JP3835868B2 - Intersection vehicle monitoring system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an intersection passing vehicle monitoring system that monitors a vehicle passing through an intersection and identifies a violation vehicle.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Traditionally, traffic violations such as ignoring traffic signals and speed violations of vehicles passing through an intersection rely solely on police surveillance. It is impossible to place police officers at all intersections, and even if a police officer witnesses a violating vehicle, if he escapes at high speed, it is difficult to identify the violating vehicle.
[0003]
On the other hand, if the violating vehicle passing the intersection can be automatically identified and recorded unattended, the control will be much easier, and the traffic violation itself will be greatly reduced.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, conventionally, there is no technique for automatically identifying and recording a violating vehicle that passes through an intersection, and there is a problem that a human must be monitored to identify the violating vehicle.
An object of the present invention is to provide an intersection passing vehicle monitoring system capable of monitoring a vehicle passing through an intersection and identifying a violation vehicle.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a system for monitoring a vehicle passing through an intersection, an imaging device for imaging the vehicle from behind, and processing and processing the image obtained by the imaging device to detect and track the vehicle. An image processing device for identifying the violating vehicle, an imaging device for imaging the front surface of the vehicle, and recognition means for recognizing the vehicle number of the violating vehicle identified by the image processing device from the image obtained by the imaging device; And an output means for outputting the information of the vehicle number recognized by the recognition means together with the image obtained by the imaging device.
[0006]
Here, when the intersection passing vehicle monitoring system according to the present invention is applied to a signal ignoring suppression system, the photographing device is installed so that the vehicle can be photographed together with a traffic light installed at the intersection from behind, and the image processing device is obtained by the photographing device. The state of the traffic light is discriminated from the obtained image, and a process of identifying a violating vehicle that ignores the signal is performed based on the discrimination result.
[0007]
When the intersection passing vehicle monitoring system according to the present invention is applied to a speed violation inhibiting system, the image processing apparatus measures the speed of the vehicle passing through the intersection and performs processing for identifying the speed violation vehicle based on the measurement result.
[0008]
Further, when the intersection passing vehicle monitoring system according to the present invention is applied to the arrangement vehicle detection system, the image processing device recognizes the vehicle numbers of all the vehicles passing the intersection from the image obtained by the imaging device, and displays the recognition result. A process for identifying the arranged vehicle is performed.
[0009]
According to the intersection passing vehicle monitoring system of the present invention configured as described above, it is possible to automatically monitor a vehicle passing through the intersection and identify a violation vehicle.
In other words, the imaging device captures the vehicle from behind and also captures the traffic light. The image processing device determines the state of the traffic signal from the image obtained by the imaging device. By performing the identifying process, it is possible to identify a vehicle that violates signal ignorance.
[0010]
Moreover, the speed violation vehicle can be specified by measuring the speed of the vehicle passing through the intersection by the image processing device and performing the process of identifying the speed violation vehicle based on the measurement result.
[0011]
Further, the image processing device recognizes the vehicle numbers of all vehicles passing through the intersection from the image obtained by the imaging device, and performs processing for identifying the arranged vehicles based on the recognition result. Automatic detection can be performed.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an intersection passing vehicle monitoring system for suppressing signal ignorance and speed violation, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of each part.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 1, photographing devices 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d made up of, for example, CCD cameras and imaging devices 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D are installed at four entrances and exits of an intersection. The photographing devices 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d are installed toward the intersection on the left side when viewed in the vehicle traveling direction so that a vehicle passing through an intersection (hereinafter referred to as an intersection passing vehicle) including a traffic light can be photographed from behind. Has been.
[0014]
The imaging devices 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D are installed on the right side when viewed in the vehicle traveling direction so that the vehicle number of the vehicle passing through the intersection can be captured from the front, and the imaging devices 11a, A CCD camera having a higher resolution than 11b, 11c, and 11d is used, and a strobe is incorporated.
[0015]
An image processing device 13 is installed at an appropriate location on the road side of the intersection. As shown in FIG. 2, the image processing apparatus 13 includes a vehicle detection / tracking unit 21, a high-resolution camera interface unit 22, a CPU (microcomputer) unit 23, an image compression unit 24, and an image communication unit 25, which are buses. Connected by.
[0016]
The vehicle detection / tracking unit 21 detects an intersection passing vehicle from images obtained by the imaging devices 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d, and performs automatic tracking. As a vehicle detection method, for example, a moving body is detected by obtaining a difference between a background image and a captured image, and a detected moving body having a certain size (area) or more is detected as a vehicle. Can be used.
[0017]
The high resolution camera interface unit 22 takes in image signals from the imaging devices 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D, converts them into a predetermined format, and transfers them to the CPU unit 23 and the image compression unit 24. The CPU unit 23 controls the vehicle detection / tracking unit 21, the high-resolution camera interface unit 22, the image compression unit 24, and the image communication unit 25, and the vehicle detection / tracking unit 21 from the photographing devices 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d. The state of the traffic light is monitored from the image signal input via the terminal to determine whether or not the signal is ignored, or the speed of the vehicle is calculated to determine whether or not there is a speed violation.
[0018]
The image compression unit 24 compresses an image signal input from the imaging devices 12 </ b> A, 12 </ b> B, 12 </ b> C, and 12 </ b> D via the high resolution camera interface unit 22 and supplies the compressed image signal to the image communication unit 25. The image communication unit 25 transfers the compressed image signal to, for example, a personal computer (PC) 14 in an office installed at a location remote from the intersection.
[0019]
On the other hand, in addition to the personal computer 14, a storage device 15, a display device 16, and a printing device 17 are installed in the office. The personal computer 14 expands the compressed image signal transferred from the image processing device 15 to recognize the vehicle number, and stores information on the vehicle number in the storage device 15 together with the image. The display device 16 and the printing device 17 output a vehicle number recognition result and an image.
[0020]
Next, a vehicle monitoring process procedure for suppressing signal ignorance in the intersection passing vehicle monitoring system of the present embodiment will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG.
First, an intersection is first photographed by the photographing devices 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d (step S101). When the vehicle passes through the intersection, the vehicle passing through the intersection is photographed from behind including the traffic lights by the photographing device 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d at the rear in the vehicle passing direction. The image signal obtained by the photographing apparatus is input to the vehicle detection / tracking unit 21 in the image processing apparatus 15 installed on the road side, and a vehicle detection process is performed (step S102).
[0021]
Next, the state (light emission color) of the traffic light ahead of the crossing vehicle in the traveling direction is determined (step S103). In order to determine the state of the traffic signal, status information may be received from the traffic signal, but if the traffic signal does not have such a function, the status of the traffic signal is monitored by the CPU unit 23 from an image obtained by the photographing apparatus. Then, the state of the traffic light may be determined based on the luminance difference between the bright positions when the traffic light is “blue” and “red”.
[0022]
Next, it is determined whether or not an intersection passing vehicle is detected by the vehicle detection process in step S102 (step S104). Here, when a vehicle is not detected, it returns to step S101 and imaging | photography by an imaging device is continued. When a vehicle is detected, it is determined from the signal state determination result in step S103 whether or not the vehicle is a signal-ignoring vehicle (step S105). That is, when an intersection passing vehicle is detected in step S104, if the traffic light is “red”, the vehicle is determined to be a signal ignoring vehicle. If it is determined in step S105 that the vehicle is not a signal ignoring vehicle, the process returns to step S101, and photographing by the photographing device is continued.
[0023]
If it is determined in step S105 that the intersection passing vehicle is a signal ignoring vehicle, before the signal ignoring vehicle changes its direction, the imaging device 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D in front of the vehicle passing direction, The front surface of the vehicle is imaged so that the vehicle number (number plate) and the windshield simultaneously enter the field of view (step S106). The image signal obtained by this imaging device is input to the image compression unit 24 via the high resolution camera interface unit 22 and compressed (step S111). The compressed image signal is subjected to image communication by the image communication unit 25 and transferred to the personal computer 14 installed in the remote office (step S112). The personal computer 14 expands the transferred image signal, recognizes the vehicle number from the image, and stores the vehicle number information in the storage device 15 together with the image on the front of the vehicle.
[0024]
In this case, after the front surface of the vehicle is imaged by the imaging device in step S106, a series of processing of the intersection imaging by the imaging device (step S107), the traffic light state determination (step S108), and the vehicle tracking process (step S109) is performed in step S110. The vehicle tracking process is repeated until it is determined that the vehicle tracking process is completed, and one or more image signals during vehicle tracking are transferred to the personal computer 14 by image compression in step S111 and image communication in step S112, and the vehicle number This information can be stored in the storage device 15 together with the image on the front of the vehicle, so that the violation situation of the vehicle can be checked later.
[0025]
The personal computer 14 recognizes the vehicle number by, for example, searching for a character string frequency component of the vehicle number from the transferred image signal as a plate candidate, performing plate color determination, and then capitalizing ( (Serial number) can be realized by recognizing the character to determine whether it is a plate and recognizing the remaining characters.
[0026]
The information on the vehicle number of the violating vehicle and the image signal stored in the storage device 15 are input to the display device 16 and the printing device 17, and the vehicle number of the violating vehicle and the driver's face image and traffic light imaged through the windshield. Are displayed and printed out. Therefore, from these vehicle numbers and images, it is possible to easily identify the violating vehicle that has ignored the signal and its driver.
[0027]
When the image communication in step S112 ends, the process returns to step 101 and waits for the next intersection passing vehicle.
Next, a vehicle monitoring process procedure for speed violation suppression in the intersection passing vehicle monitoring system of the present embodiment will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. The system configuration is the same as that shown in FIG.
[0028]
First, an intersection is first photographed by the photographing devices 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d (step S201). When the vehicle passes through the intersection, the vehicle passing through the intersection is photographed from behind including the traffic lights by the photographing device 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d at the rear in the vehicle passing direction. The image signal obtained by the photographing apparatus is input to the vehicle detection / tracking unit 21 in the image processing apparatus 15 installed on the road side, and a vehicle detection process is performed (step S202).
[0029]
Next, it is determined whether or not an intersection passing vehicle is detected by the vehicle detection process in step S202 (step S203). Here, when a vehicle is not detected, it returns to step S101 and imaging | photography by an imaging device is continued. When the vehicle is detected, the vehicle is continuously photographed by the photographing device that has detected the vehicle (step S204), and the vehicle tracking process is performed by the vehicle detection / tracking unit 21 based on the image signal obtained by the photographing device. (Step S205).
[0030]
Then, in accordance with the vehicle tracking process, the speed v (average speed) of the vehicle is calculated by the CPU 23 from the photographing time interval and the moving amount of the vehicle within the time interval (step S206). In this speed calculation, for example, the distance L between two points in the image is measured in advance, and the time t during which the vehicle passes between the two points is calculated, whereby the average speed v = L between the two points. This can be done by calculating / t.
[0031]
Next, it is determined whether or not the speed v calculated in step S206 exceeds the speed limit (step 207). Here, if the speed is not exceeded, the process returns to step S101, and photographing by the photographing apparatus is continued. If it is determined in step S207 that the speed has been exceeded, it is checked whether or not it is an imaging point (step S208). If it is not an imaging point, the process returns to step S204, and if it is an imaging point, imaging devices 12A, 12B, 12C and 12D. The front of the vehicle is imaged so that the vehicle number (number plate) and the windshield are simultaneously in the field of view by the imaging device in front of the vehicle passing direction (step S209).
[0032]
The image signal obtained by this imaging device is input to the image compression unit 24 via the high resolution camera interface unit 22 and compressed (step S210). The compressed image signal is subjected to image communication by the image communication unit 25 and transferred to the personal computer 14 installed in the remote office (step S211). The personal computer 14 expands the transferred image signal, recognizes the vehicle number from the image, and stores the vehicle number information in the storage device 15 together with the image on the front of the vehicle.
[0033]
The personal computer 14 recognizes the vehicle number by, for example, searching for a character string frequency component of the vehicle number from the transferred image signal as a plate candidate, performing plate color determination, and then capitalizing ( (Serial number) can be realized by recognizing the character to determine whether it is a plate and recognizing the remaining characters.
[0034]
The vehicle number information and image signal of the speed violation vehicle stored in the storage device 15 are input to the display device 16 and the printing device 17, and the vehicle number of the speed violation vehicle and the driver's face image captured through the windshield. And the image of the traffic light is displayed and printed out. Therefore, it is possible to easily identify the speed violation vehicle and its driver from these vehicle numbers and images.
[0035]
When the image communication in step S211 is completed, the process returns to step 201 and waits for the next intersection passing vehicle.
Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of each part in an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an arrangement vehicle detection system. The same parts as those in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, a vehicle number recognition unit 26 is added to the image processing apparatus 13 in addition to the configuration in FIG. A console / monitor 27 is attached. The vehicle number recognition unit 26 automatically recognizes vehicle numbers of all intersection passing vehicles in real time from image signals obtained by imaging the front surface of the vehicle with the imaging devices 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D.
[0036]
Next, the processing procedure of the arrangement vehicle detection in this embodiment is demonstrated using the flowchart shown in FIG.
First, an intersection is first photographed by the photographing devices 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d (step S301). When the vehicle passes through the intersection, the vehicle passing through the intersection is photographed from behind including the traffic lights by the photographing device 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d at the rear in the vehicle passing direction. The image signal obtained by the photographing device is input to the vehicle detection / tracking unit 21 in the image processing device 15 installed on the road side, and a vehicle detection process is performed (step S302).
[0037]
Next, it is determined whether or not an intersection passing vehicle is detected by the vehicle detection process in step S302 (step S303). Here, when a vehicle is not detected, it returns to step S301 and imaging | photography by an imaging device is continued. When the vehicle is detected, the front of the vehicle is imaged by the imaging device ahead of the vehicle passing direction among the imaging devices 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D so that the vehicle number (number plate) and the windshield simultaneously enter the field of view. (Step S304).
[0038]
The image signal obtained by this imaging device is input to the vehicle number recognition unit 26 via the high resolution camera interface unit 22, where the vehicle number is automatically recognized in real time (step S305). The CPU unit 23 checks whether or not the vehicle number recognized by the vehicle number recognition unit 26 is a number that is being arranged.
[0039]
After automatic recognition of the vehicle number and identification of the arranged vehicle in step S305, it is determined in step S308 that the vehicle tracking process has been completed in step S308 for photographing the intersection (step S306) and vehicle tracking process (step S307) by the photographing device. 1 to a plurality of image signals during tracking of the vehicle, and if the arranged vehicle is detected in step S305 by image compression in step S309 and image communication and console display in step S310, that fact and the vehicle of the arranged vehicle The number and the image are transferred to the personal computer 14 installed in the remote office via the image compression unit 24 and the image communication unit 25, and output to the console / monitor 27 for display.
When the process of step S310 ends, the process returns to step 301 and waits for the next intersection passing vehicle.
[0040]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the vehicle is detected and tracked from the image obtained by photographing the vehicle with the photographing device to identify the violating vehicle, and obtained by photographing the front surface of the vehicle with the imaging device. The vehicle number of the violating vehicle is recognized from the captured image by the image processing device, and the information on the recognized vehicle number is displayed or printed together with the image of the front of the vehicle obtained by the imaging device, so that the vehicle passes through the intersection. It is possible to automatically monitor a vehicle to identify a violating vehicle. Therefore, it is easy to control traffic violations, and traffic violations themselves can be reduced.
[0041]
In other words, the imaging device is installed so that the vehicle can be photographed with a traffic light installed at the intersection from behind, and the state of the traffic signal is determined from the image obtained by the imaging device with the image processing device, and the signal is ignored based on the determination result. By performing the process of identifying the violating vehicle, it is possible to identify the ignoring signal ignoring vehicle.
[0042]
Moreover, the speed violation vehicle can be specified by measuring the speed of the vehicle passing through the intersection by the image processing device and performing the process of identifying the speed violation vehicle based on the measurement result.
[0043]
Furthermore, the automatic detection of the arranged vehicle is performed by recognizing the vehicle numbers of all the vehicles passing through the intersection from the image obtained by the imaging device in the image processing device and identifying the arranged vehicle based on the recognition result. It becomes possible.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an intersection passing vehicle monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of each part of the intersection passing vehicle monitoring system according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for suppressing speed violation in the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a crossing vehicle monitoring system according to another embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram which shows the detailed structure of each part of FIG. 6 is a flowchart which shows the process sequence for the arrangement vehicle detection which concerns on the same embodiment
11a, 11b, 11c, 11d ... Imaging devices 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D ... Imaging device 13 ... Image processing device 14 ... Personal computer 15 ... Storage device 16 ... Display device 17 ... Printing device 21 ... Vehicle detection / tracking unit 22 ... High resolution camera interface unit 23 ... CPU unit 24 ... image compression unit 25 ... image recognition unit 26 ... vehicle number recognition unit 27 ... console / monitor

Claims (1)

In a system for monitoring vehicles passing an intersection,
A photographing device installed so that the vehicle can be photographed together with a traffic light installed at an intersection from behind, and an image signal corresponding to the photographed image ;
A moving object is detected by processing an image signal output from the photographing device, and a moving object of a certain size or more is detected as a vehicle, and the state of the traffic light is determined from the image signal, and the determination result An image processing device for performing processing for identifying whether a vehicle detected based on the above is a violation vehicle of signal ignorance ,
An imaging device for imaging the vehicle number of the vehicle, the driver's face image and the traffic light from the front of the vehicle;
Recognizing means for recognizing the vehicle number of the violating vehicle identified by the image processing device from the image obtained by the imaging device;
An intersection passing vehicle monitoring system comprising: output means for outputting information on the vehicle number recognized by the recognition means together with an image obtained by the imaging device.

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