiment, each feature amount in each of the sky region, the road surface region, and the roadside region is calculated, and each feature amount in each divided region is calculated. However, in consideration of the degree of contribution to the brightness of the surrounding environment, it is possible to accurately determine the brightness of the surrounding environment of the host vehicle by illumination.

  Further, the visibility of the driver with respect to the image display unit and the instruments can be improved by controlling the brightness of the image display unit and the instruments according to the determined brightness level of the surrounding environment.

  Also, by switching the low beam or high beam of the headlight according to the determined brightness level of the surrounding environment, when the surrounding environment is bright, the light irradiated by the headlight can reduce the field of view of the driver of another vehicle. It is possible to prevent obstruction. Further, when the surrounding environment is dark, the visibility of the driver with respect to the front can be improved by the high beam irradiated by the headlight.

  Further, the visibility of the driver with respect to the front can be improved by controlling the headlight to emit light of appropriate brightness according to the determined brightness level of the surrounding environment.

  Further, the driver's face can be reliably imaged by irradiating the driver's face with light of appropriate brightness according to the determined brightness level of the surrounding environment.

  In addition, it is possible to determine whether the surrounding road is a bright city road or a dark suburban road from the brightness level of the surrounding environment due to lighting. Based on the determination result, night vision video, navigation screen, instrument panel, The visibility of the driver can be improved by controlling the brightness of the interior lighting of the vehicle or executing the high beam or low beam switching control of the headlight.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the low beam or the high beam of the headlight is switched according to the determined brightness level of the surrounding environment has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this and is determined. You may control so that the direction of the light irradiated with a headlight becomes downward, so that a brightness level is high. In this case, the headlight may be configured so that the vertical direction of light emitted from the headlight can be adjusted in a plurality of stages.

  In addition, the case where the brightness level is determined based on the total value of the illumination indexes in each divided area has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the brightness is determined based on the illumination index in each divided area. The level may be determined. For example, the brightness level may be determined based on the number of areas exceeding the predetermined value by comparing a predetermined value preset for each area with the calculated illumination index.

  Moreover, although the case where the brightness level to judge is made into the 2 steps | paragraphs of an urban street level and a suburban road level was demonstrated to the example, it is not limited to this, The brightness level of 3 steps | paragraphs or more of multi-step brightness levels You may make it determine. Further, the brightness level may be expressed as an index that is continuously indexed.

  Next, an illumination environment determination apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described. In addition, since the illumination environment determination apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment is the structure similar to 1st Embodiment, it attaches | subjects the same code | symbol and abbreviate | omits description.

  The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the road surface area of the image is further divided in the depth direction.

  In the area dividing unit 28 of the lighting environment determining apparatus according to the second embodiment, the area is divided into an empty area, a roadside area, and a road surface area by a radial boundary line centered on the vanishing point, and a direction orthogonal to the depth direction. The road surface area is divided in the depth direction by the boundary line. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the road surface area is divided into a near road area approximately 40 m ahead irradiated with the low beam of the headlight 20 and a far road area beyond that.

  The weighting unit 32 multiplies each feature amount calculated for each of the divided sky region, roadside region, nearby road surface region, and far road surface region by a predetermined weighting factor to score. As for the weighting factor, the weight of the far road surface area is made larger than that of the nearby road surface area. Further, the ratio of the weights in the two regions may be changed according to the setting of the headlight. For example, when the headlight is a low beam, the weight of the neighboring road surface area is set to be smaller, and when the headlight is a high beam, the same weight is set for both.

  Next, an illumination environment determination apparatus according to the third embodiment will be described. In addition, about the part which becomes the structure similar to 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The third embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that each feature amount in each divided region is calculated except for a region including a portion representing the lighting of another vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the computer 324 of the lighting environment determination apparatus 310 according to the third embodiment represents the lighting of another vehicle from the image acquisition unit 26, the region division unit 28, and the captured images. The vehicle light detection unit 328 for detecting the portion and the region including the detected light portion are excluded from each divided region, and for each divided region, the average luminance, the number of light source regions, and the light source region A feature amount calculation unit 330 that calculates an area, a weighting unit 32, a brightness determination unit 34, a display control unit 36, and an illumination control unit 38 are provided.

  The vehicle light detection unit 328 detects a part representing a vehicle light (such as a headlight of an oncoming vehicle, a tail lamp of a preceding vehicle, or a stop lamp) from the captured image. For example, a portion where two light source regions are arranged side by side is detected by pattern matching, and is detected as a portion representing a vehicle light.

  First, in order to eliminate the influence of lighting of other vehicles, the feature amount calculation unit 330 provides a rectangular area including a portion representing the detected lighting of the vehicle, as shown in FIG. Exclude from each divided area. Then, the average brightness, the number of light source regions, and the area of the light source region are calculated from each of the sky region, the roadside region, and the road surface region excluding the rectangular region.

  Note that other configurations and operations of the illumination environment determination apparatus 310 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  In this way, the vehicle light detection unit detects a region representing the light of another vehicle, and when calculating each feature amount in each divided region, by removing the region representing the vehicle light from each divided region, It becomes possible to determine the brightness level of the surrounding environment by illumination more accurately.

  Next, an illumination environment determination apparatus according to the fourth embodiment will be described. In addition, since the structure of the illumination environment determination apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment is the same as that of 1st Embodiment, it attaches | subjects the same code | symbol and abbreviate | omits description.

  The fourth embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that only the average luminance is calculated as the feature amount.

  In the lighting environment determination apparatus according to the fourth embodiment, the feature amount calculation unit 30 calculates the average luminance for each divided region.

  Further, the weighting unit 32 first multiplies the average luminance calculated for each of the divided regions by a predetermined weighting coefficient, and calculates an illumination index for each divided region based on the weighted average luminance. calculate. A weighting factor is determined for each of the sky region, the roadside region, and the road surface region, and the weighting factor is the degree that the average luminance contributes to the determination of the brightness level of the surrounding environment by illumination in the divided region. Represents.

  In the illumination environment determination processing routine according to the fourth embodiment, first, an image captured by the imaging device 12 is acquired, and the acquired image is divided into an empty region, a roadside region, and a road surface region. Then, an average brightness is calculated for each of the divided areas, and the calculated average brightness in each of the sky area, the roadside area, and the road surface area is multiplied by a corresponding weighting factor and scored. The illumination index for each of the sky region, the roadside region, and the road surface region is calculated.

  Based on the calculated lighting index, the brightness level of the surrounding environment due to lighting is determined. Based on the determined brightness level, the brightness of the screen of the image display unit 14 and the instrument level of the instrument panel unit 16 are determined. Control the brightness. Then, based on the determined brightness level, the brightness of each of the passenger compartment light 18, the headlight 20, and the face camera light source 22 is controlled, and the low beam or high beam emitted from the headlight 20 is controlled. The switching is controlled and the lighting environment determination processing routine is terminated.

  In this way, the average brightness in each of the sky area, the road surface area, and the roadside area is calculated, and considering the degree to which the average brightness in each divided area contributes to the brightness of the surrounding environment, It is possible to accurately determine the brightness level of the environment.

  In the above embodiment, the case where only the average luminance is calculated as the feature amount from each divided region has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of light source regions as the feature amount from each divided region is described. Alternatively, only one of the area and the area may be calculated. Further, two of the average luminance, the number of light source regions, and the area of the light source region may be calculated from each divided region as the feature amount.

  Next, an illumination environment determination apparatus according to the fifth embodiment will be described. In addition, since the structure of the illumination environment determination apparatus which concerns on 5th Embodiment is the same as that of 1st Embodiment, it attaches | subjects the same code | symbol and abbreviate | omits description.

  The fifth embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that road information is acquired from the navigation system.

  The area dividing unit 28 of the lighting environment determination apparatus according to the fifth embodiment acquires road information (number of lanes, lane width, curvature, etc.) included in the map data from the navigation system provided in the host vehicle. Using the acquired road information, a distance to the left and right road boundaries is calculated, and a boundary line for region division is calculated.

  In addition, about the other structure and effect | action of the illumination environment determination apparatus which concern on 5th Embodiment, since it is the same as that of 1st Embodiment, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Thus, since the road surface area can be accurately divided based on the road information obtained from the navigation system, the brightness level of the surrounding environment by illumination can be determined more accurately.

  In the first to fifth embodiments, the case where the average luminance is calculated as the luminance-related feature amount for each divided region has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, for example, for each divided region, a luminance dispersion value may be calculated as a feature amount related to the luminance.

  In addition, the case where the illumination control unit controls the face camera light source so that the brightness of the illumination of the face camera light source decreases as the determined brightness level of the surrounding environment increases is described as an example. The shutter speed of the face camera may be controlled so that the exposure time in the face camera becomes shorter as the brightness level of the determined surrounding environment is higher.

  It is also possible to provide the program of the present invention by storing it in a storage medium.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,310 Illumination environment determination apparatus 12 Image pick-up device 14 Image display part 16 Instrument panel part 18 Car interior light 20 Headlight 22 Face camera light source 24, 324 Computer 26 Image acquisition part 28 Area division part 30, 330 Feature-value calculation part 32 Weighting Unit 34 brightness determination unit 36 display control unit 38 illumination control unit 328 vehicle light detection unit

Claims (9)

Area dividing means for dividing an image obtained by imaging the periphery of a moving body traveling on a traveling road into an empty area, a road surface area, and an area other than the empty area and the road surface area;
For each of the divided regions, at least one of a feature amount expressed by luminance, a feature amount expressed by the number of high-luminance regions that are equal to or higher than a predetermined luminance, and a feature amount expressed by the area of the high-luminance region is calculated. A feature amount calculating means;
A predetermined weight indicating the degree to which the feature value in the region contributes to the brightness of the surrounding environment is assigned to the feature value of each of the divided regions calculated by the feature value calculation unit. Weighting means for calculating each value;
Determination means for determining the brightness of the surrounding environment of the moving body based on the value calculated by the weighting means;
Lighting environment determination device including   The lighting environment determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines the brightness of the surrounding environment of the moving body based on a total value of the values calculated by the weighting unit.   The control means for making it emit light so that at least one of the image display part and instrument provided in the said moving body may become bright, so that the brightness of the said surrounding environment determined by the said determination means is high. The lighting environment determination apparatus described.   Control means for controlling the front illumination device such that the higher the brightness of the surrounding environment determined by the determination means, the lower the direction of light emitted by the front illumination device provided on the moving body. The lighting environment determination apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   Control means for controlling the front illumination device such that a low beam is emitted by the front illumination device provided on the moving body when the brightness of the surrounding environment determined by the determination device is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The illumination environment determination apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:   Control means for controlling the front illumination device such that the lower the brightness of the surrounding environment determined by the determination means, the higher the brightness of light emitted by the front illumination device provided on the moving body. Furthermore, the illumination environment determination apparatus of any one of Claims 1-5 further included. The moving body includes a light source that irradiates light to a driver's face, and an imaging device that images the driver's face,
7. The control unit according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit configured to control the light source such that the brightness of the light emitted from the light source decreases as the brightness of the surrounding environment determined by the determination unit increases. The lighting environment determination apparatus of any one of Claims. The moving body includes an imaging device that images a driver's face,
The illumination according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a control unit that controls the imaging device so that an exposure time is shortened as the brightness of the surrounding environment determined by the determination unit increases. Environmental judgment device. Computer
Area dividing means for dividing an image obtained by imaging the periphery of a moving body traveling on a traveling road into an empty area, a road surface area, and the sky area and an area other than the road surface area;
For each of the divided regions, at least one of a feature amount expressed by luminance, a feature amount expressed by the number of high-luminance regions that are equal to or higher than a predetermined luminance, and a feature amount expressed by the area of the high-luminance region is calculated. Feature amount calculation means,
A predetermined weight indicating the degree to which the feature value in the region contributes to the brightness of the surrounding environment is assigned to the feature value of each of the divided regions calculated by the feature value calculation unit. Weighting means for calculating each value;
The program for functioning as a determination means which determines the brightness of the surrounding environment of the said moving body based on the value calculated by the said weighting means.