JP2012159989A - Drive support device and drive support method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drive support device and a drive support method which can detect with a simple configuration that an oncoming car juts out a traffic lane towards an own vehicle.SOLUTION: A drive support device 10 according to one embodiment of this invention comprises a camera 11, a traffic lane detecting unit 21, an oncoming car detecting unit 22 and a dangerous action determination unit 23. The camera 11 provided on a vehicle captures a forward periphery of the vehicle and outputs image data. The traffic lane detecting unit 21 detects a traffic lane adjacent to the vehicle based on the image data. The oncoming car detecting unit 22 detects an oncoming car based on the image data. The dangerous action determination unit 23 determines whether the oncoming car juts out the adjacent traffic lane.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a driving support apparatus and a driving support method.

  Development of technology for supporting driving of vehicles such as automobiles is in progress. This type of driving support technology includes, for example, a technology for detecting an interruption of another vehicle ahead of the host vehicle using a surrounding image of the host vehicle captured by a stereo camera arranged in front of the vehicle, There is a technique for predicting the accessibility of other vehicles and other objects and outputting an alarm to objects other than the own vehicle.

JP 2008-234414 A JP 2009-157438 A

  However, in order to detect that the oncoming vehicle has protruded from the lane toward the host vehicle, it is necessary to use the biological reaction of the driver of the host vehicle, inter-vehicle communication, radar, and the like in the conventional technology. For this reason, the configuration of the own vehicle becomes complicated, and since it is necessary to link with other vehicles, very complicated processing is required.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a driving support device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a camera, a lane detection unit, an oncoming vehicle detection unit, and a dangerous behavior determination unit. The camera is provided in the vehicle and images the front periphery of the vehicle and outputs image data. The lane detector detects a lane adjacent to the vehicle based on the image data. The oncoming vehicle detection unit detects an oncoming vehicle based on the image data. The dangerous behavior determination unit determines whether or not the oncoming vehicle protrudes from the adjacent lane.

1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a driving support apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The CPU of the driving assistance ECU shown in FIG. 1 detects that the oncoming vehicle protrudes from the lane toward the own vehicle based on the image data around the front of the vehicle and detects the other vehicle and the driver of the own vehicle. The flowchart which shows the procedure at the time of alert | reporting danger.

  Embodiments of a driving support apparatus and a driving support method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a driving support apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the driving support device 10 includes a camera 11 that images the front periphery of the vehicle, a driving support ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 12, a storage unit 13, a lighting device 16, a horn 17, a speaker 18, and a display device 19. Have

  The camera 11 is constituted by a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor, captures at least a video around the front of the vehicle, generates image data, and supplies the image data to the driving support ECU 12. The camera 11 is provided at a position where the front periphery of the vehicle can be imaged, for example, near the front license plate. Note that a wide-angle lens may be attached to the camera 11 so that a wider range of outside-vehicle images can be acquired.

  The driving support ECU 12 is configured by a storage medium such as a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM. The CPU of the driving assistance ECU 12 loads a driving assistance program stored in a storage medium such as a ROM and data necessary for executing the program into the RAM, and opposes the vehicle based on image data around the front of the vehicle according to the program. A process of detecting that the vehicle protrudes from the lane toward the host vehicle is executed.

  The RAM of the driving assistance ECU 12 provides a work area for temporarily storing programs and data executed by the CPU. The storage medium such as the ROM of the driving support ECU 12 stores a driving support program and various data necessary for executing these programs.

  A storage medium such as a ROM has a configuration including a recording medium readable by a CPU, such as a magnetic or optical recording medium or a semiconductor memory, and a part of programs and data in the storage medium. Or you may comprise so that all may be downloaded via an electronic network via the network connection part which is not shown in figure.

  In this case, the network connection unit implements various information communication protocols according to the network form, and the driving support ECU 12 and electric devices such as ECUs of other vehicles are connected via the electronic network according to the various protocols. Connecting. For this connection, an electrical connection via an electronic network can be applied. Here, an electronic network means an information communication network using telecommunications technology in general, in addition to a wireless / wired LAN (Local Area Network) and the Internet network, a telephone communication line network, an optical fiber communication network, a cable communication network, Includes satellite communications networks.

  The storage unit 13 is a non-volatile memory in which data can be read and written by the driving support ECU 12, and stores a lane image database, a vehicle image database, and alarm information in advance. These pieces of information may be updated via an electronic network or a portable storage medium such as an optical disk. The vehicle image database includes image data of various vehicles, but preferably includes image data obtained by imaging the front surfaces of the various vehicles (hereinafter referred to as vehicle front image data).

  The lighting device 16 is configured by a general headlight, and blinks (so-called passing) under the control of the driving support ECU 12.

  The horn 17 is controlled by the driving support ECU 12 and outputs a warning sound to the outside of the host vehicle.

  The speaker 18 is provided in the vehicle of the host vehicle, and is controlled by the driving support ECU 12 to output sound corresponding to various information such as a beep sound and oncoming vehicle approach information to the driver of the host vehicle.

  The display device 19 is provided at a position where the driver can visually recognize, and a display output device such as a general vehicle-mounted display, a car navigation system, or a HUD (head-up display) can be used. Various information such as oncoming vehicle approach information is displayed.

  Next, the configuration of the function realization unit by the CPU of the driving assistance ECU 12 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the CPU of the driving support ECU 12 functions as at least a lane detection unit 21, an oncoming vehicle detection unit 22, a dangerous behavior determination unit 23, and an alarm unit 24 according to the driving support program. Each of the units 21 to 24 uses a required work area of the RAM as a temporary storage location for data. In addition, you may comprise these function implementation parts by hardware logics, such as a circuit, without using CPU.

  The lane detector 21 detects a lane adjacent to the host vehicle based on the image data output by the camera 11. As a method for detecting a lane based on image data, for example, an edge detection is performed on image data, and a line segment obtained by approximating the extracted edge by the least square method is stored in the storage unit 13. A method of performing matching using a stored lane image database is conceivable. Various methods are conventionally known for edge detection, and any of these methods can be used.

  The oncoming vehicle detection unit 22 detects an oncoming vehicle based on the image data output by the camera 11. FIG. 1 shows an example in which the oncoming vehicle detection unit 22 includes a vehicle detection unit 31 and a vehicle attribute determination unit 32.

  The vehicle detection unit 31 detects a vehicle existing around the front of the host vehicle based on the image data output from the camera 11. As a vehicle detection method, a method is conceivable in which edge detection is performed on image data and matching is performed on the extracted edge using a vehicle image database stored in the storage unit 13.

  The vehicle attribute determination unit 32 determines whether or not the vehicle detected by the vehicle detection unit 31 is an oncoming vehicle. As an oncoming vehicle determination method, for example, a method using a motion vector of a pixel corresponding to a vehicle detected by the vehicle detection unit 31 is conceivable.

  When the vehicle front image data is included in the vehicle image database stored in the storage unit 13, the oncoming vehicle detection unit 22 performs edge detection on the image data and performs vehicle detection on the extracted edge. You may detect an oncoming vehicle by performing matching using front image data.

  The dangerous behavior determination unit 23 compares the pixel position of the adjacent lane detected by the lane detection unit 21 with the pixel position of the oncoming vehicle detected by the oncoming vehicle detection unit 22, and determines whether the oncoming vehicle protrudes from the adjacent lane. Determine whether or not.

  When it is determined by the dangerous behavior determination unit 23 that the oncoming vehicle protrudes from the adjacent lane, the warning unit 24 detects the oncoming vehicle by at least one of flashing of the lighting device 16 (passing) and warning sound output via the horn 17. The driver is informed of the danger. The flashing (passing) of the lighting device 16 is less likely to surprise a person other than the driver of the oncoming vehicle, compared to the warning sound output via the horn 17, but the driver of the oncoming vehicle is warned. You may not notice On the other hand, the warning sound output via the horn 17 has an advantage that the driver of the oncoming vehicle can be easily notified of the danger, but it may surprise people around the host vehicle including the following vehicle of the host vehicle. There is.

  Further, when the warning action determining unit 23 determines that the oncoming vehicle protrudes from the adjacent lane, the warning unit 24 notifies the driver of the own vehicle via a speaker 18 a beep sound and oncoming vehicle approach information. Corresponding audio (“Oncoming vehicle is out of lane”, “Please bring the vehicle to the left”, etc.) is output. Further, the alarm unit 24 displays information (warning) informing the oncoming vehicle approach on the display device 19. The voice corresponding to the oncoming vehicle approach information and the information necessary for display may be stored in advance as warning information in the storage unit 13.

  Note that the warning unit 24 may perform at least one of beep sound output, sound output, and warning display as danger notification for the driver of the host vehicle, and may perform all of them simultaneously. Moreover, both the danger notification for the driver of the other vehicle and the danger notification for the driver of the host vehicle may be performed simultaneously, or only one of them may be performed.

  Next, an example of the operation of the driving support device and the driving support method according to the present embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 2 shows that the CPU of the driving assistance ECU 12 shown in FIG. 1 detects that the oncoming vehicle protrudes from the lane toward the own vehicle based on the image data around the front of the vehicle and drives the other vehicle and the own vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure at the time of alert | reporting danger with respect to a hand. In FIG. 2, a symbol with a number added to S indicates each step of the flowchart.

  This procedure starts when the driving assistance ECU 12 acquires image data around the front of the vehicle from the camera 11. Note that the storage unit 13 stores vehicle front image data.

  First, in step S1, the lane detection unit 21 performs edge detection on the image data output by the camera 11, and stores a line segment obtained by approximating the extracted edge by the least square method. A lane adjacent to the host vehicle is detected by performing matching using the lane image database stored in FIG.

  Next, in step S2, the oncoming vehicle detection unit 22 performs edge detection on the image data output by the camera 11, and performs matching on the extracted edge using the vehicle front image data, thereby detecting the oncoming vehicle. Attempt detection. If an oncoming vehicle is detected, the process proceeds to step S3. On the other hand, when no oncoming vehicle is detected, the series of procedures is terminated.

  Next, in step S <b> 3, the dangerous behavior determination unit 23 compares the pixel position of the adjacent lane detected by the lane detection unit 21 with the pixel position of the oncoming vehicle detected by the oncoming vehicle detection unit 22. It is determined whether or not the vehicle protrudes from the adjacent lane. If the oncoming vehicle protrudes from the adjacent lane, the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, when the oncoming vehicle does not protrude from the adjacent lane, the series of procedures ends.

  Next, in step S4, the warning unit 24 notifies the driver of the oncoming vehicle of the danger by at least one of blinking of the lighting device 16 (passing) and output of a warning sound via the horn 17, and the speaker 18 is turned on. The danger of the driver of the host vehicle is notified by at least one of the voice output and buzzer output and warning display on the display device 19.

  By the above procedure, it is possible to detect that the oncoming vehicle protrudes from the lane toward the own vehicle based on the image data around the front of the vehicle and to notify the other vehicle and the driver of the own vehicle of the danger. it can.

  The driving assistance device 10 according to the present embodiment can detect adjacent lanes and oncoming vehicles and determine dangerous behavior of oncoming vehicles using image data output from a camera that is provided in the vehicle and captures the front periphery. can do. For this reason, it is possible to detect that the oncoming vehicle protrudes from the lane toward the own vehicle with a very simple configuration as compared with the case where the driver's biological reaction, inter-vehicle communication, radar, or the like is used. .

  Further, when the driving assistance apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment determines that the oncoming vehicle protrudes from the adjacent lane based on the information on the adjacent lane and the oncoming vehicle detected using the image data around the front of the vehicle, Without using communication, danger can be notified to the driver of another vehicle by passing or horning.

  In addition, although some embodiment of this invention was described, these embodiment is shown as an example and is not intending limiting the range of invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

  Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, each step of the flowchart shows an example of processing that is performed in time series in the order described. The process to be executed is also included.

10 driving support device 11 camera 12 driving support ECU
13 storage unit 16 lighting device 17 horn 18 speaker 19 display device 21 lane detection unit 22 oncoming vehicle detection unit 23 dangerous behavior determination unit 24 alarm unit

Claims (5)

A camera that is provided in a vehicle and images the front periphery of the vehicle and outputs image data;
A lane detector for detecting a lane adjacent to the vehicle based on the image data;
An oncoming vehicle detection unit for detecting an oncoming vehicle based on the image data;
A dangerous behavior determination unit for determining whether the oncoming vehicle protrudes from the adjacent lane;
A driving assistance device comprising: When it is determined by the dangerous behavior determination unit that the oncoming vehicle protrudes from the adjacent lane, the oncoming vehicle is detected by at least one of blinking of the lighting device of the vehicle and output of a warning sound via the horn of the vehicle. An alarm unit that informs the driver of the danger,
The driving support device according to claim 1, further comprising: The alarm unit is
When it is determined by the dangerous behavior determination unit that the oncoming vehicle protrudes from the adjacent lane, the vehicle driver is further provided with audio output and buzzer output via the vehicle speaker, and Notifying the danger by at least one of warning indications for a display device provided at a position visible to the driver;
The driving support device according to claim 2. A storage unit that stores in advance image data of front surfaces of a plurality of vehicles that are candidates for the oncoming vehicle,
Further comprising
The oncoming vehicle detection unit
Detecting the oncoming vehicle by determining whether the image data output from the camera includes the image data of the front surface stored in the storage unit;
The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Obtaining image data from a camera provided in the vehicle and imaging the front of the vehicle;
Detecting a lane adjacent to the vehicle based on the image data;
Detecting an oncoming vehicle based on the image data;
Determining whether or not the oncoming vehicle protrudes from the adjacent lane;
A driving support method.

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