KR102622034B1 - Vehicle for adjusting image quality and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

For this purpose, a vehicle according to one aspect of the disclosed invention includes a camera sequentially acquiring image frames including reference image frames acquired at predetermined time intervals; and when the camera acquires the reference image frame, determines the complexity of each region of the reference image frame, determines an image quality control parameter for each region based on the determined complexity for each region, and sets the determined image quality control parameter for each region to the above. and a control unit that transmits the image to a camera, wherein the camera adjusts and acquires the image quality of an image frame after a predetermined time than the reference image frame based on the transmitted image quality adjustment parameters for each region.

Description

A vehicle that adjusts image quality and its control method {VEHICLE FOR ADJUSTING IMAGE QUALITY AND METHOD THEREOF}

The disclosed invention relates to a vehicle that adjusts image quality and a control method thereof.

In general, a vehicle provides necessary information by storing image data acquired from a camera or transmitting it to a necessary device. At this time, if all video data is stored regardless of the characteristics of the video, there is a problem in that the video data takes up a lot of storage space in the storage unit, ultimately shortening the video recording time due to insufficient storage space. In addition, even when all video data is stored in high quality, there is a problem that video recording time is shortened due to insufficient storage space.

In particular, cameras installed in vehicles record accidents before and after vehicle collisions and provide information necessary to determine the circumstances of the accident. Recently, thanks to the demand for autonomous driving of vehicles, advanced research and commercialization based on integrated controllers for autonomous driving of vehicles are being actively conducted. However, due to the nature of the autonomous driving system, whose reliability is not yet guaranteed, users may sometimes face situations where they must take over control, and the possibility of an accident occurring may also exist. At this time, video data at the time of an accident is stored for the purpose of determining whether the autonomous driving system or the user is responsible for the accident. Since this data is stored in a limited space, it must be stored in a compressed video format.

Since data is stored in a limited space, if all image data is stored with constant quality, there is a problem that important data is lost or necessary information cannot be obtained due to low resolution of important parts.

One aspect of the disclosed invention is to increase the resolution of important parts of image data acquired from a camera and lower the resolution of relatively unimportant parts, thereby enabling the storage of a larger amount of necessary data.

A vehicle according to an embodiment of the disclosed invention for achieving the above-described purpose,

A camera that sequentially acquires image frames including reference image frames acquired at predetermined time intervals; and

When the camera acquires the reference image frame, the camera determines the complexity of each region of the reference image frame, determines an image quality control parameter for each region based on the determined complexity for each region, and adjusts the determined image quality adjustment parameter for each region to the camera. It may include a control unit that transmits to,

The camera may adjust and obtain the image quality of an image frame a predetermined time later than the reference image frame based on the transmitted image quality adjustment parameter.

Additionally, the control unit may determine the image quality adjustment parameter so that a resolution greater than a predetermined value is applied to an area of the reference image frame where complexity is higher than a predetermined value.

Additionally, the control unit may determine the image quality adjustment parameter so that a resolution of less than a predetermined value is applied to an area of the reference image frame where complexity is lower than a predetermined value.

In addition, a vehicle according to an embodiment of the disclosed invention for achieving the above-described object may include a storage unit for storing image frames acquired by the camera, and the storage unit is configured to improve image quality by the camera. The adjusted and acquired video frames can be saved.

Additionally, the control unit may compress an image frame obtained by adjusting the image quality, and the storage unit may store the compressed image frame.

Additionally, the controller may control the behavior of the vehicle based on image frames obtained by the camera, excluding image frames obtained by adjusting the image quality.

In addition, the camera corresponds an area of the reference image frame with an area of an image frame to be acquired a predetermined time later than the reference image frame and sets the transmitted image quality control parameter to an image to be acquired a predetermined time later than the reference image frame. By applying it to each area of the frame, an image frame that is a predetermined time later than the reference image frame can be obtained.

A vehicle control method according to an embodiment of the disclosed invention to achieve the above-described object is,

sequentially acquiring image frames including reference image frames acquired at predetermined time intervals; When obtaining the reference image frame, determine the complexity of each region of the reference image frame; determining image quality control parameters for each region based on the determined complexity for each region; transmitting the determined image quality control parameters for each area to the camera; It may include adjusting and obtaining the image quality of an image frame a predetermined time later than the reference image frame based on the transmitted image quality adjustment parameter.

In addition, determining the image quality control parameters for each region based on the determined complexity for each region determines the image quality control parameters so that a resolution greater than a predetermined value is applied to regions of the reference image frame where the complexity is higher than a predetermined value. It may include:

In addition, determining the image quality control parameters for each region based on the determined complexity for each region involves adjusting the image quality control parameters so that a resolution less than a predetermined value is applied to regions of the reference image frame where the complexity is lower than a predetermined value. It may involve making decisions.

In addition, the vehicle control method according to an embodiment of the disclosed invention for achieving the above-described object may further include storing the image frame obtained by adjusting the image quality.

Additionally, storing the image frame obtained by adjusting the image quality may include compressing the image frame obtained by adjusting the image quality and storing the compressed image frame.

In addition, it may further include controlling the behavior of the vehicle based on image frames excluding image frames obtained by adjusting the image quality among the acquired image frames.

In addition, acquiring an image frame to be acquired a predetermined time later than the reference image frame based on the transmitted image quality control parameter involves dividing the area of the reference image frame into an image frame to be acquired a predetermined time later than the reference image frame. It may include acquiring an image frame after a predetermined time than the reference image frame by matching it with an area and applying the transmitted image quality control parameter to each area of the image frame to be acquired after a predetermined time than the reference image frame.

According to one aspect of the disclosed invention, a larger amount of required data can be stored by increasing the resolution of important parts of image data acquired from a camera and lowering the resolution of relatively unimportant parts.

1 is a diagram illustrating a vehicle according to an embodiment of the disclosed invention.
Figure 2 is a control block diagram according to one embodiment of the disclosed invention.
Figure 3 is a diagram for explaining image quality adjustment of an image frame according to an embodiment of the disclosed invention.
Figure 4 is a diagram for explaining image quality adjustment of an image frame according to an embodiment of the disclosed invention.
Figures 5A and 5B are diagrams showing reference image frames and image quality-adjusted image frames according to an embodiment of the disclosed invention.
Figure 6 is a flowchart showing a control method according to an embodiment of the disclosed invention.

The embodiments described in this specification and the configuration shown in the drawings are preferred examples of the disclosed invention, and at the time of filing this application, there may be various modifications that can replace the embodiments and drawings in this specification.

In addition, the same reference numbers or symbols shown in each drawing of this specification indicate parts or components that perform substantially the same function.

Additionally, the terms used herein are used to describe embodiments and are not intended to limit and/or limit the disclosed invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, terms such as “comprise,” “provide,” or “have” are intended to designate the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification. It does not exclude in advance the existence or addition of other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

In addition, terms including ordinal numbers such as “first”, “second”, etc. used in this specification may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms, and the terms It is used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, a first component may be referred to as a second component without departing from the scope of the disclosed invention, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component. The term “and/or” includes any of a plurality of related stated items or a combination of a plurality of related stated items.

Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, embodiments of a vehicle that adjusts the image quality of an image and a control method thereof will be described in detail.

1 is a diagram illustrating a vehicle according to an embodiment of the disclosed invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of the disclosed invention includes a camera 90 that acquires an image frame around the vehicle 1 by capturing a running road image or an image surrounding the vehicle 1. It can be included.

The camera 90 emits an electromagnetic wave and receives an echo wave that is reflected from the target object and scatters it by firing a radar or laser that can identify the object or detect the position, moving speed, etc. of the object. A detection sensor (91) including a lidar that measures physical properties such as distance, concentration, speed, and shape of the measurement object from the return time and intensity of the laser that is reflected or reflected, changes in frequency, and changes in polarization state. , 92) can be replaced or combined with.

Additionally, the camera 90 is not limited to that term and can be interpreted to include all devices capable of acquiring image frames.

Additionally, the vehicle 1 may be equipped with a plurality of detection sensors 91 and 92.

A plurality of detection sensors 91 and 92 are radars that emit electromagnetic waves and receive echo waves that are reflected from the target object and return to identify the object or detect the position and moving speed of the object. Includes lidar that fires a laser and measures physical properties such as distance, concentration, speed, and shape of the object to be measured based on the time and intensity of the scattered or reflected laser, changes in frequency, and changes in polarization state. can do.

The plurality of detection sensors 91 and 92 may obtain at least one of position information and speed information of an object located around the vehicle 1 with respect to the vehicle 1. That is, the detection sensors 91 and 92 can obtain coordinate information that changes in real time as the object moves and can detect the distance between the vehicle 1 and the object.

Referring to Figure 1, a plurality of detection sensors (91, 92) are installed only on the front and side of the vehicle (1), but this is not limited to this, and the detection sensors (91, 92) detect objects in the front, side, or front side, For example, it can be installed in an appropriate location to recognize other vehicles.

The detection sensors 91 and 92 detect the direction between the front of the vehicle 1 and the left and front sides of the vehicle 1 (hereinafter referred to as left front and right sides), and the right and left directions of the vehicle 1. It may be installed on the front, left, and right sides of the vehicle 1 so as to recognize objects located in all directions between the front (hereinafter referred to as right front and side).

Additionally, the vehicle 1 may include a control unit 100 that controls the camera 90 and controls the behavior of the vehicle 1 to adjust the quality of the image based on the image frame obtained from the camera 90. there is.

The control unit 100 may be implemented using various components such as semiconductor chips, switches, integrated circuits, resistors, volatile or non-volatile memories, or printed circuit boards, and may be implemented using an electronic control unit (ECU). The control unit 100 receives driving information of the vehicle 1 including speed information, steering angle information, brake drive unit input information, and accelerator drive unit input information of the vehicle 1 from a communication network including CAN (Controller Area Network). You can.

The control unit 100 may also receive image frames obtained from the camera 90.

The control unit 100 also includes an image quality control unit 101 that determines image quality adjustment parameters for adjusting image quality based on the image frames received from the camera 90, encodes the received image frames, or encodes the encrypted image frames. It may include a CODEC 102 for decoding and a memory 103 for temporarily storing image frames.

Additionally, although not shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 may include a storage unit 110 capable of storing video frames or encrypted video frames. This storage unit 110 includes non-volatile memory elements such as cache, read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), and flash memory. It may be implemented as at least one of a volatile memory element such as RAM (Random Access Memory) or a storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or CD-ROM, but is not limited thereto.

The storage unit 110 may also store various data related to control of the vehicle 1. Specifically, information on the driving speed, driving distance, and driving time of the vehicle 1 according to an embodiment can be stored, and information on the type and location of the object detected by the camera 90 can be stored.

The storage unit 110 can store the location information and speed information of the object detected by the detection sensors 91 and 92, coordinate information that changes in real time of the moving object, the relative distance between the vehicle 1 and the object, and Information about relative speed can be stored.

In addition, the storage unit 110 can store the location information and speed information of other vehicles around the vehicle 1 detected by the detection sensors 91 and 92, and provides real-time information about other vehicles driving around the vehicle 1. Changed coordinate information can be saved.

The storage unit 110 may store information about the relative distance and relative speed between other vehicles driving around the vehicle 1 and the object.

In addition, the storage unit 110 may store data related to equations and control algorithms for controlling the vehicle 1 according to an embodiment, and the control unit 100 controls the vehicle 1 according to these equations and control algorithms. A control signal can be transmitted.

The storage unit 110 may be a memory implemented as a separate chip from the processor described above in relation to the control unit 100, or may be implemented as a single chip together with the processor.

Figure 2 is a control block diagram according to one embodiment of the disclosed invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, a vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of the disclosed invention may be configured to include a camera 90, a control unit 100, and a storage unit 110.

The camera 90 may sequentially acquire image frames including reference image frames (R1 to R6) acquired at predetermined time intervals and transmit the acquired image frames to the control unit 100.

Additionally, the camera 90 may obtain a compressed image frame and transmit the compressed image frame to the control unit 100. The camera 90 is not limited to that term, and may include an Ethernet camera that receives compressed video frames, and may be plural.

Additionally, the camera 90 may adjust and acquire the image quality of the image frames A1 to A6 after a predetermined time than the reference image frame based on the image quality adjustment parameters for each region.

In addition, the camera 90 matches the area of the reference image frame with the area of the image frame to be acquired a predetermined time later than the reference image frame and sets the image quality adjustment parameter transmitted from the control unit 100 to the area of the image frame to be acquired after a predetermined time than the reference image frame. By applying this to each area of the image frame to be acquired later, an image frame that is a predetermined time later than the reference image frame can be acquired.

The camera 90 can acquire a plurality of image frames, such as 30 or 60 frames per second, and can acquire these plurality of image frames sequentially.

The image frame acquired by the camera 90 may be transmitted to the control unit 100, and the camera 90 adjusts the image quality of the image frame to be acquired after a predetermined time based on the image quality adjustment parameter transmitted from the control unit 100. You can obtain it by doing this.

In other words, the image quality control parameters may be determined differently for each area of the image frame to be acquired, and according to the image quality control parameters, a resolution higher than the predetermined value is applied to the area where the complexity is higher than the predetermined value, and the resolution above the predetermined value is applied to the area where the complexity is lower than the predetermined value. By applying a resolution below a certain value, you can obtain an image frame with adjusted image quality.

As shown in the figure, the control unit 100 may include an image quality control unit 101, a CODEC 102, and a memory 103.

When the camera 90 acquires a reference image frame, the control unit 100 determines the complexity of each region of the reference image frame, determines image quality adjustment parameters for each region based on the complexity of each region of the reference image frame, and determines the complexity of each region of the reference image frame. Image quality control parameters can be transmitted to the camera 90.

The reference image frame may be determined as an image frame acquired at a predetermined time interval.

For example, if the camera 90 acquires video frames of 30 frames per second, the reference video frame may be determined as the video frame acquired at an interval of 1/3 second, and in this case, the reference video frame is the 1st video frame. , can be set to the 11th video frame and the 21st video frame.

Of course, the order is not restricted and may be set to the 9th video frame, 19th video frame, and 21st video frame.

If the reference image frame is determined as an image frame acquired at a predetermined time interval, the predetermined time may be set to a level where the reliability of the image frame acquired by the camera 90 is not damaged.

As will be described later, when the camera 90 adjusts and acquires the image quality of an image frame a predetermined time later than the reference image frame based on the image quality adjustment parameter sent from the control unit 100, the image frame acquired with the image quality adjusted is Image frames that may be stored in the storage unit 110, excluding image frames obtained by adjusting the image quality, may be used for controlling the vehicle 1 or may be stored.

In other words, the number of reference image frames is equal to the number of image frames whose image quality has been adjusted, and the number of image frames excluding the image frames whose image quality has been adjusted is the number of image frames whose image quality has been adjusted from the number of image frames acquired by the camera 90. Since it is a value obtained by subtracting the number of video frames, if the number of reference video frames is large, the reliability of video frames excluding video frames whose quality has been adjusted may decrease.

For example, if the camera 90 acquires video frames of 30 frames per second and the predetermined time is set to 1/3 second, 3 frames out of 30 frames are reference video frames, and the image quality of the 3 frames is adjusted accordingly. It can be stored in the storage unit 110 as an image frame.

At this time, the remaining 27 frames are used or stored to control the vehicle 1, and the reliability of the video frame of 27 frames per second can usually be guaranteed.

When adjusting the image quality of an image frame that is a predetermined time later than the reference image frame, the predetermined time may be set to determine an image frame that is determined to remain identical to the reference image frame.

For example, if the camera 90 acquires 30 video frames per second and the reference video frame is the 9th video frame, the 9th video frame and the 10th video frame are acquired at 1/30 second intervals, so they are identical. It may be determined that this will be maintained, and in this case, the predetermined time may be set to 1/30 second.

In addition, if the camera 90 acquires 60 video frames per second and the reference video frame is the 9th video frame, the 9th video frame and the 10th video frame are acquired at 1/60 second intervals, so identity is maintained. It can be judged that the 9th video frame and the 11th video frame are also acquired at 1/30 second intervals, so it can be judged that the identity will be maintained. At this time, the predetermined time may be 1/30 second or 1/60 second.

At this time, the predetermined time is preferably 1/60 second, but it is not limited to this and may be set to 1/30 second as will be described later in FIG. 4.

The control unit 100 can compress video frames or decode compressed video frames. Compressing a video frame can be expressed in another way as decoding or encrypting, and the compression method of the video frame is not limited to DES, 3DES, AES, ARIA, SEED, HEIGHT, etc. and can be used in various ways.

Decoding a compressed video frame can be expressed as decompressing the compressed video frame, and the decoded compressed video frame can be used or stored in a necessary device such as controlling the behavior of the vehicle 1.

In addition, the control unit 100 determines the degree of risk of the vehicle 1 based on the detection sensors 91 and 92 installed in the vehicle 1, and determines the risk of each of the plurality of cameras 90 installed in the vehicle 1. Image quality can be applied differentially.

The memory 103 of the control unit 100 may be DRAM, a temporary storage means that is made up of volatile memory and the stored contents are deleted when the power supply is cut off. Information is temporarily stored to facilitate transmission and reception of information to speed up processing. etc. can be improved.

Additionally, the memory 103 is made of non-volatile memory and can store data necessary for various controls of the control unit 100, such as a predetermined time to set a reference image frame.

The storage unit 110 may store data including image frames acquired from the camera 90, image frames whose image quality has been adjusted, and compressed image frames. Additionally, the storage unit 110 may store data related to formulas and control algorithms for controlling the vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of the disclosed invention, and the control unit 100 stores the vehicle 1 according to these formulas and control algorithms. ) can be transmitted.

3 to 4 are diagrams for explaining image quality adjustment of an image frame according to an embodiment of the disclosed invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the camera 90 can acquire 30 image frames per second. As described above, among the 30 video frames per second, the reference video frames acquired at predetermined time intervals may be the 9th, 19th, and 29th video frames (R1 to R3).

At this time, the predetermined time is set to 1/3 second, but is not limited to this. If the predetermined time is set to 1/6 second, the reference video frames are the 4th, 9th, 14th, 19th, 24th, and 29th. It may be the second video frame.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the camera 90 sequentially acquires 30 image frames (F) per second.

At this time, when the camera 90 acquires the 9th image frame (R1), which is a reference image frame, the control unit 100 determines the complexity of each region of the 9th image frame (R1), which is a reference image frame, and determines the complexity of each region. Based on this, image quality control parameters for each region can be determined.

In addition, the control unit 100 controls the camera 90 so that the determined image quality adjustment parameter is applied to the image frame A1 to be acquired a predetermined time after the reference image frame R1 so that the image quality of the 10th image frame A1 is adjusted and obtained. ) can transmit the image quality control parameters for each area determined.

The camera 90 may adjust and obtain the image quality of the image frame A1 a predetermined time later than the reference image frame R1 based on the transmitted image quality adjustment parameters for each region.

At this time, the predetermined time is set to 1/30 second, and is not limited to this.

That is, the predetermined time is set to 1/15 second so that the camera 90 can obtain the 11th video frame by adjusting its image quality.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the camera 90 applies the image quality adjustment parameters for each region transmitted from the control unit 100 to each region of the image frame (A1) to be acquired a predetermined time after the reference image frame (R1) to improve image quality. The adjusted 10th video frame (A1) can be obtained.

The camera 90 may acquire the 10th image frame (A1) whose image quality has been adjusted, and sequentially acquire the 11th to 18th image frames (F) whose image quality has not been adjusted.

When the camera 90 acquires the 19th image frame (R2), which is another reference image frame, the control unit 100 determines the complexity of each region of the 19th image frame (R2), which is a reference image frame, as above, and The image quality control parameters for each region can be determined based on the complexity of each region.

In addition, the control unit 100 applies the determined image quality adjustment parameters for each region to the image frame (A2) to be acquired a predetermined time after the reference image frame (R2), so that the image quality of the 20th image frame (A2) is adjusted and obtained. The image quality control parameters for each area determined by (90) can be transmitted.

The camera 90 may adjust and obtain the image quality of the image frame A2 a predetermined time later than the reference image frame R2 based on the transmitted image quality adjustment parameters for each region.

As above, the camera 90 can acquire image frames (F) sequentially, up to the 30th image frame (A3) with the image quality adjusted.

That is, the camera 90 acquires 27 image frames (F) whose image quality has not been adjusted and 3 image frames (A1 to A3) whose image quality has been adjusted per second. Although not shown in the drawing, the camera 90 and the control unit 100 can acquire three video frames (40th, 50th, and 60th video frames) with adjusted image quality through the same process in the next second. .

Referring to FIG. 4, the camera 90 can acquire 60 image frames per second. Among 60 video frames (F) per second, reference video frames acquired at predetermined time intervals may be the 18th, 38th, and 58th video frames (R4 to R6).

At this time, the predetermined time is set to 1/3 second, but is not limited to this. If the predetermined time is set to 1/6 second, the reference video frames are the 8th, 18th, 28th, 38th, 48th, and 58th. It may be the second video frame.

Referring again to FIG. 4, the camera 90 sequentially acquires 60 image frames (F). At this time, when the camera 90 acquires the 18th image frame (R4), which is a reference image frame, the control unit 100 ) can determine the complexity of each region of the 18th image frame (R4), which is a reference image frame, and determine the image quality adjustment parameters of each region based on the determined complexity of each region.

In addition, the control unit 100 applies the determined image quality adjustment parameter to the image frame A4 to be acquired a predetermined time after the reference image frame R4, so that the image quality of the 20th image frame A4 is adjusted and acquired. ) can transmit the image quality control parameters for each area determined.

At this time, the predetermined time is set at 1/30 second, but is not limited to this. If the predetermined time is set at 1/60 second, the control unit 100 controls the camera 90 so that the image quality of the 19th video frame is adjusted. ) can be controlled.

Referring again to FIG. 4, the camera 90 applies the image quality adjustment parameters for each region transmitted from the control unit 100 to each region of the image frame (A4) to be acquired a predetermined time after the reference image frame (R4) to improve image quality. The adjusted 20th video frame (A4) can be obtained.

The camera 90 may acquire the 20th image frame (A4) whose image quality has been adjusted, and sequentially acquire the 11th to 18th image frames (F) whose image quality has not been adjusted.

When the camera 90 acquires the 38th image frame (R5), which is another reference image frame, the control unit 100 determines the complexity of each region of the 38th image frame (R5), which is a reference image frame, in the same manner as above, and Based on the complexity of each area, image quality control parameters for each area can be determined.

In addition, the control unit 100 applies the determined image quality adjustment parameters for each region to the image frame (A5) to be acquired a predetermined time after the reference image frame (R5), so that the image quality of the 40th image frame (A5) is adjusted and obtained. The image quality control parameters for each area determined by (90) can be transmitted.

The camera 90 may adjust and obtain the image quality of the image frame A5 a predetermined time later than the reference image frame R5 based on the transmitted image quality adjustment parameters for each region.

As above, the camera 90 sequentially acquires the image frames (F), up to the 60th image frame (A6) with the image quality adjusted.

That is, the camera 90 acquires 57 image frames with unadjusted image quality and 3 image frames with adjusted image quality (A4 to A6) per second. Although not shown in the drawing, the camera 90 and the control unit 100 can acquire three video frames (80th, 100th, and 120th video frames) with adjusted image quality through the same process in the next second. .

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 , the camera 90 may acquire image frames whose image quality is not adjusted and image frames A1 to A6 whose image quality is adjusted.

As will be described later, the image frames A1 to A6 of which the image quality has been adjusted may be stored in the storage unit 110, or may be compressed and stored in the storage unit 110.

Additionally, image frames whose image quality has not been adjusted may be used to control the behavior of the vehicle 1 or may be stored in the storage unit 110.

Figures 5A and 5B are diagrams showing reference image frames and image quality-adjusted image frames according to an embodiment of the disclosed invention.

FIG. 5A shows a reference image frame (R1), and FIG. 5B shows an image frame (A1) obtained by adjusting the image quality.

Referring to FIG. 5A, the control unit 100 may determine the area where a vehicle exists as an area (C1) whose complexity is higher than a predetermined value, and the road or sky section where a vehicle does not exist may be determined to have a complexity higher than a predetermined value. It can be determined by the low area (C2).

That is, a complex area can be determined as an area (C1) whose complexity is higher than a predetermined value, and a flat area can be determined as an area (C2) whose complexity is lower than a predetermined value.

The method for determining complexity will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 6.

The control unit 100 may determine the complexity of each region of the reference image frame R1 and determine the image quality adjustment parameter of each region based on the determined complexity of each region.

In addition, the control unit 100 determines image quality adjustment parameters for each region so that high resolution is applied to the region C1 whose complexity is higher than a predetermined value among the regions of the reference image frame R1, that is, resolution greater than the predetermined value is applied. And, the determined image quality control parameters for each area can be transmitted to the camera 90.

In addition, the control unit 100 adjusts the image quality adjustment parameters for each region so that low resolution is applied to the region C2 of the reference image frame R1 whose complexity is lower than a predetermined value, that is, a resolution less than a predetermined value is applied. The image quality control parameters for each area may be determined and transmitted to the camera 90.

The camera 90 may adjust and obtain the image quality of the image frame A1 a predetermined time later than the reference image frame R1 based on the transmitted image quality adjustment parameters for each region.

Referring to FIG. 5B, it can be confirmed that the image frame A1 to be acquired a predetermined time later than the reference image frame R1 is an image frame that maintains identity with the reference image frame.

In addition, a resolution higher than the predetermined value is applied to the area (C1) where the complexity is higher than the predetermined value so that the area of the video frame is clear, and to the area (C2) where the complexity is lower than the predetermined value, a resolution below the predetermined value is applied. You can see that the area of the video frame area is not clear.

Figure 6 is a flowchart showing a control method according to an embodiment of the disclosed invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the camera 90 may sequentially acquire image frames including reference image frames acquired at predetermined time intervals and then acquire the reference image frame (1000).

When the camera 90 acquires a reference image frame, the control unit 100 can determine the complexity of each region of the reference image frame (1100), and the complexity of each region of the reference image frame is determined using the Sobel operator algorithm. It can be determined by detecting the edge.

In other words, the control unit 100 may determine a part with many edges as having high complexity and a part with few edges as having low complexity using the Sobel operator algorithm.

The Sobel operator algorithm is an algorithm that detects the amount of change by comparing the values before and after in each direction (horizontal and vertical directions) based on the center pixel when calculating using a 3x3 matrix.

The filter mask that detects the amount of change in the horizontal direction of the Sobel operator is It is a 3x3 matrix in the form of a matrix, and using this, the amount of change in the center pixel in the horizontal direction can be calculated by multiplying the color information (0~255) of each pixel based on the center pixel (2,2) and then adding all the multiplied values. there is.

Likewise, the filter mask that detects the vertical change amount of the Sobel operator is It is a 3x3 matrix in the form of a matrix, and using this, the amount of change in the center pixel in the vertical direction can be calculated by multiplying the color information (0~255) of each pixel based on the center pixel (2,2) and then adding all the multiplied values. there is.

The filter mask for edge detection is not limited to the Sobel mask used in the Sobel operator, and any mask for edge detection such as the Prewitt mask, Roberts mask, and Canny mask can be used.

Additionally, the method of determining the complexity of each region of an image frame according to an embodiment of the present invention is not limited to a method of using edge information of the image frame, and may include any method that can determine the complexity of the image frame.

Once the complexity of each region of the reference image frame is determined, the control unit 100 may determine an image quality adjustment parameter for each region based on the determined complexity of each region (1200).

Specifically, the control unit 100 may determine image quality adjustment parameters so that a resolution greater than a predetermined value is applied to an area of the reference image frame whose complexity is higher than a predetermined value, and where the complexity of an area of the reference image frame is higher than a predetermined value. Image quality control parameters can be determined so that a resolution below a predetermined value is applied to lower areas.

Methods for determining or applying picture quality control parameters may include, but are not limited to, QP control through rate-distortion optimization (RDO).

The image quality control parameter may be a quantization parameter (QP), and the quantization parameter may be determined to have a different value for each block of the video frame.

Additionally, image quality control parameters may include parameters used to determine image quality or various characteristics of an image frame.

For example, image quality control parameters may include parameters that control the image quality of an image frame, such as brightness, contrast, sharpness, resolution, dynamic tissue contrast enhancement (DTCE), gain, etc.

The control unit 100 may transmit the determined image quality control parameters for each area to the camera 90 (1300).

In other words, the control unit 100 applies the determined image quality adjustment parameter to an image frame to be acquired a predetermined time later than the reference image frame, so that the image quality of the image frame to be acquired a predetermined time later than the reference image frame is adjusted and obtained by the camera 90. The image quality control parameters for each area determined can be transmitted.

The camera 90 can obtain and adjust the image quality of an image frame a predetermined time later than the reference image frame by applying image quality adjustment parameters for each transmitted region (1400).

Specifically, the camera 90 corresponds the area of the reference image frame to the area of the image frame to be acquired a predetermined time later than the reference image frame, and sets the image quality control parameters for each transmitted area to be acquired after a predetermined time than the reference image frame. By applying it to each area of the image frame to be acquired, an image frame that is a predetermined time later than the reference image frame can be acquired.

When the camera 90 adjusts and acquires the image quality of an image frame after a predetermined time than the reference image frame, the control unit 100 transmits the image frame acquired with the image quality adjusted by the camera 90 to the storage unit 110. You can.

The storage unit 110 may store an image frame obtained by adjusting the image quality transmitted from the control unit 100 (1500).

At this time, the control unit 100 can compress the image frames obtained by adjusting the image quality by the camera 90 and transmit them to the storage unit 110, and the storage unit 110 can store the compressed image frames.

Although not shown in the drawing, if the image frame acquired from the camera 90 is not an image frame whose image quality has been adjusted, the control unit 100 uses the acquired image frame to control the behavior of the vehicle 1 or stores it in the storage unit 110. It can be saved in .

1: Vehicle 102: CODEC
90: Camera 103: Memory
101: Image quality control unit 110: Storage unit

Claims (14)

A camera that sequentially acquires image frames including reference image frames acquired at predetermined time intervals; and
When the camera acquires the reference image frame, the camera determines the complexity of each region of the reference image frame, determines an image quality control parameter for each region based on the determined complexity for each region, and adjusts the determined image quality adjustment parameter for each region to the camera. Includes a control unit that transmits to,
The camera obtains and adjusts the image quality of an image frame a predetermined time later than the reference image frame based on the transmitted image quality adjustment parameters for each region,
The control unit detects edge information using the Sobel operator algorithm, and determines the complexity of each region of the reference image frame based on the detected edge information. According to paragraph 1,
The control unit,
A vehicle that determines image quality adjustment parameters for each region so that a resolution greater than a predetermined value is applied to a region of the reference image frame whose complexity is higher than a predetermined value. According to paragraph 1,
The control unit,
A vehicle that determines image quality adjustment parameters for each region so that resolution less than a predetermined value is applied to regions of the reference image frame where complexity is lower than a predetermined value. According to paragraph 1,
A storage unit that stores image frames acquired by the camera,
The storage unit,
A vehicle that stores image frames obtained by adjusting the image quality by the camera. According to paragraph 4,
The control unit,
Compressing the image frames obtained by adjusting the image quality,
The storage unit,
A vehicle that stores the compressed video frames. According to paragraph 1,
The control unit,
A vehicle that controls the vehicle's behavior based on image frames obtained by the camera, excluding image frames obtained by adjusting the image quality. According to paragraph 1,
The camera is,
The area of the reference image frame is matched with the area of the image frame to be acquired after a predetermined time than the reference image frame, and the image quality control parameter for each transmitted area is set for each area of the image frame to be acquired after a predetermined time than the reference image frame. A vehicle that acquires an image frame a predetermined time later than the reference image frame by applying it. sequentially acquiring image frames including reference image frames acquired at predetermined time intervals;
When obtaining the reference image frame, determine the complexity of each region of the reference image frame;
determining image quality control parameters for each region based on the determined complexity for each region;
transmitting the determined image quality control parameters for each area to the camera;
Obtaining and adjusting the image quality of a video frame a predetermined time later than the reference video frame based on the transmitted image quality adjustment parameters for each region,
A vehicle control method in which the complexity of each region of the reference image frame is determined based on edge information detected using the Sobel operator algorithm. According to clause 8,
Determining the image quality control parameters for each region based on the determined complexity for each region includes:
A method for controlling a vehicle, wherein the image quality adjustment parameter is determined so that a resolution higher than a predetermined value is applied to an area of the reference image frame where complexity is higher than a predetermined value. According to clause 8,
Determining the image quality control parameters for each region based on the determined complexity for each region includes:
A method for controlling a vehicle, wherein the image quality adjustment parameter is determined so that a resolution of less than a predetermined value is applied to an area of the reference image frame where complexity is lower than a predetermined value. According to clause 8,
A vehicle control method for storing an image frame obtained by adjusting the image quality. According to clause 11,
Storing the image frame obtained by adjusting the image quality includes:
Compressing the image frames obtained by adjusting the image quality,
A vehicle control method for storing the compressed video frame. According to clause 8,
A vehicle control method for controlling the behavior of a vehicle based on image frames excluding image frames obtained by adjusting the image quality among the acquired image frames. According to clause 8,
Obtaining by adjusting the image quality of an image frame a predetermined time later than the reference image frame based on the transmitted image quality adjustment parameter,
The area of the reference image frame is matched with the area of the image frame to be acquired a predetermined time later than the reference image frame, and the image quality control parameter for each transmitted region is set to the area of the image frame to be acquired a predetermined time later than the reference image frame. A vehicle control method for obtaining an image frame a predetermined time later than the reference image frame by applying it separately.