JP2010254191A - Car-mounted lighting control device and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent dazzlement against a leading vehicle or an oncoming vehicle and to achieve radiating light appropriately to a walkway or a roadside. <P>SOLUTION: An area extracting section 22 extracts a high-intensity area from each of several front images shot in succession. A relative motion calculating section 24 calculates the relative motion of an object which the high-intensity area shows based on the changes in the positions of the high-intensity area of each of the front images. A mobile light source determining section 26 determines whether the high-intensity area shows a mobile light source mounted on a moving body based on the calculated relative motion of the high-intensity area and the detected motion of the own vehicle. A lighting area setting section 28 sets a pattern of a lighting area to put off the light radiated against the upper part of the high-intensity area which is determined to show the mobile light source and a lighting controlling section 30 controls a head light 16. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an on-vehicle illumination control device and a program, and more particularly to an on-vehicle illumination control device and a program for controlling an illumination device that irradiates light to the periphery of the host vehicle.

  Conventionally, in order to prevent dazzling with respect to a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle, the position of a light spot in an image captured by a camera is detected, and the light amount in a predetermined area above the detected light spot is reduced. 2. Description of the Related Art An automotive headlight control device that controls a headlight so as to irradiate with a pattern is known (Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-94127 A

  However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that light is not sufficiently irradiated to a sidewalk or a roadside because the illuminance is reduced even on an upper part of a reflector installed on a guardrail or a curb. .

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and prevents the dazzling of the preceding vehicle and the oncoming vehicle, and can appropriately irradiate the sidewalk or the roadside with the vehicle-mounted illumination control device and program. It is.

  In order to achieve the above object, an in-vehicle lighting control device according to the present invention has a luminance value equal to or greater than a predetermined value from each of a plurality of captured images captured by an imaging device that continuously captures the periphery of the host vehicle. And a relative motion of the object represented by the high-intensity region based on a change in the position of the high-intensity region in each of the plurality of captured images continuously captured. Based on the relative motion calculation means for calculating the relative motion, the relative motion of the high brightness region calculated by the relative motion calculation means, and the motion of the host vehicle, the high brightness region is mounted on the moving body. Moving light source determination means for determining whether or not the light source represents a moving light source, and extinguishing or dimming the light irradiated on the upper side of the high-luminance area determined to represent the moving light source by the moving light source determination means Like It is configured to include an illumination control unit for controlling an illumination device for irradiating light to the surroundings of the vehicle.

  The program according to the present invention is a region extraction that extracts a high-luminance region in which a luminance value is a predetermined value or more from each of a plurality of captured images captured by an imaging device that continuously captures the periphery of the host vehicle. Means for calculating relative movement of an object represented by the high-luminance region based on a change in position of the high-luminance region in each of the plurality of continuously captured images; Movement for determining whether or not the high luminance area represents a moving light source mounted on a moving body based on the relative movement of the high luminance area calculated by the movement calculating means and the movement of the host vehicle. A light source determination unit, and a light source determination unit, and the moving light source determination unit is arranged on the periphery of the host vehicle so as to extinguish or reduce the light irradiated on the upper part of the high-luminance region. Te is a program for functioning as a lighting control means for controlling a lighting device for irradiating the light.

  According to the present invention, the region extraction unit extracts a high-luminance region in which the luminance value is a predetermined value or more from each of the plurality of captured images captured by the imaging device that continuously captures the periphery of the host vehicle. The relative motion calculation means calculates the relative motion of the object represented by the high brightness area based on the change in the position of the high brightness area in each of a plurality of continuously captured images.

  Then, based on the relative motion of the high brightness area calculated by the relative motion calculation means by the moving light source determination means and the motion of the host vehicle, the high brightness area represents the moving light source mounted on the moving body. It is determined whether or not. The illumination control means irradiates the periphery of the host vehicle so that the light emitted above the high-luminance area determined to represent the moving light source by the moving light source determination means is extinguished or dimmed. Control the lighting device.

  In this way, irradiation is performed above the high-intensity region determined to represent the moving light source from the change in the position of the high-intensity region in each of a plurality of continuously captured images and the movement of the host vehicle. By controlling the light to be extinguished or dimmed, it is possible to prevent dazzling the preceding vehicle and the oncoming vehicle and to irradiate the sidewalk and the road side appropriately.

  The vehicle-mounted illumination control device according to the present invention has a high-brightness region that periodically changes in the vertical direction based on a change in the position of the high-brightness region in each of a plurality of continuously captured images. Bicycle determination means for determining to represent the mounted light reflecting portion is further included, and the illumination control means represents the light reflection portion by the high luminance area determined to represent the moving light source by the moving light source determining means and the bicycle determining means. It is possible to control the lighting device so that the light applied to the upper portion of the high-luminance region determined to be extinguished or dimmed. Thereby, dazzling can be prevented even for the bicycle.

  The bicycle determination means can determine that a high-luminance region that periodically changes in the vertical direction and has another high-luminance region in the vicinity represents a light reflecting portion mounted on the bicycle. This makes it possible to determine whether the light reflection unit is mounted on the bicycle with higher accuracy.

  The in-vehicle lighting control device according to the present invention has at least one of a shape, a size, and a luminance value similar to each other and arranged side by side based on at least one of a shape, a size, and a luminance value of the high luminance region. The vehicle light extraction means for extracting the pair of high brightness areas as a high brightness area representing the pair of lights of the vehicle, and the illumination control means is determined to represent the moving light source by the moving light source judging means. And the lighting device provided in the host vehicle is controlled so as to extinguish or diminish the light applied to the upper part of the pair of high brightness areas representing the pair of lights of the vehicle extracted by the vehicle light extraction means. can do. As a result, dazzling can be prevented even when the vehicle is stopped.

  The illumination control means can control the illumination device so that a predetermined range to be irradiated is not extinguished or dimmed. Thereby, it is possible to appropriately irradiate light with respect to the range to be irradiated.

  The moving light source determination unit is configured such that the amount of movement of the object represented by the high luminance area calculated from the relative movement of the high luminance area calculated by the relative movement calculating unit and the movement of the host vehicle is equal to or greater than a threshold value. It can be determined that the high luminance region represents a moving light source mounted on the moving body.

  The on-vehicle illumination control device may further include own vehicle motion detection means for detecting the motion of the own vehicle.

  The vehicle-mounted illumination control device includes a host vehicle motion calculating unit that calculates a motion of the host vehicle based on a distribution of a change in position of the high-luminance region in each of the plurality of captured images captured continuously. Further, it can be included.

  The program of the present invention can be provided by being stored in a storage medium.

  As described above, according to the in-vehicle lighting control device and program of the present invention, the movement from the change in the position of the high-luminance region in each of a plurality of continuously captured images and the motion of the host vehicle. By controlling to turn off or dimming the light emitted above the high-luminance area determined to represent the light source, it prevents glare on the preceding and oncoming vehicles, and is appropriate for the sidewalk and roadside The effect that it can irradiate light is acquired.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle-mounted illumination system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A) The figure which shows the front image imaged with the imaging device, (B) The figure which shows the pattern of the set illumination area | region. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the illumination control processing routine in the vehicle-mounted illumination system which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle-mounted illumination system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle-mounted illumination system which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is an image figure which shows arrangement | positioning of the reflector of a bicycle, and a light. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle-mounted illumination system which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the illumination control processing routine in the vehicle-mounted illumination system which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, a case where the present invention is applied to an in-vehicle illumination system that is mounted on a vehicle and controls a headlight based on a captured front image will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle illumination system 10 according to the first embodiment detects the motion of the host vehicle and the imaging device 12 including a CCD camera or the like that continuously captures images ahead of the host vehicle. And a computer 18 for controlling the headlight 16 provided in the host vehicle based on the forward image continuously captured and the detected motion of the host vehicle. Yes. Note that the number of cameras and the angle of view of the imaging device 12 are not particularly limited, and may be any configuration. Further, the image output by the imaging device 12 may be a grayscale image or a color image.

  The vehicle motion detection unit 14 includes various sensors such as a gyro sensor and a vehicle speedometer, and detects the motion of the host vehicle based on output values of the various sensors.

  The headlight 16 is configured to be able to change the amount of light irradiation according to the region, and can irradiate light with various irradiation patterns. The headlight 16 is composed of, for example, an illuminating device in which a plurality of lights are arranged in an array, an illuminating device whose irradiation direction can be changed with a mirror, or an illuminating device that irradiates light by a projector method. The headlight 16 is an example of a lighting device.

  The computer 18 includes a CPU, a ROM that stores a program of an illumination control processing routine that will be described later, a RAM that stores data, and a bus that connects these. If the computer 18 is described with function blocks divided for each function realizing means determined based on hardware and software, as shown in FIG. 1, the computer 18 includes a plurality of continuous fronts output from the imaging device 12. For each pixel of the image input unit 20 that inputs an image and a plurality of front images that are the output of the image input unit 20, it is determined whether the luminance value is equal to or greater than a threshold value, and the luminance value is equal to or greater than the threshold value. A region extraction unit 22 that extracts a luminance region as a light source candidate from each front image, and a high luminance region as each extracted light source candidate, based on a change in position in a continuous front image, The light source extracted based on the relative motion calculation unit 24 that calculates the relative motion with respect to the host vehicle, and the calculated relative motion and the detected motion of the host vehicle. A moving light source determination unit 26 that determines whether or not the complement represents a moving light source mounted on the moving body, and an illumination area setting that sets an irradiation area so as to extinguish the light irradiated on the upper side of the moving light source And a lighting control unit 30 for controlling the headlight 16 based on the set irradiation region. The illumination area setting unit 28 and the illumination control unit 30 are examples of illumination control means.

  The image input unit 20 includes, for example, an A / D converter and an image memory that stores a plurality of continuous image data.

  The region extraction unit 22 performs threshold processing on the luminance value of each pixel for each of the front images as shown in FIG. 2A input by the image input unit 20 and extracts a high luminance region as a light source candidate. . The objects represented by the extracted high-intensity region include automobile lights, motorcycle lights, street lights, reflectors, and the like.

  The relative motion calculating unit 24 calculates, for each light source candidate, an optical flow for calculating motion information by tracking a high luminance region extracted from a plurality of consecutive front images in time series. The optical flow is one means for measuring relative motion with respect to the camera from one camera image. In a situation where the vehicle is moving, a static light source such as a street light also has a relative motion, so the optical flow is calculated.

  The relative motion calculation unit 24 calculates the relative motion of the object represented by each light source candidate based on the optical flow of each light source candidate.

  A method for calculating the relative motion of the object from the optical flow will be described below.

First, since the imaging device 12 is fixed to the vehicle, the following description will be given as “movement of the imaging device 12 = movement of the own vehicle”. The vehicle moves at a translational velocity ν = (ν _x , ν _y , ν _z ) and a rotational angular velocity ω = (ω _x , ω _y , ω _z ). These momentums may be acquired by the vehicle motion detector 14 as a sensor capable of measuring the vehicle motion. The velocity component represents the velocity in each axis direction, and the angular velocity component represents the rotational angular velocity around each axis.

  When the camera coordinates of the target point Q move from X = (X, Y, Z) to X + dX due to the movement of the imaging device 12, if the imaging device 12 is considered to be fixed, the point Q has a velocity −ν. Translates and rotates at a rotational angular velocity of -ω. Therefore, the relational expression represented by the following expression (1) is obtained.

Here, using tilde = (x, y, 1) ^t = X / Z of image homogeneous coordinates x, the relationship between the optical flow and the camera motion as in the following equations (2) and (3): The formula is obtained.

  Here, (dx / dt, dy / dt) indicates an optical flow. Further, since the speed ν appears in the form of ν / Z, there is a degree of freedom of the scale factor with respect to (speed) / (depth) (= only the relative motion is known. However, while acquiring two images, If you know the vehicle movement, you can also determine the Scale Factor).

  If the optical flow is obtained for five or more target points, the above equations (2), (3), and the equation of image homogeneous coordinates are combined, and n motion parameters ν, ω of the image pickup device 12 are obtained. The three-dimensional coordinates of the target point can be obtained. It is also possible to improve the estimation accuracy by solving with more than 5 points by the least square method.

  That is, if five or more optical flows are obtained for one object, the relative motion between the object and the imaging device 12 can be calculated.

  It should be noted that the motion parameters ν and ω of the imaging device 12 are known using the vehicle motion detected by a sensor such as a gyroscope or a vehicle speedometer of the vehicle motion detection unit 14, and from the above equations (2) and (3) You may make it estimate the relative motion of each object point.

  The moving light source determination unit 26 determines the absolute motion of the object represented by each light source candidate based on the relative motion calculated for each light source candidate and the motion of the host vehicle detected by the vehicle motion detection unit 14. Is calculated. In addition, the moving light source determination unit 26 performs threshold determination on the motion amount of the motion of the object represented by each calculated light source candidate, and for the light source candidates whose motion amount is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the mobile body mounted on the mobile body. On the other hand, it is determined that the light source represents a light source. On the other hand, a light source candidate whose momentum is less than the threshold value is determined to represent a stationary light source (a light reflection unit or a streetlight installed on the road or on the road side).

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the illumination area setting unit 28 does not irradiate light above the light source candidate determined to be a moving light source with respect to the standard pattern of the high beam illumination area. Set the pattern of the appropriate illumination area. In general, there is a driver who drives the moving body above the moving light source. Therefore, it is possible to prevent dazzling the preceding vehicle and the oncoming vehicle by suppressing the amount of light emitted to the area.

  When there is no light source candidate determined to be a moving light source, the illumination area setting unit 28 sets a high beam illumination area pattern as a standard setting.

  Further, the illumination area setting unit 28 stores, for example, an irradiation range at the time of setting the low beam in advance as a range to be irradiated, and in the range to be irradiated, the illumination area is set so that the amount of irradiation light is not suppressed. Settings are limited. For example, the illumination area pattern is set by taking the sum of the illumination area pattern set so as not to irradiate light above the moving light source and a predetermined range to be irradiated as described above. In this way, the minimum field of view necessary for driving is always ensured, and safety is ensured even when a moving light source is detected erroneously at a short distance. Also, irradiating light toward the sky area does not improve the visibility and only consumes energy, so the range of the elevation direction in which light is irradiated is set in consideration of the position of the light and the area to be irradiated. You may keep it.

  The illumination control unit 30 controls the irradiation of light from the headlight 16 so as to realize the pattern of the irradiation region set by the illumination region setting unit 28.

  Next, the effect | action of the vehicle-mounted illumination system 10 which concerns on 1st Embodiment is demonstrated. When the host vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle lighting system 10 is traveling on the road at night, the imaging device 12 continuously images the front of the host vehicle, and the computer 18 uses the illumination shown in FIG. The control processing routine is repeatedly executed.

  First, in step 100, the motion of the host vehicle is detected by various sensors of the vehicle motion detector 14 for a predetermined period (between image frames) in step 102 described later. In step 102, a plurality of forward images for a predetermined period (for example, about 0.5 to 1.0 seconds) continuously captured by the imaging device 12 are acquired, and in step 104, acquired in step 102 above. For each of the forward images, it is determined whether or not the luminance value of each pixel is equal to or greater than a threshold value, and a high luminance region in which the luminance value is equal to or greater than the threshold value is extracted as a light source candidate.

  Then, in step 106, each extracted light source candidate is tracked in each successive front image, a change in the position of the light source candidate is acquired, and an optical flow is calculated from the change in the position of each light source candidate. In the next step 108, the relative motion of the object represented by each light source candidate with respect to the own vehicle is calculated based on the optical flow calculated in step 106. In step 110, the absolute motion of each light source candidate is calculated based on the motion of the host vehicle acquired in step 100 and the relative motion of each light source candidate calculated in step 108.

  Then, in step 112, it is determined whether or not each light source candidate represents a moving light source mounted on the moving body by performing a threshold value determination on the amount of movement of each light source candidate calculated in step 110. .

  In the next step 114, it is determined whether or not there is a light source candidate determined to be a moving light source in step 112. If there is a light source candidate determined to be a moving light source, in step 116, a pattern of an illumination area in which the light irradiated to the upper side of the light source candidate of the moving light source is turned off is set, and the process proceeds to step 120. To do. On the other hand, if there is no light source candidate determined to be a moving light source, a standard high beam illumination area pattern is set in step 118, and the process proceeds to step 120.

  In step 120, the headlight 16 is controlled so that the illumination area set in step 116 or 118 is irradiated with light, and the illumination control processing routine is terminated.

  By repeatedly executing the lighting control processing routine as described above during night driving, the light from the headlight 16 is turned off above the vehicle lights of the preceding vehicle and the oncoming vehicle, and the sidewalk and roadside Thus, light is emitted from the headlight 16. Further, when there is no preceding vehicle or oncoming vehicle, light is irradiated from the headlight 16 in the high beam irradiation range.

  As described above, according to the in-vehicle illumination system according to the first embodiment, based on the change in the position of the light source candidate in each of the plurality of front images captured continuously and the motion of the host vehicle. By controlling to turn off the light irradiated above the light source candidate determined to represent the moving light source, it is possible to prevent dazzling of the preceding vehicle and the oncoming vehicle and to appropriately light the sidewalk and roadside. Can be irradiated.

  In addition, by using the motion information obtained from multiple front images, it is possible to identify the light of a moving motorcycle (single light source) and a light source such as a reflector installed on a stationary guardrail or curb. It is possible to prevent dazzling not only for four-wheeled vehicles but also for two-wheeled vehicles.

  Also, if the reflector on the curb is regarded as the light source and the illumination on the upper side is controlled to be dark, the illumination on the sidewalk and the shoulder of the road will be insufficient, and even pedestrians and bicycles existing there may not be visible. By determining whether or not the light source is a moving light source and controlling the headlight, it is possible to prevent even a pedestrian or a bicycle from being visually recognized. In addition, the lighting on the sidewalk is prevented from being turned off by the reflector on the road surface at a short distance.

  Next, a second 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 second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the motion of the host vehicle is calculated based on the optical flow distribution of the light source candidates.

As shown in FIG. 4, the in-vehicle illumination system 210 according to the second embodiment includes an imaging device 12 and a computer 218 that controls the headlight 16 based on the forward images continuously captured. The computer 218 includes an image input unit 20, an area extraction unit 22, a relative motion calculation unit 24, and a vehicle motion calculation unit 225 that calculates the motion of the host vehicle based on the optical flow distribution of each light source candidate. The moving light source determination unit 26, the illumination area setting unit 28, and the illumination control unit 30 are provided.

  The vehicle motion calculation unit 225 extracts only the optical flow of the stationary object from the optical flow distribution of each light source candidate calculated by the relative motion calculation unit 24. The vehicle motion calculation unit 225 calculates the relative motion of the stationary object with respect to the host vehicle from the extracted optical flow of the stationary object, and calculates the motion of the host vehicle based on the relative motion of the stationary object.

  The method for extracting a stationary object from the optical flow distribution will be described below.

  First, the position of the stationary object does not change in the three-dimensional space, and the imaging device 12 moves (translates / rotates) in time with the vehicle. Here, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the imaging device 12 is stationary and the target point moves.

  The movement of the object consists of a rotation matrix R and a parallel progression T. When X is the camera coordinates of the target point before the motion and X ′ is the camera coordinates after the motion, the relationship expressed by the following equation (4) is established.

  Here, the rotation matrix R and the parallel progression T are expressed by the following equations (5) and (6).

  Since the vector product T × RX of T and RX in the above equation (4) is orthogonal to X ′, the following equation (7) is obtained.

When tilde = (x, y, 1) ^t = X / Z of image homogeneous coordinates x is used, a relational expression expressed by the following expression (8) is obtained.

  Here, E is called a basic matrix and is expressed by the following equation (9).

  Although the matrix E has nine elements, since the right side of the above equation (8) is 0, it can be divided by an arbitrary constant. Therefore, there are eight unknowns to be solved actually. In order to obtain these eight unknowns, eight or more relationships of the above equation (8) are required. That is, the motions T and R of the imaging device 12 can be obtained if the correspondence (optical flow) before and after the motion is known for target points included in 8 or more stationary objects. Generally, many stationary objects are included in the screen, and the motion of the imaging device 12 can be estimated by selecting eight target points included in the stationary objects. However, it is difficult to directly identify which feature points are stationary objects in the optical flow distribution. Therefore, the motion of the imaging device 12 is first estimated by one of the following two methods.

  As a first method, eight motion points of the optical flow are arbitrarily selected and the motion of the imaging device 12 is estimated. Then, the camera motion is estimated several times by changing the combination of the target points. When the estimated motion of the imaging device 12 has a large error with respect to other estimation results, the target point used for estimation is excluded as a moving object point. The motion of the imaging device 12 relative to the stationary object is estimated by averaging the remaining estimation results.

  As a second method, a region in which a moving object is not imaged in a frame is examined in advance, and the motion of the imaging device 12 is estimated from the optical flow of target points included in the region.

  When the motion of the imaging device 12 is determined according to the first and second methods, the points at which the optical flow is obtained using the equations (2) and (3) described in the first embodiment are used. A position and a motion vector are calculated, it is determined whether the object is a stationary object or a moving object, and the stationary object is extracted.

  The moving light source determination unit 26 calculates the motion of the object represented by each light source candidate based on the relative motion calculated for each light source candidate and the motion of the host vehicle calculated by the vehicle motion calculation unit 225. . In addition, the moving light source determination unit 26 performs threshold determination on the calculated momentum of movement of the object represented by each light source candidate, and determines whether each light source candidate represents a moving light source.

  Next, the illumination control processing routine according to the second embodiment is executed as follows.

  First, a front image for a predetermined period continuously captured by the imaging device 12 is acquired, and a high luminance region whose luminance value is equal to or greater than a threshold is extracted as a light source candidate from each of the acquired front images.

  Then, each extracted light source candidate is tracked in each of the continuous front images, and an optical flow is calculated from a change in the position of the light source candidate. Next, based on the calculated optical flow, the relative motion of the object represented by each light source candidate with respect to the host vehicle is calculated. Also, based on the calculated optical flow distribution, the optical flow of the stationary object is extracted, the relative motion of the stationary object with respect to the host vehicle is calculated from the extracted optical flow of the stationary object, and the relative motion of the stationary object is calculated. To calculate the movement of the vehicle.

  Then, the motion of each light source candidate is calculated based on the calculated motion of the own vehicle and the calculated relative motion of each light source candidate. Then, by performing threshold determination on the calculated momentum of movement of each light source candidate, it is determined whether or not each light source candidate represents a moving light source mounted on a moving body.

  Next, it is determined whether or not there is a light source candidate determined to be a moving light source. When there is a light source candidate determined to be a moving light source, a pattern of an illumination area in which the light irradiated to the upper side of the moving light source candidate is turned off is set. On the other hand, if there is no light source candidate determined to be a moving light source, a standard high beam illumination area is set.

  Then, the headlight 16 is controlled so that the illumination area set as described above is irradiated with light, and the illumination control processing routine is completed.

  Thus, by calculating the motion of the host vehicle using the distribution of the optical flow, no separate sensor is required, so that the cost increase can be suppressed.

  Next, a 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.

  In the third embodiment, the light source candidate further determines whether or not it is a reflector mounted on a bicycle, and suppresses the light emitted even above the reflector of the bicycle. This is mainly different from the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the computer 318 of the in-vehicle illumination system 310 according to the third embodiment includes an image input unit 20, a region extraction unit 22, a relative motion calculation unit 24, and a moving light source determination unit 26. A bicycle determination unit 326 that determines whether or not a high-intensity region of each light source candidate represents a bicycle reflector based on a change in position in successive front images, and a light above the moving light source and the bicycle reflector. The illumination region setting unit 328 for setting the pattern of the irradiation region so as not to irradiate the light and the illumination control unit 30 are provided.

  Next, the principle of this embodiment will be described.

  When the host vehicle moves at a relatively high speed, the relative speed with respect to the stationary object increases. In such a case, it becomes difficult to distinguish a light source or a reflector mounted on a low-speed moving body such as a bicycle from a stationary object. Here, the principle for identifying the reflector of the bicycle will be described.

  Bicycles are equipped with reflectors on the left and right pedals and return reflected light from the bicycle reflectors to vehicles running at night. The reflected light is picked up so as to periodically change in the vertical direction in the front image picked up by the vehicle. Although the left and right cannot always be detected stably, there are not many other light sources or reflectors that periodically change in the vertical direction. Therefore, the position change of the light source candidate captured in the front image is tracked, and if there is a light source candidate having a periodic vertical movement component, it can be determined that the reflector is a bicycle.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, when the bicycle is viewed from the front, there is a light mounted on the bicycle between the pedal reflectors. On the other hand, when viewed from the rear, the rear wheel is mounted from the saddle. There is a reflector somewhere. Therefore, when the bicycle pedal reflector is detected from the front image during night driving, there is a high possibility that a lamp or a rear wheel reflector is also present in the vicinity. Therefore, if there is a light source candidate that periodically changes in the vertical direction and has other light source candidates in the periphery (for example, within a range of about 1 m in the height direction and about 50 cm in the horizontal direction), the bicycle reflector is used. It can be determined that there is.

  In the present embodiment, the bicycle determination unit 326 periodically changes the high-brightness region of each light source candidate based on the change in position in the continuous front image, and other light source candidates in the vicinity. If (high luminance region) exists, it is determined that the light source candidate represents a bicycle reflector.

  The illumination area setting unit 328 sets the illumination area pattern so as to turn off the light emitted above the light source candidate determined to be a moving light source or a bicycle reflector. Thus, the light from the headlight 16 is not irradiated above the moving light source or the bicycle reflector. Also, the illumination area setting unit 328 sets a pattern of a high beam illumination area when there is neither a light source candidate determined to be a moving light source nor a light source candidate determined to be a bicycle reflector.

  Next, the illumination control processing routine according to the third embodiment is executed as follows.

  First, the motion of the host vehicle is detected by various sensors of the vehicle motion detection unit 14. And the front image for the predetermined period continuously imaged by the imaging device 12 is acquired, and about each acquired front image, the high-intensity area | region where a luminance value becomes more than a threshold value is extracted as a light source candidate.

  Then, each extracted light source candidate is tracked in each of the continuous front images, and an optical flow is calculated from a change in the position of the light source candidate. Next, based on the calculated optical flow, the relative motion of the object represented by each light source candidate with respect to the host vehicle is calculated. The motion of each light source candidate is calculated based on the acquired motion of the own vehicle and the calculated relative motion of each light source candidate.

  Then, by performing threshold determination on the calculated momentum of movement of each light source candidate, it is determined whether or not each light source candidate represents a moving light source mounted on a moving body. Further, it is determined whether or not each light source candidate is a bicycle reflector from a change in the position of each light source candidate obtained by tracking each extracted light source candidate in each of successive front images.

  Next, it is determined whether there is a light source candidate determined to be a moving light source or a light source candidate determined to be a bicycle reflector. When there is a light source candidate determined to be a moving light source or a reflector, a pattern of an illumination area in which light irradiated to the upper side of the light source candidate of the moving light source or the reflector is turned off is set. On the other hand, if there is no light source candidate determined to be a moving light source and no light source candidate determined to be a bicycle reflector, a standard high beam illumination area pattern is set.

  The headlight 16 is controlled so that light is irradiated to the illumination area set as described above, and the illumination control processing routine is terminated.

  As described above, according to the in-vehicle illumination system according to the third embodiment, by controlling so as not to irradiate light above the light source candidate determined to be a bicycle reflector, the four-wheeled vehicle It can prevent dazzling not only for motorcycles but also for bicycles.

  In the above embodiment, the technique of calculating the motion of the host vehicle from the optical flow distribution in the second embodiment may be applied.

  Next, a fourth 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 fourth embodiment is mainly different from the first embodiment in that a light source candidate representing a light pair of a stopped vehicle is further extracted.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the computer 418 of the in-vehicle illumination system 410 according to the fourth embodiment includes an image input unit 20, a region extraction unit 22, a relative motion calculation unit 24, and a moving light source determination unit 26. A stop vehicle extraction unit 426 that extracts a pair of light source candidates representing a pair of lamps arranged side by side on the left and right sides of the stopped vehicle from the light source candidates determined as stationary light sources, and above the moving light source and the stopped vehicle lamp pair Includes an illumination area setting unit 428 for setting an irradiation area pattern so as not to irradiate light, and an illumination control unit 30.

  The stop vehicle extraction unit 426 is similar in luminance, shape, and size from a group of light source candidates (light source candidates determined to be stationary light sources) that have not been determined as moving light sources, and in the horizontal direction. A pair of light source candidates existing side by side (left and right) is extracted as a pair of lamps side by side on the left and right sides of the stopped vehicle. When pairing the light source candidates, the relative motion calculation unit 24 uses the three-dimensional coordinates obtained when calculating the relative motion of the stationary object according to the method described in the first embodiment. Based on this, the approximate distance to the light source candidate is calculated, and the range of light sources (distance in the left-right direction) considered as a pair in the front image is limited based on the vehicle width assumed according to the approximate distance.

  The illumination area setting unit 428 sets the illumination area pattern so that light is not irradiated above the light source candidates determined to be a moving light source or a light pair of a stopped vehicle. As a result, the light from the headlight 16 is not irradiated above the moving light source or the lighting pair of the stopped vehicle. Also, the illumination area setting unit 328 sets a pattern of the high beam illumination area when there is no light source candidate determined to be a moving light source and no light pair of a stopped vehicle is extracted.

  Next, an illumination control processing routine according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, about the process similar to 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  First, in step 100, the motion of the host vehicle is detected by various sensors of the vehicle motion detector 14. Then, in step 102, a front image for a predetermined period continuously captured by the imaging device 12 is acquired, and in step 104, the luminance value of each of the front images acquired in step 102 is higher than a threshold value. A luminance region is extracted as a light source candidate.

  Then, in step 106, each extracted light source candidate is tracked in each of the successive front images, and an optical flow is calculated. In the next step 108, each optical source is calculated based on the optical flow calculated in step 106. The relative motion of the object represented by the light source candidate with respect to the host vehicle is calculated. In step 110, the absolute motion of each light source candidate is calculated based on the motion of the host vehicle acquired in step 100 and the relative motion of each light source candidate calculated in step 108.

  Then, in step 112, it is determined whether or not each light source candidate represents a moving light source mounted on the moving body by performing a threshold value determination on the amount of movement of each light source candidate calculated in step 110. .

  In the next step 450, a light source candidate pair representing a pair of lamp pairs arranged on the left and right of the stopped vehicle is extracted from the light source candidate group determined not to be a moving light source but to be a stationary light source in step 112.

  In step 452, it is determined whether there is a light source candidate determined to be a moving light source in step 112 or whether a light source candidate pair that is a light pair of a stopped vehicle is extracted in step 450. When there is a light source candidate determined to be a moving light source, or when a light source candidate pair that is a light pair of a stopped vehicle is extracted, in step 454, the light source candidate of the moving light source and the light of the stopped vehicle are lighted. The pattern of the illumination area in which the light applied to the upper part of the light source candidate pair as a pair is turned off is set, and the process proceeds to step 120. On the other hand, if there is no light source candidate determined to be a moving light source, and no light source candidate pair that is a light pair of a stopped vehicle is extracted, in step 118, the pattern of the high beam illumination area which is a standard setting Is set, and the process proceeds to step 120.

  In step 120, the headlight 16 is controlled so that the illumination area set in step 454 or 118 is irradiated with light, and the illumination control processing routine ends.

  As described above, according to the in-vehicle illumination system according to the fourth embodiment, control is performed so as not to irradiate light upward from the light source candidate pair extracted as a pair of vehicle lighting pairs arranged side by side. Thus, dazzling can be prevented not only for moving bodies such as four-wheeled vehicles and two-wheeled vehicles but also for stopped vehicles.

  In the above-described embodiment, a pair of light source candidates that are similar in shape, size, and luminance value and that are aligned on the left and right are extracted as a pair of lamps that are aligned on the left and right of the stopped vehicle. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and at least one of the shape, the size, and the luminance value is similar, and a pair of light source candidates arranged side by side is paired with a pair of stopped vehicles. You may extract as a light pair.

  In the above embodiment, the technique for calculating the motion of the host vehicle from the optical flow distribution in the second embodiment may be applied. In addition, a technique for determining whether or not a light source candidate representing a bicycle reflector in the third embodiment may be applied.

  Moreover, in said 1st Embodiment-4th Embodiment, when controlling a head ride so that the light irradiated above the moving light source, the reflector of a bicycle, or the lighting pair of a stop vehicle may be extinguished However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the headlight may be controlled so as to diminish the light emitted above the moving light source, the bicycle reflector, or the lighted pair of the stopped vehicle. . In this case, the illumination area pattern may be set so as to reduce the amount of illumination of the light irradiated above the moving light source, the bicycle reflector, or the stopped vehicle lamp pair.

  In addition, when it is determined that the light source candidate is a moving light source or a bicycle reflector, or when a light source candidate that is a light pair of a stopped vehicle is extracted, the moving light source, the bicycle reflector, or the stopped vehicle light pair is The existing position may be displayed on the display device. Moreover, you may make it show that a front image represents the moving light source, the reflector of a bicycle, or the light pair of a stop vehicle by light, such as a lamp, and audio | voice output.

10, 210, 310, 410 In-vehicle illumination system 12 Imaging device 14 Vehicle motion detection unit 16 Headlight 18, 218, 318, 418 Computer 22 Region extraction unit 24 Relative motion calculation unit 26 Moving light source determination unit 28, 328, 428 Illumination Area setting unit 30 Lighting control unit 225 Vehicle motion calculation unit 326 Bicycle determination unit 426 Stopped vehicle extraction unit

Claims (9)

A region extracting means for extracting a high luminance region having a luminance value equal to or higher than a predetermined value from each of a plurality of captured images captured by an imaging device that continuously images the periphery of the host vehicle;
A relative motion calculating means for calculating a relative motion of the object represented by the high brightness region based on a change in the position of the high brightness region in each of the plurality of captured images captured continuously;
Based on the relative motion of the high brightness area calculated by the relative motion calculation means and the motion of the host vehicle, it is determined whether or not the high brightness area represents a moving light source mounted on a moving body. Moving light source determination means for
An illuminating device that irradiates the periphery of the host vehicle with light so as to extinguish or diminish the light applied to the upper portion of the high-intensity region determined to represent the moving light source by the moving light source determination unit. Lighting control means for controlling
In-vehicle lighting control device. The high-brightness region that periodically changes in the vertical direction based on a change in the position of the high-brightness region in each of the plurality of continuously captured images represents a light reflecting unit mounted on a bicycle. Further includes a bicycle determination means for determining
The illumination control unit is configured to apply the high luminance region determined to represent the moving light source by the moving light source determination unit and the high luminance region determined to represent the light reflecting unit by the bicycle determination unit. The in-vehicle lighting control device according to claim 1, wherein the lighting device is controlled so as to turn off or reduce the light emitted.   The bicycle determination means determines that the high-luminance region that periodically changes in the vertical direction and has another high-luminance region in the vicinity thereof represents a light reflecting portion mounted on the bicycle. In-vehicle lighting control device. Based on at least one of the shape, size, and luminance value of the high-luminance region, a pair of high-luminance regions in which at least one of the shape, size, and luminance value is similar and arranged side by side, Vehicle light extraction means for extracting as a high brightness region representing a pair of lights of the vehicle,
The illumination control means includes the pair of high brightness areas representing the pair of lights extracted by the vehicle light extraction means and the high brightness area determined to represent the moving light sources by the moving light source determination means. The in-vehicle lighting control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the lighting device provided in the host vehicle is controlled so as to turn off or reduce light emitted to the upper side of the vehicle.   The in-vehicle illumination control device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the illumination control unit controls the illumination device so that a predetermined range to be irradiated is not turned off or dimmed. .   In the moving light source determination means, the amount of movement of the object represented by the high luminance area calculated from the relative movement of the high luminance area calculated by the relative movement calculating means and the movement of the host vehicle is greater than or equal to a threshold value. In this case, the in-vehicle illumination control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the high-luminance region is determined to represent a moving light source mounted on a moving body.   The vehicle-mounted illumination control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising own vehicle motion detection means for detecting the motion of the own vehicle.   The vehicle motion calculation means for calculating the motion of the host vehicle based on the distribution of the change in the position of the high brightness region in each of the plurality of captured images continuously captured. The vehicle-mounted illumination control device according to any one of the above. Computer
A region extracting means for extracting a high luminance region having a luminance value equal to or higher than a predetermined value from each of a plurality of captured images captured by an imaging device that continuously images the periphery of the host vehicle;
A relative motion calculating means for calculating a relative motion of the object represented by the high brightness area based on a change in the position of the high brightness area in each of the plurality of captured images captured continuously;
Based on the relative motion of the high brightness area calculated by the relative motion calculation means and the motion of the host vehicle, it is determined whether or not the high brightness area represents a moving light source mounted on a moving body. Moving light source determining means, and the surroundings of the host vehicle so as to extinguish or diminish the light irradiated above the high-luminance region determined to represent the moving light source by the moving light source determining means. A program for causing a lighting control unit to control a lighting device that emits light.