KR20220128199A - Method and apparatus for determining the current lane of a vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for determining a current lane of a vehicle. In the method according to one embodiment of the present invention, a lane map is acquired, a current road on which a vehicle is traveling is determined based on a lane map and vehicle location information, and a current lane in which the vehicle is traveling among at least one lane included in the current road is determined based on a front image filming a front portion of the vehicle. In addition, in the method according to one embodiment of the present invention, the current lane is determined by using at least one of a left lane counting number and a right lane counting number obtained from the front image.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING THE CURRENT LANE OF A VEHICLE

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining the current lane of a vehicle.

A vehicle traveling on a road may drive on any one of a plurality of lanes included in the road. A vehicle may frequently change lanes while driving, and a situation in which the number of lanes on a road is changed frequently also occurs.

A GPS device may be used to determine in which lane the vehicle is currently driving. A predetermined device may receive a GPS signal from an artificial satellite through the GPS device, and an absolute position value on the vehicle's latitude and longitude may be derived from the GPS signal. Through this, the predetermined device may estimate in which lane the vehicle is currently driving based on the GPS signal.

However, an error may exist in the vehicle location information estimated from the GPS signal. Since an error of about 10 m may exist in the location information of the vehicle estimated from the GPS signal, it may be difficult to determine the current lane in which the vehicle is driving from among lanes having a width of about 3 m.

Accordingly, there is a need for research on a method for more accurately determining a lane in which a vehicle is currently driving.

The above-mentioned background art is technical information possessed by the inventor for the derivation of the present invention or acquired in the process of derivation of the present invention, and cannot necessarily be said to be a known technique disclosed to the general public prior to the filing of the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for determining the current lane of a vehicle. The problem to be solved by the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and other problems and advantages of the present invention not mentioned can be understood by the following description, and more clearly understood by the embodiments of the present invention will be In addition, it will be appreciated that the problems and advantages to be solved by the present invention can be realized by means and combinations thereof indicated in the claims.

As a technical means for achieving the above technical problem, a first aspect of the present disclosure is a method for determining a current lane of a vehicle, comprising: acquiring a lane map; determining a current road on which the vehicle is traveling based on the lane map and location information of the vehicle; and determining a current lane in which the vehicle is traveling from among at least one lane included in the current road based on a front image captured in front of the vehicle. The doing may include a method of determining the current lane using at least one of a counted number of left lanes and a number of counted right lanes obtained from the forward image.

A second aspect of the present disclosure provides an apparatus for determining a current lane of a vehicle, comprising: a memory in which at least one program is stored; and a processor that performs an operation by executing the at least one program, wherein the processor includes: obtaining a lane map; determining a current road on which the vehicle is traveling based on the lane map and location information of the vehicle; and determining a current lane in which the vehicle is traveling from among at least one lane included in the current road based on a front image captured in front of the vehicle, and the processor performs the The present invention may provide an apparatus for determining the current lane by using at least one of the counting number of left lanes and the number of counting right lanes obtained from an image.

A third aspect of the present disclosure may provide a computer-readable recording medium recording a program for executing the method according to the first aspect on a computer.

In addition to this, another method for implementing the present invention, another system, and a computer-readable recording medium storing a computer program for executing the method may be further provided.

Other aspects, features and advantages other than those described above will become apparent from the following drawings, claims, and detailed description of the invention.

According to the above-described problem solving means of the present disclosure, it is possible to more accurately provide the current lane in which the vehicle is currently driving.

1 is a view for explaining an example in which a road and a lane on which a vehicle is traveling are displayed, according to an exemplary embodiment.
2A to 2B are diagrams for explaining an example of recognizing a lane in front of a vehicle in the lane determining apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.
3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a situation in which it is difficult to determine a current lane of a vehicle through a front image according to an exemplary embodiment.
4A to 4B are exemplary views for explaining a situation in which a vehicle changes a lane according to an exemplary embodiment.
5A to 5D are exemplary views for explaining a method of correcting the counting number of left and right lanes when the number of lanes is changed according to an exemplary embodiment.
6 is an exemplary diagram for explaining a method of correcting the counting number of left and right lanes when the number of lanes is changed according to an exemplary embodiment;
7 is a diagram for explaining an example of correcting a position of a vehicle in consideration of a feature on a road according to an exemplary embodiment.
8A to 8B are exemplary views for explaining a method for determining a road according to an embodiment.
9 is a flowchart of a method for determining a current lane of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment.
10 is a block diagram of an apparatus for determining a lane according to an exemplary embodiment.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and a method for achieving them will become apparent with reference to the detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments presented below, but may be implemented in a variety of different forms, and includes all transformations, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. . The embodiments presented below are provided to complete the disclosure of the present invention, and to completely inform those of ordinary skill in the art to the scope of the present invention. In describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known technology may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The terms used in the present application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present application, terms such as “comprise” or “have” are intended to designate that a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification exists, but one or more other features It is to be understood that this does not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure may be represented by functional block configurations and various processing steps. Some or all of these functional blocks may be implemented in various numbers of hardware and/or software configurations that perform specific functions. For example, the functional blocks of the present disclosure may be implemented by one or more microprocessors, or by circuit configurations for a given function. Also, for example, the functional blocks of the present disclosure may be implemented in various programming or scripting languages. The functional blocks may be implemented as an algorithm running on one or more processors. Further, the present disclosure may employ prior art techniques for electronic configuration, signal processing, and/or data processing, etc. Terms such as "mechanism", "element", "means" and "configuration" will be used broadly. and are not limited to mechanical and physical configurations.

In addition, the connecting lines or connecting members between the components shown in the drawings only exemplify functional connections and/or physical or circuit connections. In an actual device, a connection between components may be represented by various functional connections, physical connections, or circuit connections that are replaceable or added.

Hereinafter, a 'vehicle' may mean any type of transportation means used to move people or things with an engine, such as a car, a bus, a motorcycle, a kickboard, or a truck.

In addition, a road means a road on which vehicles travel, and may include, for example, various types of roads such as a highway, a national road, a local road, a high-speed national road, and an automobile-only road. A lane means a road space separated from each other through dividing lines displayed on the road surface. The dividing line means a solid line or a dotted line displayed on the road surface to distinguish a lane.

In addition, the 'current driving lane' is a lane currently being driven by a moving means among several lanes, and means a lane space currently occupied and used by the moving means, and may also be referred to as an 'ego lane'.

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a view for explaining an example in which a road and a lane on which a vehicle is traveling are displayed, according to an exemplary embodiment.

In the present disclosure, the lane determining apparatus may determine a current road on which the vehicle is traveling based on the lane map and location information of the vehicle.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the lane determining apparatus may display the road and lane on which the vehicle is traveling through the display 100 based on the lane map. The lane map may include information on roads and lanes in which the vehicle may travel. Roads 1 and 2 may be displayed on the display 100 , and Road 1 may include lanes 1-1 and 1-2, and road 2 may include lanes 2-1 and 2-2. It can be seen that the vehicle is currently driving on lanes 1-2 of road 1.

In an embodiment, the lane determining apparatus may receive location information of the vehicle from a Global Positioning System (GPS) device and a Dead Reckoning (DR) device installed in the vehicle.

Specifically, the GPS device receives vehicle positioning data (latitude, longitude, heading), error information (DOP, Stdev), mode information, number of satellites, etc. can be printed out. In addition, the DR device includes a sensor (eg, a geomagnetic sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, The second position information of the vehicle may be estimated using a yaw rate and a steering angle measured by a gyro sensor, etc.). By fusion of the first location information and the second location information, location information of the vehicle may be generated.

On the other hand, an error may exist in the location information of the vehicle generated from the GPS device and the DR device. Specifically, since an error of about 10 m may exist in the location information of the vehicle generated from the GPS device and the DR device, it is difficult to determine the current lane in which the vehicle is driving among lanes having a width of about 3 m.

Meanwhile, the lane determining device may be implemented as a computer device or a plurality of computer devices that communicate through a network to provide commands, codes, files, contents, services, and the like.

Networks include Local Area Networks (LANs), Wide Area Networks (WANs), Value Added Networks (VANs), mobile radio communication networks, satellite networks, and combinations thereof. It is a data communication network in a comprehensive sense that enables each of the network constituent entities shown in FIG. 1 to communicate smoothly with each other, and may include a wired Internet, a wireless Internet, and a mobile wireless communication network. In addition, wireless communication is, for example, wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy, Zigbee, WFD (Wi-Fi Direct), UWB (ultra wideband), infrared communication (IrDA, infrared) Data Association), NFC (Near Field Communication), etc. may be there, but is not limited thereto.

2A to 2B are diagrams for explaining an example of recognizing a lane in front of a vehicle in the lane determining apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2A , a front image 211 of the front of the vehicle 210 is shown. Meanwhile, in the front image 211 , a distance of X m between the road being photographed and the current location of the vehicle 210 may occur.

Referring to FIG. 2B , the vehicle 210 may calculate an Ego-Lane Recognition (ELR) output value based on a front image. The ELR output value will be referred to as a left/right lane counting number hereinafter.

The left and right lane counting numbers may include a left lane counting number and a right lane counting number. The counting number of left lanes is the number of counting lanes from the left boundary 221 , and the counting number of right lanes is the number of counting lanes from the right boundary 222 .

For example, the counting number of left and right lanes may be expressed as L3/R2, which means that the vehicle 210 is currently driving in the third lane from the left boundary 221 and the second lane from the right boundary 222 . Alternatively, the counting number of left and right lanes may be expressed more simply as 3/2.

3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a situation in which it is difficult to determine a current lane of a vehicle through a front image according to an exemplary embodiment.

As the lane determining device determines the number of counting left and right lanes based on the front image, if it does not identify in which lane the vehicle is located, or if at least one of the left boundary and the right boundary cannot be identified, the number of lane counts can be output as '0'.

In an embodiment, when the lane determining apparatus does not identify in which lane the vehicle is located, the lane counting number may be output as '0'.

Referring to FIG. 3 , when the vehicle is changing lanes, the lane determining device does not identify in which lane the vehicle is located, so the counting number of left and right lanes may be 0/0.

In another embodiment, as the lane determining apparatus determines the number of counting left and right lanes based on the front image, if at least one of the left boundary and the right boundary cannot be confirmed, the number of lanes counting may be output as '0'. have.

Specifically, when the left boundary cannot be checked, the lane determining apparatus may output the counting number of the left lane as '0', such as 0/2, 0/3. Also, when the right boundary cannot be checked, the lane determining apparatus may output the right lane counting number as '0', such as 2/0 and 3/0. Also, when both the left boundary and the right boundary cannot be checked, the lane determining apparatus may output the counting number of left and right lanes as 0/0.

Referring to FIG. 3 , when the lane determining device cannot confirm at least one of the left boundary and the right boundary, such as boundary blockage, intersection entry, junction, pocket lane, and construction section, the lane counting number is set to '0'. can be printed out.

4A to 4B are exemplary views for explaining a situation in which a vehicle changes a lane according to an exemplary embodiment.

The lane determining apparatus may determine whether to change a lane of the vehicle 410 by using a lane change detection (LCD) technique. In one embodiment, the LCD technique uses an image captured around the vehicle 410 , the speed of the vehicle 410 , the acceleration of the vehicle 410 , the steering state of the vehicle 410 , and the like to use the lane of the vehicle 410 . It may be a technique for determining whether to change. However, the type of data used in the LCD technique is not limited to the above-described example.

The lane determining apparatus may determine whether the vehicle 410 maintains a current lane, whether the vehicle 410 moves into a left lane, or whether the vehicle 410 moves into a right lane by using a lane change detection technique. For example, when the vehicle 410 maintains the current lane, the LCD value is '0', when the vehicle 410 moves into the left lane, the LCD value is '-1', and the vehicle 410 moves into the right lane. In this case, the LCD value may be set to '+1', but the setting method is not limited thereto.

Referring to FIG. 4A , at a first time point, the vehicle 410 is driving at a left and right lane counting number L/R of 2/2. Since the vehicle 410 maintains the lane at the first time point, the LCD value may be output as '0'. When the vehicle 410 starts to change the lane to the left lane, the lane determining device at the second time point does not identify in which lane the vehicle 410 is located, so the counting number of the left and right lanes is 0/0, LCD value can be output as '-1'. When the vehicle 410 completes the lane change to the left lane at the third time point, the lane determining apparatus may output the counting number of the left and right lanes as 1/3, and output the LCD value as '0'.

That is, when the vehicle 410 changes a lane from the second left lane to the first left lane, the lane determining apparatus may update the counting number of the left and right lanes of the vehicle 410 from 2/2 to 1/3.

Meanwhile, according to FIG. 4A , since the lane determining apparatus determines the number of counting left and right lanes based on the forward image, the number of counting left and right lanes is updated after the lane change is completed.

Referring to FIG. 4B , even before the lane change of the vehicle 410 is completed, the lane determining apparatus may update the counting number of left and right lanes of the vehicle 410 based on whether the lane has changed.

At the first time point, the vehicle 410 is traveling in the left and right lane counting number 2/2. Since the vehicle 410 maintains the lane at the first time point, the LCD value may be output as '0'.

When the vehicle 410 starts to change the lane to the left lane, the lane determining device at the second time point does not identify in which lane the vehicle 410 is located, so the counting number of the left and right lanes is 0/0, LCD value can be output as '-1'. At this time, although the actual vehicle is at position 410, the number of counting left and right lanes is updated after the lane change is completed, so that the lane determining apparatus may recognize that the vehicle is still at position 411. The lane determining apparatus according to the present disclosure may recognize that the vehicle is at position 412 even before the lane change is completed based on whether the lane is changed, that is, the LCD value is '-1'.

When the vehicle 410 completes the lane change to the left lane at the third time point, the lane determining apparatus may output the counting number of the left and right lanes as 1/3, and output the LCD value as '0'.

Even before the lane change is completed, the lane determining apparatus according to the present disclosure may update the counting number of left and right lanes of the vehicle based on whether the lane is changed, thereby increasing the reaction speed to the lane change.

Meanwhile, even after the lane change of the vehicle 410 is completed, a value of '0' may be included in the counting number of left and right lanes.

In one embodiment, when the lane of the vehicle 410 is maintained (ie, the LCD value is '0') and at least one of the left boundary and the right boundary is not identified, the lane determining device may have identified an unidentifiable boundary. The current lane of the vehicle 410 may be determined using the number of lanes counted at the time.

For example, if the number of counting left and right lanes of the vehicle 410 before the lane change is 2/2, the LCD value is '0', and the right boundary is not identified after the lane change is completed, the lane determining device sets the counting number of the left and right lanes to 2/ It can be updated to 0. In this case, the lane determining apparatus may determine the current lane of the vehicle 410 by correcting the counting number of left and right lanes from 2/0 to 2/2. That is, the lane determining apparatus may correct the counting number of left and right lanes by reflecting the counting number '2' of the right lane when the right boundary is recognizable to the counting number of the left and right lanes.

Alternatively, if the number of counting left and right lanes of the vehicle 410 before the lane change is 1/2, the LCD value is '0', and the left boundary and the right boundary are not identified after the lane change is completed, the lane determining device sets the number of counting the left and right lanes to 0 You can update it to /0. In this case, the lane determining apparatus may determine the current lane of the vehicle 410 by correcting the counting number of left and right lanes from 0/0 to 1/2. That is, the lane determining apparatus may correct the counting number of left and right lanes by reflecting the counting number of left lanes '1' and the number of counting right lanes '2' in the counting number of left and right lanes when the left boundary and the right boundary are identifiable.

In another embodiment, when the lane of the vehicle 410 is changed (that is, the LCD value is '-1' or '+1'), and at least one of the left boundary and the right boundary is not identified, the lane determining device identifies The current lane of the vehicle 410 may be determined using the number of lanes counted when the impossible boundary is identifiable and the lane change result of the vehicle.

For example, if the number of counting left and right lanes of the vehicle 410 before the lane change is 2/2, the LCD value is '-1', and the right boundary is not identified after the lane change is completed, the lane determining device sets the counting number of the left and right lanes to 1 You can update it to /0. In this case, the lane determining apparatus may determine the current lane of the vehicle 410 by correcting the counting number of left and right lanes from 1/0 to 1/2. That is, the lane determining apparatus may correct the counting number of left and right lanes by reflecting the counting number '2' of the right lane when the right boundary is recognizable to the counting number of the left and right lanes.

5A to 5D are exemplary views for explaining a method of correcting the counting number of left and right lanes when the number of lanes is changed according to an exemplary embodiment.

The lane determining apparatus may identify lane networks in which the number of lanes varies by using the lane map. The lane determining apparatus may identify a first lane network 511 and a second lane network 512 that have different numbers of lanes and are connected to each other by using the lane map. 5A to 5D , the vehicle 510 travels in a first lane network 511 having three lanes and enters a second lane network 512 having four lanes.

Since the lane determining device calculates the number of counting left and right lanes based on the forward image, the second lane network 512 in front of the vehicle 510 even when the vehicle 510 is currently located on the first lane network 511. It is possible to calculate the counting number of left and right lanes.

In an embodiment, when the number of left and right lanes of the second lane network 512 does not correspond to the number of lanes of the second lane network 512 , the lane determining apparatus may correct the number of left and right lanes counted. The lane determining apparatus may determine a current lane on the second lane network 512 using the corrected counting number of left and right lanes.

Meanwhile, the lane determining apparatus may calculate the number of lanes from the counting number of left and right lanes. Specifically, the lane determining apparatus may calculate the number of lanes through an operation of subtracting '1', which is a duplicate counting value, from a value obtained by adding the number of counted left lanes and the number of counted right lanes. For example, when the number of left and right lanes is 2/2, the lane determining apparatus may calculate the number of lanes as three (2+2-1=3).

5A to 5B are examples of correcting the counting number of left and right lanes of the second lane network 512 when the number of counting left and right lanes of the first lane network 511 and the second lane network 512 is determined to be the same.

Referring to FIG. 5A , although the number of lanes of the first lane network 511 and the second lane network 512 is different from 3 to 4, respectively, the first lane network 511 and the second lane network 512 ) of the left and right lanes may be equally determined as 3/1. That is, when the number of counting left and right lanes is 3/1, it means that the number of lanes is 3 (3+1-1 = 3). Since the number of lanes in the second lane network 512 is 4, the number of counting left and right lanes is equal to the second The number of lanes of the lane network 512 does not correspond.

In this case, the lane determining device determines that the vehicle 510 maintains a straight lane in the first lane network 511 and the second lane network 512 , and counts the number of left and right lanes of the second lane network 512 . can be corrected. Specifically, based on the vehicle map, the lane determining device identifies that the right lane of the second lane network 512 is increased by one more when compared with the first lane network 511, and the vehicle 510 moves straight ahead. Therefore, the left counting number can be maintained at '3' and the right counting number can be corrected from '1' to '2'. That is, the vehicle determining apparatus may correct the left and right counting numbers from 3/1 to 3/2.

Referring to FIG. 5B , the lane determining device identifies that the left lane of the second lane network 512 is increased by one more when compared with the first lane network 511 based on the vehicle map, and the vehicle 510 is Since the straight lane is maintained, the right counting number can be maintained at '2' and the left counting number can be corrected from '2' to '3'. That is, the vehicle determining apparatus may correct the left and right counting numbers from 2/2 to 3/2.

5C to 5D are examples of correcting the left and right counting numbers of the second lane network 512 when the left and right lane counting numbers of the first lane network 511 and the second lane network 512 are determined to be different.

Referring to FIG. 5C , the lane determining apparatus may compare the counting number of left and right lanes of the first lane network 511 with the number of counting left and right lanes of the second lane network 512 . When the counting number of left and right lanes of the first lane network 511 and the second lane network 512 is determined to be different, the lane determining device determines the driving lane on the second lane network 512 of the vehicle 510 and the second lane network ( 512 ), the counting number of left and right lanes may be compared, and it may be determined whether the counting number of any one of the counted left and right lanes corresponds to the driving lane on the second lane network 512 . The lane determining apparatus may maintain the number of lanes counted corresponding to the driving lane on the second lane network 512 and correct the remaining number of lanes to correspond to the number of lanes of the second lane network 512 .

For example, in FIG. 5C , the counting number of left and right lanes of the second lane network 512 is 2/2, and the driving lanes on the second lane network 512 of the vehicle 510 are the third left lane and the right second lane . In this case, the lane determining device maintains the right lane counting number '2' corresponding to the driving lane on the second lane network 512 , and the left lane counting number corresponds to the third left lane from '2' to '3'. can be corrected with That is, the counting number of left and right lanes of the second lane network 512 may be corrected from 2/2 to 3/2.

Referring to FIG. 5D , the lane determining apparatus may compare the counting number of left and right lanes of the first lane network 511 with the number of counting left and right lanes of the second lane network 512 . When the counting number of left and right lanes of the first lane network 511 and the second lane network 512 is determined to be different, the lane determining device determines the driving lane on the second lane network 512 of the vehicle 510 and the second lane network ( 512 ), the counting number of left and right lanes may be compared, and it may be determined whether the counting number of any one of the counted left and right lanes corresponds to the driving lane on the second lane network 512 .

If there is no counting number of lanes corresponding to the driving lane on the second lane network 512, the second lane network 512 based on the smaller of the counting number of the left lane or the number of counting the right lane of the second lane network 512 It is possible to correct the counting number of left and right lanes. The lane determining apparatus may maintain a smaller number of counted lanes and correct the remaining number of lanes to correspond to the number of lanes of the second lane network 512 .

For example, in FIG. 5D , the counting number of left and right lanes of the second lane network 512 is 2/4 and the number of lanes of the second lane network 512 is four. In this case, the lane determining apparatus may correct the counting number of the right lane from '4' to '3' so that the left counting number '2' is maintained and the number of lanes corresponds to four. That is, the counting number of left and right lanes of the second lane network 512 may be corrected from 2/4 to 2/3.

6 is an exemplary diagram for explaining a method of correcting the counting number of left and right lanes when the number of lanes is changed according to an exemplary embodiment;

Referring to FIG. 6 , the lane determining apparatus may identify lane networks in which the number of lanes varies by using a lane map. The lane determining apparatus may identify a first lane network 611 and a second lane network 612 having different numbers of lanes and connected to each other by using the lane map. Referring to FIG. 6 , a vehicle 610 drives a first lane network 611 having three lanes and enters a second lane network 612 having four lanes.

In an embodiment, when the number of left and right lanes of the first lane network 611 does not correspond to the number of lanes of the first lane network 611 , the lane determining apparatus may correct the number of left and right lanes counted. The lane determining apparatus may determine a current lane on the first lane network 611 by using the corrected left and right lane counting numbers.

The lane determining device determines the lane position of the vehicle 610 on the second lane network 612 in response to the number of counting left and right lanes of the second lane network 612 and the number of lanes of the second lane network 612 corresponding to each other. can decide In addition, the lane determining device corrects the counting number of left and right lanes of the first lane network 611 so that the vehicle 610 is located in a lane on the first lane network 611 connected to the lane on the second lane network 612 . can

Referring to FIG. 6 , the number of lanes of the first lane network 611 is three, and the number of counting left and right lanes of the first lane network 611 is 3/2. It may be determined that the number of lanes of the lane network 611 does not correspond. On the other hand, since the number of lanes of the second lane network 612 is 4, the lane determining apparatus may determine that the counted number of left and right lanes corresponds to the number of lanes of the second lane network 612 .

The lane determining device determines the lane position of the vehicle 610 on the second lane network 612 in response to the number of counting left and right lanes of the second lane network 612 and the number of lanes of the second lane network 612 corresponding to each other. It can be determined as the third lane from the left and the second lane from the right. Also, the lane determining apparatus may identify a lane on the first lane network 611 connected to the lane position of the vehicle 610 on the second lane network 612 . That is, the lane determining apparatus may determine the lane positions of the vehicle 610 as the third left lane and the right first lane on the first lane network 611 . On the first lane network 611 , the lane determining device sets the counting number of the left and right lanes of the first lane network 611 from 3/2 to 3/1 so that the vehicle 610 is located in the third left lane and the first right lane. can be corrected with

7 is a diagram for explaining an example of correcting a position of a vehicle in consideration of a feature on a road according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7 , various features 720 may exist on a road on which a vehicle 710 travels. Features 720 may include, without limitation, objects that can be identified on the road, such as stop lines, intersections, and the like.

The lane determining apparatus may calculate a first separation distance between the vehicle 710 and the actual feature 720 based on the location information of the vehicle 710 . For example, the lane determining apparatus may calculate the first separation distance between the vehicle 710 and the actual feature 720 as Y m by using the GPS apparatus and the DR apparatus.

Also, the lane determining apparatus may receive the front image 730 of the vehicle 710 . The feature 720 may also be included in the front image 730 . The separation distance between the road being photographed in the front image 730 and the current location of the vehicle 710 may be a second separation distance. For example, the second separation distance may be X m.

Since there may be an error in the location information of the vehicle generated from the GPS device and the DR device, the actual separation distance between the vehicle 710 and the feature 720 may be the second separation distance. The lane determining apparatus may correct the position of the vehicle 710 by a difference between the first separation distance and the second separation distance. Referring to FIG. 7 , the lane determining apparatus may move the position of the vehicle 710 by (Y - X)m. That is, the position of the vehicle may be moved from the 710 position before the movement to the 720 position after the movement.

As described above, the lane determining apparatus can display the position of the vehicle 710 more accurately by performing longitudinal correction on the position of the vehicle 710 by the difference between the first separation distance and the second separation distance. have.

8A to 8B are exemplary views for explaining a method for determining a road according to an embodiment.

The lane determining apparatus may acquire a lane map. The lane determining apparatus may obtain a lane map from an external server. The lane map may include information on roads and lanes in which the vehicle may travel. 8A to 8B , the lane map may include roads and lanes included in each road.

The lane determining apparatus may determine a current road on which the vehicle 810 is traveling based on the lane map and location information of the vehicle 810 .

In an embodiment, the lane determining apparatus may apply a lane-based distance weighting method to determine a current road on which the vehicle 810 is traveling.

Specifically, the lane determining apparatus may determine candidate roads around the vehicle 810 based on the location information of the vehicle 810 . Also, the lane determining apparatus may determine an adjacent lane located closest to the vehicle 810 from among lanes included in each of the candidate roads. Also, the lane determining apparatus may determine a candidate road including an adjacent lane as a current road.

Referring to FIG. 8A , the lane determining apparatus may determine roads 1 and 2 as candidate roads based on location information of the vehicle 810 . The lane determining apparatus may determine lanes 1-2 located closest to the vehicle 810 as adjacent lanes among lanes included in each of roads 1 and 2 . The lane determining apparatus may determine road 1, which is a candidate road including lanes 1-2, as a current road on which the vehicle 810 is traveling.

In the case of a method of simply determining the road close to the vehicle 810 as the current road, even though the vehicle 810 is actually driving on the road 1 in a situation such as that of FIG. 8A , the road 2 close to the vehicle 810 may be determined as the current road. . In the present disclosure, the current road of the vehicle 810 may be more accurately determined by using the above-described lane-based distance weighting method.

In an embodiment, the lane determining apparatus may determine the next road on which the vehicle 810 will travel based on the drivable weight method.

Specifically, the lane determining apparatus may identify the first lane network 811 and the second lane network 812 connected to each other using the lane map. Also, the lane determining apparatus may determine a next lane on the second lane network 812 connected to the current lane on the first lane network 811 . Also, the lane determining apparatus may determine the next driving road by assigning a high weight to a road including the next lane among a plurality of roads included in the second lane network 812 .

Referring to FIG. 8B , the lane determining apparatus may determine the lane 2-1 on the second lane network 812 connected to the current lane 1-2 on the first lane network 811 as the next lane. The lane determining apparatus may determine the road 2 as the next road by giving a high weight to the road 2 including the lane 2-1 determined as the next lane among the roads 2 and 3 included in the second lane network 812 .

In the present disclosure, by determining the next road on which the vehicle 810 will travel based on the drivable weight, it is possible to more quickly respond to the next situation.

9 is a flowchart of a method for determining a current lane of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment.

The method for determining the current lane of the vehicle shown in FIG. 9 is related to the embodiments described in the drawings described above, and therefore, even if omitted below, the contents described in the drawings are those of FIG. 8 . method can also be applied.

Referring to FIG. 9 , in step 910, the processor may acquire a lane map.

The lane map may include information on roads and lanes in which the vehicle may travel. Specifically, the lane map may include a plurality of roads and lanes included in each road.

In operation 920, the processor may determine a current road on which the vehicle is traveling based on the lane map and location information of the vehicle.

In one embodiment, the processor may use a lane-based distance weighting scheme to determine the current road on which it is driving. The processor may determine candidate roads around the vehicle based on the location information of the vehicle. Also, the processor may determine an adjacent lane located closest to the vehicle from among lanes included in each of the candidate roads. Also, the processor may determine the candidate road including the adjacent lane as the current road.

In one embodiment, the processor may determine the next road on which the vehicle will travel based on the drivable weight scheme. The processor may identify a first lane network and a second lane network connected to each other by using the lane map. Further, the processor may determine a next lane on the second lane network that is connected to the current lane on the first lane network. Also, the processor may determine a road including a next lane among a plurality of roads included in the second lane network as the next driving road.

In operation 930, the processor may determine a current lane in which the vehicle is traveling from among at least one lane included in the current road, based on a forward image captured in front of the vehicle.

The processor may determine the current lane by using at least one of the counted number of left lanes and the number of counted right lanes obtained from the forward image. Specifically, the processor may identify a left boundary and a right boundary of the current road from the front image. In addition, the processor uses the counting number of left and right lanes including the counting number of left lanes counting the number of lanes from the left boundary to the current lane, and the number of counting the right lanes counting the number of lanes from the right boundary to the current lane. You can decide the lane.

The processor may determine whether to change a lane of the vehicle by using a lane change detection technique, and determine a current lane of the vehicle based on whether the lane is changed.

When at least one of the left boundary and the right boundary cannot be identified, the processor may determine the current lane by using the number of lanes counted when the unidentifiable boundary is identifiable, and a lane change result of the vehicle.

The processor may identify a first lane network and a second lane network having a different number of lanes and connected to each other by using the lane map.

In an embodiment, when the counted number of left and right lanes of the second lane network does not correspond to the number of lanes of the second lane network, the processor may correct the counted number of left and right lanes. Also, the processor may determine a current lane on the second lane network by using the corrected left and right lane counting number.

In an embodiment, when the counted number of left and right lanes of the first lane network does not correspond to the number of lanes of the first lane network, the processor may correct the counted number of left and right lanes. Also, the processor may determine the current lane by using the corrected left and right lane counting number.

10 is a block diagram of an apparatus for determining a lane according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 10 , the lane determining apparatus 1000 may include a communication unit 1010 , a processor 1020 , and a DB 1030 . Only the components related to the embodiment are shown in the lane determining apparatus 1000 of FIG. 10 . Accordingly, it can be understood by those skilled in the art that other general-purpose components may be further included in addition to the components shown in FIG. 10 .

The communication unit 1010 may include one or more components for performing wired/wireless communication with an external server or an external device. For example, the communication unit 1010 may include at least one of a short-range communication unit (not shown), a mobile communication unit (not shown), and a broadcast receiving unit (not shown).

The DB 1030 is hardware for storing various data processed in the lane determining apparatus 1000 , and may store a program for processing and controlling the processor 1020 . The DB 1030 may store payment information, user information, and the like.

DB 1030 is a random access memory (RAM), such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), CD- It may include ROM, Blu-ray or other optical disk storage, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or flash memory.

The processor 1020 controls the overall operation of the lane determining apparatus 1000 . For example, the processor 1020 may generally control the input unit (not shown), the display (not shown), the communication unit 1010 , the DB 1030 , and the like by executing programs stored in the DB 1030 . The processor 1020 may control the operation of the lane determining apparatus 1000 by executing programs stored in the DB 1030 .

The processor 1020 may control at least some of the operations of the lane determining apparatus described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9 .

The processor 1020 includes application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, and microcontrollers. It may be implemented using at least one of (micro-controllers), microprocessors, and other electrical units for performing functions.

As an embodiment, the lane determining apparatus 1000 may be an electronic device having mobility. For example, the lane determining apparatus 1000 may be implemented as a smartphone, a tablet PC, a PC, a smart TV, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop, a media player, a navigation device, a device equipped with a camera, and other mobile electronic devices. have. Also, the lane determining apparatus 1000 may be implemented as a wearable device such as a watch, glasses, a hair band, and a ring having a communication function and a data processing function.

In another embodiment, the lane determining apparatus 1000 may be an electronic device embedded in a vehicle. For example, the lane determining apparatus 1000 may be an electronic device inserted into a vehicle through tuning after a production process.

As another embodiment, the lane determining apparatus 1000 may be a server located outside the vehicle. The server may be implemented as a computer device or a plurality of computer devices that communicate through a network to provide commands, codes, files, contents, services, and the like. The server may receive data necessary to determine the current lane in which the vehicle is driving from devices mounted on the vehicle, and determine the current lane in which the vehicle is driving based on the received data.

Embodiments according to the present invention may be implemented in the form of a computer program that can be executed through various components on a computer, and such a computer program may be recorded in a computer-readable medium. In this case, the medium includes a hard disk, a magnetic medium such as a floppy disk and a magnetic tape, an optical recording medium such as a CD-ROM and DVD, a magneto-optical medium such as a floppy disk, and a ROM. , RAM, flash memory, and the like, hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions.

Meanwhile, the computer program may be specially designed and configured for the present invention, or may be known and used by those skilled in the computer software field. Examples of the computer program may include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

According to an embodiment, the method according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may be included and provided in a computer program product. Computer program products may be traded between sellers and buyers as commodities. The computer program product is distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (eg compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or via an application store (eg Play Store™) or between two user devices. It can be distributed directly or online (eg, downloaded or uploaded). In the case of online distribution, at least a portion of the computer program product may be temporarily stored or temporarily created in a machine-readable storage medium such as a memory of a server of a manufacturer, a server of an application store, or a relay server.

The steps constituting the method according to the present invention may be performed in an appropriate order, unless the order is explicitly stated or there is no description to the contrary. The present invention is not necessarily limited to the order in which the steps are described. The use of all examples or exemplary terms (eg, etc.) in the present invention is merely for the purpose of describing the present invention in detail, and the scope of the present invention is limited by the examples or exemplary terms unless defined by the claims. it's not going to be In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, combinations, and changes may be made in accordance with design conditions and factors within the scope of the appended claims or their equivalents.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be limited to the above-described embodiments, and the scope of the spirit of the present invention is not limited to the scope of the scope of the present invention. will be said to belong to

Claims (11)

A method for determining a current lane of a vehicle, comprising:
obtaining a lane map;
determining a current road on which the vehicle is traveling based on the lane map and location information of the vehicle; and
determining a current lane in which the vehicle is traveling from among at least one lane included in the current road based on a front image captured in front of the vehicle;
including,
The step of determining the current lane comprises:
The method of claim 1, wherein the current lane is determined using at least one of a counting number of left lanes and a number of counting right lanes obtained from the forward image. The method of claim 1,
The step of determining the current lane comprises:
identifying a left boundary and a right boundary of the current road from the front image; and
The counting number of left and right lanes including the counting number of the left lane by counting the number of lanes from the left boundary to the current lane, and the number of counting the right lane by counting the number of lanes from the right boundary to the current lane determining the current lane by using a right lane counting number;
A method comprising 3. The method of claim 2,
The step of determining the current lane comprises:
determining whether to change a lane of the vehicle using a lane change detection technique; and
determining a current lane of the vehicle based on whether the lane is changed;
A method comprising 4. The method of claim 3,
The step of determining the current lane comprises:
when at least one of the left boundary and the right boundary is not identifiable, determining the current lane using a counting number of lanes when the unidentifiable boundary is identifiable and a lane change result of the vehicle;
A method comprising 3. The method of claim 2,
The step of determining the current lane comprises:
identifying a first lane network and a second lane network having different numbers of lanes and connected to each other by using the lane map;
correcting the counted number of left and right lanes when the number of left and right lanes of the second lane network does not correspond to the number of lanes of the second lane network; and
determining the current lane on the second lane network using the corrected left and right lane counting numbers;
A method comprising 3. The method of claim 2,
The step of determining the current lane comprises:
identifying a first lane network and a second lane network having different numbers of lanes and connected to each other by using the lane map;
correcting the counted number of left and right lanes when the number of left and right lanes of the first lane network does not correspond to the number of lanes of the first lane network; and
determining the current lane by using the corrected left and right lane counting number;
The correcting step is
determining a lane position of the vehicle on the second lane network in response to the counting number of left and right lanes of the second lane network and the number of lanes of the second lane network corresponding to each other; and
correcting the counting number of left and right lanes of the first lane network so that the vehicle is located in a lane on the first lane network connected to the lane on the second lane network;
A method comprising The method of claim 1,
The method is
calculating a first separation distance between the vehicle and a feature based on the location information of the vehicle;
determining a distance between the vehicle and the feature as a second separation distance in response to detecting a feature in the front image; and
correcting the position of the vehicle by a difference between a first separation distance and a second separation distance;
A method comprising The method of claim 1,
The step of determining the current road is,
determining candidate roads around the vehicle based on the location information of the vehicle;
determining an adjacent lane located closest to the vehicle from among lanes included in each of the candidate roads; and
determining a candidate road including the adjacent lane as a current road;
A method comprising The method of claim 1,
identifying a first lane network and a second lane network connected to each other using the lane map;
determining a next lane on the second lane network connected to the current lane on the first lane network; and
determining a road including the next lane from among a plurality of roads included in the second lane network as a next driving road;
A method comprising An apparatus for determining a current lane of a vehicle, comprising:
a memory in which at least one program is stored; and
A processor for performing an operation by executing the at least one program,
The processor is
obtaining a lane map;
determining a current road on which the vehicle is traveling based on the lane map and location information of the vehicle; and
Determining a current lane in which the vehicle is driving from among at least one lane included in the current road based on a front image captured in front of the vehicle;
and the processor determines the current lane by using at least one of a counting number of left lanes and a number of counting right lanes obtained from the front image. A computer-readable recording medium in which a program for executing the method of claim 1 in a computer is recorded.

Images