KR20120070770A - Intersection car control apparatus using image recognition and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: Intersection car control apparatus using image recognition and method thereof are provided to recognize whether a vehicle enters or not on a real-time basis with images by adding a camera image sensor on the original traffic lights. CONSTITUTION: An image input unit(100) inputs a vehicle image. A traffic controller(102) recognizes entering vehicles to an intersection. The traffic controller has a signal control preferentially done in running direction.

Description

Intersection vehicle control device and method using image recognition {INTERSECTION CAR CONTROL APPARATUS USING IMAGE RECOGNITION AND METHOD THEREOF}

The present invention relates to the control of the intersection signal, in particular, by adding a camera image sensor to the existing traffic lights without changing the traffic light facilities installed on the road to recognize the entry of the vehicle as a real-time image, at the intersection based on the situation awareness By actively controlling the signal system according to whether the vehicle enters the vehicle, the waiting time of the intersection signal of the vehicle can be reduced, and the image storage of the vehicle entering the intersection can serve as a black box for the events occurring at the intersection. An apparatus and method for controlling a crossroad vehicle using image recognition for enabling the present invention are provided.

In general, the signal system at the intersection provides a fixed time signal system (forward + left turn, stop; walking signal) of a method that is converted to the next scheduled signal after a certain time passes regardless of the traffic volume of the road.

Accordingly, regardless of whether the vehicle enters the intersection lane or not, the vehicle entering the intersection must wait for a time when the signal changes according to the existing signal system, thereby increasing the time for the vehicle to wait for the signal. That is, even when there is no vehicle in the other lane, there is often a case of waiting for a signal to change at an intersection. In this case, it is necessary to repeat the stand-up of the vehicle and in extreme cases, there may be a situation in which the signal waiting unnecessarily even when there is no vehicle in the opposite direction.

In order to compensate for this, in recent years, the traffic volume may be grasped in advance to provide a straight ahead and a left turn at the same time, and a loop detection sensor may be embedded at a specific point to provide a left turn for a predetermined time only. Some methods of providing traffic signal systems have been adopted.

However, in the case of embedding the sensor on the road, it is difficult to follow-up management and when the additional maintenance is required, there is a problem that the entire traffic flow is inconvenient. In addition, in the case of the conventional signaling system in which the signaling system operates uniformly for a fixed time regardless of whether the vehicle enters the intersection, the waiting time of the signal is unnecessarily long for the vehicle, and these inefficient factors cause carbon dioxide due to unnecessary vehicle atmosphere. There was a problem that the emissions increase, ultimately further polluting the environment.

Accordingly, the present invention adds a camera image sensor to an existing traffic light without changing a traffic light facility installed on a road, and recognizes whether the vehicle is entered as a real-time image, and actively activates a signal system according to whether or not the vehicle enters an intersection based on situation awareness. Provides an apparatus and method for controlling a crossroad vehicle using image recognition to reduce the waiting time of a crossroad signal by controlling a vehicle and to serve as a black box for an event occurring at the crossroad by storing an image of a vehicle entering the crossroad. I would like to.

The present invention described above is an intersection vehicle control apparatus using image recognition, comprising: an image input unit for inputting an image of a vehicle entering an intersection, a vehicle entering the intersection through the image input unit, and obtaining lane information of the vehicle. After analyzing the direction to drive by using, the traffic control unit for controlling the traffic light so that the signal control in the driving direction of the vehicle is preferentially made with reference to the vehicle information in the relative vehicle.

In the present invention, by adding a camera image sensor to the existing traffic lights without changing the traffic light facilities installed on the road to recognize the entry of the vehicle as a real-time image, and actively control the signal system according to whether the vehicle enters the intersection based on the situation awareness There is an advantage to reduce the intersection signal waiting time of the vehicle.

In addition, by storing the image of the vehicle entering the intersection, it can store the image of the event occurred at the intersection to serve as a black box for traffic accidents, and to reduce the vehicle waiting time on the road from the vehicle waiting for a signal There is an advantage that can reduce the environmental pollution by reducing the carbon dioxide emissions generated.

1 is a block diagram of an intersection vehicle control apparatus using image recognition according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a conceptual diagram of a vehicle recognition in an intersection according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a flowchart illustrating a vehicle control at an intersection using image recognition according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods for achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art. Is provided to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

In describing the embodiments of the present disclosure, when it is determined that a detailed description of a known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present disclosure, the detailed description thereof will be omitted, and the following terms are used in the embodiments of the present disclosure. Terms are defined in consideration of the function of the may vary depending on the user or operator's intention or custom. Therefore, the definition should be based on the contents throughout this specification.

Combinations of each block of the block diagrams and respective steps of the flowcharts may be performed by computer program instructions (executable engines), which may be executed on a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing equipment. As such, instructions executed through a processor of a computer or other programmable data processing equipment create means for performing the functions described in each block of the block diagram or in each step of the flowchart. These computer program instructions may be stored in a computer usable or computer readable memory that can be directed to a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to implement functionality in a particular manner, and thus the computer usable or computer readable memory. The instructions stored therein may also produce an article of manufacture containing instruction means for performing the functions described in each block of the block diagram or in each step of the flowchart.

In addition, computer program instructions may be mounted on a computer or other programmable data processing equipment, such that a series of operating steps may be performed on the computer or other programmable data processing equipment to create a computer-implemented process to generate a computer or other program. Instructions for performing possible data processing equipment may also provide steps for performing the functions described in each block of the block diagram and in each step of the flowchart.

In addition, each block or step may represent a portion of a module, segment or code that includes one or more executable instructions for executing specific logical functions, and in some alternative embodiments referred to in blocks or steps It should be noted that the functions may occur out of order. For example, the two blocks or steps shown in succession may, in fact, be performed substantially concurrently, or the blocks or steps may be performed in the reverse order of the corresponding function, as required.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of a crossroad vehicle control apparatus through image recognition according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the intersection vehicle control apparatus of the present invention includes an image input unit 100, a traffic control unit 102, an image DB (data base) 104, a traffic light 106, a traffic control server 108, and the like. Include.

First, the image input unit 100 is an apparatus for inputting an image of a vehicle entering an intersection such as a camera, and includes a sensor for detecting a vehicle recognition on a road at a predetermined distance, and detects whether the vehicle enters an intersection at a conventional loop. And lane-specific image recognition. During the day, when the vehicle is easy to recognize, it is possible to recognize the situation when approaching a certain distance by lane, and at night, it is possible to determine whether the vehicle is entering by using the headlight of the vehicle.

The traffic control unit 102 controls the operation of the traffic light 106 installed at the intersection, and also flows the vehicle using information on the vehicle entering the intersection provided from the image input unit 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Readjust the operation of the traffic lights to make this as smooth as possible.

For example, when recognizing that the vehicle enters the straight road through the image input unit 100, such as a camera installed in the intersection, it is directed to the vehicle as it is, to recognize that the vehicle enters the left turn lane. In this case, after checking whether the other lane enters the vehicle, if the left turn is possible, the driving speed of the vehicle is constantly lowered to a safe speed, and then the left turn is induced.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent unnecessary stops on the road than the conventional vehicle induction method by the fixed one-way timer. In addition, when the vehicle recognition through the image input unit 100 does not operate smoothly, the traffic control unit 102 controls the traffic lights to operate in a signal system such as the straight ahead, left turn and stop, and controls the traffic image of the vehicle in the intersection. It has an image DB 104 to store the image of the intersection of the vehicle recognized through the image input unit 100, the passage of the intersection, and the like to enable the car accident, vehicle lookup, etc. in the intersection, the role of the traffic light black box You can also do In this case, when the image DB 104 is interlocked with a web hard, the signal control and image DB 104 may be retrieved remotely from the traffic control server 108 located at a remote location.

FIG. 2 illustrates a concept of controlling an intersection vehicle through image recognition by recognizing a vehicle entering an intersection through an image input unit 100 such as a camera installed in an intersection.

Referring to FIG. 2, first, when entering an intersection within a recognizable distance, vehicle information input through vehicle objects and headlights is automatically transmitted to the image input unit 100. The determination of access to the intersection of the vehicle may be primarily determined whether the vehicle proceeds continuously according to the lane or the driving direction of the vehicle. At this time, the determination algorithm by the image input unit 100 is to operate when the vehicle enters a certain area that can be recognized in the intersection, and if the failure or recognition is not possible, the traffic control unit 102 operates the existing traffic control program to limit the traffic flow. Do not occur. At this time, the interface of the image input unit 100 to be directly connected to the traffic control unit 102 that controls the operation of the existing traffic lights so as to provide a signal without changing the traffic system, and to be linked with the existing traffic control program. do.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation control flow of controlling the progress of a vehicle in an intersection through image recognition according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3.

First, it scans whether there is a vehicle entering the intersection through the image input unit 100 such as a camera installed in the intersection (S300).

At this time, when recognizing the vehicle entering the intersection through the image input unit 100, the traffic control unit 102 to determine the direction information of the vehicle through the lane recognition of the vehicle entering the intersection, such as Recognize the road situation (S302).

As a result of the road situation recognition as described above, when the vehicle entered in the intersection is recognized as a vehicle to drive straight (S304), the traffic control unit 102 to the relative vehicle for the control of traffic lights to provide preferential straightness for the vehicle. It is checked whether there is a vehicle entering the vehicle (S306).

At this time, if there is no vehicle entering the relative lane, the traffic control unit 102 controls the traffic light so that the vehicle can travel straight without waiting for a signal (S308). However, in contrast, when there is a vehicle entering the relative lane, the traffic control unit 102 controls the traffic light to operate in the existing signal system (S310).

On the other hand, when the road situation recognition results that the vehicle entered in the intersection is recognized as a vehicle to drive left turn (S312), the traffic control unit 102 to the relative lane to control the traffic light to provide a left turn for the vehicle first It is checked whether there is a vehicle entering (S314).

At this time, if there is no vehicle entering the relative lane, the traffic control unit 102 controls the traffic light so that the vehicle can turn left without waiting for a signal (S316). At this time, the traffic light control, for example, can be controlled to be a straight left signal that can go straight and left turn at the same time. However, in contrast, when there is a vehicle entering the relative lane, the traffic control unit 102 controls the traffic light to operate in the existing signal system (S310).

As described above, the present invention examines whether there is a vehicle entry at the intersection at a traffic light, and recognizes the road situation at the intersection to provide continuity of vehicle operation. In other words, it provides traffic smoothly by preferentially providing the straightness of the vehicle.In particular, during traffic congestion, the road traffic rate is increased and the vehicle is operated in a fluid manner according to the traffic of the vehicle instead of a fixed time of signal processing. It is expected to reduce the incidence of accidents. For example, when a straight vehicle enters and a left turn vehicle enters, it checks whether the other lane enters the vehicle and provides a straight and left turn signal at the same time. Do it.

Meanwhile, in the above description of the present invention, specific embodiments have been described, but various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should not be limited by the described embodiments but should be defined by the appended claims.

100: image input unit 102: traffic control unit
104: Image DB 106: Traffic Light
108: traffic control server

Claims (1)

An image input unit for inputting an image of a vehicle entering the intersection;
Recognizing a vehicle entering the intersection through the image input unit, analyzing a direction to be driven using lane information of the vehicle, and then controlling the signal in the driving direction of the vehicle with reference to vehicle information with a relative lane is preferred. Traffic control to control the traffic light to be made of
Crossroads vehicle control device using the image recognition comprising.

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