TW201337786A - Image sensing device and image processing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

An image sensing device is disclosed. The image sensing device includes a visible light image sensor, an infrared thermal image sensor, and an image processing unit. The visible light image sensor is for sensing visible light to generate a visible light image. The visible light image is for sensing infrared light to generate a infrared thermal image. The image processing unit is electrically connected to the visible light image sensor and the infrared thermal image sensor for determining at least a high temperature area in the infrared thermal image, and for making an image area in the visible light image corresponding to the high temperature area to generate a marked image.

Description

Image sensing device and image processing method thereof

The present invention relates to an image sensing device, and more particularly to an image sensing device including more than one image sensor and an image processing method thereof.

With the advancement of technology, various devices for driving safety have been gradually developed to improve the safety of vehicles while driving. For example, a reversing radar can be used to detect obstacles behind the vehicle to avoid collisions with pedestrians or other objects when reversing; lane offset warning devices can be used to detect the distance between the vehicle and the road markings to avoid vehicle The driving path is offset from the existing lane; the front vehicle collision warning device can be used to detect the distance between the vehicle and the vehicle in front to avoid collision between the vehicle and the vehicle in front to cause collision; the driving recorder can be used to record the vehicle when traveling The image, and some driving recorders even have infrared night vision to help drivers see the road ahead on darker roads.

It is known that a driving recorder with an infrared night vision function uses an infrared light emitter to emit infrared light to a road ahead, thereby enhancing the brightness and sharpness of the entire image of the infrared light traveling recorder. However, it is known that the driving recorder using the infrared light emitter has shortcomings such as short infrared light irradiation distance, inability to discern whether the object in front of the road is biological, and cannot clearly indicate the corresponding warning of the user, so the driving record is known in driving safety. The device still has its blind spots.

The invention provides an image sensing device, comprising a visible light image sensor, an infrared thermal image sensor, and an image processor. The visible light image sensor is configured to sense visible light to generate a visible light image. The infrared thermal image sensor is used to sense infrared rays to generate an infrared thermal image. The image processor is electrically connected to the visible light image sensor and the infrared thermal image sensor. The image processor is configured to analyze at least one high temperature region of the infrared thermal image, and mark at least one image region corresponding to the at least one high temperature region in the visible light image to generate a marker image.

The present invention further provides an image processing method, including sensing visible light to generate a visible light image, sensing infrared light to generate an infrared thermal image, analyzing at least one high temperature region of the infrared thermal image, and correspondingly corresponding to the visible light image At least one image area of the at least one high temperature region is labeled to produce an indicator image.

Compared with the prior art, the image sensing device and the image processing method of the present invention can mark a corresponding image region in the visible light image according to a high temperature region in the infrared thermal image to generate a labeled image, thereby alerting the driver that there may be a pedestrian or Animals to avoid hitting pedestrians or animals while driving. Therefore, the image sensing device and the image processing method of the present invention can increase the safety when driving.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a schematic diagram of a first embodiment of an image sensing device 100 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , the image sensing device 100 of the present invention comprises a visible light image sensor 110 , an infrared thermal image sensor 120 , and an image processor 130 . The visible light image sensor 110 is used to sense visible light to produce a visible light image. The infrared thermal image sensor 120 is used to sense infrared rays to generate infrared thermal images. The image processor 130 is electrically connected to the visible light image sensor 110 and the infrared thermal image sensor 120 for analyzing the high temperature region in the infrared thermal image and the high temperature corresponding to the infrared thermal image in the visible light image. The image area of the area is marked to produce a logo image.

In addition, the image sensing device 100 of the present invention may further include a display 140 for displaying a labeled image (the display may also be used for displaying visible light images and infrared thermal images), and a memory unit 150 for storing visible light images and infrared thermal images. / or mark the image. Thus, the image sensing device 100 of the present invention can be applied to a driving recorder or other driving safety aid.

According to the above configuration, the image displayed by the image sensing device of the present invention can mark an object that may be an animal. For example, please refer to Figures 2 to 4 at the same time. 2 is a schematic diagram of a visible light image P1 generated by the visible light image sensor of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an infrared thermal image P2 generated by the infrared thermal image sensor of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a diagram A schematic diagram of the labeled image P3 generated by the image processor of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the visible light image P1 displays the road condition in front of the image sensing device, and the infrared thermal image P2 displays the temperature distribution in front of the image sensing device. In general, the temperature of an animal is higher than that of an inanimate object, so the area with a higher temperature in the infrared thermal image P2 is likely to be a pedestrian or an animal. When the image processor 130 analyzes the region with a higher temperature in the infrared thermal image P2, the image processor 130 may mark the image region corresponding to the high temperature region in the infrared thermal image P2 in the visible light image P1 to generate the labeled image. P3. As shown in FIG. 4, in the image P3, objects corresponding to the image areas 310, 320, 330 of the high temperature area are marked to remind the driver that the object in front may be a pedestrian, an animal, or even a moving car. In Fig. 4, the present invention overlays a conspicuous color (e.g., red) on the visible light image P1 corresponding to the image areas 310, 320, 330 to indicate the object, but in other embodiments of the invention, the object may be otherwise marked, such as a display. The contour of the object and remind the user by flashing or color changing.

Therefore, the image sensing device 100 of the present invention does not need to perform the appearance or contour recognition of the object in the image, that is, the image processor 130 does not need to undergo complicated image calculation and recognition, and does not need to be in the image sensing device. In 100, a database of object outline appearances is set for comparison, thereby saving time, cost and power when identifying pedestrians or animals.

In addition, the image sensing device 100 of the present invention may additionally indicate a row of vehicle paths 340 in the indicator image P3, indicating the range of roads through which the vehicle travel direction will pass, that is, the range in which the vehicle will collide when the vehicle passes. The image sensing device 100 determines whether the marked image regions 310, 320, 330 in the image P3 are located in the driving path 340. When the marked image regions 310, 320, 330 in the image P3 are located in the driving path 340, the image sensing device 100 A warning may be generated to alert the driver that a pedestrian or animal is located within the driving path 340 to avoid hitting a pedestrian or an animal. The method by which the image sensing device 100 generates an alert may be to issue a warning sound, a light, or a warning icon to the display 140.

Please refer to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of an image sensing device 200 capable of indicating a heat source according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the image sensing device 200 of the present invention may further include a light splitting unit 160 for guiding the visible light and the infrared light to the visible light image sensor 110 and the infrared thermal image sensor 120, respectively. In one embodiment, the light splitting unit 160 is an infrared light splitting mirror, and the visible light can pass through the infrared light splitting mirror to be irradiated to the visible light image sensor 110, and the infrared light is reflected by the infrared light splitting mirror to make the infrared light The infrared thermal image sensor 120 is irradiated. In another embodiment, the beam splitting unit 160 is a beam splitter that converts a certain proportion of light entering the image sensing device 200 (for example, 50% of incident light, the ratio can be adjusted according to actual product requirements, and is not The infrared image sensor 120 is reflected to the infrared thermal image sensor 120, and the visible light image sensor 110 senses a portion of the visible light therein, and the infrared thermal image sensor 120 senses a portion of the infrared light therein. According to the above configuration, the image sensing device 200 of FIG. 5 can sense the visible light image and the infrared light image without positional deviation, thereby further improving the accuracy of the image marked position.

Please refer to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a flow chart 600 of an image processing method capable of indicating a heat source according to the present invention. The flow of the image processing method of the present invention which can indicate the heat source is as follows:

Step 610: Sensing visible light to generate a visible light image;

Step 620: Sensing infrared rays to generate an infrared thermal image;

Step 630: Analyze at least one high temperature region of the infrared thermal image;

Step 640: Mark at least one image area corresponding to the at least one high temperature area in the visible light image to generate a label image; and

Step 650: Display the marked image.

Compared with the prior art, the image sensing device and the image processing method of the present invention can mark a corresponding image region in the visible light image according to a high temperature region in the infrared thermal image to generate a labeled image, thereby alerting the driver that there may be a pedestrian or Animals to avoid hitting pedestrians or animals while driving. Therefore, the image sensing device and the image processing method of the present invention can increase the safety when driving. In addition, the image sensing device and the image processing method of the present invention do not need to perform contour recognition on objects in the image, and do not need to build a contour database, thereby reducing the time required for image processing while saving cost and power consumption.

The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all changes and modifications made to the scope of the present invention should be within the scope of the present invention.

100,200. . . Image sensing device

110. . . Visible light image sensor

120. . . Infrared thermal image sensor

130. . . Image processor

140. . . monitor

150. . . Billion unit

160. . . Splitting unit

310,320,330. . . Mark image area

340. . . Driving path

P1. . . Visible light image

P2. . . Infrared thermal image

P3. . . Marking image

600. . . flow chart

610 to 650. . . step

1 is a schematic view of a first embodiment of an image sensing device capable of indicating a heat source according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an infrared thermal image generated by the visible light image sensor of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a visible light image produced by the infrared thermal image sensor of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the image displayed by the image processor of Figure 1.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view showing a second embodiment of an image sensing device capable of indicating a heat source according to the present invention.

Figure 6 is a flow chart of an image processing method capable of indicating a heat source according to the present invention.

100. . . Image sensing device

110. . . Visible light image sensor

120. . . Infrared thermal image sensor

130. . . Image processor

140. . . monitor

150. . . Billion unit

Claims (10)

An image sensing device capable of indicating a heat source, comprising: a visible light image sensor for sensing visible light to generate a visible light image; and an infrared thermal image sensor for sensing infrared light to generate an infrared thermal image; And an image processor electrically connected to the visible light image sensor and the infrared thermal image sensor for analyzing at least one high temperature region of the infrared thermal image, and corresponding to the visible light image At least one image area of a high temperature region is labeled to produce a logo image. The image sensing device of claim 1, further comprising a light splitting unit for guiding visible light and infrared light to the visible light image sensor and the infrared thermal image sensor. The image sensing device of claim 1, further comprising a display for displaying the marked image. The image sensing device of claim 1, further comprising a memory unit for storing the visible light image, the infrared thermal image, and/or the labeled image. The image sensing device of claim 1 is for sensing an image in front of a vehicle. An image processing method capable of indicating a heat source, comprising: sensing visible light to generate a visible light image; sensing infrared light to generate an infrared thermal image; analyzing at least one high temperature region of the infrared thermal image; and correspondingly corresponding to the visible light image At least one image area of the at least one high temperature region is marked to generate an indicator image. The method of claim 6, further comprising displaying the indicator image. The method of claim 6, further comprising marking a row of the vehicle path in the marked image. The method of claim 8, further comprising: determining whether the marked image area in the marked image is located in the driving path; and generating a warning when the marked image area in the marked image is located in the driving path . The method of claim 6, further comprising storing the visible light image, the infrared thermal image, and/or the labeled image.