KR102212115B1 - Safe driving assistance device in child protection zone - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a safe driving assistance device in a child protection zone, which forces the operation speed in the child protection zone by the driver′s will, leaves the driving records, and prevents the sudden damage to the driver. The device comprises: a camera; a child protection mode setting switch; an audio-visual guide unit; a controller area network (CAN) communication unit; and an image processing processor.

Description

Safe driving support device in child protection zone {SAFE DRIVING ASSISTANCE DEVICE IN CHILD PROTECTION ZONE}

The present invention relates to a device for assisting safe driving in a child protection area to prevent accidental damage to the driver by forcibly limiting the driving speed in the child protection area at the will of the driver and leaving a driving record.

In general, areas where many children go around, such as kindergartens and elementary schools, are designated as children's protection zones and limit vehicle speed. In September 2019, a child died in a traffic accident in a child protection area in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do, and through this, a law that aggravates the punishment of the perpetrator who caused the death or injury due to negligence of the duty to drive safely in the child protection area was introduced. On January 10th, the National Assembly plenary session was passed.

Vehicle accidents in child protection zones are caused by the combination of the possibility of unauthorized crossing of a child who lacks judgment ability and the driver's carelessness.The above legislation is suitable for the purpose of protecting children, but increases punishment even if the driver drives safely. There is also an opinion that the legal responsibility of the driver is excessive as it can be received.

Typically, a driving support device such as an ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) is installed in a vehicle to assist the safe driving of the vehicle. ADAS recognizes pedestrians from images taken with the front camera and informs the driver of danger or forces the vehicle to brake. In addition, ADAS recognizes traffic signs to indicate the entry of a speed limit zone or warns you to drive at a speed of 30 km/h or less within a child protection zone.

However, even if the vehicle is equipped with ADAS, safety accidents still occur in child protection areas.

Meanwhile, Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2016-0100867 "Reduction Driving Guidance System in School Zone" is a deceleration driving guidance system installed in the school zone. It provides a video in the form of children rather than numbers, making it easy for the driver to be a child protection zone. A system that recognizes and induces deceleration driving is proposed.

However, in the child protection zone, even if the driver pays attention to safe driving, there is a possibility of unauthorized crossing of children whose judgment ability is not mature, so a more compulsory driving speed limiting means is required. In addition, even if the driver is conscious of driving at a lower speed, the speed limit of 30 km/h may be exceeded without his knowledge, and in this case, it is difficult for the driver to avoid severe punishment legally even in a minor vehicle accident.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2016-0100867

The present invention recognizes the child protection zone by machine learning the image captured by the front camera while the driver inputs the child protection mode setting switch, forcibly restricts the vehicle speed to 30 km/h or less, and protects the child. By synchronizing and storing vehicle signals such as the state of the child protection mode setting switch, vehicle speed, acceleration signal, and braking signal along with the image of the vehicle while the vehicle is in progress in the area, safety accidents in the child protection area can be prevented by the driver's volition. Its purpose is to provide a device to support safe driving in children's protection zones that prevents damages such as legal punishment due to violation of laws and regulations caused by driver's injustice.

A device for supporting safe driving in a child protection zone according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a camera installed in front of a vehicle; A child protection mode setting switch toggling setting and releasing of the child protection mode by a driver's operation; An audio-visual guide for notifying a vehicle driver whether the vehicle enters a child protection zone; A controller area network (CAN) communication unit communicating with the electronic control unit of the vehicle when the child protection mode setting switch is input and the child protection mode is selected; And machine learning the image captured by the camera to determine whether the vehicle enters the child protection area, and when the vehicle enters the child protection area, the vehicle speed is increased to 30 km/h to the electronic control unit through the CAN communication unit. A machine learning inference unit that transmits a speed limit signal maintained below, and an image storage management unit instructing to store an image photographed with the camera when it is determined that the vehicle enters the child protection area by the machine learning inference unit. It includes an image processing processor including.

In the device for supporting safe driving in a child protection area according to another embodiment of the present invention, the machine learning reasoning unit recognizes a road sign from an image photographed by the camera, and a child protection zone identification mark or 30 km/h included in the road sign It is determined whether the vehicle enters the child protection zone by comparing and learning the speed limit mark with the previously stored road sign identification mark.

In the device for supporting safe driving in a child protection zone according to another embodiment of the present invention, the machine learning inference unit recognizes a road mark and a red background on the road surface from an image photographed by the camera or creates a 30 km/h speed limit road mark on the road surface. It is determined whether the vehicle enters the child protection zone by comparing and learning with the previously stored road mark.

An apparatus for supporting safe driving in a child protection zone according to another embodiment of the present invention is a volatile memory that temporarily stores an image photographed by the camera and intermediate calculated data processed by the machine learning inference unit by a command of the image processing processor. ; Non-volatile for permanently storing the program code of the image processing processor, the feature point parameter of the road sign identification mark and the road mark indicating the child protection area, and the feature point parameter of the image data recognized as the child protection area by the machine learning inference unit Program memory; And a non-volatile data memory for storing an image while the vehicle passes through the child protection area according to the command of the image storage management unit.

In the device for supporting safe driving in a child protection area according to another embodiment of the present invention, the image storage management unit sets the child protection mode when storing the image while the vehicle passes through the child protection area in the nonvolatile data memory. The state information of the switch and the vehicle signal received from the CAN communication unit are synchronized and stored.

In the device for supporting safe driving in a child protection zone according to another embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle signal received from the CAN communication unit includes a driving speed of the vehicle, an accelerator operation signal of the vehicle, and a brake operation signal of the vehicle. .

According to the device for supporting safe driving in a child protection area of the present invention, it operates only when the driver inputs the child protection mode setting switch, and when operating in the child protection mode, machine learning of the image captured by the front camera Recognizes the child protection zone and forcibly limits the vehicle speed to 30 km/h or less, and the state of the child protection mode setting switch, vehicle driving speed, accelerator operation signal, and brakes along with the video while the vehicle is in progress in the child protection zone. By synchronizing and storing vehicle signals such as motion signals, safety accidents in the child protection zone are prevented by the driver's volition, as well as in the event of an accident in the child protection zone. It has the effect of securing the basis for the presence or absence of legal punishment.

1 is a diagram illustrating a sign indicating a child protection area;
2 is a diagram illustrating a road mark representing a child protection area;
3 is a block diagram illustrating a device for supporting safe driving in a child protection zone according to the present invention, and
4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation flow of a child protection mode according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific embodiment, it is to be understood as including all changes, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Throughout the specification, portions having similar configurations and operations are denoted by the same reference numerals. In addition, the drawings attached to the present invention are for convenience of explanation, and the shape and relative scale may be exaggerated or omitted.

In describing the embodiments in detail, overlapping descriptions or descriptions of technologies that are obvious in the art have been omitted. In addition, in the following description, when a certain part "includes" other components, it means that components may be further included in addition to the described components unless otherwise stated.

In addition, terms such as "~ unit", "~ group", and "~ module" described in the specification mean a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which can be implemented by hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software. I can. In addition, when a part is electrically connected to another part, this includes not only a case in which it is directly connected but also a case in which it is connected with a different configuration in the middle.

Terms including ordinal numbers, such as first and second, may be used to describe various elements, but the elements are not limited by the terms. These terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a second component may be referred to as a first component, and similarly, a first component may be referred to as a second component.

In the present invention, the driving mode of the vehicle can be set to the child protection mode at the will of the driver, and the vehicle speed is forcibly limited to 30 km/h or less after recognizing the child protection zone through image recognition when the child protection mode is set. By doing so, it is possible to promote safe driving in the school zone, and the video while passing through the child protection zone is displayed with the state of the child protection mode setting switch and vehicle signals (e.g., vehicle driving speed, accelerator operation state, brake operation state, etc.). It relates to a device for supporting safe driving in a child protection zone that can be synchronized and stored together to prevent accidental damage to the driver and secure the basis for the presence or absence of legal punishment.

In the description of the present invention, a driving assistance operation while a vehicle enters a child protection zone is referred to, but the device for supporting safe driving in a child protection zone according to the present invention may be included as part of a commonly known ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System).

1 is a diagram illustrating a sign indicating a child protection area, and FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a road mark indicating a child protection area.

Areas where many children attend, such as around a kindergarten or elementary school, are designated as child protection areas, and a sign as shown in FIG. 1 or a road mark as shown in FIG. 2 is displayed.

Referring to FIG. 1, a child protection zone sign 12 is suspended on a post 10 near the access road of the child protection zone. The child protection area sign (12) is usually printed on a yellow background with a phrase indicating the child protection area sign (12), and a child protection area identification mark (14) engraved with a white pattern indicating child protection in the sky blue pentagonal mark, A 30km/h speed limit mark 16 marked with the number "30" in the red circle is marked. Therefore, when the image recognition device installed in the vehicle recognizes the road sign and then recognizes the child protection zone identification mark 14 or the 30 km/h speed limit mark 16 in the sign, it can identify the child protection zone.

Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 2, road marks such as "in front of the school" or "slowly" are marked in the red paint zone on the road surface of the access road of the child protection zone, or the number "30" is written in the circular mark at a speed of 30 km/h. A limited road mark 20 is marked. Therefore, the image recognition device installed in the vehicle can recognize the form of the road mark printed above in the red paint zone or the 30 km/h speed limit road mark 20 on the road surface to identify the child protection zone. .

In the machine learning reasoning unit 112 to be described later, the device for supporting safe driving in a child protection area of the present invention includes a child protection area identification mark 14 or a 30 km/h speed limit mark 16 in the child protection area sign 12. Whether it is a child protection zone after machine learning, such as recognizing or recognizing the road mark on the road surface or the 30 km/h speed limit road mark (20), or comparing it with marks saved by itself or extracting candidate feature points Will judge.

3 is a block diagram illustrating a device for supporting safe driving in a child protection zone according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the device 100 for supporting safe driving in a child protection zone according to the present invention includes an image processing processor 110, a volatile memory 120, a nonvolatile program memory 130, and a nonvolatile data memory 140. ), and an audiovisual guide 150 and a CAN communication unit 160. In addition, the child protection zone safe driving support device is installed in the front of the vehicle to capture a front image, and is installed on the dashboard in the vehicle to protect the child to toggle the setting and release of the child protection mode by the driver's operation. It further includes a mode setting switch 190.

The camera 180 is installed in front of the vehicle and is a means for photographing a front image. The camera 180 may be used exclusively for the device for supporting safe driving in a child protection zone of the present invention, but may be preferably shared with other driving assistance devices.

The child protection mode setting switch 190 is composed of one button or two buttons as shown, and sets or cancels the child protection mode in a toggle manner. For example, the child protection mode setting switch 190 may include a child protection mode start button 192 and a child protection mode end button 194 as shown.

The audio-visual guide 150 is a means for visually and/or aurally notifying the vehicle driver whether the vehicle enters the child protection zone and whether the vehicle has passed the child protection zone. For example, the audiovisual guide 150 may include a display means and a speaker installed on a dashboard of a vehicle. The audio-visual guide 150 may output a display and a warning sound to warn whether or not to enter the child protection zone. It goes without saying that the audio-visual guide 150 can also be shared with other vehicle driving support devices.

The CAN (Controller Area Network) communication unit 160 is a communication means for communicating with the electronic control unit 200 (ECU) of the vehicle when the child protection mode setting switch 190 is input and the child protection mode is selected. . The CAN communication unit 160 transmits a speed limit signal to the ECU 200 through the vehicle internal network, and a vehicle signal from the ECU 200 (e.g., vehicle driving speed, an accelerator operation signal, a brake operation signal) And the like). Here, the term ECU 200 may be understood as a generic term for a vehicle speed control means such as a MUC (Motro Control Unit) of an electric vehicle or a control unit including such speed control means.

The volatile memory 120 is a means for temporarily storing an image captured by a camera by a command of the image processing processor 110 and intermediate calculated data processed by the machine learning inference unit 112 of the image processing processor 110. The volatile memory 120 is composed of a temporary storage memory such as, for example, a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), etc., and a storage means for temporarily storing an image captured by the camera 180 during image processing. to be.

The nonvolatile program memory 130 recognizes a program code of the image processing processor 110, a road sign identification mark indicating a child protection area, a characteristic point parameter of a road mark, and a child protection area by the machine learning inference unit 112 It is a means for permanently storing the feature point parameters of the image data. The non-volatile program memory 130 includes Erasable Programming Read Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programming Read Only Memory (EEPROM), Flash Memory, Phase Change RAM (PCRAM), Magnetic RAM (MRAM), and ReRAM (Resistive RAM). It is composed of a permanent storage memory and is a storage means for storing program codes and feature point parameters of the image processing processor 110. Here, the feature point parameter means parameter information about an identification mark of a road sign representing a child protection zone, a white line such as a road mark on the road, or a line representing a color-divided boundary, for example, line information recognized in an image. Even if is distorted, parameters including feature point parameters recognized as child protection zone identification mark, 30 km/h speed limit mark, and 30 km/h speed limit road mark 20 are valid by the machine learning inference unit 112. And stored in the nonvolatile program memory 130. In addition, the feature point parameters received from other devices in the process of updating the child protection zone safe driving support device 100 in real time or offline are additionally stored in the nonvolatile program memory 130 to be machine learning inference unit ( 112).

The nonvolatile data memory 140 includes an image while the vehicle passes through the child protection zone by the command of the image storage management unit 114 of the image processing processor 110 and a child protection mode setting switch 190 synchronized with the image. ) Of the state information, and vehicle signals (vehicle driving speed, vehicle accelerator operation signal, vehicle brake operation signal) received through the CAN communication unit 160. The nonvolatile data memory 140 may be configured as a permanent storage memory such as a flash memory or a solid state drive (SSD).

The image processing processor 110 includes a machine learning inference unit 112 and an image storage management unit 114.

The machine learning inference unit 112 machine learns the image captured by the camera 180 to determine whether the vehicle enters the child protection area, and when the vehicle enters the child protection area, the vehicle is transmitted through the CAN communication unit 160. It transmits a speed limit signal to the electronic control unit 200 of the vehicle to maintain the speed of 30 km / h or less.

For example, the machine learning inference unit 112 recognizes a road sign from an image captured by the camera 180, and then the child protection zone identification mark 14 or a 30 km/h speed limit mark included in the road sign ( 16) can be compared with the previously stored road sign identification mark (including marks recognized as valid child protection zone identification marks or 30 km/h speed limit mark marks through machine learning) to determine whether the vehicle enters the child protection zone. .

As another example, the machine learning inference unit 112 recognizes a road mark on the road surface (eg, "in front of a school" or "slowly") and a red background from an image captured by the camera 180 to determine whether to enter a child protection zone. Or compare the 30km/h speed limit road mark (20) on the road surface with a pre-stored road mark (including a mark recognized as a 30km/h speed limit roadmark in a child protection zone valid through machine learning) It is also possible to determine whether to enter the protected area.

The image storage management unit 114 operates when the machine learning inference unit 112 recognizes whether to enter the child protection zone, and stores the image while the vehicle passes through the child protection zone in the nonvolatile data memory 140. At this time, the state information of the child protection mode setting switch 190 and the vehicle signal received from the CAN communication unit 160 are synchronized and stored in the stored image data.

4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation flow of a child protection mode according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, a process in which the device for supporting safe driving in a child protection zone according to the present invention operates in a child protection mode will be described as follows.

First, the child protection zone safe driving support device 100 determines whether the child protection mode setting switch 190 is turned on (ST110). When the child protection mode start button 192 is pressed, the process starts, and when the child protection mode start button 192 is not pressed, the child protection mode is not operated.

Next, as described above, the machine learning inference unit 112 performs machine learning on the front image captured by the camera 180 (ST120). The machine learning reasoning unit 112 determines whether the vehicle enters the child protection area (ST130), and when entering the child protection area, the electronic control unit 200 of the vehicle limits the speed to 30 km/h or less. A command speed limit signal is transmitted (ST140). For example, even when an acceleration command is transmitted by the driver stepping on the accelerator pedal, the acceleration command is ignored or a braking signal is generated so that the driving speed of the vehicle does not exceed 30 km/h.

Next, the image storage management unit 114 of the image processing processor 110 receives an input state of the child protection mode setting switch 190 and the electronic control unit 200 while the vehicle passes through the child protection area. It is stored in synchronization with the vehicle signal (ST150).

According to the device for supporting safe driving in a child protection zone according to the present invention, it operates only when a driver inputs a child protection mode setting switch. In addition, when operating in the child protection mode, machine learning of the video captured by the front camera recognizes the child protection zone and forcibly limits the vehicle speed to 30km/h or less. Further, the vehicle signals such as the state of the child protection mode setting switch, the driving speed of the vehicle, the accelerator operation signal, and the brake operation signal are synchronized and stored together with the image while the vehicle is in progress in the child protection zone. Therefore, in order to prevent safety accidents in the child protection zone by the driver's volition, as well as to prevent the driver's accidental violation of laws and regulations, and to secure the basis for the existence of legal penalties in the event of an accident in the child protection zone. There is an effect.

The invention disclosed above can be variously modified within a range that does not damage the basic idea. That is, all of the above embodiments should be interpreted as illustratively and not limitedly. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined according to the appended claims rather than the above-described embodiments, and if the components defined in the appended claims are substituted with equivalents, it should be considered as belonging to the protection scope of the present invention.

10: prop 12: child protection zone sign
14: Child protection zone identification mark 16: 30km/h speed limit mark
20: 30km/h speed limit road mark
100: Child protection zone safe driving support device
110: image processing processor 112: machine learning inference unit
114: image storage management unit 120: volatile memory
130: nonvolatile program memory 140: nonvolatile data memory
150: audio-visual guide 160: CAN communication unit
180: camera 190: child protection mode setting switch
192: Child protection mode start button 194: Child protection mode end button
200: Electronic control unit (ECU)

Claims (6)

A camera installed in front of the vehicle;
A child protection mode setting switch that toggles setting and canceling of the child protection mode by a driver's operation;
An audio-visual guide for notifying a vehicle driver whether the vehicle enters a child protection zone;
A controller area network (CAN) communication unit communicating with the electronic control unit of the vehicle when the child protection mode setting switch is input and the child protection mode is selected; And
Machine learning the image captured by the camera to determine whether the vehicle enters the child protection area, and when the vehicle enters the child protection area, the vehicle speed is reduced to 30 km/h or less to the electronic control unit through the CAN communication unit. A machine learning inference unit that transmits a speed limit signal maintained by the machine learning inference unit, and an image storage management unit instructing to store an image photographed with the camera when the vehicle is determined to enter the child protection zone by the machine learning inference unit. Image processing processor
Child protection zone safe driving support device comprising a.
The method of claim 1,
The machine learning inference unit recognizes a road sign from the image photographed by the camera, and compares and learns a child protection zone identification mark or a 30 km/h speed limit mark included in the road sign with a previously stored road sign identification mark, A device that supports safe driving in a child protection area that determines whether a child enters a child protection area.
The method of claim 1,
The machine learning inference unit recognizes the road mark on the road surface and the red background from the image captured by the camera, or compares and learns the 30 km/h speed limit road mark on the road surface with the previously stored road mark to determine whether the vehicle enters the child protection zone. A device that supports safe driving in a child-protected area.
The method according to claim 2 or 3,
A volatile memory temporarily storing an image captured by the camera by a command of the image processing processor and intermediate calculated data processed by the machine learning inference unit;
Non-volatile for permanently storing the program code of the image processing processor, the feature point parameter of the road sign identification mark and the road mark indicating the child protection area, and the feature point parameter of the image data recognized as the child protection area by the machine learning inference unit Program memory; And
Non-volatile data memory for storing an image while the vehicle passes through a child protection area by the command of the image storage management unit
Child protection zone safe driving support device further comprising a.
The method of claim 4,
The image storage management unit synchronizes and stores the state information of the child protection mode setting switch and the vehicle signal received from the CAN communication unit when storing the image while the vehicle passes through the child protection area in the nonvolatile data memory. A device that supports safe driving in a child-protected area.
The method of claim 5,
The vehicle signal received from the CAN communication unit includes a driving speed of the vehicle, an accelerator operation signal of the vehicle, and a brake operation signal of the vehicle.

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