JP7169075B2 - Imaging control device and imaging control method - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to an imaging control device and an imaging control method for controlling an imaging device arranged in a vehicle.

Conventionally, Patent Literature 1 discloses a notification processing device that captures an image in front of a vehicle with an imaging device and recognizes a specific sign from the captured image thus obtained. As in Patent Document 1, it is known to use an image obtained by capturing an image of the surroundings of a vehicle to recognize an object on the road surface for automatic driving or automatic driving support of the vehicle.

JP 2017-102007 A

However, with the conventional technology described above, it is difficult to easily recognize an object from an image obtained by an imaging device installed in a vehicle.

Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide an imaging control device and the like that can cause an imaging device to capture an image in which an object can be easily recognized.

An imaging control device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is an imaging control device that causes an imaging device arranged in a vehicle to capture an image of the surroundings of the vehicle, wherein the vehicle travels in a traveling direction of the vehicle and along the traveling direction. a first position estimating unit that obtains a speed vector indicating the speed of the vehicle or route data indicating a route that the vehicle travels, and estimates a position where the vehicle will travel in the future using the obtained speed vector or the route data; , the road surface information for estimating the shape of the road surface or the state of the road surface including the estimated position where the vehicle will travel in the future detected by the sensor arranged in the vehicle, or the road surface information captured by the imaging device Acquiring an image including a road surface at a position where the vehicle is estimated to travel in the future, and using the acquired road surface information or the image, the road surface at the position where the vehicle will travel in the future estimated by the first position estimating unit. A road surface estimation unit for estimating the rate of change in height along the direction of travel or the condition of the road surface, and the rate of change in height along the direction of travel of the road surface estimated by the road surface estimation unit or the road surface a changing unit that changes a parameter of the imaging device, which is at least one of the shutter speed of the imaging device and the sensitivity of the imaging device, and the vehicle estimated by the first position estimating unit according to the state of and a control unit that causes the imaging device to capture an image using the parameter changed by the change unit at a timing when the vehicle passes a position where the vehicle will travel in the future.

In addition, these general or specific aspects may be realized by a system, method, integrated circuit, computer program, or a recording medium such as a computer-readable CD-ROM. and any combination of recording media.

According to the imaging control device according to the present disclosure, it is possible to cause the imaging device to capture an image in which the object can be easily recognized.

FIG. 1 is an external view of a vehicle according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a vehicle provided with the imaging control device according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle provided with the imaging control device according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is an image diagram showing combinations of noise levels and exposures that can be achieved with a plurality of different shutter speeds. FIG. 5 is an image diagram showing the recognition rate and combinations of noise level and exposure when an image is recognized using a predetermined recognition algorithm. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an imaging control method by the imaging control device according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the imaging control method by the imaging control device. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle provided with an imaging control device according to Modification 1. As shown in FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an imaging control method by an imaging control device according to Modification 1. FIG. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the moving speed of an object between a plurality of images of the object. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle provided with an imaging control device according to Modification 2. As shown in FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an imaging control method by an imaging control device according to Modification 2. FIG.

(Knowledge on which the present invention is based)
The inventors of the present invention have found that the following problems occur in the information processing apparatus described in the "Background Art" section.

In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the vehicle runs on rough roads such as gravel and cobblestones, road surfaces with unevenness and steps, and the posture of the vehicle suddenly changes, an imaging device installed in the vehicle is detected. attitude changes rapidly. For this reason, an image obtained by the imaging device is blurred or distorted, and it is difficult to recognize an object (including a person) reflected in the image.

An imaging control device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is an imaging control device that causes an imaging device arranged in a vehicle to capture an image of the surroundings of the vehicle, and the vehicle travels along the traveling direction of the vehicle and the traveling direction. A first position estimating unit that acquires a speed vector indicating the speed of the vehicle or route data indicating the route that the vehicle travels, and estimates a future travel position of the vehicle using the acquired speed vector or the route data. and road surface information for estimating the shape of the road surface or the state of the road surface including the estimated position where the vehicle will travel in the future detected by the sensor arranged in the vehicle, or road surface information captured by the imaging device obtaining an image including a road surface at a position where the vehicle is estimated to travel in the future; a road surface estimation unit for estimating a rate of change in height along the direction of travel of the road surface or the condition of the road surface; a changing unit that changes a parameter of the imaging device, which is at least one of a shutter speed of the imaging device and a sensitivity of the imaging device, according to a road surface condition; and the future estimated by the first position estimating unit. and a control unit that causes the imaging device to capture an image using the parameter changed by the change unit at a timing when the vehicle passes the traveling position.

According to this, at the timing when the vehicle actually passes through the road surface at the position where the vehicle will travel in the future, it is possible to cause the image capturing device to perform image capturing using the parameters changed according to the pre-estimated shape or state of the road surface. In other words, the imaging device can capture an image with parameters appropriately set according to the rate of change in the height of the road surface along the traveling direction of the vehicle or the state of the road surface, so that the imaging device can easily recognize an object. can be imaged.

Further, a second position estimating unit for estimating a current position of the vehicle is provided, and the first position estimating unit further uses the current position of the vehicle estimated by the second position estimating unit to obtain the The future traveled position of the vehicle may be estimated.

Therefore, it is possible to accurately estimate the position where the vehicle will travel in the future.

The first position estimator obtains the velocity vector, and the changer adjusts the rate of change of the height of the road along the direction of travel estimated by the road surface estimator and the velocity vector. , the magnitude of the speed at which the imaging device moves in the direction parallel to the imaging surface of the imaging device is estimated at the timing. At least one of changing the speed to a smaller value and (ii) changing the sensitivity to a larger value may be performed.

Therefore, as the speed in the parallel direction of the imaging device increases, the shutter speed is changed to a smaller value, and the sensitivity is changed to a higher value. . Therefore, blurring, distortion, and the like in the obtained image can be reduced.

Further, the changing unit determines the shutter speed according to the estimated magnitude of the speed in the parallel direction, and determines the object from the image obtained by the imaging device capturing the image at the determined shutter speed. The noise level and the exposure at which the recognition rate when recognizing with a predetermined recognition algorithm is greater than a predetermined value are specified, and the parameters of the imaging device are added to the determined shutter speed and the sensitivity corresponding to the specified exposure. may be changed.

Therefore, it is possible to cause the imaging device to capture an image with parameters that improve the recognition rate of the object reflected in the image. Therefore, it is possible to cause the imaging device to capture an image in which the object can be easily recognized.

Further, when the image captured by the imaging device is acquired, and the blurring of the object in the acquired image is detected, and the blurring of the object in the image is detected, (i) the shutter speed is changed. A blur correction unit may be provided that causes the changing unit to perform at least one of changing the sensitivity to a smaller value and (ii) changing the sensitivity to a larger value.

For this reason, even if blurring occurs in an image captured with the parameters changed by the changing unit, the image capturing apparatus is caused to capture images with changed parameters so as not to cause blurring when capturing images at the next timing. can be done.

Further, the moving speed of the object is estimated based on a change in the position of the object included in each of a plurality of images obtained by the imaging device a plurality of times, and the magnitude of the estimated moving speed is A speed correction unit may be provided that causes the changing unit to perform at least one of (i) changing the shutter speed to a smaller value and (ii) changing the sensitivity to a larger value as the shutter speed increases.

Therefore, even when the object is moving within the imaging range of the imaging device, the object can be imaged by the imaging device with appropriate parameters.

Further, the changing unit acquires illuminance information indicated by illuminance, which is a detection result of an illuminance sensor that detects the illuminance of the environment in which the imaging device is arranged, and the smaller the illuminance indicated by the acquired illuminance information, the ( At least one of i) changing the shutter speed to a lower value and (ii) changing the sensitivity to a higher value may be performed.

Therefore, it is possible to cause the imaging device to perform imaging with appropriate parameters according to the illuminance.

The road surface estimation unit estimates a rate of change in the height of the road surface along the traveling direction at the future travel position estimated by the first position estimation unit, Then, the parameters of the imaging device may be changed according to the rate of change in the height of the road surface along the traveling direction at the estimated position.

With this configuration, it is possible to change the parameters of the imaging device according to the rate of change in the height of the road along the direction of travel at the position where the vehicle is estimated to travel in the future.

In addition, these general or specific aspects may be realized by a system, method, integrated circuit, computer program, or a recording medium such as a computer-readable CD-ROM. Or it may be realized by any combination of recording media.

Hereinafter, an imaging control device and an imaging control method according to one aspect of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

It should be noted that each of the embodiments described below is a specific example of the present disclosure. Numerical values, shapes, materials, components, arrangement positions and connection forms of components, steps, order of steps, and the like shown in the following embodiments are examples, and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. In addition, among the constituent elements in the following embodiments, constituent elements that are not described in independent claims representing the highest concept will be described as arbitrary constituent elements.

(Embodiment)
Embodiments will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG.

[1-1. Constitution]
FIG. 1 is an external view of a vehicle according to an embodiment.

An imaging device 210 that captures an image in front of the vehicle is arranged in the vehicle 200 . The imaging device 210 is not limited to the front of the vehicle 200, and may image the surroundings of the vehicle 200, and may image the left direction, the right direction, the rear direction, and the like of the vehicle 200. FIG. The image captured by the imaging device 210 is used to recognize objects around the vehicle 200 . The recognized result is used for automatic driving or driving assistance of the vehicle 200 .

A distance sensor 201 is arranged above the vehicle 200 . Distance sensor 201 detects the distance to objects around vehicle 200 . Distance information indicating the distance detected by the distance sensor 201 is used, for example, to estimate the position of the vehicle 200 in automatic driving or automatic driving assistance.

The imaging control device 100 controls imaging by the imaging device 210 .

Next, a specific example of the hardware configuration of vehicle 200 including imaging control device 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a vehicle provided with the imaging control device according to the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 200 includes an imaging control device 100, an imaging device 210, a distance sensor 201, and an operation control device 300 as a hardware configuration. Vehicle 200 may further include an acceleration sensor 202 and an illumination sensor 203 .

The imaging control apparatus 100 includes a CPU 101 (Central Processing Unit), a main memory 102, a storage 103, and a communication IF (Interface) 104 as a hardware configuration. The imaging control device 100 may include a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) 105 . Also, the imaging control device 100 may be an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), for example.

The CPU 101 is a processor that executes control programs stored in the storage 103 or the like. For example, when the CPU 101 executes a control program, each block of the imaging control apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 3 (to be described later) functions.

The main memory 102 is a volatile storage area used as a work area used when the CPU 101 executes the control program.

The storage 103 is a nonvolatile storage area that holds control programs, contents, and the like.

The communication IF 104 is a communication interface that communicates with the imaging device 210 via a communication network such as CAN (Controller Area Network). Note that the communication interface 104 is not limited to a communication interface for wired communication, and may be a communication interface for wireless communication. Further, the communication IF 104 may be any communication interface as long as it can establish a communication connection with the imaging device 210, the operation control device 300, various sensors 201 to 203, and the like. Also, the communication IF 104 may be a communication interface that can be connected to a general-purpose network such as the Internet or a dedicated network.

The GNSS 105 receives information indicating the position of the GNSS 105 from satellites including GPS satellites. That is, GNSS 105 detects the current position of vehicle 200 .

The imaging device 210 is a camera having an optical system such as a lens and an image sensor. The imaging device 210 is connected to the imaging control device 100 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

Distance sensor 201 detects the distance to objects around vehicle 200 . Specifically, the distance sensor 201 detects a distance to an object within a detection range of 360 degrees in all directions in the horizontal direction of the vehicle 200 and a predetermined angle (for example, 30 degrees) in the vertical direction. A three-dimensional shape of terrain including objects around the vehicle 200 can be generated from the distance detected by the distance sensor 201 . For example, as a three-dimensional shape of terrain including objects around the vehicle 200, a three-dimensional shape of obstacles and a road surface around the traveling vehicle 200 can be generated. By setting the detection range of the distance sensor 201 to the range described above, it is possible to generate a three-dimensional shape including the road surface on which the vehicle will travel in the future. The distance sensor 201 is, for example, a laser sensor such as LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging).

The acceleration sensor 202 is, for example, a sensor that detects acceleration in each of three axial directions of the vehicle 200 . The acceleration sensor 202 may be a sensor that detects acceleration on each of two horizontal axes. Acceleration sensor 202 detects the velocity vector of vehicle 200 by detecting the acceleration of vehicle 200 in each of the three axial directions.

The illuminance sensor 203 is arranged in the space where the imaging device 210 is arranged, and detects the illuminance of the space. The illuminance sensor 203 may be arranged inside the vehicle 200, for example.

The driving control device 300 is an information processing device that controls driving of the vehicle 200 . The operation control device 300 has, for example, a CPU, main memory, storage, communication IF and the like. The operation control device 300 may be implemented with a common configuration with the imaging control device 100 . That is, operation control device 300 may be realized by CPU101, main memory 102, storage 103, and communication IF104. Further, the operation control device 300 may be implemented by an ECU, for example, and when the imaging control device 100 is implemented by an ECU, it may be implemented by an ECU that implements the imaging control device 100. It may be implemented by an ECU different from the ECU that implements the control device 100 .

Next, the functional configuration of the vehicle including the imaging control device will be described with reference to FIG. 3 .

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle provided with the imaging control device according to the embodiment.

The vehicle 200 includes an imaging control device 100, an imaging device 210, a road surface detection section 220, a speed detection section 230, an illumination detection section 240, and an operation control device 300 as functional configurations.

The imaging device 210 generates an image of the surroundings of the vehicle 200 by imaging the surroundings of the vehicle 200 . The imaging device 210 images the surroundings of the vehicle 200 at a plurality of different timings. The imaging device 210 images the surroundings of the vehicle 200 at predetermined sampling intervals such as 1/30 second and 1/20 second, for example. Similar to the detection range of the distance sensor 201, the imaging range of the imaging device 210 is, for example, 360 degrees in all directions in the horizontal direction of the vehicle 200 and an angle range of a predetermined angle (for example, 30 degrees) in the vertical direction. may be Note that if the imaging range of the imaging device 210 is set as described above, it is possible to generate a three-dimensional shape including the road surface on which the vehicle will travel in the future.

Note that the sampling period of the imaging device 210 is not limited to 1/30 seconds and 1/20 seconds. In addition, the image capturing device 210 does not have to perform image capturing at a predetermined sampling period, may perform image capturing at random time intervals, or may adjust the timing of image capturing depending on the situation.

Road surface detection unit 220 detects road surface information for estimating the shape or condition of the road surface of vehicle 200 . The road surface detection unit 220 detects, for example, the distance from the vehicle 200 to objects around the vehicle 200 . Further, the road surface detection unit 220 may detect the laser reflectance of the road surface around the vehicle 200, for example. The road surface detection unit 220 is implemented by, for example, a sensor, more specifically, the distance sensor 201 . For example, the distance information to the road surface around the vehicle 200 detected by the distance sensor 201 is road surface information for estimating the shape of the road surface of the vehicle 200, and the reflectance of the laser on the road surface around the vehicle 200 indicates the state of the road surface. Corresponds to road surface information for estimation.

Speed detector 230 detects a speed vector of vehicle 200 . The velocity vector of vehicle 200 is, for example, information indicating the traveling direction of vehicle 200 and the speed of vehicle 200 traveling in this traveling direction. The velocity vector is also called moving velocity. In other words, speed detection unit 230 detects the traveling direction of vehicle 200 and the magnitude of the moving speed in the traveling direction. The speed detection unit 230 is realized by the acceleration sensor 202, for example.

The illuminance detection unit 240 detects the illuminance of the space in which the imaging device 210 is arranged. The illuminance detection unit 240 detects the illuminance inside the vehicle 200, for example. The illuminance detection unit 240 is realized by the illuminance sensor 203, for example.

Operation control device 300 controls operation of vehicle 200 . Specifically, the operation control device 300 controls the steering that steers the wheels, the engine that rotates the wheels, the power source such as the motor, the brake that brakes the wheels, and the like, thereby automatically driving or driving the vehicle 200. provide support. For example, the driving control device 300 uses the current position of the vehicle 200, the destination of the vehicle 200, and surrounding road information to determine a global route indicating which road the vehicle 200 will travel. Operation control device 300 then generates local route data indicating a local route along which vehicle 200 travels on the determined global route. In addition, the operation control device 300 uses at least one of the image captured by the imaging device 210 and the distance to the object detected by the distance sensor 201 to detect obstacles in the traveling direction of the vehicle 200 while the vehicle 200 is running. To detect. As a result, when an obstacle is detected, the operation control device 300 generates local route data indicating a local route avoiding the obstacle on the determined global route. The operation control device 300 also controls the steering, power source, and brakes so that the vehicle travels on the route indicated by the generated route data. The operation control device 300 may output to the imaging control device 100 the generated route data, the obstacle information indicating the result of detecting the obstacle, and the like.

The imaging control device 100 includes a first position estimation section 110, a road surface estimation section 120, a change section 130, and a control section 140 as functional configurations. The imaging control device 100 may further include a second position estimation section 150 . In addition, the imaging control device 100 may further include a speed correction section (not shown). In addition, the imaging control device 100 may further include a blur correction section (not shown).

Second position estimator 150 estimates the current position of vehicle 200 . The 2nd position estimation part 150 may estimate the present position of the vehicle 200 using the information received by GNSS105, for example. In this case, the 2nd position estimation part 150 is implement|achieved by CPU101, the main memory 102, the storage 103, and GNSS105, for example.

Second position estimating section 150 may also estimate the current position of vehicle 200 using the history of steering angle and wheel speed of vehicle 200 . In this case, the second position estimator 150 is realized by the CPU 101, the main memory 102, the storage 103 and the communication IF 104, for example. The steering angle and wheel speed history of vehicle 200 may be periodically stored in storage 103 via communication IF 104 . Further, the steering angle and wheel speed history of vehicle 200 may be obtained via communication IF 104 from another storage that stores the steering variation history and wheel speed variation history of vehicle 200 .

Second position estimating section 150 may also estimate the current position of vehicle 200 using the acceleration history of vehicle 200 . In this case, the second position estimator 150 is realized by the CPU 101, the main memory 102, the storage 103 and the communication IF 104, for example. The acceleration history may be periodically stored in the storage 103 via the communication IF 104 . Also, the history of acceleration of vehicle 200 may be acquired via communication IF 104 from another storage that stores the detection results of the acceleration sensor arranged on vehicle 200 .

Further, the second position estimating unit 150 matches the 3D shape of the landform around the vehicle 200 generated from the distance detected by the distance sensor 201 with the 3D shape of the landform acquired in advance to determine the position of the vehicle. 200 current position may be estimated. In this case, the second position estimator 150 is realized by the CPU 101, the main memory 102, the storage 103 and the communication IF 104, for example. Distance information indicating the distance detected by the distance sensor 201 may be acquired via the communication IF 104 .

First position estimator 110 acquires the speed vector or route data of vehicle 200, and estimates the future travel position of vehicle 200 using the acquired speed vector or route data. The first position estimator 110 may acquire the velocity vector from the velocity detector 230 . First position estimating section 110 acquires a velocity vector from the traveling direction and speed of vehicle 200 calculated from the temporal transition of the current position of vehicle 200 estimated by second position estimating section 150. good too. The first position estimator 110 may acquire route data from the operation control device 300 . The 1st position estimation part 110 is implement|achieved by CPU101, the main memory 102, the storage 103, and communication IF104, for example.

First position estimating section 110 may estimate a position a predetermined distance away from vehicle 200 on a route identified from the route data of vehicle 200 as the position where vehicle 200 is estimated to travel in the future. Note that the predetermined distance may be a distance equal to or less than the maximum detectable distance of the distance sensor 201 . In addition, the predetermined distance is the distance traveled by the vehicle 200 during a predetermined sampling period of the image capturing device 210 (that is, the time from when the image capturing device 210 captures one image to when the next image is captured). It may be a large distance. In this case, the speed of vehicle 200 may be fixed at a predetermined speed (eg, 50 km/h, 100 km/h, etc.).

Further, the first position estimating unit 110 may estimate a position where the vehicle 200 will pass after a predetermined time as the position where the vehicle 200 will travel in the future. In this case, the first position estimating unit 110 may estimate the position to be reached when the vehicle 200 travels in the current traveling direction at the current speed for a predetermined time after a predetermined time from the velocity vector of the vehicle 200 as the future travel position.

When the current position of vehicle 200 is estimated by second position estimating unit 150, first position estimating unit 110 further uses the current position of vehicle 200 estimated by second position estimating unit 150 to determine whether vehicle 200 is A position to travel in the future may be estimated.

The road surface estimation unit 120 acquires distance information detected by the distance sensor 201 arranged in the vehicle 200 or an image captured by the imaging device 210, and uses the acquired distance information or image to determine the first position. The shape of the road surface or the state of the road surface at the position where the vehicle 200 will travel in the future estimated by the estimation unit 110 is estimated. Specifically, the road surface estimation unit 120 generates a three-dimensional shape of terrain including objects around the vehicle 200 generated from the distance information detected by the distance sensor 201 corresponding to the road surface detection unit 220, and generates the The three-dimensional shape may be used to estimate the shape of the road surface where the vehicle 200 will travel in the future.

For example, the road surface estimation unit 120 generates a three-dimensional shape of terrain including objects around the vehicle 200 from the distance information generated by the distance sensor 201 . In addition, since the road surface is located on the lower side of the detection range of the distance sensor 201, particularly in the vertical direction, for example, from the distance to the object detected from a certain range including the lower boundary of the detection range of the distance sensor 201 The generated three-dimensional shape may be the three-dimensional shape of the road surface. Alternatively, along with the detection by the distance sensor 201 , the surroundings of the vehicle 200 may be imaged using the imaging device 210 . In this case, the road surface estimation unit 120 identifies the road surface included in the captured image using, for example, image recognition technology, and determines the 3D shape of the portion of the generated 3D shape corresponding to the identified road surface as the road surface. A three-dimensional shape may also be used.

In addition, the road surface estimation unit 120 may generate a three-dimensional shape of the terrain including objects around the vehicle 200 using image recognition technology, for example, from images obtained by the imaging device 210 at predetermined sampling intervals. . Since the imaging range of the imaging device 210 includes the road surface, the captured image includes the road surface image. Therefore, the three-dimensional shape generated from the image includes the three-dimensional shape of the road surface. The road surface estimation unit 120 may identify the road surface included in the image. The road surface estimation unit 120 may use the 3D shape of the portion of the generated 3D shape corresponding to the identified road surface as the 3D shape of the road surface.

The road surface estimation unit 120 may use the generated three-dimensional shape to estimate the shape of the road surface where the vehicle 200 will travel in the future.

Here, the shape of the road surface where the vehicle 200 will travel in the future includes a shape change rate that indicates the rate at which the height of the vehicle 200 changes when the vehicle 200 travels on the road surface along the direction of travel. good too. In other words, the shape of the road surface where the vehicle 200 will travel in the future includes the rate of change in the height of the road surface along the traveling direction. The height of the road surface is the position of the road surface in the vertical direction.

Moreover, the road surface estimation unit 120 may estimate the state of the road surface using the laser reflectance detected by the distance sensor 201 . Laser reflectance is an example of road surface information used for estimating the state of the road surface. Further, the road surface estimation unit 120 may use the image of the road surface obtained by the imaging device 210 and estimate the state of the road surface from the brightness of the image. The condition of the road surface here includes gravel surface, sand surface, frozen surface, wet surface, stone pavement, and the like. By estimating the state of the road surface, it is possible to estimate the slipperiness of the road surface represented by the coefficient of friction of the road surface. The road surface estimation unit 120 is realized by the CPU 101, the main memory 102, the storage 103 and the communication IF 104, for example.

The changing unit 130 changes the parameter of the imaging device 210, which is at least one of the shutter speed of the imaging device 210 and the sensitivity of the imaging device 210, according to the shape of the road surface or the state of the road surface estimated by the road surface estimation unit 120. do. Specifically, based on the shape of the road surface estimated by the road surface estimation unit 120 and the speed of the vehicle 200 detected by the speed detection unit 230, the change unit 130 passes through a position where the vehicle 200 is estimated to travel in the future. At this timing, the magnitude of the speed at which the imaging device 210 moves in the direction parallel to the imaging plane of the imaging device 210 is estimated. Then, the changing unit 130 changes at least one of changing the shutter speed to a smaller value and changing the sensitivity to a larger value as the magnitude of the estimated velocity in the direction parallel to the imaging plane of the imaging device 210 increases. I do. The changing unit 130 is realized by the CPU 101, the main memory 102, and the storage 103, for example.

For example, the changing unit 130 calculates the amount of blurring of an image obtained by the imaging device 210 using Equation 1 below, and reduces the shutter speed to a smaller value in order to make the calculated amount of blurring smaller than a predetermined amount of blurring. You can change it.

Amount of blur (pixels/shutter) = (arctan ((shape change rate/vehicle speed)/wheelbase) * shutter speed) / vertical angle of view * vertical resolution (Formula 1)

For example, the wheelbase of the vehicle 200 is 2000 mm, the traveling speed of the vehicle 200 is 30 km/h, the shape change rate of the road surface at the position where the vehicle 200 is estimated to travel in the future is 100%, the shutter speed is 1/100 second, the vertical Assume that the angle of view is 60 degrees and the vertical resolution of the imaging device 210 is 1080 px. In this case, using Equation 1, the blur amount can be calculated as 13.77 px/shutter. In other words, it can be seen that the shutter speed must be set to 1/138 seconds or less in order to suppress the blur amount to 10 pix/shutter or less. Note that the speed of the imaging device 210 corresponds to the speed obtained using the running speed of the vehicle 200 and the road surface shape change rate.

In addition, the right side of Equation 1 may be multiplied by a predetermined coefficient according to each state of the road surface (gravel surface, sand surface, frozen, wet, cobblestone, etc.) or may be added. , or combinations thereof.

From this, the required shutter speed can be calculated using Equation (1).

Note that the changing unit 130 does not have to calculate the shutter speed using Equation 1 above, and may calculate the shutter speed using a table that satisfies the relationship of Equation 1 above. That is, the changing unit 130 may calculate the shutter speed using a predetermined relationship between the shutter speed, the road surface shape change rate, and the speed of the vehicle 200 .

That is, the changing unit 130 determines a shutter speed at which the blur amount is smaller than the predetermined blur amount, according to the estimated speed of the imaging device 210 . Then, the changing unit 130 specifies the noise level and the exposure that increase the recognition rate when recognizing an object using a predetermined recognition algorithm from an image captured by the imaging device 210 at the determined shutter speed. The changing unit 130 changes the parameters of the imaging device 210 to the determined shutter speed and the sensitivity corresponding to the specified exposure.

FIG. 4 is an image diagram showing combinations of noise levels and exposures that can be achieved with a plurality of different shutter speeds. FIG. 5 is an image diagram showing the recognition rate and combinations of noise level and exposure when an image is recognized using a predetermined recognition algorithm. 4 and 5, the numerical values of noise level and exposure indicate arbitrary magnitudes.

FIG. 4 expresses that a curve showing the relationship between noise level and exposure for achieving an arbitrary shutter speed is uniquely specified. In other words, FIG. 4 shows a three-dimensional curved surface based on three variables: shutter speed, noise level, and exposure. It should be noted that the three-dimensional curved surface represented in FIG. 4 can be uniquely obtained according to the imaging capability of the imaging device 210 . The imaging capability referred to here is uniquely determined by the focal length, f-number, etc. of the lens of the imaging device 210, or the imaging element size, sensitivity, etc. of the image sensor. The three-dimensional curved surface represented in FIG. 4 may be determined in advance by performing predetermined calibration on the imaging device 210 .

FIG. 5 shows a three-dimensional curved surface with three variables: noise level, exposure, and recognition rate. The curved surface is indicated by hatching with sparse dots in FIG. A three-dimensional curved surface represented in FIG. 5 is uniquely determined by a predetermined recognition algorithm. The three-dimensional curved surface represented in FIG. 5 may be determined in advance by repeating a test for recognizing an object from an image multiple times.

Here, for example, when the shutter speed is determined to be 1/250 seconds by Equation 1 above, the changing unit 130 uses the relationship shown in FIG. 4 to determine the noise level corresponding to the shutter speed of 1/250 seconds. and exposure curve. Then, the changing unit 130 uses a curved surface with a recognition rate of 0 to 1 (shown by dense hatching in FIG. By arranging the curved surface) in the three-dimensional space shown in FIG. The line of intersection is a curve in the three-dimensional space shown in FIG. The changing unit 130 may determine, for example, the point at which the recognition rate is maximum among the intersecting lines, that is, the noise level and the exposure, as parameters of the imaging device 210 .

In addition, the changing unit 130 further acquires illuminance information indicated by the illuminance detected by the illuminance detecting unit 240, and the smaller the illuminance indicated by the acquired illuminance information, (i) changes the shutter speed to a smaller value. and/or (ii) changing the sensitivity to a larger value. Specifically, the changing unit 130 may change parameters including at least one of shutter speed and sensitivity using a predetermined relationship between illuminance and parameters of the imaging device 210 .

Returning to FIG. 3 , control unit 140 uses the parameter changed by change unit 130 at the timing when vehicle 200 actually passes the position where vehicle 200 will travel in the future estimated by first position estimation unit 110. The imaging device 210 is caused to take an image. The control unit 140 is realized by the CPU 101, the main memory 102, the storage 103 and the communication IF 104, for example.

[1-2. motion]
Next, the operation of the imaging control device 100 will be described.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an imaging control method by the imaging control device according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the imaging control method by the imaging control device.

In the imaging control device 100, the second position estimation section 150 estimates the current position of the vehicle 200 (S11). The second position estimator 150 estimates the position x1 of the vehicle 200 at time t1, for example, as shown in FIG. 7(a). The imaging control device 100 may estimate the position of the front wheels of the vehicle 200 as the current position of the vehicle 200 . Note that estimation of the current position of vehicle 200 by second position estimating section 150 may not be performed.

The first position estimator 110 acquires the speed vector or route data of the vehicle 200 and the current position of the vehicle 200, and estimates the future travel position of the vehicle 200 using the acquired speed vector or route data (S12 ). For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, the first position estimator 110 estimates a position x2 on the road surface 301 X [m] ahead of the position x1 of the front wheels of the vehicle 200 as the future traveling position. Note that the first position estimating unit 110 does not use the current position when the current position of the vehicle 200 is not estimated or when the imaging control device 100 does not include the second position estimating unit 150. First, the position where the vehicle 200 will travel in the future is estimated.

The road surface estimation unit 120 acquires road surface information detected by the distance sensor 201 arranged in the vehicle 200 or an image captured by the imaging device 210, and uses the acquired road surface information or image to determine the first position. The shape of the road surface or the state of the road surface at the future traveling position estimated by the estimation unit 110 is estimated (S13). The road surface estimation unit 120 estimates the shape of the road surface 302 at the position x2, for example, the rate of change in the height of the road surface 302 along the traveling direction of the vehicle 200 . For example, when the height changes by 100 mm as the vehicle travels forward by 100 mm, the road surface estimation unit 120 estimates that the shape has a shape change rate of 100%.

The changing unit 130 adjusts the shutter speed of the imaging device 210 and the sensitivity of the imaging device 210 in accordance with the rate of change in the height of the road surface along the traveling direction of the vehicle 200 estimated by the road surface estimation unit 120 or the state of the road surface. (S14). Changing unit 130 may determine the parameters until vehicle 200 reaches position x2, that is, by time t2.

The control unit 140 causes the imaging device 210 to capture an image using the parameters changed by the changing unit 130 at the timing when the vehicle 200 actually passes the position where the vehicle 200 will travel in the future estimated by the first position estimating unit 110. (S15). As shown in (b) of FIG. 7, the control unit 140 captures an image using the changed parameters at time t2, which is the timing when the front wheels of the vehicle 200 pass the position x2 where the vehicle 200 is estimated to travel in the future. Let device 210 take an image.

The imaging control method shown in FIG. 6 is repeatedly performed at a predetermined cycle while the vehicle 200 is running. Note that the predetermined cycle of the imaging control method and the imaging cycle may be the same or different. As a result, when the rate of change in the height of the road surface along the direction of travel of the vehicle 200 or the state of the road surface changes, the imaging device 210 captures an image with appropriate parameters according to the rate of change in the height of the road surface or the state of the road surface. can be made Therefore, it is possible to cause the imaging device 210 to capture an image with the highest possible recognition rate of the predetermined recognition algorithm.

[1-3. effects, etc.]
According to the imaging control device 100 according to the present embodiment, at the timing when the vehicle 200 passes through the road surface at the position where the vehicle 200 will travel in the future, the image is captured by the imaging device 210 with parameters changed according to the pre-estimated shape or state of the road surface. can be made That is, the imaging device 210 can be caused to capture an image with parameters appropriately set according to the shape or state of the road surface, so that the imaging device 210 can capture an image in which the object can be easily recognized.

Further, according to the imaging control device 100, the current position of the vehicle 200 is estimated, and the future travel position of the vehicle 200 is estimated using the current position. Therefore, the future travel position can be accurately estimated. .

In addition, according to the imaging control device 100, the changing unit 130 determines the actual future travel position from the rate of change in the height of the road along the traveling direction of the vehicle 200 estimated by the road surface estimation unit 120 and the speed vector. The magnitude of the speed at which the imaging device moves in a direction parallel to the imaging surface of the imaging device may be estimated at the timing of passing through the . The changing unit 130 performs at least one of changing the shutter speed to a lower value and changing the sensitivity to a higher value as the magnitude of the speed at which the imaging device 210 moves in the estimated parallel direction increases. Therefore, it is possible to reduce blurring, distortion, and the like in the image obtained by the imaging device 210 .

Further, according to the imaging control device 100, the shutter speed is determined according to the estimated speed, and the object is recognized by a predetermined recognition algorithm from the image obtained by the imaging device 210 capturing images at the determined shutter speed. The noise level and exposure at which the recognition rate in the case becomes greater than a predetermined value are specified, and the parameters of the imaging device 210 are changed to the determined shutter speed and sensitivity according to the specified exposure. Therefore, it is possible to cause the imaging device 210 to capture an image with parameters that improve the recognition rate of the object reflected in the image. Therefore, it is possible to cause the imaging device 210 to capture an image in which the object can be easily recognized.

For example, when the operation control device 300 detects an object by recognizing an object included in the image using a predetermined recognition algorithm using an image captured by the imaging device 210 while driving, the road surface on which the vehicle is running is detected. The object recognition rate can be made higher than a predetermined value regardless of the shape of the object. An object is, for example, an obstacle or road surface included in the image.

Further, according to the imaging control device 100, the illuminance information indicated by the illuminance that is the detection result of the illuminance detection unit 240 is acquired, and the smaller the illuminance indicated by the acquired illuminance information, the (i) the shutter speed is changed to a smaller value. and/or (ii) changing the sensitivity to a larger value. Therefore, it is possible to cause the imaging device 210 to perform imaging with appropriate parameters according to the illuminance.

In the present embodiment, the horizontal detection range of distance sensor 201 has been described as a specific example of omnidirectional 360 degrees in the horizontal direction of vehicle 200, but it is not limited to this. For example, when the vehicle 200 moves forward, the detection range in the horizontal direction of the distance sensor 201 may include the front of the vehicle 200 . Further, for example, when the vehicle 200 moves backward, the detection range in the horizontal direction of the distance sensor 201 may include the area behind the vehicle 200 .

Further, although the imaging range in the horizontal direction of the imaging device 210 is 360 degrees in all directions in the horizontal direction of the vehicle 200, it is not limited to this. For example, when the vehicle 200 moves forward, the range including the front of the vehicle 200 may be set as the horizontal imaging range of the distance sensor 201 . Further, for example, when the vehicle 200 moves backward, the range including the rear of the vehicle 200 may be set as the horizontal imaging range of the distance sensor 201 .

[1-4. Modification]
[1-4-1. Modification 1]
Next, Modification 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle provided with an imaging control device according to Modification 1. As shown in FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an imaging control method by an imaging control device according to Modification 1. FIG.

The imaging control device 100A according to Modification 1 differs from the imaging control device 100 according to the embodiment in that a speed correction unit 160 is further provided. Since the configuration of the imaging control device 100A other than the speed correction unit 160 is the same as that of the imaging control device 100 of the embodiment, description thereof will be omitted. Also, the hardware configuration of the imaging control device 100A is the same as the hardware configuration of the imaging control device 100 of the embodiment described with reference to FIG. For example, the CPU 101 described with reference to FIG. 2 executes the control program, so that each block of the imaging control apparatus 100A illustrated in FIG. 8 functions. Vehicle 200A differs from vehicle 200 of the embodiment in that it includes imaging control device 100A.

The speed correction unit 160 estimates the moving speed of the object between a plurality of images obtained by the imaging device 210 a plurality of times, and (i) changes the shutter speed to a smaller value as the estimated moving speed increases. and (ii) changing the sensitivity to a larger value. Specifically, the speed correction unit 160 determines the distance from the imaging device 210 to the object in the imaging range of the imaging device 210 and the optical axis of the imaging device 210 from the detection result of the distance sensor 201 as the road surface detection unit 220. estimating the magnitude of the moving speed in the substantially orthogonal direction, and using the estimated distance and moving speed, estimating the moving speed of the object between a plurality of images obtained by the imaging device 210 a plurality of times. good too. In this case, the distance sensor used for object detection may be a distance sensor provided separately from the distance sensor 201 . Further, the speed correction unit 160 obtains a plurality of images obtained by a plurality of times of imaging by the imaging device 210, and identifies an object appearing in the obtained plurality of images, thereby estimating the moving speed. good.

The movement speed will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 10 .

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the moving speed of an object between a plurality of images of the object. Note that (a) of FIG. 10 shows an image 401 of another vehicle 410 traveling ahead at time t11, and (b) of FIG. A captured image 402 is shown. FIGS. 10A and 10B respectively show images in front of the vehicle 200. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 10, between an image 401 captured at time t11 and an image 402 captured at time t12, vehicle 410 moves in the direction of the arrow on the image by distance Δd. Therefore, the moving speed can be calculated by Δd/(t12-t11). In FIG. 10, the moving speed is explained using the images 401 and 402 that are actually captured. You may

The speed correction unit 160 may correct parameters including at least one of shutter speed and sensitivity using a predetermined relationship between the moving speed of the object and the parameters of the imaging device 210 . That is, the speed correction unit 160 may correct the parameters determined by the change unit 130 according to the estimated moving speed of the object.

The speed correction unit 160 is realized by the CPU 101, the main memory 102, the storage 103 and the communication IF 104, for example.

The changing unit 130 corrects the parameters of the imaging device 210 to at least one of the shutter speed and sensitivity changed by the speed correcting unit 160 .

Next, the operation (imaging control method) of the imaging control device 100A of Modification 1 will be described.

The imaging control apparatus 100A differs from the imaging control method of the embodiment in that steps S21 and S22 are added. Therefore, steps S21 and S22 will be described.

In the imaging control device 100A, after step S14, the speed correction unit 160 estimates the moving speed of the object in the imaging range of the imaging device 210 (S21).

The speed correction unit 160 corrects the parameters changed by the change unit 130 according to the estimated moving speed, and causes the change unit 130 to further change the parameters to the corrected parameters (S22).

After step S22 ends, step S15 is performed.

According to the imaging control device 100</b>A according to Modification 1, the speed correction unit 160 estimates the moving speed of an object between multiple images obtained by multiple times of imaging by the imaging device 210 . The speed correction unit 160 causes the change unit 130 to perform at least one of (i) changing the shutter speed to a smaller value and (ii) changing the sensitivity to a larger value as the estimated movement speed increases. Let Therefore, even if the object is moving in the image obtained by the imaging device 210 or if the object is moving within the imaging range of the imaging device 210, The imaging device 210 can be made to image with various parameters.

[1-4-2. Modification 2]
Next, modification 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a vehicle provided with an imaging control device according to Modification 2. As shown in FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an imaging control method by an imaging control device according to Modification 2. FIG.

The imaging control device 100B according to Modification 2 differs from the imaging control device 100 according to the embodiment in that it further includes a blur correction section 170 . The configuration of the image capturing control device 100B other than the blur correction unit 170 is the same as that of the image capturing control device 100 of the embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted. Also, the hardware configuration of the imaging control device 100B is the same as that of the imaging control device 100 of the embodiment described with reference to FIG. For example, the CPU 101 described with reference to FIG. 2 executes the control program, so that each block of the imaging control device 100B illustrated in FIG. 11 functions. Vehicle 200B differs from vehicle 200 of the embodiment in that it includes imaging control device 100B.

The blur correction unit 170 acquires an image captured by the imaging device 210, detects blurring of an object in the acquired image, and when detecting blurring of the object in the image, (i) sets the shutter speed to a smaller value. and (ii) change the sensitivity to a larger value. Specifically, the blur correction unit 170 calculates the sum of the contrast values of the entire image acquired from the imaging device 210, and if the calculated sum is less than a predetermined threshold, It may be determined that blur has occurred. That is, when the blur correction unit 170 determines that the image is blurred, it detects the blur of the object in the image, and when it determines that the object in the image is not blurred, the blur correction unit 170 detects the blur of the object in the image. Does not detect blurring of objects in the image. Note that the blur correction unit 170 determines whether or not the image as a whole is blurred. A region in which a vehicle traveling ahead is reflected may be identified, and it may be determined whether blurring occurs in the identified region. The blur correction unit 170 performs prescribed correction on the parameters changed by the change unit 130 in order to correct the blur of the object in the image.

The blur correction unit 170 is realized by the CPU 101, the main memory 102, the storage 103, and the communication IF 104, for example.

The changing unit 130 corrects the parameters of the imaging device 210 to at least one of the shutter speed and sensitivity changed by the blur correction unit 170 .

Next, the operation (imaging control method) of the imaging control device 100B of Modification 2 will be described.

The imaging control apparatus 100B differs from the imaging control method of the embodiment in that steps S31 to S34 are added. Therefore, steps S31 to S34 will be described.

In the imaging control device 10B, after step S15, the blur correction unit 170 acquires an image captured by the imaging device 210 (S31).

The blur correction unit 170 determines whether or not the acquired image is blurred (S32).

If the blur correction unit 170 determines that the acquired image is blurred (Yes in S32), the blur correction unit 170 performs prescribed correction on the parameters changed by the change unit 130 in order to correct the detected blur. Then, the unit 130 is caused to change the parameters to corrected parameters (S33).

The control unit 140 causes the imaging device 210 to capture an image using the parameters changed by the changing unit 130 at the timing when the vehicle 200 passes the future travel position estimated by the first position estimating unit 110 (S34).

On the other hand, when the blur correction unit 170 determines that there is no blur in the acquired image (No in S32), the correction is not performed, and the next step S34 is performed.

According to the imaging control device 100B according to Modification 2, the blur correction unit 170 acquires an image captured by the imaging device 210, detects blurring of the object in the acquired image, and detects blurring of the object in the image. If detected, the changing unit 130 is caused to perform at least one of (i) changing the shutter speed to a smaller value and (ii) changing the sensitivity to a larger value. Therefore, even if blurring occurs in an image captured with the parameters changed by the changing unit 130, the imaging device 210 can be caused to capture images with changed parameters so that blurring does not occur in the next image capturing. can be done.

Note that the blur correction unit 170 may perform blur correction processing (steps S31 to S34) only when the result of detection by the illuminance detection unit 240 cannot be obtained.

It should be noted that the imaging control apparatus may have a configuration in which Modification 1 and Modification 2 are combined.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment and each modified example, each component may be configured by dedicated hardware, or may be realized by executing a software program suitable for each component. Each component may be realized by reading and executing a software program recorded in a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory by a program execution unit such as a CPU or processor. Here, the software that implements the imaging control method and the like of each of the above embodiments is the following program.

That is, this program is an imaging control method by an imaging control device that causes an imaging device arranged in a vehicle to image the surroundings of the vehicle in a computer. Acquiring a velocity vector indicating the speed of the vehicle or route data indicating the route the vehicle travels, estimating the position where the vehicle will travel in the future using the acquired speed vector or the route data, and placing it in the vehicle road surface information for estimating the shape of the road surface or the state of the road surface including the estimated position where the vehicle will travel in the future detected by the sensor detected by the detected sensor; Acquiring an image including the road surface at the estimated position, and using the acquired road surface information or the image, a rate of change in the height of the road surface along the direction of travel at the estimated position where the vehicle will travel in the future. Alternatively, the state of the road surface is estimated, and the shutter speed of the imaging device and the sensitivity of the imaging device are changed according to the estimated change rate of the height of the road surface along the traveling direction or the state of the road surface. Execute an imaging control method of changing a parameter of at least one of the imaging devices, and causing the imaging device to take an image using the changed parameters at a timing when the vehicle passes an estimated position where the vehicle will travel in the future. Let

Although the imaging control device and the imaging control method according to one or more aspects of the present disclosure have been described above based on the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments. As long as it does not deviate from the spirit of the present disclosure, various modifications that a person skilled in the art can think of are applied to the present embodiment, and a form constructed by combining the components of different embodiments may also be one or more of the present disclosure. may be included within the scope of the embodiments.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present disclosure is useful as an imaging control device or the like that can cause an imaging device to capture an image in which an object can be easily recognized.

100, 100A, 100B imaging control device 102 main memory 103 storage 104 communication IF
105 GNSS
110 First position estimation unit 120 Road surface estimation unit 130 Change unit 140 Control unit 150 Second position estimation unit 160 Speed correction unit 170 Shake correction unit 200, 200A, 200B Vehicle 210 Imaging device 220 Road surface detection unit 230 Speed detection unit 240 Illuminance detection Part 300 Operation control devices 301 and 302 Road surface

Claims (11)

An imaging control device that causes an imaging device arranged in a vehicle to image the surroundings of the vehicle,
Obtaining a traveling direction of the vehicle and a speed vector indicating the speed of the vehicle traveling along the traveling direction or route data indicating a route along which the vehicle travels, and using the obtained speed vector or the route data a first position estimating unit that estimates a position where the vehicle will travel in the future;
Road surface information for estimating the shape of a road surface or the condition of the road surface, including a position where the vehicle is estimated to travel in the future, detected by a sensor arranged in the vehicle, or the vehicle captured by the imaging device acquires an image including the road surface at the position where the vehicle is estimated to travel in the future, and uses the acquired road surface information or the image to determine the road surface at the position where the vehicle will travel in the future estimated by the first position estimating unit a road surface estimation unit that estimates a rate of change in height along the direction of travel or the condition of the road surface;
At least one of a shutter speed of the imaging device and a sensitivity of the imaging device according to a rate of change in height of the road surface along the traveling direction estimated by the road surface estimation unit or a condition of the road surface. a changing unit that changes parameters of the imaging device;
a control unit that causes the imaging device to capture an image using the parameter changed by the changing unit at a timing when the vehicle passes the position where the vehicle will travel in the future estimated by the first position estimating unit. ,
The first position estimator obtains the velocity vector,
The change unit
The imaging device moves in a direction parallel to the imaging surface of the imaging device at the timing based on the rate of change in height of the road along the traveling direction estimated by the road surface estimation unit and the velocity vector. Estimate the magnitude of the velocity,
At least one of (i) changing the shutter speed to a smaller value, and (ii) changing the sensitivity to a larger value, as the magnitude of the estimated speed in the parallel direction increases. Imaging control device . An imaging control device that causes an imaging device arranged in a vehicle to image the surroundings of the vehicle,
Obtaining a traveling direction of the vehicle and a speed vector indicating the speed of the vehicle traveling along the traveling direction or route data indicating a route along which the vehicle travels, and using the obtained speed vector or the route data a first position estimating unit that estimates a position where the vehicle will travel in the future;
Road surface information for estimating the shape of a road surface or the condition of the road surface, including a position where the vehicle is estimated to travel in the future, detected by a sensor arranged in the vehicle, or the vehicle captured by the imaging device acquires an image including the road surface at the position where the vehicle is estimated to travel in the future, and uses the acquired road surface information or the image to determine the road surface at the position where the vehicle will travel in the future estimated by the first position estimating unit a road surface estimation unit that estimates a rate of change in height along the direction of travel or the condition of the road surface;
At least one of a shutter speed of the imaging device and a sensitivity of the imaging device according to a rate of change in height of the road surface along the traveling direction estimated by the road surface estimation unit or a condition of the road surface. a changing unit that changes parameters of the imaging device;
a control unit that causes the imaging device to capture an image using the parameter changed by the changing unit at a timing when the vehicle passes the position where the vehicle will travel in the future estimated by the first position estimating unit. ,
The road surface estimation unit
estimating a rate of change in the height of the road surface along the traveling direction at the position where the vehicle will travel in the future, which is estimated by the first position estimating unit;
The change unit
An imaging control device that changes a parameter of the imaging device in accordance with a rate of change in height of the road surface along the direction of travel at a position where the vehicle is estimated to travel in the future. moreover,
A second position estimating unit that estimates the current position of the vehicle,
The imaging control device according to claim 1 , wherein the first position estimating section further uses the current position of the vehicle estimated by the second position estimating section to estimate the future travel position of the vehicle. moreover,
A second position estimating unit that estimates the current position of the vehicle,
The first position estimator further uses the current position of the vehicle estimated by the second position estimator to estimate the future travel position of the vehicle.
The imaging control device according to claim 2. The first position estimator obtains the velocity vector,
The change unit
The imaging device moves in a direction parallel to the imaging surface of the imaging device at the timing based on the rate of change in height of the road along the traveling direction estimated by the road surface estimation unit and the velocity vector. Estimate the magnitude of the velocity,
At least one of (i) changing the shutter speed to a smaller value and (ii) changing the sensitivity to a larger value is performed as the magnitude of the estimated speed in the parallel direction increases. The imaging control device according to . The change unit
determining the shutter speed according to the magnitude of the estimated speed in the parallel direction;
specifying a noise level and an exposure at which a recognition rate is greater than a predetermined value when an object is recognized by a predetermined recognition algorithm from an image captured by the imaging device at the determined shutter speed;
The imaging control device according to claim 1 or 3, wherein the parameter of the imaging device is changed to the sensitivity corresponding to the determined shutter speed and the specified exposure. moreover,
Acquiring the image captured by the imaging device, detecting blurring of an object in the acquired image, and detecting blurring of the object in the image: (i) reducing the shutter speed to a smaller value; The imaging control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , further comprising a blur correction section that causes the changing section to perform at least one of changing the sensitivity and (ii) changing the sensitivity to a higher value. moreover,
The moving speed of the object is estimated based on the change in the position of the object included in each of a plurality of images obtained by the imaging device a plurality of times, and the larger the estimated moving speed, the ( 8. Any one of claims 1 to 7 , comprising a speed correction unit that causes the change unit to perform at least one of i) changing the shutter speed to a smaller value, and (ii) changing the sensitivity to a larger value. 11. The imaging control device according to claim 1. The changing unit acquires illuminance information indicated by illuminance that is a detection result of an illuminance sensor that detects the illuminance of the environment in which the imaging device is arranged, and the smaller the illuminance indicated by the acquired illuminance information, the (i) The imaging control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 , wherein at least one of changing the shutter speed to a smaller value and (ii) changing the sensitivity to a larger value is performed. An imaging control method by an imaging control device for causing an imaging device arranged in a vehicle to image the surroundings of the vehicle,
Obtaining a traveling direction of the vehicle and a speed vector indicating the speed of the vehicle traveling along the traveling direction or route data indicating a route along which the vehicle travels, and using the obtained speed vector or the route data estimating a location where the vehicle will travel in the future;
Road surface information for estimating the shape of a road surface or the condition of the road surface, including a position where the vehicle is estimated to travel in the future, detected by a sensor arranged in the vehicle, or the vehicle captured by the imaging device acquires an image including the road surface at the position where the vehicle is estimated to travel in the future, and using the acquired road surface information or the image, the height of the road surface along the traveling direction at the estimated position where the vehicle will travel in the future Estimate the rate of change or the condition of the road surface,
A parameter of the imaging device, which is at least one of a shutter speed of the imaging device and a sensitivity of the imaging device, according to the estimated rate of change in height of the road surface along the traveling direction or the state of the road surface. and change
causing the imaging device to capture an image using the changed parameters at the timing when the vehicle passes the estimated position where the vehicle will travel in the future;
obtaining the velocity vector in estimating the future location of the vehicle;
In changing the parameters of the imaging device,
From the estimated rate of change in the height of the road surface along the traveling direction and the velocity vector, determine the speed at which the imaging device moves in the direction parallel to the imaging surface of the imaging device at the timing. presume,
At least one of (i) changing the shutter speed to a smaller value and (ii) changing the sensitivity to a larger value is performed as the magnitude of the estimated speed in the parallel direction increases. Imaging control method . An imaging control method by an imaging control device for causing an imaging device arranged in a vehicle to image the surroundings of the vehicle,
Obtaining a traveling direction of the vehicle and a speed vector indicating the speed of the vehicle traveling along the traveling direction or route data indicating a route along which the vehicle travels, and using the obtained speed vector or the route data estimating a location where the vehicle will travel in the future;
Road surface information for estimating the shape of a road surface or the condition of the road surface, including a position where the vehicle is estimated to travel in the future, detected by a sensor arranged in the vehicle, or the vehicle captured by the imaging device acquires an image including the road surface at the position where the vehicle is estimated to travel in the future, and using the acquired road surface information or the image, the height of the road surface along the traveling direction at the estimated position where the vehicle will travel in the future Estimate the rate of change or the condition of the road surface,
A parameter of the imaging device, which is at least one of a shutter speed of the imaging device and a sensitivity of the imaging device, according to the estimated rate of change in height of the road surface along the traveling direction or the state of the road surface. and change
causing the imaging device to capture an image using the changed parameters at the timing when the vehicle passes the estimated position where the vehicle will travel in the future;
In estimating the state of the road surface,
estimating a rate of change in the height of the road along the direction of travel at the estimated position where the vehicle will travel in the future;
In changing the parameters of the imaging device,
An imaging control method, comprising: changing a parameter of the imaging device according to a rate of change in height of the road surface along the direction of travel at a position where the vehicle is estimated to travel in the future.

Images