JP2011258121A - Obstacle recognition device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an obstacle recognition device capable of eliminating effects of incident light to imaging means as much as possible and properly recognizing obstacles in a surrounding area of a vehicle.SOLUTION: The obstacle recognition device comprises: imaging means for imaging a surrounding area of a vehicle; first detection means for detecting obstacles using the picked-up image; second detection means for detecting obstacles using an electromagnetic wave and the like; and obstacle recognition means for recognizing obstacles in the surrounding area of the vehicle based on the detection results by these detection means. If a high luminance area exists in the picked-up image, the obstacle recognition means performs an obstacle recognition in the high luminance area by using a higher ratio of an obstacle detection result of the second detection means to an obstacle detection result of the first detection means than the ratio used for the obstacle recognition in surrounding areas that do not correspond to the high luminance area.

Description

  The present invention relates to an obstacle recognition apparatus that recognizes obstacles in a region around a vehicle.

  In order to accurately detect obstacles such as pedestrians when driving a vehicle at night, a detection technique using an image captured by an infrared camera and a detection technique using a laser radar have been developed. Obstacle detection using captured images is considered a safety-friendly technique because it is less likely to overlook obstacles than laser radar detection, but the load required for image processing for obstacle detection is relatively large. Prone. Therefore, a load that actually performs image processing for obstacle detection by determining an area where a pedestrian is likely to exist from the detection result by the laser radar and superimposing the area and the captured image by the infrared camera. Has been disclosed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, when an image in front of the vehicle is picked up using an infrared camera and an obstacle is detected based on the picked-up image, halation occurs in the infrared camera due to incident light from the oncoming vehicle, and accurate forward imaging is performed. It may not be possible. Therefore, a technique for reducing the influence of halation by controlling the light quantity of the infrared lamp that irradiates the front of the vehicle with infrared rays at the time of imaging with an infrared camera based on the luminance in the captured image is disclosed (for example, (See Patent Document 2).

JP 2003-302470 A JP 2008-252784 A JP 2003-327065 A

  When an obstacle such as a pedestrian located in the vicinity of a vehicle is detected based on an image captured by an imaging unit such as a camera mounted on the vehicle, light from an oncoming vehicle headlamp is incident on the imaging unit. As a result, halation occurs, and it becomes difficult to accurately capture the area around the vehicle due to the influence. If accurate imaging cannot be performed, the timing of vehicle safety control (for example, driver alert control, vehicle deceleration control, etc.) executed based on the detected obstacle may be shifted.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in the case of detecting an obstacle based on a captured image by the imaging unit, the influence of incident light on the imaging unit is eliminated as much as possible, An object of the present invention is to provide an obstacle recognition device capable of accurately recognizing an obstacle located in a region.

  In the present invention, in order to solve the above-described problem, in a captured image obtained by the imaging unit, when there is a high-luminance region where the luminance of the image exceeds a predetermined luminance, the region around the vehicle corresponding to the high-luminance region In the obstacle recognition, the influence of the detection result based on the captured image is reduced.

Specifically, the present invention includes an imaging unit that captures an area around the vehicle, a first detection unit that detects an obstacle located in the area around the vehicle using an image captured by the imaging unit, and the vehicle A second detecting means for detecting an obstacle located around the vehicle based on a received signal obtained by transmitting an electromagnetic wave from the obstacle and receiving a reflected wave from the obstacle; and by the first detecting means An obstacle recognition apparatus comprising: an obstacle recognition unit that recognizes the obstacle based on a detection result and a detection result by the second detection unit. When the obstacle recognizing unit determines that there is a high luminance region in which the luminance of the image exceeds a predetermined luminance in the image captured by the imaging unit, the obstacle recognition corresponding to the high luminance region is: The ratio of the obstacle detection result by the second detection means to the obstacle detection result by the first detection means is larger than the ratio in the case of obstacle recognition in the area around the vehicle that does not correspond to the high luminance area. To do.

  In the obstacle recognition apparatus, the obstacle recognition unit performs obstacle recognition processing based on the detection result by the first detection unit and the detection result by the second detection unit. The first detection means detects the presence of an obstacle, for example, by performing image processing based on the captured image of the surrounding area of the vehicle. On the other hand, a 2nd detection means detects presence of an obstruction based on the received signal by the reflected wave of the electromagnetic wave sent with respect to the surrounding area. Thus, it becomes possible to recognize an obstacle more correctly by setting it as the structure which finally recognizes an obstacle using the detection result by the several detection means from which the detection method of an obstacle differs. The detection means provided in the obstacle recognition apparatus may be other detection means in addition to the first detection means and the second detection means.

  Here, if there is a high-brightness region exceeding a predetermined luminance in the captured image due to strong light incident on the imaging unit from the outside, the imaging region of the imaging unit is displayed in the high-brightness region. May be buried in light in the captured image, and an image as an obstacle may not be detected by the first detection means. In such a case, if obstacle recognition by the obstacle recognition unit is performed using the detection result by the first detection unit, accurate obstacle recognition may be difficult.

  Therefore, in the obstacle recognition device according to the present invention, when there is a high-luminance region in the captured image, the obstacle recognition in the peripheral region corresponding to the high-luminance region is the second detection result for the detection result by the first detection means. A process of making the ratio of the detection results by the two detection means larger than the ratio in the case of obstacle recognition in the peripheral area not corresponding to the high luminance area is performed. That is, since there is a possibility that an obstacle is buried in light in the high brightness area in the captured image, the weight (weight) of the detection result by the first detection means in the obstacle recognition in the peripheral area corresponding to the high brightness area By reducing the value, the influence of the high luminance region is reduced. In the obstacle recognition in the peripheral area corresponding to the area other than the high brightness area, the detection results of the first detection means and the second detection means are used, and the detection results of the first detection means are relative to each other. Considering under a large weight, obstacle recognition processing that suitably uses the detection result of each detection means is performed.

  Here, in the obstacle recognition apparatus, when the obstacle recognition unit determines that the high brightness area exists in the captured image, the obstacle recognition corresponding to the high brightness area is performed as described above. An obstacle located in the area around the vehicle may be recognized based only on the obstacle detection result by the second detection means. In this case, in the obstacle recognition in the vehicle peripheral area corresponding to the high luminance area, the weight of the detection result by the first detection unit is set to zero, and the obstacle recognition process is performed based only on the detection result by the second detection unit. By doing so, it becomes possible to eliminate as much as possible the influence of the obstruction of the obstacle in the high luminance region in the captured image.

In the obstacle recognition device described above, when the presence of an oncoming vehicle that is close to the vehicle is recognized and the relative speed of the oncoming vehicle with respect to the vehicle is equal to or lower than a predetermined speed, the high brightness in the captured image is obtained. A determination of the presence of a region may be made. When an oncoming vehicle approaches the vehicle, there is a possibility that a high luminance region is formed in the captured image by the light emitted from the head wrap of the oncoming vehicle entering the imaging means. In particular, as the relative speed of the oncoming vehicle decreases, the degree of change in the optical axis of the light from the oncoming vehicle is small, so the influence of incident light on the captured image increases, and a high-luminance region is likely to be formed. Therefore, when such a condition is satisfied, it is possible to reduce the load required for image processing for specifying the high-luminance region by performing the determination regarding the presence of the high-luminance region in the captured image described above. Become.

  Here, the obstacle recognition apparatus according to the present invention can be grasped from another aspect. For example, the invention relates to an imaging unit that images an area around the vehicle, a first detection unit that detects an obstacle located in the area around the vehicle using an image captured by the imaging unit, An obstacle recognition apparatus comprising: external information receiving means for receiving information on the presence of an obstacle in an area from the outside; and obstacle recognition means for recognizing the obstacle based on a detection result by the first detection means. is there. Then, the obstacle recognizing means determines that the obstacle recognizing means has an obstruction caused by the first detecting means when it is determined that there is a high luminance area in which the luminance of the image exceeds a predetermined luminance in the image taken by the imaging means. Instead of detecting an object, an obstacle located in the area around the vehicle is recognized based on the information received by the external information receiving means.

In the obstacle recognition apparatus, the obstacle recognition process is performed by the obstacle recognition means based on the detection result obtained using the captured image. On the other hand, when the presence of a high-luminance region is recognized in the captured image, the vehicle periphery is based on external information received and acquired by the external information receiving means instead of the obstacle recognition processing using the captured image. By performing the obstacle recognition process in this area, it is possible to prevent the obstacle from being buried in the high luminance area and causing the obstacle to be recognized. In addition, this external information is information transmitted from an entity other than the own vehicle, for example, the presence of a pedestrian or the like sent by road-to-vehicle communication such as AHS (Advanced Cruise-Assist Highway System) communication. Information regarding the presence of obstacles sent by inter-vehicle communication, etc. can be exemplified as the external information.

  Furthermore, the obstacle recognition apparatus according to the present invention can be grasped from another aspect. For example, the present invention includes first detection means for detecting an obstacle from an image captured from a vehicle, and second detection means for detecting an obstacle by emitting electromagnetic waves from the vehicle and receiving reflected electromagnetic waves. An obstacle recognizing means for extracting a high brightness area from the image acquired by the first detection means and making the detection weight of the second detection means different in the high brightness area and other areas. It is a recognition device.

  When detecting an obstacle based on a captured image by the imaging means, it is possible to eliminate as much as possible the influence of incident light on the imaging means and to accurately recognize the obstacle located in the area around the vehicle. Become.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the vehicle by which the obstruction recognition apparatus which concerns on this invention is mounted. It is the functional block diagram which imaged the functional part which the vehicle safety control apparatus containing the vehicle equipment and obstacle recognition apparatus which were mounted in the vehicle shown in FIG. It is a 1st flowchart regarding the pedestrian recognition process performed with the vehicle shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the condition of the arrangement | positioning of the obstacle around a vehicle at the time of the pedestrian recognition process shown in FIG. 3 being performed. It is a figure which shows an example of the captured image used when the pedestrian recognition process shown in FIG. 3 is performed. It is an example of an image when there is no light from an oncoming vehicle in the captured image shown in FIG. 5A. It is a 2nd flowchart regarding the pedestrian recognition process performed with the vehicle shown in FIG. It is a 3rd flowchart regarding the pedestrian recognition process performed with the vehicle shown in FIG.

  A vehicle safety control device 10 that includes an obstacle recognition device according to an embodiment of the present invention and performs safety control of the entire vehicle using the recognition result will be described below with reference to the drawings. The configuration of the following embodiment is an exemplification, and the present invention is not limited to the configuration of this embodiment.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a vehicle 1 on which the vehicle safety control device 10 is mounted. FIG. 1 shows a state in which a driver 2 is seated on the driver's seat 3 of the vehicle 1. The driver 2 can ensure safety during driving by using the seat belt 4 installed for the driver's seat 3. Here, a so-called in-vehicle device 6 is installed on the left front panel portion of the driver's seat 3, and the in-vehicle device 6 is shown as a display device that displays information processed by the in-vehicle device as a component. Specifically, the in-vehicle device 6 is an information processing device that performs car navigation based on map information in the recording device and a detection signal of a GPS (Global Positioning System) device. Information processed by the aircraft 6 is displayed to inform the driver 2 and other crew members as necessary. Further, the in-vehicle device 6 can receive road information and the like useful for traveling of the vehicle 1 from the outside in addition to the GPS signal, and the received information is received in the in-vehicle device 6 or the vehicle safety control device 10. Can be used.

  Here, the vehicle 1 shown in FIG. 1 is provided with an infrared camera 20 having a front area of the vehicle 1 as an imaging area. Since the infrared camera 20 can receive infrared rays, it is also possible to image the front area of the vehicle 1 at night. Furthermore, the radar device 21 capable of detecting information on the relative position of an oncoming vehicle or the like approaching the vehicle 1 by transmitting a millimeter wave to the vehicle 1 and receiving a reflected wave reflected by an obstacle outside the vehicle. And a laser radar 22 that can detect the presence of an obstacle such as a pedestrian in the front area of the vehicle 1 by scanning the emitted laser beam and receiving a reflected wave reflected by the obstacle outside the vehicle. ing. The vehicle 1 is also provided with an optical sensor 23 that can detect the amount of light in the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 in order to determine whether or not the surrounding environment is nighttime. The infrared camera 20, the millimeter wave radar 21, the laser radar 22, and the optical sensor 23 are electrically connected to the vehicle safety control device 10, and each detection result is delivered to the device 10. Recognition of obstacles in the front area, safety control related to the obstacles, and the like are performed.

  Specifically, the vehicle safety control device 10 is a control device that executes safety control related to the vehicle 1, and in particular, performs control related to personal safety during driving of a passenger on the vehicle 1. As an example of the safety control, the driver recognizes an obstacle in the front area of the vehicle 1 based on the obstacle detection result by the infrared camera 20 or the laser radar 22 and there is a possibility of collision with the obstacle. Call attention to 2nd class. As a specific method for alerting the driver 2, an alarm is notified by an image or sound through the display device of the in-vehicle device 6 or the speaker 7 in the vehicle 1, and the driver 2 through the seat belt 4 worn by the driver 2. Various other conventionally used methods such as a method of applying a force can be given.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating the contents of each control related to safety control in the vehicle 1 with the vehicle safety control device 10 as the center. Vehicle safety control device 1 shown in FIG.
0 and the vehicle-mounted device 6 are substantially equivalent to a computer including a CPU, a memory, a hard disk, and the like, and a function by each functional block shown in FIG. 2 is realized by executing a control program there.

  First, the function part which the vehicle safety control apparatus 10 has is demonstrated. The vehicle safety control device 10 includes functional units of an image processing unit 11, a laser scanning unit 12, a pedestrian recognition unit 13, an alarm notification unit 14, and a seat belt control unit 15. These functional units are merely examples, and the vehicle safety control device 10 may have functional units other than these functional units in order to achieve a predetermined purpose. The outline of these functional units will be described below. The image processing unit 11 is a functional unit that performs image processing for detecting a pedestrian on the captured image of the front area of the vehicle 1 captured by the infrared camera 20. Since image processing related to detection of a pedestrian using a captured image is a technique that has already been disclosed, detailed description in this specification will be omitted.

  In the vehicle safety control device 10, a pedestrian detection process by the laser radar 22 is also performed in addition to the image captured by the infrared camera 20. Therefore, the laser scanning unit 12 is a functional unit that performs processing for detecting a pedestrian existing there based on the result of laser scanning of the front area of the vehicle 1 by the laser radar 22. Since this processing is also a technique that has already been disclosed, detailed description in this specification will be omitted. In the vehicle safety control device 10, the pedestrian recognition unit 13 performs a pedestrian recognition process in the front area of the vehicle 1 based on the processing result by the image processing unit 11 and the processing result by the laser scanning unit 12.

  In the vehicle safety control device 10, control for ensuring the safety of the driver 2 and the safety of the pedestrian is performed by the alarm notification unit 14 and the seat belt control unit 15 based on the recognition result by the pedestrian recognition unit 13. Executed. The alarm notification unit 14 is a functional unit that notifies the driver 2 of an alarm for recognizing the presence of an obstacle through the display device of the in-vehicle device 6 or the speaker 7 in the vehicle 1, and the seat belt control unit 15 is the same. It is a functional part that alerts the driver 2 through the seat belt 4 in order for the driver 2 to recognize the presence of an obstacle. As a premise of such safety control by the alarm notification unit 14 and the seat belt control unit 15, a configuration in which the recognition result by the pedestrian recognition unit 13 is used is formed in the vehicle safety control device 10. Detailed processing of the recognition processing by the pedestrian recognition unit 13 will be described later.

Next, the function part which the vehicle equipment 6 has will be described. The in-vehicle device 6 includes a map information storage unit 61, a car navigation unit 62, and an external information reception unit 63. The map information storage unit 61 is a functional unit that stores map information used for the car navigation process executed by the car navigation unit 62. For example, the position information of the road on which the vehicle 1 travels, information on the shape, and the like are map information. Stored by the storage unit 61. And the car navigation part 62 provides the navigation information of the vehicle 1 to the driver 2 via the display apparatus of the vehicle equipment 6 using these map information and the detection signal by the GPS apparatus which is not illustrated. Furthermore, the external information receiving unit 63 is a functional unit for receiving information (external information) useful for the vehicle 1 traveling on the road surface from the outside of the vehicle 1. As this external information, information on the presence of pedestrians, etc. sent by road-to-vehicle communication such as AHS (Advanced Cruise-Assist Highway System) communication, information provided from an external server, and road driving other than vehicle 1 The information regarding the obstacle sent from the inside vehicle by inter-vehicle communication is mentioned.

As described above, the infrared camera 20, the millimeter wave radar 21, the laser radar 22, and the optical sensor 23 are electrically connected to the vehicle safety control device 10. Here, the process for pedestrian recognition is performed by the pedestrian recognition unit 13 formed in the vehicle safety control device 10 so that the vehicle safety control device 10 also functions as a pedestrian recognition device according to the present invention. It will be. The said pedestrian recognition process is demonstrated below based on FIG. This process is realized by a control program executed in the vehicle safety control device 10.

  The pedestrian recognition process shown in FIG. 3 is a process executed continuously or intermittently when the vehicle 1 travels on the road surface. FIG. 4 schematically shows an example of the arrangement of pedestrians and the like existing in the front area of the vehicle 1 when the pedestrian recognition process is executed. First, in step S <b> 101, an image of the front area of the vehicle 1 is taken by the infrared camera 20. When the process of S101 ends, the process proceeds to S102. In S102, it is determined whether or not the surrounding environment of the vehicle 1 is nighttime. Specifically, the determination is performed according to the intensity of the detection light from the optical sensor 23. When the surrounding environment is nighttime, a vehicle traveling on the road generally irradiates light to secure a field of view. In this case, light enters the infrared camera 20 from the outside, and the captured image has high brightness. In consideration of the possibility that a region is formed, the determination process of S102 is performed. Therefore, if a positive determination is made in S102, the process proceeds to S103, and if a negative determination is made, the process proceeds to S108.

  In S103, it is determined whether the oncoming vehicle 100 approaching from the front of the vehicle 1 is detected. Specifically, when the relative position or the like of the oncoming vehicle 100 calculated based on the detection result of the millimeter wave radar 21 satisfies the condition as an oncoming vehicle (for example, the relative direction and the relative distance are The presence of the oncoming vehicle 100 is detected when it falls within a predetermined range. If a positive determination is made in S103, the process proceeds to S104, and if a negative determination is made, the process proceeds to S108.

  Next, in S104, when the oncoming vehicle 100 is detected in S103, it is determined whether or not the relative speed with respect to the vehicle 1 is less than the reference predetermined speed α. When the relative speed of the oncoming vehicle 100 decreases, the degree of change in the optical axis of the light from the oncoming vehicle 100 is small. Therefore, when the light enters the infrared camera 20, the influence of the light on the captured image increases. The determination process of S104 is performed in consideration of the fact that high-luminance regions are easily formed in the image. Therefore, if a positive determination is made in S104, the process proceeds to S105, and if a negative determination is made, the process proceeds to S108.

  Here, when an affirmative determination is made in each determination process of S102 to S104 and the process reaches S105, that is, the light from the oncoming vehicle 100 is incident on the infrared camera 20 of the vehicle 1, and a high-luminance region is included in the captured image. As a result, it is considered that a pedestrian existing in the front area of the vehicle 1 that should be imaged is buried in the high-luminance area, and accurate pedestrian recognition is difficult. Therefore, in the present embodiment, if there is a possibility that a high-luminance region is formed in the captured image, the processing from S105 is performed, and if not, the processing of S108 is performed. Appropriate pedestrian recognition processing corresponding to each is performed. Therefore, the determination process of S102 to S104 corresponds to the determination process by the determination unit according to the present invention.

  Therefore, in S105, a high luminance area is extracted from the captured image captured in the front area S101. This process is executed by the image processing unit 11. Here, FIG. 5A shows an example of a captured image. As shown also in FIG. 4, since the pedestrian A crossing the road is located on or near the optical axis of the light reaching the vehicle 1 from the oncoming vehicle 100, the captured image is as shown in FIG. 5A. In addition, the pedestrian A is buried in a high brightness area by the light, and the figure is not accurately captured. On the other hand, the figure of the pedestrian B located away from the optical axis of the light from the oncoming vehicle 100 is accurately captured without being buried in the high luminance area by the light. In such a captured image, when the luminance of a pixel constituting the image is equal to or higher than a predetermined luminance as a reference, the pixel forms a high luminance region HB that hides the pedestrian as it should be in S105. Processing is performed. When the process of S105 ends, the process proceeds to S106 and S107.

In S106, pedestrian recognition is performed outside the high luminance area HB, and further in S107, pedestrian recognition is performed in the high luminance area HB. These pedestrian recognitions are performed by the image processing unit 11, the laser scanning unit 12, and the pedestrian recognition unit 13. Specifically, when the pedestrian detection result by the image processing of the image processing unit 11 is R1, and the pedestrian detection result by the scanning processing of the laser scanning unit 12 is R2, the pedestrian recognition unit 13 in the process at S106. In accordance with the following equation, both detection results are multiplied by a weighting factor and combined to perform accurate pedestrian recognition.
Recognition processing by the pedestrian recognition unit 13 = 0.5 × R1 + 0.5 × R2 (Expression 1)

  That is, in S106, the weight of the detection result based on the captured image and the weight of the scanning result of the laser radar 22 are handled at the same rate, so that the final pedestrian recognition is performed while complementing both detection results. Become.

On the other hand, in S107, in the high brightness area HB, the pedestrian recognition unit 13 follows the following formula based on the possibility that the presence of a pedestrian in the captured image may be buried in the high brightness area HB. Recognize.
Recognition processing by the pedestrian recognition unit 13 = R2 (Expression 2)

  That is, in S107, for the high luminance region HB, the detection result based on the captured image is not used, and only the scanning result of the laser radar 22 is used. More specifically, only the scanning result of the laser radar 22 is used for pedestrian recognition in the front area portion of the vehicle 1 corresponding to the high luminance area HB in the captured image. In the scanning result of the laser radar 22, since the relative position with respect to the vehicle 1 in the front area is grasped, a part of the scanning result of the laser radar 22 corresponding to the high luminance area HB in the captured image is specified. Is possible. By performing such processing, it is possible to reduce the influence of the detection result that the pedestrian is buried in the high luminance area HB, and as a result, it is possible to prevent the recognition failure of the pedestrian A.

In Equation 2, the weight of the detection result based on the captured image is set to zero. Instead, the weight of the detection result based on the captured image is expressed by Equation 1 as shown in Equation 2 ′ below. You may set so that it may become low compared with a weight. That is, the weight of the detection result based on the captured image in the pedestrian recognition in the high luminance area HB is set to a value lower than the weight of the detection result outside the high luminance area HB, so that the walking to the high luminance area HB is performed. The influence of the detection result that the person is buried is reduced, and as a result, the recognition failure of the pedestrian A can be prevented.
Recognition processing by the pedestrian recognition unit 13 = 0.1 × R1 + 0.9 × R2 (Expression 2 ′)

  Next, in S108, as shown in FIG. 5B, the high-luminance area is not formed in the captured image, and it is considered unlikely that the pedestrian A is buried in the high-luminance area due to the light of the oncoming vehicle 100. Therefore, the pedestrian recognition process is performed by using the detection result R1 using the captured image in accordance with the above-described Expression 1.

  When the process of S107 or S108 ends, the processes after S101 are repeated again. According to the above pedestrian recognition process, when the pedestrian recognition process is performed using the image captured by the infrared camera 20, even if the pedestrian may be buried in the high luminance area by the light of the oncoming vehicle 100, By adjusting the weight between the detection result by the infrared camera 20 and the detection result by the laser radar 22, pedestrian recognition in the front area of the vehicle 1 can be performed accurately. Then, when a pedestrian is recognized in the front area of the vehicle 1 by the pedestrian recognition process, the result is passed to the alarm notification unit 14 and the seat belt control unit 15 in the vehicle safety control device 10, The safety control for the driver 2 as described above is executed.

Here, in the vehicle safety control device 10, the millimeter wave radar 21 is used for detection of an oncoming vehicle, but the detection result of the millimeter wave radar 21 may be used for pedestrian recognition processing in the front area of the vehicle 1. . In this case, as an example, when the detection result of the millimeter wave radar 21 is R3, the above formulas 1 and 2 can be changed as follows.
Recognition processing by the pedestrian recognition unit 13 in S106 = 0.5 × R1 + (0.3 × R2 + 0.2 × R3) (Modification example of Formula 1)
Recognition processing by the pedestrian recognition unit 13 in S107 = 0.2 × R2 + 0.8 × R3 (an example of changing formula 2)
Note that the coefficient of weight applied to each detection result may be appropriately set in consideration of the surrounding environment where the vehicle 1 is actually placed, the detection accuracy of the millimeter wave radar 21 and the laser radar 22, and the like.

  A second embodiment of the pedestrian recognition process by the vehicle safety device 10 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the pedestrian recognition process, and this process is realized by a control program executed in the vehicle safety control device 10. The same processes as the pedestrian recognition process shown in FIG. 3 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the pedestrian recognition process according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, whether or not the high brightness area HB exists in the image captured by the infrared camera 20 is determined through image processing by the image processing unit 11. Different from pedestrian recognition processing. Specifically, after the process of S101 ends, the determination process of S201 is performed instead of the determination process of S102 to S104 in the pedestrian recognition process shown in FIG. In S201, image processing is performed on the captured image itself captured in S101, and when the area surface formed by the pixels in which the luminance of the pixels constituting the image exceeds the predetermined luminance α exceeds the reference area, It is determined that the high brightness area HB exists. The reason why it is determined that the high brightness area HB exists when the area exceeds the reference area is to eliminate the influence of high brightness pixels included in noise. However, instead of determining the presence of the high brightness area HB according to the size of the area, the presence of the high brightness area HB when there is a pixel exceeding the predetermined brightness α. You may judge.

  If an affirmative determination is made in S201, the processing from S105 is performed, and if a negative determination is made, the processing in S108 is performed. Also by the pedestrian recognition process according to the present embodiment, the pedestrian recognition in the front area of the vehicle 1 can be accurately performed similarly to the pedestrian recognition process, and thus the vehicle safety control device 10 can deal with the driver 2. Effectiveness of safety control can be ensured.

  A third embodiment of pedestrian recognition processing by the vehicle safety device 10 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the pedestrian recognition process, and the process is realized by a control program executed in the vehicle safety control device 10. The same reference numerals are assigned to the same processes as the pedestrian recognition processes shown in FIGS. 3 and 6 described above, and a detailed description thereof is omitted.

In the pedestrian recognition process according to the present embodiment, when an affirmative determination is made in the determination process in S201 by the image processing unit 11, the process in S202 is performed instead of the processes in S105 to S107 described above. In S202, pedestrian recognition in the front area of the vehicle 1 is performed based on the external information received by the external information reception unit 63 without using the captured image obtained in S101. That is, when there is a possibility that a pedestrian is buried in the high brightness area HB in the captured image, all pedestrian recognition based on the captured image is canceled and the pedestrian is determined based only on the external information. Is. For this reason, although depending on the accuracy of the external information, it is possible to prevent a pedestrian from missing recognition at least due to the pedestrian being buried in the high luminance area HB. If a negative determination is made in S201, the process of S108 is performed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 .... Vehicle 6 .... Onboard equipment 10 .... Vehicle safety control device 20 .... Infrared camera 21 ... Millimeter wave radar 22 .... Laser radar 23 ... Light Sensor 100 ... ・ ・ ・ Oncoming vehicle

Claims (5)

Imaging means for imaging an area around the vehicle;
First detection means for detecting an obstacle located in a region around the vehicle, using an image captured by the imaging means;
Second detection means for detecting an obstacle located around the vehicle based on a reception signal obtained by transmitting an electromagnetic wave from the vehicle and receiving a reflected wave from the obstacle;
Obstacle recognition means for recognizing the obstacle based on the detection result by the first detection means and the detection result by the second detection means,
When it is determined that there is a high-luminance region in which the luminance of the image exceeds a predetermined luminance in the image captured by the imaging unit, the obstacle recognition unit performs the obstacle recognition corresponding to the high-luminance region with respect to the obstacle recognition. The ratio of the obstacle detection result by the second detection means to the obstacle detection result by one detection means is larger than the ratio in the case of obstacle recognition in the area around the vehicle that does not correspond to the high luminance area.
Obstacle recognition device. When it is determined that the high-luminance region exists in the captured image, the obstacle recognition unit is configured only with the obstacle detection result by the second detection unit for the obstacle recognition corresponding to the high-luminance region. Based on the obstacles located in the area around the vehicle,
The obstacle recognition apparatus according to claim 1. When the presence of an oncoming vehicle in proximity to the vehicle is recognized and the relative speed of the oncoming vehicle with respect to the vehicle is equal to or lower than a predetermined speed, the presence of the high brightness region in the captured image is determined.
The obstacle recognition apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. Imaging means for imaging an area around the vehicle;
First detection means for detecting an obstacle located in a region around the vehicle, using an image captured by the imaging means;
External information receiving means for receiving information on the presence of obstacles in the area around the vehicle from the outside;
Obstacle recognition means for recognizing the obstacle based on the detection result by the first detection means,
When it is determined that there is a high-luminance region in which the luminance of the image exceeds a predetermined luminance in the image captured by the imaging unit, the obstacle recognition unit replaces the obstacle detection by the first detection unit, and the external information Based on the information received by the receiving means, the obstacles located in the area around the vehicle are recognized.
Obstacle recognition device. First detection means for detecting an obstacle from an image captured from a vehicle;
A second detection means for detecting an obstacle by emitting an electromagnetic wave from the vehicle and receiving the reflected electromagnetic wave;
An obstacle recognizing unit that extracts a high luminance region from the image acquired by the first detecting unit and makes the detection weight of the second detecting unit different in the high luminance region and other regions;
An obstacle recognition device comprising:

Images