TWI635004B - Method of prompting traffic signal change - Google Patents

Abstract

A traffic light signal change prompting method includes the following steps: shooting a picture through a driving recorder; receiving a red light selection instruction to select a red light position of a traffic light in the picture; determining a color distribution in a region where the red light position is located in the picture; When most pixels in the area do not appear red, perform a prompt action.

Description

Traffic light signal change prompting method

The present invention relates to a prompting method, and more particularly, to a prompting method for changing a traffic light signal.

"Traffic lights" are light-color signals that are exchanged at specified times. They are usually set at intersections or other places where traffic control is required. They are used to assign road rights to vehicle drivers and pedestrians, and to control their passage, stop and Turned traffic control facilities. Traffic lights are traffic control facilities that operate with electricity as the source of energy. They use red, yellow, and green lights or supplementary sound signals to instruct vehicles and pedestrians to stop, pay attention, and travel.

However, when driving, drivers often slide their phones while waiting for traffic lights, and forget the change of signal, causing traffic jams. In order to solve the aforementioned problems, the related field has made every effort to find a solution, but for a long time, no applicable method has been developed and completed. Therefore, how to remind the driver of the change of the driver ’s identity more effectively is one of the important R & D topics at present, and it has become an urgent need for improvement in related fields.

The invention proposes a traffic light signal change prompting method to solve the problems of the prior art.

In an embodiment of the present invention, a traffic light signal changing prompt method is applicable to a line of vehicle recorder, the driving recorder is installed on a vehicle, and the traffic light signal changing and prompting method includes the following steps: (A) going through the driving recorder Take a picture; (B) receive a red light selection instruction to select a red light position of a traffic light in the picture; (C) determine the color distribution in the area where the red light position is in the picture; and (D) in the area When most pixels do not appear red, perform a prompt action.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the driving recorder includes a touch screen. When the touch screen displays a picture, the red light selection command is generated when the touch screen is clicked.

In an embodiment of the present invention, step (B) includes: when the vehicle is stationary, the driving recorder is allowed to receive the red light selection instruction, and when the vehicle is moving, the driving recorder is refusing to receive the red light selection instruction.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the method for changing a traffic light signal prompt further includes: when most pixels in the area are red, disabling the prompt action.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a traffic light signal change prompting method is applicable to a line of vehicle recorder, the drive recorder is installed on a vehicle, and the traffic light light number conversion and prompting method includes the following steps: (A) through a traffic recorder To take a picture; (B) generate a red light selection instruction to identify the red circle in the picture; (C) when the red circle in the picture is a plurality, the red circles in the picture are below Exclude all red circles of a predetermined vertical coordinate to keep the remaining red circles; (D) When the remaining red circles are plural, based on the depth estimation of the picture, find the plural remaining ones The nearest one in the red circle sets the area where a red light position is located; (E) determines the color distribution in the area where the red light position is in the frame; and (F) when most pixels in the area do not appear red, Perform a prompt action.

In another embodiment of the present invention, step (A) includes: taking a picture through a stereo camera of the driving recorder to obtain spatial information of the picture.

In another embodiment of the present invention, step (D) includes: analyzing the depth values corresponding to the plurality of remaining red circles based on the spatial information of the picture, so as to find the closest one among the plurality of remaining red circles. .

In another embodiment of the present invention, step (D) includes: when the remaining red circle is a single one, based on the single remaining red circle, setting a region where the red light is located.

In another embodiment of the present invention, step (B) includes: when the vehicle is stationary, the driving recorder automatically generates a red light selection instruction, and when the vehicle becomes moving, the driving recorder prohibits generating the red light selection instruction, This stops the red circle in the picture.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the method for changing the traffic light signal prompt further includes: when most pixels in the area appear red, disabling the prompt action.

In summary, the technical solution of the present invention has obvious advantages and beneficial effects compared with the prior art. In summary, the traffic light signal change prompting method of the present invention realizes the monitoring mechanism of the red light signal and can effectively remind the driver to change the signal.

The above description will be described in detail in the following embodiments, and further explanation will be provided for the technical solution of the present invention.

In order to make the above and other objects, features, advantages, and embodiments of the present invention more comprehensible, the description of the attached symbols is as follows:

100‧‧‧ driving recorder

101‧‧‧ Camera

102‧‧‧ processor

103‧‧‧Storage device

104‧‧‧Touch screen

105‧‧‧Accelerometer

106‧‧‧ satellite positioning receiver

107‧‧‧Wireless communication device

108‧‧‧ reminder device

170, 470‧‧‧ vehicles

190‧‧‧mobile device

200, 300‧‧‧ Traffic light signal change prompt method

400‧‧‧screen

401 ~ 407‧‧‧ red round

410‧‧‧area

S201 ~ S205‧‧‧step

S301 ~ S307‧‧‧ steps

In order to make the above and other objects, features, advantages, and embodiments of the present invention more comprehensible, the description of the drawings is as follows: FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a driving recorder according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a traffic light signal changing prompt method according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a traffic light signal changing prompt method according to another embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. A schematic diagram of a picture taken by a driving recorder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In order to make the description of the present invention more detailed and complete, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings and various embodiments described below. The same numbers in the drawings represent the same or similar elements. On the other hand, well-known elements and steps have not been described in the embodiments, so as to avoid unnecessary limitation to the present invention.

As used in this article, "about," "approximately," or "roughly" is used to modify any quantity that can vary slightly, but such slight changes do not change its essence. Unless otherwise specified in the embodiments, the error range of the value modified by "about", "approximately" or "approximately" is generally allowed within 20%, preferably 10% Within, and more preferably within five percent.

In the description of the embodiments and the scope of patent application, the description of "electrical connection" may refer to an element being indirectly electrically coupled to another element through another element, or a element to be directly electrically connected to another element without passing through other elements. element.

In the embodiments and the scope of patent application, unless there is a special limitation on the article in the text, "a" and "the" can refer to a single or plural.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a driving recorder 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the driving recorder 100 is mounted on a vehicle 170. In practice, the driving recorder 100 may be an external or built-in driving recorder. In addition, the use of a smart phone, a tablet computer, a navigator or a similar electronic device as a driving recorder still belongs to the embodiments of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the driving recorder 100 includes at least an imaging device 101, a processor 102, and a storage device 103. In addition, the driving recorder 100 may optionally include a touch screen 104, an accelerometer 105, a satellite positioning receiver 106, a wireless communication device 107, and a prompting device 108. In terms of architecture, the processor 102 is electrically connected to the camera device 101, the storage device 103, the touch screen 104, the accelerometer 105, the satellite positioning receiver 106, the wireless communication device 107, and the prompting device 108.

In practice, the camera device 101 may be a camera (such as a stereo camera), the processor 102 may be a microcontroller or a central processing unit, and the storage device 103 may be a built-in flash memory or an external memory card, and a touch screen. 104 can be a resistive or capacitive touch screen, accelerometer 105 can be an acceleration sensor, satellite positioning receiver 106 can be a GPS receiver, and wireless communication device 107 can be The WiFi transceiver, Bluetooth transceiver or mobile communication transceiver (for example, 3G, 4G transceiver), the prompting device 108 may be a horn, a warning light source, a vibration device or other components that can remind the driver.

During use, the camera 101 captures a picture, and the processor 102 stores pixel data of the picture in the storage device 103. The touch screen 104 allows the user to view the screen and perform touch operations. The accelerometer 105 can be used to detect whether the vehicle 170 is stationary or moving, the satellite positioning receiver 106 can be used to detect the position of the vehicle 170, and the wireless communication device 107 can communicate with The mobile device 190 (such as a mobile phone) exchanges data, and the prompting device 108 can perform a prompting action (such as a prompt sound, a warning light, a vibration reminder, etc.), but the present invention is not limited thereto.

In order to explain a traffic light signal change prompting method 200 performed by the driving recorder 100, please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2 at the same time. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a traffic light signal change prompting method 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Illustration. As shown in FIG. 2, the traffic light signal change prompting method 200 includes steps S201 to S205 (It should be understood that the steps mentioned in this embodiment can be adjusted according to actual needs except for the order specifically described. It can be performed simultaneously or partially simultaneously). As for the hardware device implementing these steps, since the above embodiments have been specifically disclosed, they will not be repeated here.

In step S201, when the vehicle 100 is stopped in front of the traffic light, a picture is taken through the driving recorder 100.

In step S202, the driving recorder 100 receives a red light selection instruction to select a red light position of a traffic light in the frame. In an embodiment of the present invention, the driving recorder 100 includes a touch screen 104. When the touch screen 104 displays a picture, the red light selection instruction is generated when the touch screen 104 is clicked, and the clicked position is used. The red light position confirmed by the reporter.

In an embodiment of the present invention, when the vehicle 170 is stationary, the representative driver may be waiting for a red light. In step S202, the driving recorder 100 is allowed to receive a red light selection instruction (such as the above-mentioned user touch instruction). When the vehicle 170 is moving, the driver is driving without waiting for the traffic light, and the driving recorder 100 refuses to receive the red light selection instruction.

Regarding the method for determining whether the vehicle 170 is stationary or traveling, in an embodiment of the present invention, the accelerometer 105 of the driving recorder 100 may be used to detect whether the vehicle 170 is stationary or traveling. Alternatively, in another embodiment of the present invention, the satellite positioning receiver 106 of the driving recorder 100 can detect whether the position of the vehicle 170 is stationary or traveling. Or, in another embodiment of the present invention, the GPS module wireless communication device 107 built in the mobile device 190 can detect whether the position of the vehicle 170 is stationary or moving, and then transmit related data to the wireless of the driving recorder 100. Communication device 107. Or, in still another embodiment of the present invention, the camera 101 of the driving recorder 100 can continuously record video. The processor 102 can determine whether there is a change in the video image. If not, it means that the vehicle 170 is stationary. For marching.

In step S203, the driving recorder 100 determines the color (eg, RGB) distribution in the area where the red light position is located in the frame, so as to determine whether most pixels in the area where the red light position is present are red (eg, R 255, G 0, B 0).

When most of the pixels in the area where the red light is located do not show red, it means that the sign has changed (eg, the green light is on). In step S204, the driving recorder 100 performs a prompting action to remind the driver, thereby avoiding traffic. Blocked. In an embodiment of the present invention, most pixels in the area are About at least half of the pixels, preferably about 70% or more pixels, more preferably about 90% or more pixels, but the invention is not limited thereto.

Conversely, when most of the pixels in the area where the red light is located are red, it means that the current sign is bright red. In step S205, the driving recorder 100 disables the prompting action and does not need to remind the driver.

In order to explain another traffic light signal change prompt method 300 performed by the driving recorder 100, please refer to FIGS. 1, 3, and 4 at the same time. FIG. 3 is a traffic light signal change prompt method according to an embodiment of the present invention. 300 is a flowchart, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a picture taken by the driving recorder 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the traffic light signal change prompting method 300 includes steps S301 to S307 (it should be understood that the steps mentioned in this embodiment can be adjusted according to actual needs except for the order specifically described. It can be performed simultaneously or partially simultaneously). As for the hardware device implementing these steps, since the above embodiments have been specifically disclosed, they will not be repeated here.

In step S301, when the vehicle 100 stops in front of the traffic light, the picture 400 is taken through the driving recorder 100, as shown in FIG. It should be understood that, because there may be many red-light-like images in the picture 400, the most difficult part for automatic interpretation is to locate the correct light position. Steps S302 to S304 will be used to solve this problem.

In step S302, the driving recorder 100 generates a red light selection instruction to identify the red circles 401 to 407 in the picture. In an embodiment of the present invention, the driving recorder 100 uses the image processing circle detection to mark all the red circles 401 to 407 in the picture 400 and exclude the graphics other than red.

In step S303, when the red circles 401 to 407 in the picture 400 are plural, all the red circles 404 to 407 in the plurality of red circles 401 to 407 that are lower than the predetermined vertical coordinate in the picture 400 are excluded to keep The remaining red circles are 401 ~ 403.

In practice, since the vehicle 470 in front of the user may also have red circular brake lights 404 to 407, in an embodiment of the present invention, the camera 101 of the driving recorder 100 is a stereo camera, and in step S301 , Use a stereo camera to take a picture to obtain the spatial information of the picture (such as: x, y, z coordinate information). Furthermore, the height of the tail lights 404 to 407 of the vehicle in front is usually lower than the traffic recorder 100 and far lower than the traffic lights. Therefore, in step S303, the red circle 404 with a lower coordinate in the y-axis (ordinate axis) direction is lowered. ~ 407 is also excluded. For example, the "lower coordinate" here is lower than the predetermined vertical coordinate.

Regarding the manner of determining the predetermined vertical coordinate, in one embodiment of the present invention, the programmer can set the value of the predetermined vertical coordinate based on statistical experience, for example, the point coordinates in the y-axis (vertical coordinate axis), but the present invention does not This is the limit. Or, in another embodiment of the present invention, the driving recorder 100 uses image processing to find the skyline in the picture. Since the skyline is a large area with similar colors (such as blue, gray, etc.) Below the skyline is land. Exclude the red circular 404 ~ 407 below the vertical coordinate of the skyline, so as to filter out the red circular 404 ~ 407 brake lights.

In step S304, when the remaining red circles 401 to 403 are plural, the driving recorder 100 finds the closest one of the remaining red circles 401 to 403 based on the depth of the picture to set the red light position. The area 410 where the square is located, for example, a box-shaped area 410 is drawn around the red circle 401 to surround the red circle 401. In an embodiment of the present invention, the imaging device 101 of the driving recorder 100 is a stereo camera to obtain the spatial information of the screen. Based on the spatial information of the screen, the driving recorder 100 analyzes a plurality of remaining red circles 401-403 corresponding to (For example, coordinates in the z-axis direction) to find a plurality of remaining red circles 401 to 403 which are the red circles 401 closest to the driving recorder 100.

On the other hand, in step S304, if the remaining red circle 401 is a single one, the driving recorder 100 sets the area 410 of the red light position based on the single remaining red circle 401.

In step S305, the driving recorder 100 determines the color (eg, RGB) distribution in the area 410 where the red light is located in the frame, so as to determine whether most pixels in the area 410 where the red light is located are red (eg, R 255). , G 0, B 0).

When most of the pixels in the area 410 where the red light is located do not show red, it means that the sign has changed (eg, the green light is on). At step S306, the driving recorder 100 performs a prompting action to remind the driver to avoid traffic. Blocking. In an embodiment of the present invention, most pixels in the area 410 are about at least half or more pixels, preferably about 70% or more pixels, and more preferably about 90% or more pixels. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

Conversely, when most pixels in the area 410 where the red light is located appear red, it means that the current sign is bright red. In step S307, the driving recorder 100 disables the prompt action without reminding the driver.

In summary, the traffic light signal change prompting method of the present invention Laws 200 and 300 have realized the monitoring mechanism of the red light signal and can effectively remind the driver to change the signal.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art can make various modifications and retouches without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection of the present invention The scope shall be determined by the scope of the attached patent application.

Claims (10)

A traffic light signal change prompting method is applicable to a line of vehicle recorder. The traffic light recorder is installed on a vehicle. The traffic light signal change and prompt method includes the following steps: (A) shooting a picture through the traffic recorder; ) Receive a red light selection instruction to select a red light position of a traffic light in the picture; (C) determine the color distribution in the area where the red light position is located in the picture; and (D) when most of the area When the pixels are not red, a prompt action is performed. The reminder method for changing traffic lights according to claim 1, wherein the driving recorder includes a touch screen, and when the touch screen displays the screen, the red light selection instruction is the time when the touch screen is clicked. produce. The traffic light signal change prompting method according to claim 1, wherein step (B) includes: when the vehicle is stationary, the driving recorder allows receiving the red light selection instruction, and when the vehicle becomes moving, the The driving recorder refused to accept the red light selection instruction. The prompting method for changing a traffic light signal according to claim 1, further includes: when the majority of pixels in the area are red, the prompting action is disabled. A traffic light signal change prompting method is applicable to a line of vehicle recorder. The traffic light recorder is installed on a vehicle. The traffic light signal change and prompt method includes the following steps: (A) shooting a picture through the traffic recorder; ) Generate a red light selection instruction to identify the red circle in the picture; (C) When the red circle in the picture is plural, the number of the red circles in the picture is less than a predetermined Exclude all red circles in the ordinate to keep the remaining red circles; (D) When the remaining red circles are plural, based on the depth estimation of the picture, find the middle distances of the remaining red circles The nearest person sets the area where the red light position is located; (E) determines the color distribution in the area where the red light position is located in the screen; and (F) when most pixels in the area do not appear red, executes a Prompt action. The method for prompting a traffic light signal change as described in claim 5, wherein step (A) includes: shooting the picture through a stereo camera of the driving recorder to obtain spatial information of the picture. The method for prompting a traffic light signal change as described in claim 6, wherein step (D) includes: analyzing the depth values corresponding to the plurality of remaining red circles based on the spatial information of the screen to find the plurality of red circles. The closest one is the remaining red circle. The method for prompting traffic lights according to claim 5, wherein step (D) includes: when the remaining red circle is a single one, based on the single remaining red circle, setting the location of the red light region. The traffic light signal changing prompt method according to claim 5, wherein step (B) includes: when the vehicle is stationary, the driving recorder automatically generates the red light selection instruction, and when the vehicle becomes traveling, the The driving recorder prohibits the red light selection instruction from being generated, and thus stops recognizing the red circle in the picture. The prompting method for changing a traffic light signal according to claim 5, further includes: when the majority of pixels in the area appear red, disabling the prompting action.