EP2983152A1 - Traffic event detection system for vehicles - Google Patents
Traffic event detection system for vehicles Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP2983152A1 EP2983152A1 EP14179680.5A EP14179680A EP2983152A1 EP 2983152 A1 EP2983152 A1 EP 2983152A1 EP 14179680 A EP14179680 A EP 14179680A EP 2983152 A1 EP2983152 A1 EP 2983152A1
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- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- sensor
- vehicle
- assembly
- cpu
- image stream
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- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
- G08G1/00—Traffic control systems for road vehicles
- G08G1/16—Anti-collision systems
- G08G1/166—Anti-collision systems for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08G—TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS
- G08G1/00—Traffic control systems for road vehicles
- G08G1/09—Arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions
- G08G1/0962—Arrangements for giving variable traffic instructions having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
- G08G1/09623—Systems involving the acquisition of information from passive traffic signs by means mounted on the vehicle
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- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Traffic Control Systems (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- The present teachings are related to traffic event detection, and more particularly, to systems, platforms, and techniques for automotive and other vehicles to increase safety in case of sudden and abrupt change in traffic conditions by forward detection of hazardous or anomalous driving conditions.
- While driving on a highway, freeway, or other roads, traffic in front of a vehicle may suddenly or unpredictably slow down or come to an abrupt stop. To allow the driver of a vehicle to have greater situational awareness and respond faster to the changes in traffic condition, a system would be advantageous that is able to detect an event happening ahead of the vehicle, decode the event and, and alarm the motorist of the detected event in real-time or near real-time.
- The system addressing these and other needs can comprise a sensor element, such as a video camera mounted on a vehicle to capture the images of the traffic ahead, a central processing unit (CPU) or other logic to process image streams captured by the camera, and software that analyses the images in the captured stream and detects events taking place ahead of the vehicle. The system can also include a video display that presents the images captured by the camera and a powered speaker to generate an audible alarm that warns the driver of the vehicle of troubles ahead.
- According to aspects, while the vehicle is in motion, the camera can monitor or sample the field of view in front of the vehicle, including other vehicles in proximity to the vehicle equipped with systems according to the invention. In a case where one or more of the other vehicles slow down by applying the brake pedal, the software associated with the sensor can automatically detect an increase in red light intensity present in the field of view, due to the activation of brake lights in the vehicles ahead. The system can recognize that change in content, and notify the driver by emitting an alarm sound. A video display can also be installed inside.the vehicle above the driver, for example near the sun visor, to present additional information and to provide the driver with complementary visual aid.
- The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the present teachings and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present teachings. In the figures:
-
Fig. 1 illustrates various components and configurations of systems and platforms according to aspects of the present teachings; -
Fig. 2 shows a global view of a system installed on a vehicle with lateral view, according to implementations of the present teachings; -
Fig. 3 shows a global view of a system installed on a vehicle in a 3D view, according to implementations of the present teachings; -
Fig. 4 shows a detailed view of a monitor and how it may be mounted inside a vehicle, according to aspects of the present teachings; and -
Fig. 5 shows an illustrative flow diagram of detection logic that can be used in implementations of the present teachings. - Referring to the drawings,
FIG. 1 shows an illustrativeoverall system 50 not installed on a vehicle. Thesensor 101 is connected to aCPU 103 by acable 102. Thesensor 101 can be or include, for example, a video camera, such as a digital device using a charge coupled device (CCD) sensor array. Other types of sensing elements or other devices can be used, including, merely for example, complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) sensing elements, and/or forward looking infrared (FLIR) sensors. In implementations, sensors operating on other types of signals, such as acoustic sensors, can be used in addition to or instead of visual detectors. Whilesensor 101 is shown as being connected to theCPU 103 by acable 102, which can for instance be or include a local area network (LAN) cable, other wired or wireless connections between thesensor 101 andCPU 103 can be used. For instance, in implementations, thesensor 101 can connect to theCPU 103 via a Bluetooth wireless connection, or others. TheCPU 103 can be or include a general-purpose or special-purpose computer programmed with software, applications, and/or services to perform sensor control and image processing according to the teachings herein. Other devices configured to perform control logic can be used. - In general, the
sensor 101 can operate to capture images in front of a vehicle equipped withsystem 50 for theCPU 103 to process. TheCPU 103 can execute software and/or invoke services to analyze each of the images in the resulting image stream, and then use an algorithm such as the one illustrated inFIG. 5 to alert the driver of possible traffic events. At any point in time, when thesystem 50 is operating, theCPU 103 can be configured to send the images captured by thesensor 101 to avideo display 106, for instance through a connectingcable 104. If theCPU 103 and associated software or logic have detected a traffic event and need to alert the driver, theCPU 103 can in implementations do so by transmitting an audible alarm throughcable 105 to aspeaker 107. Other alerts or notifications, such as flashing lights or other visual cues, can also be used. -
FIG. 2 shows thesystem 50 as mounted or installed on avehicle 51. Thesensor 101 can be installed on asupport 52. Thesupport 52 can, in implementations, be a rigid element constructed to be high enough to be located above the vehicles ahead. In other implementations, thesupport 52 can be or include a retractable or articulated element, so that thesupport 52 can for instance be placed in a folded-down or prone position when not in use, such as in a recess or channel in the roof or other structure of thevehicle 51. Thesupport 52 in those cases can be driven by a motorized drive to an upright state or position, or returned to a resting state in the recess or other receiving structure or position. In implementations, thesupport 52 can also or instead be implemented using a telescoping element, for instance to allow an adjustable or selectable height to be reached. In implementations, the motorized drive of thesupport 52 can likewise be controlled by theCPU 103, and/or other or separate processors or logic. - By mounting the
sensor 101 on anextendable support 52, thesystem 50 can achieve a higher and/or selectable elevation of the CCD or other sensing elements of thesensor 101. The capability to elevate the sensor can permit the sensor to "see" a greater depth or distance into the field of view, and/or a wider viewing range, than if the sensor were mounted in a fixed manner to the body of thesubject vehicle 51 equipped with thesystem 50. The greater viewing depth can allow thesystem 50 to detect and take into account the brake light activity or other details produced by more vehicles located farther ahead of the vehicle equipped with thesystem 50. This can allow the system to draw inferences about traffic events based on a larger number of brake light and other features, thus enhancing sensitivity, accuracy, and other parameters ofsystem 50. - In addition, it will be noted that besides an extendable or
articulated support 52, thesensor 101 can be mounted on thesupport 52 in a rotatable and/or otherwise articulated fashion. For example, thesensor 101 can be attached to the support using a rotary drive element, so that thesensor 101 can be rotated from side to side when the support is in an extended or deployed position. For instance, thesensor 101 can be mounted to the support with a motorized drive to permit horizontal rotation of 180 degrees on a horizontal plane or other amounts, to allow the driver of the vehicle to pan the field of view of the sensor with regard to traffic ahead. In implementations, thesensor 101 and/ormount 102 can be configured to permit vertical adjustments as well, to change the vertical pointing angle and hence range of view provided by thesensor 101 ahead of the subject vehicle. The one or more motors or drives used to drive motion of thesensor 101 can be or include, for instance, direct current (DC) motors, stepper motors, linear motors, and/or others, as understood by persons skilled in the art. Those motorized drives can transmit the driving force to support 52 and/or other members using gears, bearings, and/or other mechanical transmissions. - In terms of internal configuration inside the subject vehicle equipped with
system 50, thevideo display 106 can be mounted on theceiling 53 of the car orother subject vehicle 51. Thevideo display 106 can be fixed, or can rotate along an axis like a visor, to allow the driver to place thevideo display 106 at a convenient angle for viewing. -
FIG. 3 illustrates thesystem 51 mounted on avehicle 50, but in a further, three-dimensional view. Thesensor 101 as shown is installed on asupport 52. Thevideo display 106 is shown from the back of that element. As noted aspeaker 107 can be used to provide audible warnings or annunciations of traffic events, and can as shown be installed on thevideo display 106, and/or in other locations.FIG. 4 shows thevideo display 106 from inside thevehicle 51. The video display can be attached to theceiling 53, and again can be pulled down the same way thesun visor 54 can rotate. Thesound speaker 107 is attached to thevideo display 106. -
FIG. 5 shows a diagram of illustrative processing to analyze the stream of images captured by thesensor 101. In general, each of the images captured by the camera can be compared with the previous image. Differences between successive image frames can be used to determine if a traffic event is taking place. For instance, the spectral content of different image frames can be compared to determine if the color content of the field of view is changing. For instance, in implementations, if the second, or new image, has more red intensity than the previous one by some threshold, the detection of an event can be triggered. The threshold used to measure changes in red content can be predetermined or set, for instance, to a fixed threshold X by the car manufacturer or manufacturer of thesystem 50. The threshold can also or instead by dynamically set or adjusted by theCPU 103, for instance, to take into account ambient conditions, such as red light content from a sunset, sodium vapor lamps along a roadway, or other light sources. As noted, upon detection of a traffic event, an audible alarm and/or other notification can be sent to the driver. - More particularly as shown in
FIG. 5 , in 502 processing can begin by making a determination whethersystem 50 is turned on, powered, and/or otherwise in an operational state. If the determination in 502 is no, processing proceeds to 504 in which no analysis is performed. If the determination in 502 is yes, processing proceeds to 506, in which thesensor 101 captures image number "n." In aspects, the captured image can consist of one video frame, and/or other image formats or configurations. In implementations, the captured image and/or image stream can be encoded in standard image formats, such as motion picture experts group (.mpg) format, joint photographic experts group (.jpg) format, raw image format, and/or other formats, encodings, or file types. Thesensor 101 can be configured to capture each successive video frame or other unit of data using a predetermined frame rate, such as 30 frames/sec, or others. The image date captured bysensor 101 can be stored byCPU 103 to local storage, such as electronic memory, solid state drives, hard drives, and/or other storage media, if desired. - In 508, the
CPU 103 and/or other processor or logic can analyze the color content of the captured frame n, such as for instance by calculating the percentage of red color content in that image content. Red may be used because that color is produced by standard rear brake lights. It will however be appreciated that other colors can be used in addition or instead when performing a spectral or color analysis of image n. It will also be appreciated that image processing characteristics or signatures other than color content, such as luminance values, motion analysis, or others can likewise be used to analyze the scene or view in front of the vehicle equipped withsystem 50. In 510, thesensor 101 can capture or acquire a next image or image frame "n+1," acting together with theCPU 103 can capture or acquire a next image or image frame "n+1." In 512, theCPU 103 and/or other processor or logic can similarly calculate the percentage of red color content, or other spectral or other signature, in image or imageframe n+ 1. In 514, theCPU 103 and/or other logic or processor can determine if the percentage of red color content in image or image frame n+1 is less than or equal to the percentage of red color content in image or image frame n, then processing will proceed to 516, in which a determination can be made that the color content of image/frame n and n+1 are equal. In that case, processing can return to 510. In aspects, processing can return to 510 (and acquire a further image or frame) because no change in red-color content is detected, and the total brake light illumination is assumed to be the same, with no sudden change in forward traffic conditions. - In 518, the
CPU 103 and/or other processor or logic can determine that if the percentage of red color content in image or frame n+1 is greater than that of image or frame n plus a selected threshold (e.g., 10% or other value), then processing will proceed to 520 in which a traffic event is deemed to be detected and the driver can be alerted with an audible sound or other alert or notification. In embodiments, the alert or notification can continue until the driver hits a cancel button, a predetermined timeout takes place, or other conditions occur. Processing can then return to a prior processing point (e.g., 502), jump to a further processing point, or end. - The foregoing description is illustrative, and variations in configuration and implementation may occur to persons skilled in the art. For example, while implementations have been described in which
system 50 operates using onesensor 101, in implementations, two ormore sensors 101 can be employed. Similarly, while embodiments have been described in which image processing and control logic are executed in oneCPU 103, in implementations, multiple CPUs and/or networked or remote computing resources or services can be used, including those hosted in a cloud-based network. Other resources described as singular or integrated can in embodiments be plural or distributed, and resources described as multiple or distributed can in embodiments be combined. The scope of the present teachings is accordingly intended to be limited only by the following claims.
Claims (13)
analyze the image stream, and
detect a traffic event in front of the vehicle based on the image stream.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP14179680.5A EP2983152A1 (en) | 2014-08-04 | 2014-08-04 | Traffic event detection system for vehicles |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
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EP14179680.5A EP2983152A1 (en) | 2014-08-04 | 2014-08-04 | Traffic event detection system for vehicles |
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EP2983152A1 true EP2983152A1 (en) | 2016-02-10 |
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EP14179680.5A Withdrawn EP2983152A1 (en) | 2014-08-04 | 2014-08-04 | Traffic event detection system for vehicles |
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Citations (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE3726065A1 (en) * | 1987-08-06 | 1988-01-21 | Friedhelm Fredrich | BOX-TYPE MOTOR VEHICLE having an evaluation device in the driver's cab, which evaluation device allows an operator to assess an object by means of screens and sound transducers, the signals from a video camera being used especially for assessment of the recording angle |
WO2001043104A1 (en) * | 1999-12-10 | 2001-06-14 | David Sitrick | Methodology, apparatus, and system for electronic visualization of traffic conditions |
JP2003028654A (en) * | 2001-07-12 | 2003-01-29 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Navigation system |
JP2003091799A (en) * | 2001-09-18 | 2003-03-28 | Clarion Co Ltd | On-vehicle peripheral image acquiring method, on-vehicle peripheral image acquiring device, camera for image pickup used for the same, image presenting device used for the same |
US6975347B1 (en) * | 2000-07-20 | 2005-12-13 | Ford Global Technologies, Llc | Method and apparatus for acquiring and displaying images |
JP2006168683A (en) * | 2004-12-20 | 2006-06-29 | Nissan Motor Co Ltd | On-vehicle camera device |
US20100145617A1 (en) * | 2008-12-04 | 2010-06-10 | Denso Corporation | Obstacle detecting device |
DE102011088130A1 (en) * | 2011-12-09 | 2013-06-13 | Robert Bosch Gmbh | Method and device for detecting a braking situation |
FR2986647A3 (en) * | 2012-02-07 | 2013-08-09 | Renault Sas | Observation drone and car combination for use in automobile assembly, has control unit adapted to control methods of propulsion and directional control such that sensor continuously acquires images of section of lane |
-
2014
- 2014-08-04 EP EP14179680.5A patent/EP2983152A1/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE3726065A1 (en) * | 1987-08-06 | 1988-01-21 | Friedhelm Fredrich | BOX-TYPE MOTOR VEHICLE having an evaluation device in the driver's cab, which evaluation device allows an operator to assess an object by means of screens and sound transducers, the signals from a video camera being used especially for assessment of the recording angle |
WO2001043104A1 (en) * | 1999-12-10 | 2001-06-14 | David Sitrick | Methodology, apparatus, and system for electronic visualization of traffic conditions |
US6975347B1 (en) * | 2000-07-20 | 2005-12-13 | Ford Global Technologies, Llc | Method and apparatus for acquiring and displaying images |
JP2003028654A (en) * | 2001-07-12 | 2003-01-29 | Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd | Navigation system |
JP2003091799A (en) * | 2001-09-18 | 2003-03-28 | Clarion Co Ltd | On-vehicle peripheral image acquiring method, on-vehicle peripheral image acquiring device, camera for image pickup used for the same, image presenting device used for the same |
JP2006168683A (en) * | 2004-12-20 | 2006-06-29 | Nissan Motor Co Ltd | On-vehicle camera device |
US20100145617A1 (en) * | 2008-12-04 | 2010-06-10 | Denso Corporation | Obstacle detecting device |
DE102011088130A1 (en) * | 2011-12-09 | 2013-06-13 | Robert Bosch Gmbh | Method and device for detecting a braking situation |
FR2986647A3 (en) * | 2012-02-07 | 2013-08-09 | Renault Sas | Observation drone and car combination for use in automobile assembly, has control unit adapted to control methods of propulsion and directional control such that sensor continuously acquires images of section of lane |
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