JPH03201100A - Traffic signal recognition device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce a load on a driver by automatically recognizing a traffic signal and transmitting it to the driver. CONSTITUTION:An image pickup device 1 always image-picks up the forward of a vehicle, and a signal is converted to digital data, and is stored in a frame memory 6, while, edge detection processing is applied to it with an edge detecting part 7. At a feature encoder part 8, the data is encoded corresponding to the shape and size of a graphic with edge information, and is extracted as the feature of image data. Next, a signal detecting part 9 performs the DMA (Direct Memory Access) transfer of the image data in the neighborhood of a part where the feature of a pattern as the signal is extracted from the frame memory 6 with encoded data, and accurately extracts the position of the signal. A signal state judging part 10 judges the state of the signal, and an entire control part 11 informs a display signal to the driver when prescribed distance is obtained between the automobile and the signal, and decelerates the speed of the automobile when the signal shows a red signal. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the load on the driver.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a traffic signal recognition bag "t" that recognizes the signal state of a traffic signal and supports the driver's driving.

(Prior Art) In recent years, as automobile equipment has become increasingly electronic, several systems have been developed and studied to reduce the burden on drivers. Highway radio is a device that provides information to cars wirelessly. This informs the driver of road information. By installing many of these radio transmitters on the road, more detailed information can be conveyed to drivers. However, this is only to provide information to the driver.

Currently, there is no system that processes information from the driver and makes decisions. In the future, as AI (artificial intelligence) technology becomes more sophisticated, it is conceivable that autonomous driving will be realized using computers, but it is not practical with the current technology.

On the other hand, in railways, there are systems such as ATS, A, and TC related to automatic train control that use computer technology to support the driving of locomotive engineers.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, even if computer control is possible in a systemized system like a railway, in order to perform similar control on an individual vehicle basis, it is necessary to form a more complex network. , which is currently difficult to achieve.

An object of the present invention is to provide a traffic signal recognition device that can support the driver and reduce the burden on the driver.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an imaging device that is installed in a vehicle and captures an image in front of the vehicle, and detects a traffic signal present in the captured image. an image processing device rt that performs image processing, a notification device that notifies a driver of the display signal of the traffic signal when the vehicle and the traffic signal reach a predetermined distance based on the image processing result, and an r14 that decelerates the vehicle when the light is red. It is characterized by being equipped with a 1 seedling, 1 seedling, and 1 moving device.

(Function) By adopting the above-mentioned means, not only the driver but also the image processing means can recognize the signal status of the traffic signal, communicate this information to the driver, and also automatically decelerate the car when the light is red. This reduces the burden on the driver and further improves safety.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

The construction drawing shows an explanation of one embodiment of the traffic signal recognition device of the present invention, in which 1 is an imaging device consisting of a television camera that monitors the direction of travel of automobile A, and 2 is an imaging device that stores images of the imaging device. 3 is a notification device that generates a sound to inform the driver of the traffic signal status, and 4 is an automatic braking device that applies braking to the car A depending on the traffic signal status. be.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the control system of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is a frame memory that stores one image data as digital data; 7 is an edge detection unit that performs edge detection processing on digital data; 8 is a frame memory that stores one image data as digital data; A feature encoding section 9 extracts features and compresses them, and a traffic light extraction section 9 detects the accurate position of a traffic light using information from the feature encoding section 8. A traffic light extraction section 10 detects the location of a traffic light using information from the traffic light extraction section 9. A traffic light state determination unit 11 is an overall control unit that controls a series of operations of the A/D conversion unit 5 to the traffic light status determination unit 1O and sends operation commands to the notification device 3 and automatic braking device 4 based on the results. It is.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained. In the above embodiment, the imaging device] takes an image of the area in front of the vehicle A at the time '1;
It is converted into digital data with 56 gradations. This data is stored as it is in the frame memory 6, while being subjected to edge detection processing by the edge detection section 7. This result is sent to the feature encoding section 8. The feature encoding unit 8 encodes the edge information according to the shape (circle, rectangle) and size of the figure and extracts it as a feature of the image data. Next, the traffic light extraction unit 9 searches for a portion where the characteristics of the traffic light pattern are extracted using this encoded data, and DMAs image data in the vicinity of this portion from the frame memory 6.
(Direct Memory Access) to detect the exact location of the traffic light. In this way, when a traffic light is detected based on the image data, the traffic light status determination unit 10 determines the status of the lamp in the traffic light based on the gradation level,
Recognize the display signal of the traffic light in the image. This recognition result is sent to the overall control section 11.

The above is the flow of processing for the construction screen. If there is no traffic light, the processing is terminated and a secondary image is captured. Here, if the traffic light extraction unit 9 has the characteristics of the traffic light,
How far away the traffic light is from the current point is determined based on the size of the traffic light. If it is determined that it is necessary to provide information to the driver, the traffic light is extracted, and the traffic light state determining unit IO determines the state of the traffic light. At this time, the traffic lights have ``Blue Tl, It Yellow I.''
g((Not only the three states of red '', but also ``arrow'',
Since there is also a state such as "blinking", it is impossible to judge the state by processing - still + h images, so while continuously processing the images from the imaging device v!11,
The overall control unit 11 determines the state of the traffic signal. Then, at the time of transmitting the information to the driver, the information is sent to the notification device 3. moreover.

If the information requires automatic braking, a braking command signal is sent to the automatic braking device 4. The notification device 3 conveys a message corresponding to the received command to the driver, and the automatic braking device 4 applies braking to the automobile A upon receiving the command.

In this manner, according to the above embodiment, the computer automatically recognizes the status of the traffic signal and uses the notification device as a notification device. Since the driving sound is transmitted by t3, it has the effect of supporting safe driving and reducing the burden on the driver. Moreover, since the automatic braking bag bVt 4 performs automatic braking in a fail-safe direction, it has the effect of improving the running safety of the automobile A.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, traffic lights are automatically recognized and communicated to the driver, so the burden of driving on the driver can be reduced, and automatic braking is performed depending on the state of the traffic lights. By doing so, it is possible to provide a traffic signal recognition device that can improve driving safety.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of a traffic signal recognition device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the embodiment of FIG. 1. 1... Imaging device, 2... Image processing device, 3...
・Notification device, 4... automatic braking device, 5...A
/I) Conversion unit, 6...Frame memory, 7...
・Edge detection unit, 8...Feature encoding unit, 9...
Traffic light extractor, IO... traffic light state determination unit, 11
...Overall control section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] An imaging device that is installed on a vehicle and captures an image in front of the vehicle; an image processing device that detects traffic lights present in the captured image; A traffic signal recognition device comprising: a notification device that notifies a driver of the displayed signal of a traffic signal when the light is red; and an automatic braking device that decelerates a vehicle when the light is red.