Method, device and vehicle terminal for detecting obstacles at a tunnel portal

Abstract

The embodiment of the application is suitable for the field of intelligent driving technology, and provides a method and device for detecting tunnel entrance obstacles and a vehicle-mounted terminal, the method comprising: the vehicle-mounted terminal controls multiple cameras on the vehicle to respectively perform image acquisition to obtain multiple tunnel entrance images; wherein the acquisition strategies used by each camera when performing image acquisition are not completely the same; the vehicle-mounted terminal performs obstacle detection on each tunnel entrance image to respectively obtain multiple obstacle detection results corresponding to each tunnel entrance image in one-to-one correspondence; and the vehicle-mounted terminal determines a final detection result according to the multiple obstacle detection results. By using the above method, the problem of obstacle detection failure caused by black hole or white hole effect when the vehicle enters or exits the tunnel can be solved under low-cost conditions, and the safety of the vehicle when entering or exiting the tunnel is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of intelligent driving technology, and in particular to a method, apparatus and vehicle terminal for detecting obstacles at tunnel entrances. Background Technology

[0002] Tunnels are high-risk areas for traffic accidents. When drivers enter or exit tunnels, the change in light intensity at the tunnel entrance can cause a significant visual difference, leading to temporary "blindness" and an inability to clearly see the area around the tunnel entrance, greatly increasing the risk of accidents. This phenomenon is also known as the "black hole" or "white hole" effect. The black hole effect occurs when, as a vehicle enters a tunnel, the light inside is dimmer than outside, making it difficult for the driver to see the road conditions. The white hole effect occurs when, as a vehicle exits a tunnel, the light outside is stronger than inside, making it difficult for the driver to see the road conditions outside.

[0003] Currently, in vehicles equipped with intelligent driving systems, the onboard system can detect obstacles based on road images captured by the vehicle's cameras, improving driving safety. However, during the process of a vehicle entering or exiting a tunnel, the black hole or white hole effect can affect whether the vehicle's camera can correctly capture image information inside and outside the tunnel, leading to obstacle detection failure.

[0004] In existing technologies, obstacle detection at tunnel entrances can be assisted by installing roadside sensing systems inside and outside the tunnel, or by equipping vehicles with devices such as LiDAR. However, the cost of roadside sensing systems and LiDAR devices is relatively high, and large-scale deployment would be extremely costly. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a method, apparatus, and vehicle-mounted terminal for detecting obstacles at tunnel entrances, which can solve the problem of obstacle detection failure caused by the black hole or white hole effect when vehicles enter and exit tunnels under low cost conditions, thereby improving the safety of vehicles entering and exiting tunnels.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this application adopts the following technical solution:

[0007] Firstly, a method for detecting obstacles at tunnel entrances is provided, which can be applied to vehicle-mounted terminals, including:

[0008] The vehicle-mounted terminal controls multiple cameras on the vehicle to capture images, resulting in multiple images of the tunnel entrance; however, each camera uses a different acquisition strategy when capturing images.

[0009] The vehicle-mounted terminal performs obstacle detection on each tunnel entrance image and obtains multiple obstacle detection results corresponding to each tunnel entrance image.

[0010] The vehicle-mounted terminal determines the final detection result based on the results of multiple obstacle detections.

[0011] This application embodiment addresses the scenario of vehicles entering and exiting tunnels. The vehicle-mounted terminal can adjust the acquisition strategies of multiple cameras installed on the vehicle, controlling them to acquire tunnel entrance images according to slightly different strategies, resulting in multiple tunnel entrance images acquired using different strategies. The vehicle-mounted terminal performs obstacle detection on these multiple tunnel entrance images and determines the final detection result based on the detection result for each image. This application embodiment only requires multiple cameras installed on the vehicle to achieve obstacle detection at the tunnel entrance, significantly reducing the cost and deployment difficulty compared to methods such as setting up roadside sensing systems inside and outside the tunnel or installing radar equipment on the vehicle. Furthermore, this application embodiment detects tunnel entrance images acquired by multiple cameras under various acquisition strategies and determines the final detection result based on multiple detection results, which helps improve the accuracy and reliability of obstacle detection compared to using a single camera.

[0012] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the acquisition strategy may include a metering strategy for the cameras on the vehicle. Exemplarily, the metering strategy may include global metering, area metering, and / or spot metering. Thus, when multiple cameras are installed on the vehicle, different cameras can employ different metering strategies for image acquisition.

[0013] In another possible implementation of the first aspect, the acquisition strategy may further include a camera exposure strategy. For example, the exposure strategy may include increasing or decreasing the camera's exposure time.

[0014] Accordingly, before the vehicle-mounted terminal controls multiple cameras on the vehicle to acquire images separately, the terminal can determine the light intensity value acquired by each camera under its corresponding metering strategy; and adjust the exposure strategy of each camera based on the light intensity value. For example, if a camera acquires a strong light intensity value under its corresponding metering strategy, the vehicle-mounted terminal can control that camera to reduce its exposure time, thus lowering the brightness of the acquired image; conversely, if a camera acquires a weak light intensity value under its corresponding metering strategy, the terminal can control that camera to increase its exposure time, thus increasing the brightness of the acquired image. By simultaneously adjusting the metering and exposure strategies, the quality of the images acquired by the cameras can be further improved, helping to provide higher-resolution images for subsequent obstacle recognition.

[0015] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, before the vehicle-mounted terminal determines the final detection result based on multiple obstacle detection results, the vehicle-mounted terminal can fuse multiple tunnel entrance images to obtain a fused tunnel entrance image; and then perform obstacle detection on the fused tunnel entrance image to obtain an obstacle detection result corresponding to the fused tunnel entrance image. For example, for N tunnel entrance images acquired by multiple cameras, the vehicle-mounted terminal can process these N tunnel entrance images to obtain the (N+1)th image. Correspondingly, the vehicle-mounted terminal can also obtain a detection result by performing obstacle detection on the (N+1)th image. By fusing multiple tunnel entrance images, the quality of the fused image can be improved by combining multiple images, which helps to improve the accuracy of the obstacle detection result.

[0016] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, when the vehicle terminal fuses multiple tunnel entrance images to obtain a fused tunnel entrance image, it can first register the multiple tunnel entrance images; then, it can perform high dynamic range imaging processing on the registered multiple tunnel entrance images.

[0017] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the vehicle-mounted terminal can determine the final detection result based on multiple obstacle detection results corresponding one-to-one with each tunnel entrance image and the obstacle detection results corresponding to the fused image of the tunnel entrance. For example, the vehicle-mounted terminal controls a camera to acquire N images, and N obstacle detection results can be obtained from these N images. Furthermore, the vehicle-mounted terminal can fuse the N images and perform obstacle detection on the fused image to obtain a single obstacle detection result, namely the (N+1)th obstacle detection result. To ensure the accuracy of the final detection result, the vehicle-mounted terminal can simultaneously analyze the first N and the (N+1)th obstacle detection results, and determine the final detection result based on these N+1 detection results.

[0018] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, the vehicle-mounted terminal can determine whether a vehicle has entered or exited a tunnel by acquiring tunnel entrance identification information. For example, the tunnel entrance identification information acquired by the vehicle-mounted terminal may include the vehicle's current location information, traffic sign information at the current location, and / or tunnel feature identification information, etc. When determining whether a vehicle has entered or exited a tunnel based on the aforementioned identification information, the vehicle-mounted terminal can control multiple cameras on the vehicle to acquire images, obtaining multiple tunnel entrance images.

[0019] In one possible implementation of the first aspect, if the final detection result indicates the presence of an obstacle at the tunnel entrance, the vehicle-mounted terminal can issue a warning about the obstacle to remind the driver to pay attention to driving safety. For example, the warning method of the vehicle-mounted terminal may include various methods such as voice, buzzer, and alarm.

[0020] Secondly, a device for detecting obstacles at tunnel entrances is provided. This device can be applied to a vehicle-mounted terminal and includes: an image acquisition module, an obstacle detection module, and a detection result determination module, wherein:

[0021] The image acquisition module is used to control multiple cameras on the vehicle to acquire images and obtain multiple images of the tunnel entrance; each camera uses a different acquisition strategy when acquiring images.

[0022] The obstacle detection module is used to detect obstacles in each tunnel entrance image and obtain multiple obstacle detection results corresponding to each tunnel entrance image.

[0023] The detection result determination module is used to determine the final detection result based on the detection results of multiple obstacles.

[0024] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the acquisition strategy may include metering strategies such as global metering, area metering, and / or spot metering.

[0025] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the acquisition strategy may further include an exposure strategy, and the image acquisition module may also be used to: determine the light intensity value acquired by each camera under the corresponding metering strategy; and adjust the exposure strategy of each camera according to the light intensity value, wherein the exposure strategy may include increasing or decreasing the exposure time.

[0026] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the obstacle detection module can also be used to: fuse multiple tunnel entrance images to obtain a fused tunnel entrance image; and perform obstacle detection on the fused tunnel entrance image to obtain an obstacle detection result corresponding to the fused tunnel entrance image.

[0027] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the obstacle detection module can also be used to: register multiple tunnel entrance images; and perform high dynamic range imaging processing on the registered multiple tunnel entrance images to obtain a fused tunnel entrance image.

[0028] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the detection result determination module can specifically be used to: determine the final detection result based on multiple obstacle detection results corresponding one-to-one with each tunnel entrance image and obstacle detection results corresponding to the fused image of the tunnel entrance.

[0029] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the device may further include a tunnel entrance identification module.

[0030] The tunnel entrance recognition module can be used to: acquire tunnel entrance recognition information; determine whether a vehicle has entered or exited the tunnel based on the tunnel entrance recognition information; if a vehicle has entered or exited the tunnel, the image acquisition module is invoked to control multiple cameras on the vehicle to acquire images, resulting in multiple images of the tunnel entrance. The tunnel entrance recognition information may include the vehicle's current location information, traffic sign information at the current location, and / or tunnel feature recognition information, etc.

[0031] In one possible implementation of the second aspect, the device may further include an early warning module. Specifically, the early warning module may be used to issue an early warning about an obstacle if the final detection result indicates that an obstacle exists at the tunnel entrance.

[0032] Thirdly, a vehicle-mounted terminal is provided, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the computer program to implement the method for detecting obstacles at a tunnel entrance as described in any of the first aspects above.

[0033] Fourthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores computer instructions that, when executed on an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the aforementioned method steps to implement the method for detecting obstacles at a tunnel entrance as described in any of the first aspects.

[0034] Fifthly, a computer program product is provided, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the aforementioned related steps to implement the method for detecting obstacles at a tunnel entrance as described in any of the first aspects.

[0035] In a sixth aspect, a chip is provided, the chip including a memory and a processor, wherein the processor executes a computer program stored in the memory, which can implement the method for detecting obstacles at a tunnel entrance as described in any of the first aspects above.

[0036] It is understood that the beneficial effects of the second to sixth aspects mentioned above can be found in the relevant descriptions in the first aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0037] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an application scenario of a method for detecting obstacles at a tunnel entrance provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0038] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a method for detecting obstacles at a tunnel entrance provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a vehicle-mounted terminal for detecting the working performance or working status of a camera, provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0041] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating a dynamic adjustment strategy for the acquisition of each camera according to an embodiment of this application;

[0042] Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for detecting obstacles at a tunnel entrance provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0043] Figure 7 This is a flowchart illustrating another method for detecting obstacles at a tunnel entrance provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0044] Figure 8 This is a structural block diagram of a device for detecting obstacles at a tunnel entrance provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0045] Figure 9 This is a structural block diagram of another device for detecting obstacles at tunnel entrances provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0046] To facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used in the embodiments of this application to distinguish identical or similar items with essentially the same function and effect. For example, "first camera," "second camera," etc., are merely used to distinguish different cameras on a vehicle and do not limit their number or execution order.

[0047] It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, the words "exemplarily" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplarily" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Specifically, the use of the words "exemplarily" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0048] The business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0049] In this application embodiment, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more than one" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0050] The steps involved in the method for detecting obstacles at tunnel entrances provided in this application are merely examples. Not all steps are mandatory, nor are all steps or technical features required. They can be added or removed as needed during use.

[0051] In this application, the same step or step with the same function or technical feature can be referenced and learned from each other in different embodiments.

[0052] To address the impact of the "black hole" or "white hole" effect on drivers when entering and exiting tunnels, one possible solution is to install roadside sensing systems inside and outside the tunnel to assist in obstacle detection at the tunnel entrance. Specifically, sensing terminals can be wall-mounted within a certain range before and after the tunnel entrance, such as 5-10 meters. These terminals can observe real-time road conditions inside or outside the tunnel at a certain distance. The sensing terminals can typically observe real-time road conditions up to 100 meters beyond the line-of-sight blind spot. When a vehicle enters a tunnel, the driver's field of vision experiences a "black hole" effect in the low-light environment at the tunnel entrance, creating a blind spot. The roadside sensing system detects obstacles and abnormal vehicles near the tunnel entrance and can send this information to other vehicles in advance via a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) system, thus achieving beyond-line-of-sight perception capabilities. As the vehicle exits the tunnel, the movement from darkness to light creates a "white hole" effect, resulting in a blind spot for the driver outside the tunnel. The roadside sensing system installed outside the tunnel can detect the environment outside the tunnel in advance and send abnormal systems to vehicles via V2X in advance to ensure driving safety.

[0053] Installing roadside sensing systems inside and outside tunnels can effectively improve the safety of vehicles entering and exiting tunnels. However, there are many tunnels on numerous highways, and installing roadside sensing systems inside and outside every single tunnel would not only be difficult to deploy but also very costly.

[0054] Another possible solution to the impact of the "black hole" or "white hole" effect on drivers is to equip vehicles with devices such as lidar or millimeter-wave radar to assist in obstacle detection at tunnel entrances. Both lidar and millimeter-wave radar determine obstacle distance by utilizing the time difference of reflected waves and relative speed by using the frequency shift of the reflected waves. Lidar can provide accurate 3D maps and scan a 360-degree space around the vehicle, with a range of approximately 100 meters. Some lidar systems can even provide up to 64 channels, scanning over 1 million points per second. This amount of information provides a high accuracy of 2 centimeters to cope with constantly changing environments. Millimeter-wave radar typically operates at 24 GHz and 77-79 GHz, and is largely unaffected by environmental factors such as heat or light. By equipping vehicles with lidar or millimeter-wave radar, safety issues caused by the tunnel "black hole" or "white hole" effect can be effectively prevented. Furthermore, lidar and millimeter-wave radar have absolute advantages such as being able to penetrate dust, fog, rain, snow, and being unaffected by inclement weather. However, similar to roadside perception systems, radar equipment is very expensive. Installing lidar or millimeter-wave radar on vehicles will undoubtedly increase the driver's operating costs.

[0055] It is evident that while existing technologies can address driving safety issues caused by the black hole or white hole effect at tunnel entrances, these solutions are difficult to deploy, costly, and difficult to promote and apply on a large scale.

[0056] To address the aforementioned issues, this application provides a method for detecting obstacles at tunnel entrances. By using at least one camera installed on a vehicle and combining image processing technology to detect obstacles in the tunnel entrance images captured by the camera, the method can solve the problem of obstacle detection failure caused by the black hole or white hole effect when vehicles enter and exit tunnels under low-cost conditions, effectively improving the safety of vehicles entering and exiting tunnels.

[0057] like Figure 1 The diagram shown is a schematic representation of an application scenario for a method of detecting obstacles at a tunnel entrance, according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 1 The application scenario shown includes a road R100, which is a two-way road with lanes R101 and R102. A tunnel T103 exists on road R100. Lane R101 is the lane entering the tunnel, and lane R102 is the lane exiting the tunnel T103. Figure 1In the example, vehicle C104 is traveling in lane R101, moving from outside the tunnel into the tunnel, i.e., from a brighter area to a darker area. During this process, the black hole effect caused by the change in light intensity will result in a temporary blind spot for the driver of vehicle C104. In this embodiment, the on-board terminal can control a camera installed on the vehicle to capture images of the tunnel entrance and process the captured images to identify potential obstacles or other abnormal vehicles at the tunnel entrance. For identified obstacles or abnormal vehicles, the on-board terminal can issue a warning to the driver, reminding them to respond in advance and ensuring driving safety.

[0058] The vehicle-mounted terminal in this embodiment can be an electronic device equipped on a vehicle and capable of controlling a camera to acquire images and processing the images acquired by the camera. Of course, the vehicle-mounted terminal may also have other functions, such as vehicle positioning and communication with a vehicle network system; this embodiment does not limit these functions. In some scenarios, the vehicle-mounted terminal can also be called a vehicle-mounted system, which enables information communication between people and vehicles, and between vehicles and the outside world (e.g., between vehicles).

[0059] For example, Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of an electronic device 200 is shown. The structure of the vehicle terminal in the embodiments of this application can refer to the structure of the electronic device 200.

[0060] Electronic device 200 may include a processor 210, an external memory interface 220, an internal memory 221, a universal serial bus (USB) interface 230, a power management module 240, an audio module 250, a speaker 250A, a headphone jack 250B, a sensor module 260, a camera 270, and a display screen 280, etc. The sensor module 260 may include an accelerometer 260A, a temperature sensor 260B, etc.

[0061] It is understood that the structures illustrated in the embodiments of this application do not constitute a specific limitation on the electronic device 200. In some embodiments of this application, the electronic device 200 may include more or fewer components than illustrated, or combine some components, or split some components, or have different component arrangements. The illustrated components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0062] Processor 210 may include one or more processing units. For example, processor 210 may include an application processor (AP), a modem processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), an image signal processor (ISP), a controller, a video codec, a digital signal processor (DSP), a baseband processor, and / or a neural network processing unit (NPU). Different processing units may be independent devices or integrated into one or more processors.

[0063] The controller can generate operation control signals based on the instruction operation code and timing signals to control the fetching and execution of instructions. For example, the controller can control the camera on the vehicle to adjust the metering mode and / or exposure time, and to capture images of the surrounding environment while the vehicle is in motion.

[0064] The processor 210 may also include a memory for storing instructions and data. In some embodiments of this application, the memory in the processor 210 is a cache memory. This memory can store instructions or data that the processor 210 has just used or that are used repeatedly. If the processor 210 needs to use the instruction or data again, it can directly retrieve it from the memory. This avoids repeated accesses, reduces the waiting time of the processor 210, and thus improves the efficiency of the system.

[0065] In some embodiments of this application, the processor 210 may include one or more interfaces. Interfaces may include an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) interface, an inter-integrated circuit sound (I2S) interface, a mobile industry processor interface (MIPI), a general-purpose input / output (GPIO) interface, a subscriber identity module (SIM) interface, and / or a universal serial bus (USB) interface, etc.

[0066] The I2C interface is a bidirectional synchronous serial bus, including a serial data line (SDA) and a serial clock line (SCL). In some embodiments of this application, the processor 210 may include multiple I2C buses. The processor 210 can couple to the camera 270, etc., through different I2C bus interfaces.

[0067] The I2S interface can be used for audio communication. In some embodiments of this application, the processor 210 may include multiple I2S buses. The processor 210 can be coupled to the audio module 250 via the I2S bus to realize communication between the processor 210 and the audio module 250.

[0068] The MIPI interface can be used to connect the processor 210 to peripheral devices such as the display 280 and the camera 270. The MIPI interface includes the camera serial interface (CSI) and the display serial interface (DSI).

[0069] In some embodiments of this application, the processor 210 and the display screen 280 communicate via a DSI interface to realize the display function of the electronic device 200.

[0070] The GPIO interface can be configured via software. It can be configured as a control signal or a data signal. In some embodiments of this application, the GPIO interface can be used to connect the processor 210 to a camera 270, a display screen 280, a wireless communication module, an audio module 250, a sensor module 260, etc. The GPIO interface can also be configured as an I2C interface, an I2S interface, a UART interface, a MIPI interface, etc.

[0071] USB port 230 is a USB standard compliant interface, specifically a Mini USB port, Micro USB port, or USB Type-C port. USB port 230 can be used to connect a charger to charge electronic device 200, and can also be used for data transfer between electronic device 200 and peripheral devices. USB port 230 can also be used to connect headphones for audio playback. This interface can also be used to connect other electronic devices, such as AR devices.

[0072] It is understood that the interface connection relationships between the modules illustrated in the embodiments of this application are merely illustrative and do not constitute a structural limitation on the electronic device 200. In other embodiments of this application, the electronic device 200 may also employ different interface connection methods or combinations of multiple interface connection methods as described in the above embodiments.

[0073] The power management module 240 is used to connect the battery and the processor 210. The power management module 240 receives input from the battery and / or charging management module to power the processor 210, internal memory 221, display screen 280, camera 270, etc. The power management module 240 can also be used to monitor parameters such as battery capacity, battery cycle count, and battery health status (leakage current, impedance).

[0074] In some other embodiments, the power management module 240 may also be located in the processor 210.

[0075] Electronic device 200 implements display functions through a GPU, a display screen 280, and an application processor. The GPU is a microprocessor for image processing, connected to the display screen 280 and the application processor. The GPU is used to perform mathematical and geometric calculations and for graphics rendering. Processor 210 may include one or more GPUs, which execute program instructions to generate or modify display information.

[0076] The display screen 280 is used to display images, videos, etc. For example, the display screen 280 can be used to display road images, tunnel entrance images, etc., captured by a camera on a vehicle. The display screen 280 includes a display panel. The display panel can be a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light-emitting diode (OLED), an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED), a flexible light-emitting diode (FLED), a MiniLED, a MicroLED, a Micro-OLED, a quantum dot light-emitting diode (QLED), etc. In some embodiments of this application, the electronic device 200 may include one or N display screens 280, where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0077] Camera 270 is used to capture still images or videos. An object is projected onto a photosensitive element by generating an optical image through the lens. The photosensitive element can be a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) phototransistor. The photosensitive element converts the light signal into an electrical signal, which is then passed to an ISP for conversion into a digital image signal. The ISP outputs the digital image signal to a DSP for processing. The DSP converts the digital image signal into image signals in standard RGB, YUV, or other formats. In some embodiments of this application, the electronic device 200 may include one or N cameras 270, where N is a positive integer greater than 1.

[0078] The external storage interface 220 can be used to connect an external memory card, such as a Micro SD card, to expand the storage capacity of the electronic device 200. The external memory card communicates with the processor 210 through the external storage interface 220 to perform data storage functions. For example, music, video, and other files can be saved on the external memory card.

[0079] Internal memory 221 can be used to store computer executable program code, which includes instructions. Internal memory 221 may include a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area may store the operating system, application programs required for at least one function (such as sound playback function, image playback function, etc.), etc. The data storage area may store data created during the use of electronic device 200 (such as audio data, etc.).

[0080] In addition, the internal memory 221 may include high-speed random access memory, and may also include non-volatile memory. For example, at least one disk storage device, flash memory device, universal flash storage (UFS), etc.

[0081] The processor 210 executes various functional applications and data processing of the electronic device 200 by running instructions stored in the internal memory 221 and / or in the memory set in the processor.

[0082] Electronic device 200 can implement audio functions through audio module 250, speaker 250A, headphone jack 250B, and application processor. Examples include music playback, recording, and providing voice warnings to drivers.

[0083] The audio module 250 is used to convert digital audio information into analog audio signals for output, and also to convert analog audio input into digital audio signals. The audio module 250 can also be used for encoding and decoding audio signals. In some embodiments of this application, the audio module 250 may be located in the processor 210, or some functional modules of the audio module 250 may be located in the processor 210.

[0084] The speaker 250A, also known as a "horn," is used to convert audio electrical signals into sound signals. Electronic equipment 200 can use the speaker 250A to listen to music, output vehicle warning information, etc.

[0085] The headphone jack 250B is used to connect wired headphones. The headphone jack 250B can be a USB 230 interface, or a 3.5mm Open Mobile Terminal Platform (OMTP) standard interface, or a CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association of the USA) standard interface.

[0086] Accelerometer 260A can detect the magnitude of acceleration of electronic device 200 in various directions (generally three axes). During vehicle operation, accelerometer 260A can detect current speed, etc.

[0087] Temperature sensor 260B is used to detect temperature. In some embodiments of this application, electronic device 200 uses the temperature detected by temperature sensor 260B to execute a temperature processing strategy. For example, when the temperature reported by temperature sensor 260B exceeds a threshold, electronic device 200 reduces the performance of a processor located near temperature sensor 260B to reduce power consumption and implement thermal protection. In other embodiments, when the temperature is below another threshold, electronic device 200 heats the battery to prevent abnormal shutdown of electronic device 200 due to low temperature. In still other embodiments, when the temperature is below yet another threshold, electronic device 200 boosts the battery's output voltage to prevent abnormal shutdown due to low temperature.

[0088] The following embodiments use a vehicle-mounted terminal with the above-described hardware structure as an example to illustrate the method for detecting obstacles at tunnel entrances provided in this application.

[0089] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a method for detecting obstacles at a tunnel entrance, according to an embodiment of this application, is shown. This method can employ different schemes to detect potential obstacles at the tunnel entrance depending on the number of cameras installed on the vehicle. Specifically, as... Figure 3As shown, the vehicle-mounted terminal can employ different schemes to detect obstacles at tunnel entrances, depending on whether the vehicle has a single camera or multiple cameras installed.

[0090] (a) Situation where there is only a single camera on the vehicle

[0091] It should be noted that "only a single camera on the vehicle" can mean either that the vehicle has only one camera installed, or that the vehicle has multiple cameras installed, but only one of them is functioning normally. For example, the vehicle may have only one camera installed, such as camera 1, and camera 1 is functioning normally. While the vehicle is in motion, the onboard terminal can control camera 1 to capture images. Alternatively, the vehicle may have multiple cameras installed, such as camera 1, camera 2, and camera 3, but due to a malfunction or other reasons, only one of the three cameras is functioning normally; for example, only camera 1 of the three cameras mentioned above is functioning normally. While the vehicle is in motion, the onboard terminal can only control camera 1 to capture images, and cannot control camera 2 or camera 3 to capture images.

[0092] In scenarios with only a single camera, to mitigate the impact of the "black hole" or "white hole" effect at tunnel entrances on driving safety, the onboard terminal can determine in real time whether a vehicle is entering or exiting the tunnel. The onboard terminal's determination can include two scenarios: the vehicle has not entered or exited the tunnel, or the vehicle is entering or exiting the tunnel. If the vehicle is currently in the tunnel, it can be further categorized as either the vehicle entering the tunnel or the vehicle exiting the tunnel.

[0093] In the embodiments of this application, such as Figure 3 As shown, the vehicle-mounted terminal can determine whether a vehicle has entered or exited a tunnel based on the vehicle's current location information, traffic sign information at the current location, and / or tunnel feature recognition information. For example, the vehicle-mounted terminal can obtain the vehicle's current location, which may include GPS navigation information, BeiDou navigation information, etc. Based on the location information, the vehicle-mounted terminal can determine the vehicle's current location. Combined with a road map, the vehicle-mounted terminal can determine whether the vehicle has entered or exited the tunnel.

[0094] Based on the judgment result, if the vehicle is not currently entering or exiting the tunnel, the vehicle-mounted terminal does not need to adjust the acquisition strategy of a single camera; the single camera can acquire images according to the current actual acquisition strategy. However, when the vehicle is entering or exiting the tunnel, the vehicle-mounted terminal can control and adjust the acquisition strategy of the single camera installed on the vehicle. This acquisition strategy can refer to the strategy or parameters used by the camera to acquire images in order to obtain clearer images of the tunnel entrance with better image quality. For example, the camera's acquisition strategy may include the camera's exposure strategy and metering strategy, etc.

[0095] In the embodiments of this application, such as Figure 3 As shown, when controlling and adjusting the acquisition strategy of a single camera, the vehicle-mounted terminal can determine the direction based on the vehicle's entry and exit from the tunnel. Assuming the single camera on the vehicle is camera 0, by controlling and adjusting the exposure time of camera 0, it can ensure that camera 0 can obtain a better quality image under more suitable exposure. For example, when the vehicle enters the tunnel, since the vehicle is moving from a brighter area to a darker area, the vehicle-mounted terminal can control and increase the exposure time of camera 0 to improve the brightness of the image captured by camera 0, thus solving the tunnel black hole problem caused by underexposure. Conversely, when the vehicle exits the tunnel, since the vehicle is moving from a darker area to a brighter area, the vehicle-mounted terminal can control and decrease the exposure time of camera 0 to reduce the brightness of the image captured by camera 0, thus solving the tunnel white hole problem caused by overexposure.

[0096] like Figure 3 As shown, regardless of whether the exposure time is increased or decreased, the vehicle-mounted terminal can perform obstacle detection on the tunnel entrance image captured by camera 0 after increasing or decreasing the exposure time, and issue warnings based on the detection results. For example, if the detection results indicate the presence of obstacles at the tunnel entrance, the vehicle-mounted terminal can issue warnings to the driver through various means such as voice and beeping, reminding the driver to respond to the existing obstacles in advance and ensure driving safety.

[0097] In one possible implementation, a single camera can capture multiple images of the tunnel entrance within a short period, such as one second, using a rapid burst shooting method. The vehicle-mounted terminal can then perform obstacle detection based on these multiple tunnel entrance images to obtain the detection results.

[0098] For example, when the vehicle terminal determines that a vehicle is entering a tunnel, it can control camera 0 to increase its exposure time. Camera 0 can then continuously capture images of the tunnel entrance according to the increased exposure time, obtaining multiple images of the tunnel entrance. The vehicle terminal can then select one of these tunnel entrance images for obstacle detection. For instance, camera 0 can continuously capture 10 tunnel entrance images within one second according to the increased exposure time, denoted as image 1, image 2, ..., image 10. The vehicle terminal can then select the image with the best image quality from these 10 tunnel entrance images, where "best image quality" can refer to the best image resolution, etc. For example, assuming image 7 is the image with the best image quality, the vehicle terminal can perform obstacle detection based on image 7 and issue a warning based on the detection result.

[0099] (ii) Situations where there are multiple cameras on the vehicle

[0100] It should be noted that "multiple cameras on a vehicle" can mean that the vehicle has multiple cameras installed, and at least two of them are currently in normal working condition. For example, a vehicle may have multiple cameras installed, such as camera 1, camera 2, and camera 3. During vehicle operation, at least two of the three cameras must be in normal working condition. For instance, if camera 1 and camera 2 are in normal working condition, the onboard terminal can control camera 1 and camera 2 to acquire images, but cannot control camera 3 to acquire images. Alternatively, if camera 1, camera 2, and camera 3 are all in normal working condition, the onboard terminal can simultaneously control camera 1, camera 2, and camera 3 to acquire images during vehicle operation.

[0101] In situations with multiple cameras, such as Figure 3 As shown, the vehicle-mounted terminal can determine in real time whether a vehicle has entered or exited the tunnel in the same manner as described above. The determination result of the vehicle-mounted terminal can include two situations: the vehicle has not entered or exited the tunnel, and the vehicle is entering or exiting the tunnel. It should be noted that, unlike the case where there is only a single camera on the vehicle, when multiple cameras are used for obstacle detection at the tunnel entrance, the vehicle-mounted terminal does not need to distinguish whether the vehicle is currently entering or exiting the tunnel.

[0102] When controlling and adjusting the acquisition strategies of multiple cameras, the vehicle-mounted terminal can control and adjust the metering modes of multiple cameras, allowing different cameras to acquire images under different metering modes. For example, ... Figure 3 As shown, the vehicle is equipped with N cameras, namely camera 1, camera 2, ..., camera N, where N is an integer greater than 2. The vehicle terminal can control at least one camera to acquire images using global metering mode, control at least one camera to acquire images using area metering mode, and control at least one camera to acquire images using spot metering mode. For example, Figure 3 Camera 1 uses global metering, camera 2 uses spot metering, and camera N uses area metering. This allows multiple cameras to capture three images of the tunnel entrance under at least three metering modes. Furthermore, the onboard terminal can perform high dynamic range (HDR) processing on these multiple tunnel entrance images obtained under different metering modes to obtain a clearer image of the tunnel entrance.

[0103] In one possible implementation, the vehicle-mounted terminal can also detect the working performance or status of each camera before adjusting the acquisition strategy of multiple cameras. The vehicle-mounted terminal can then adjust the acquisition strategy only for the multiple cameras that are in normal working condition and have superior performance.

[0104] like Figure 4The diagram shown is a schematic representation of a vehicle-mounted terminal for detecting the working performance or status of a camera, according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 4 In the diagram, cameras 1, 2, 3, 4, ..., N are all mounted on the vehicle. Before adjusting the data acquisition and measurement of each camera, the onboard terminal detected that camera 3 was malfunctioning and unable to acquire images normally; camera 4 had poor performance, although it could acquire images, the quality of the acquired images was poor and unhelpful for subsequent obstacle detection. Cameras 1, 2, and N, however, were all performing well and could complete the image acquisition task at the tunnel entrance. At this point, if... Figure 4 As shown, the vehicle terminal may not adjust the acquisition strategies of cameras 3 and 4, or the vehicle terminal may directly control the shutdown of cameras 3 and 4, and only adjust the acquisition strategies of cameras 1, 2 and N, so that camera 1 can use global metering, camera 2 can use spot metering, and camera N can use area metering to acquire images at the tunnel entrance.

[0105] In another possible implementation, the vehicle-mounted terminal can also dynamically adjust the acquisition strategies of each camera.

[0106] exist Figure 4 Based on this, see Figure 5 This diagram illustrates a method for dynamically adjusting the acquisition strategy of each camera according to an embodiment of this application. (Combined with...) Figure 4 and Figure 5 The vehicle is equipped with cameras 1, 2, 3, 4, ..., N. Cameras 3 and 4 are unable to acquire images due to poor performance or malfunction; therefore, the onboard terminal does not need to adjust their acquisition strategies. Initially, the onboard terminal can control camera 1 to use global metering, camera 2 to use spot metering, and camera N to use area metering. When dynamically adjusting the acquisition strategies of each camera, the onboard terminal can control camera 1 to switch from global metering to spot metering, control camera 2 to switch from spot metering to area metering, while camera N can remain in area metering mode.

[0107] In one possible implementation, the vehicle-mounted terminal can dynamically adjust the acquisition strategy of each camera based on the tunnel entrance image obtained from the initial metering strategy. For example, initially, the vehicle-mounted terminal can control camera 1 to use global metering to acquire the tunnel entrance image. The vehicle-mounted terminal can perform preliminary obstacle detection based on the image acquired by camera 1. If the detection result indicates that there may be obstacles in the area captured by camera 1, in order to more clearly identify whether there are obstacles in the area, the vehicle-mounted terminal can control camera 1 to switch from global metering to spot metering, so that camera 1 can use spot metering to acquire more accurate images of the locations where obstacles may exist.

[0108] Combination Figure 3 After adjusting the acquisition strategies of each camera, the vehicle-mounted terminal can control each camera to acquire images of the tunnel entrance, obtaining corresponding tunnel entrance images. The vehicle-mounted terminal can then perform obstacle detection on the tunnel entrance images acquired by each camera, obtaining the obstacle detection results. For example... Figure 3 As shown, after detecting the tunnel entrance image obtained by camera 1 using global metering, the vehicle terminal can obtain obstacle detection result 1; after detecting the tunnel entrance image obtained by camera 2 using spot metering, the vehicle terminal can obtain obstacle detection result 2; after detecting the tunnel entrance image obtained by camera N using area metering, the vehicle terminal can obtain obstacle detection result N.

[0109] In the embodiments of this application, such as Figure 3 As shown, for the tunnel entrance images captured by each camera, the vehicle-mounted terminal can also fuse them through image registration, HDR algorithm execution, etc., to obtain a fused tunnel entrance image. The vehicle-mounted terminal can then detect the fused tunnel entrance image in the same way to obtain, as shown... Figure 3 The obstacle detection result is N+1.

[0110] Then, the vehicle-mounted terminal can determine the final detection result based on multiple detection results, such as obstacle detection result 1, obstacle detection result 2, obstacle detection result 3, and obstacle detection result N+1. If the final detection result indicates that there is an obstacle at the tunnel entrance, the vehicle-mounted terminal can issue a warning to the driver through various means such as voice and beeping, reminding the driver to respond to the existing obstacle in advance to ensure driving safety.

[0111] Based on the above, refer to Figure 6 The diagram shows a flowchart illustrating a method for detecting obstacles at a tunnel entrance according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 6The illustration shows a scenario where a single camera mounted on a vehicle captures images of the tunnel entrance and performs obstacle detection. This method may include the following steps:

[0112] S601, the vehicle terminal determines whether a vehicle is entering or exiting the tunnel.

[0113] During normal driving, the vehicle terminal can obtain tunnel entrance identification information and determine whether the vehicle has entered or exited the tunnel based on the tunnel entrance identification information.

[0114] In this embodiment, the tunnel entrance identification information may include the vehicle's current location information, traffic sign information at the current location, and / or tunnel feature identification information. The location information refers to the vehicle's current location. The vehicle-mounted terminal can combine the location information and a road map to determine whether the vehicle is currently traveling on a section of road about to enter or exit a tunnel. If the vehicle-mounted terminal determines that the vehicle is traveling on a section of road about to enter or exit a tunnel, it can be considered that the vehicle is currently in a tunnel-entry or tunnel-exit state. The traffic sign information refers to traffic instructions on the road. For example, on sections of road about to enter a tunnel, there are usually signs such as "Entering Tunnel Ahead"; near the tunnel entrance, there are usually signs such as "Exiting Tunnel Ahead". During vehicle travel, the vehicle-mounted terminal can control a camera to capture environmental information on the road. By processing the captured images, it can determine whether the images contain objects similar to the aforementioned "Entering Tunnel Ahead" or "Exiting Tunnel Ahead" signs, and thus determine whether the vehicle is entering or exiting the tunnel. Tunnel feature recognition information can refer to directional information presented in the form of graphics or tunnel signs. For example, in sections of road where a vehicle is about to enter a tunnel, directional information depicting the shape of a tunnel can be installed along the roadside. Vehicle-mounted terminals can also recognize this type of information through image processing to determine whether the vehicle has entered or exited the tunnel.

[0115] like Figure 6 As shown, if the vehicle-mounted terminal determines that the vehicle is not currently entering or exiting a tunnel, it does not need to adjust the camera's data acquisition strategy. In this way, the camera can expose and acquire images according to the current actual parameters to detect obstacles on the road. The vehicle-mounted terminal can continuously determine whether the vehicle is entering or exiting a tunnel while it is in motion.

[0116] If it is determined that the vehicle is currently in a state of entering or exiting the tunnel, the on-board terminal can further determine whether the vehicle is entering or exiting the tunnel. If the vehicle is currently entering the tunnel, S602 can be executed; if the vehicle is currently exiting the tunnel, S603 can be executed.

[0117] S602, the vehicle terminal control increases the camera's exposure time.

[0118] In this embodiment of the application, if the vehicle terminal determines that the vehicle is currently in the process of entering or exiting a tunnel, in order to avoid the impact of the tunnel entrance black hole or white hole effect on driving safety, the vehicle terminal can adjust the camera acquisition strategy.

[0119] In one implementation, when a vehicle enters a tunnel, since the vehicle is traveling from a brightly lit road area into a darker tunnel, a black hole effect is likely to occur. Therefore, the vehicle terminal can control the camera to adjust the corresponding exposure strategy, increase the camera's exposure time, and improve the brightness of the tunnel entrance image captured by the camera, thus solving the tunnel black hole problem caused by underexposure.

[0120] S603, vehicle terminal control reduces camera exposure time.

[0121] In another implementation, when a vehicle exits a tunnel, it is prone to a white hole effect because the vehicle is traveling from a dark tunnel to a brighter road area outside the tunnel. Therefore, the vehicle terminal can control the camera to adjust the corresponding exposure strategy, reduce the camera's exposure time, and reduce the brightness of the tunnel entrance image captured by the camera, thus solving the tunnel white hole problem caused by overexposure.

[0122] S604: The vehicle-mounted terminal controls the camera to collect images of the tunnel entrance and performs obstacle detection on the tunnel entrance images.

[0123] When the camera's exposure time is increased or decreased, the camera can acquire images according to the increased or decreased exposure time to obtain an image of the tunnel entrance. Based on this tunnel entrance image, the vehicle-mounted terminal can perform obstacle detection to determine if an obstacle exists at the tunnel entrance. If the vehicle-mounted terminal determines that an obstacle exists at the tunnel entrance based on the image acquired by the camera, it can execute S605 to issue a warning regarding the obstacle.

[0124] S605, the vehicle-mounted terminal provides early warning of obstacles.

[0125] If the detection results indicate that there is an obstacle at the tunnel entrance, the vehicle-mounted terminal can issue a warning to the driver. For example, when the vehicle enters the tunnel, if the vehicle-mounted terminal detects a rock on the road at the tunnel entrance in the manner described above, the vehicle-mounted terminal can announce information such as "There is a rock on the road at the tunnel entrance ahead, please be careful" to remind the driver.

[0126] This application embodiment addresses the scenario of vehicles entering and exiting tunnels. By adjusting the exposure time of a single camera installed on the vehicle, the camera can be controlled to capture images of the tunnel entrance according to the adjusted exposure time. This solves the problem of tunnel black holes caused by underexposure when the vehicle enters the tunnel and tunnel white holes caused by overexposure when the vehicle exits the tunnel, ensuring driving safety when entering and exiting tunnels. This application embodiment only requires installing a single camera on the vehicle to achieve obstacle detection at the tunnel entrance, greatly reducing deployment costs.

[0127] Reference Figure 7 The diagram shows a flowchart of another method for detecting obstacles at a tunnel entrance provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 7 The illustration shows a scenario where multiple cameras mounted on a vehicle are used to capture images of the tunnel entrance and detect obstacles. This method may include the following steps:

[0128] S701, the vehicle-mounted terminal determines whether a vehicle is entering or exiting a tunnel.

[0129] During normal driving, the vehicle terminal can obtain tunnel entrance identification information and determine whether the vehicle has entered or exited the tunnel based on the tunnel entrance identification information.

[0130] because Figure 7 The process of determining whether a vehicle has entered or exited the tunnel based on the tunnel entrance identification information is as follows: Figure 6 The judgment process described in the previous article is similar and can be consulted accordingly, so it will not be repeated here.

[0131] In one possible implementation of this application, if the vehicle is driving normally and the on-board terminal determines that the vehicle is not entering or exiting a tunnel by acquiring corresponding identification information, the on-board terminal can control multiple cameras to acquire images according to a default acquisition strategy, obtaining multiple road images. For each of the multiple road images, the on-board terminal can perform obstacle detection, obtaining multiple obstacle detection results, and determine the final detection result on the current road based on these results. For the final detection result obtained when the vehicle is not entering or exiting a tunnel, if the final detection result indicates the presence of an obstacle on the road, the on-board terminal can issue a warning for that obstacle, reminding the driver to be aware of obstacles on the road and ensuring driving safety.

[0132] If it is determined that the vehicle is currently in the process of entering or exiting a tunnel, the on-board terminal can execute S702.

[0133] S702, the vehicle terminal controls multiple cameras to acquire images, resulting in multiple images of the tunnel entrance; however, the acquisition strategies used by each camera are not exactly the same.

[0134] When it is determined that the vehicle is in the process of entering or exiting a tunnel, the on-board terminal can control multiple cameras on the vehicle to collect images and obtain multiple images of the tunnel entrance.

[0135] It should be noted that when multiple cameras are installed on a vehicle, the image acquisition strategies used by each camera when capturing images of the vehicle entering and exiting a tunnel may not be exactly the same. These acquisition strategies may include metering strategies, i.e., which metering mode the camera uses for image acquisition. For example, the metering strategies that multiple cameras may employ may include global metering, area metering, and / or spot metering.

[0136] Global metering prioritizes overall exposure, aiming to achieve optimal results for most objects in the scene. It's primarily used when the subject lacks strong contrast. By sampling multiple points and performing overall calculations, it determines the most suitable exposure for the entire image. This metering mode provides balanced exposure across the entire scene and is suitable for situations with relatively low light intensity.

[0137] Area metering measures light on a specific area of ​​the image. It is suitable for shooting when the subject is located in a localized area, occupies a small proportion of the frame, and has a strong contrast between light and dark with the background.

[0138] Spot metering measures light precisely and independently only a small dot-shaped area in the image, ignoring the rest of the image.

[0139] In one example, if a vehicle is equipped with multiple cameras, each camera can use a different metering mode when the vehicle enters or exits a tunnel. Combined with... Figure 3 As shown, the cameras installed on the vehicle include Camera 1, Camera 2, ..., Camera N, etc., each using a different metering mode. Camera 1 can use global metering, Camera 2 can use spot metering, ..., Camera N can use area metering. In this way, at least one camera employs each metering strategy, and each camera acquires images according to its corresponding metering mode, resulting in multiple images of the tunnel entrance. For example, when using... Figure 3 When the N cameras shown are collecting images, if all N cameras are in normal working condition, at least N images of the tunnel entrance can be obtained.

[0140] In one possible implementation of this application embodiment, the camera's acquisition strategy may further include an exposure strategy, which reflects the duration of exposure time applied by the camera when acquiring images. For example, the exposure strategy may include increasing or decreasing the exposure time. The increase or decrease in exposure time may be relative to the currently fixed exposure time of each camera.

[0141] In one implementation, the vehicle-mounted terminal can determine the light intensity value collected by each camera under the corresponding metering strategy, and then adjust the exposure strategy of each camera based on the light intensity value. For example, as shown... Figure 3 As shown, camera 1 uses global metering. The vehicle terminal can adjust the exposure time of camera 1 by determining the overall light intensity value of the scene captured by camera 1 using global metering. For example, if the overall light intensity value of the scene captured by camera 1 using global metering is large, such as exceeding a certain threshold, the vehicle terminal can reduce the exposure time of camera 1, so that camera 1 can subsequently capture a relatively dark image, preventing overexposure. If the overall light intensity value of the scene captured by camera 1 using global metering is small, such as below a certain threshold, the vehicle terminal can increase the exposure time of camera 1, so that camera 1 can subsequently capture a relatively bright image, preventing underexposure. For camera 2 using spot metering and camera N using area metering, the vehicle terminal can also adjust their exposure time in the same way, which will not be elaborated further here.

[0142] The S703 vehicle-mounted terminal performs obstacle detection on each tunnel entrance image and obtains multiple obstacle detection results.

[0143] After controlling multiple cameras to acquire images of the tunnel entrance using slightly different acquisition strategies, the vehicle-mounted terminal can perform obstacle detection on each tunnel entrance image, obtaining multiple obstacle detection results corresponding to each tunnel entrance image. For example, after controlling N cameras to acquire images of the tunnel entrance, the vehicle-mounted terminal can obtain at least N tunnel entrance images. Thus, by performing obstacle detection on each of the N tunnel entrance images, the vehicle-mounted terminal can obtain at least N obstacle detection results, i.e., Figure 3 The obstacle detection results shown are 1, 2, ..., N.

[0144] In one possible implementation of this application embodiment, the vehicle terminal can also fuse multiple tunnel entrance images to obtain a fused tunnel entrance image.

[0145] Combination Figure 3As shown, after the vehicle-mounted terminal controls N cameras on the vehicle to acquire images using slightly different acquisition strategies, at least N tunnel entrance images can be obtained. For these at least N tunnel entrance images, the vehicle-mounted terminal can perform image registration and HDR processing on the registered multiple tunnel entrance images to obtain a fused tunnel entrance image. This fused tunnel entrance image is the (N+1)th tunnel entrance image, distinct from the aforementioned N tunnel entrance images. For this fused tunnel entrance image, the vehicle-mounted terminal can perform obstacle detection using the same obstacle detection algorithm to obtain the obstacle detection results corresponding to the fused tunnel entrance image. Figure 3 The obstacle detection result shown is N+1.

[0146] S704: The vehicle-mounted terminal determines the final detection result based on the detection results of multiple obstacles.

[0147] Based on obtaining multiple obstacle detection results, the vehicle-mounted terminal can determine the final detection result.

[0148] In one example, the vehicle-mounted terminal can obtain the final detection result based on the detection results corresponding to at least N tunnel entrance images. For example, the vehicle-mounted terminal can... Figure 3 The obstacle detection result shown is N, including obstacle detection result 1, obstacle detection result 2, ..., obstacle detection result N, to determine the final detection result.

[0149] In another example, the vehicle-mounted terminal can obtain a fused tunnel entrance image by registering and performing HDR processing on at least N tunnel entrance images, and then perform obstacle detection on the fused tunnel entrance image, using the detection result based on the fused tunnel entrance image as the final detection result. For example, the vehicle-mounted terminal can... Figure 3 The obstacle detection result N+1 shown is determined as the final detection result.

[0150] In another example, the vehicle-mounted terminal can fuse multiple obstacle detection results corresponding one-to-one with the aforementioned at least N tunnel entrance images and the obstacle detection results corresponding to the fused tunnel entrance image to obtain the final detection result. For example, the vehicle-mounted terminal can... Figure 3 The obstacle detection result shown is N+1, including obstacle detection result 1, obstacle detection result 2, ..., obstacle detection result N, obstacle detection result N+1, etc., to determine the final detection result.

[0151] S705, the vehicle-mounted terminal provides early warning of obstacles.

[0152] In this embodiment of the application, if the final detection result shows that there is an obstacle at the tunnel entrance, the vehicle terminal can issue a warning about the obstacle, reminding the driver to be more vigilant and pay attention to the obstacle at the tunnel entrance to ensure driving safety.

[0153] This application embodiment addresses the scenario of vehicles entering and exiting tunnels. By adjusting the acquisition strategies of multiple cameras installed on the vehicle, it can control multiple cameras to acquire images of the tunnel entrance according to slightly different acquisition strategies, obtaining multiple tunnel entrance images with different metering and exposure strategies. By performing obstacle detection on multiple tunnel entrance images, the on-board terminal can determine the final detection result based on the multiple detection results. This application embodiment, by determining the final detection result based on multiple obstacle detection results, can improve the accuracy of the detection results and ensure the driving safety of vehicles entering and exiting tunnels. This application embodiment only requires installing multiple cameras on the vehicle to achieve obstacle detection at the tunnel entrance, which further improves the accuracy and reliability of the detection compared to using a single camera for obstacle detection.

[0154] This application embodiment can divide the device for detecting obstacles at tunnel entrances into functional modules based on the above method example. For example, each function can be divided into a separate functional module, or one or more functions can be integrated into a single functional module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. It should be noted that the module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division; other division methods may be used in actual implementation. The following description uses the example of dividing each function into a separate functional module.

[0155] Corresponding to the above embodiments, refer to Figure 8 This diagram illustrates a structural block diagram of a device for detecting obstacles at tunnel entrances according to an embodiment of this application. This device can be applied to the vehicle-mounted terminal in the aforementioned embodiments. Specifically, the device may include the following modules: an image acquisition module 801, an obstacle detection module 802, and a detection result determination module 803, wherein:

[0156] The image acquisition module 801 is used to control multiple cameras on the vehicle to acquire images and obtain multiple images of the tunnel entrance; wherein, each of the cameras uses a different acquisition strategy when acquiring images.

[0157] The obstacle detection module 802 is used to perform obstacle detection on each of the tunnel entrance images and obtain multiple obstacle detection results corresponding to each of the tunnel entrance images.

[0158] The detection result determination module 803 is used to determine the final detection result based on the multiple obstacle detection results.

[0159] In this embodiment of the application, the acquisition strategy may include a metering strategy, which may include global metering, regional metering, and / or spot metering.

[0160] In one possible implementation, the acquisition strategy may further include an exposure strategy, and the image acquisition module 801 may also be used to: determine the light intensity value acquired by each of the cameras under the corresponding metering strategy; and adjust the exposure strategy of each of the cameras according to the light intensity value, wherein the exposure strategy may include increasing the exposure time or decreasing the exposure time.

[0161] In one possible implementation, the obstacle detection module 802 can also be used to: fuse multiple tunnel entrance images to obtain a fused tunnel entrance image; and perform obstacle detection on the fused tunnel entrance image to obtain an obstacle detection result corresponding to the fused tunnel entrance image.

[0162] In one possible implementation, the obstacle detection module 802 can also be used to: register multiple tunnel entrance images; and perform high dynamic range imaging processing on the registered multiple tunnel entrance images to obtain the fused tunnel entrance image.

[0163] In this embodiment of the application, the detection result determination module 803 can be specifically used to: determine the final detection result based on multiple obstacle detection results corresponding one-to-one with each of the tunnel entrance images and obstacle detection results corresponding to the fused image of the tunnel entrance.

[0164] In this embodiment of the application, the device may further include a tunnel entrance recognition module, which may be used to: acquire tunnel entrance recognition information, including the vehicle's current location information, traffic sign information at the current location, and / or tunnel feature recognition information; determine whether the vehicle has entered or exited the tunnel based on the tunnel entrance recognition information; if the vehicle has entered or exited the tunnel, call the image acquisition module 801 to control multiple cameras on the vehicle to acquire images respectively, thereby obtaining multiple tunnel entrance images.

[0165] In one possible implementation, the device may further include an early warning module, which is specifically used to: issue an early warning for the obstacle if the final detection result shows that there is an obstacle at the tunnel entrance.

[0166] Reference Figure 9 This diagram illustrates a structural block diagram of another device for detecting obstacles at tunnel entrances, provided in an embodiment of this application. This device can be applied to the vehicle-mounted terminal in the aforementioned embodiments. Specifically, the device may include the following modules: a location sensing module 901, a camera control module 902, and a vehicle warning module 903, wherein:

[0167] The location sensing module 901 can be used to sense whether a vehicle is entering or exiting the tunnel. The sensing results of the location sensing module can include whether the vehicle has entered or exited the tunnel.

[0168] The camera control module 902 can control and adjust the acquisition strategy of at least one camera installed on the vehicle based on the perception results of the position perception module 901, and acquire images according to the adjusted acquisition strategy. This acquisition strategy refers to the strategies or parameters used by the camera to acquire images in order to obtain clearer, higher-quality images of the tunnel entrance. For example, the camera's acquisition strategy may include its exposure strategy and metering strategy. After controlling the camera to adjust the acquisition strategy and completing the acquisition of the tunnel entrance image, the camera control module 902 can transmit the acquired tunnel entrance image to the vehicle warning module 903 for obstacle detection.

[0169] The vehicle warning module 903 can detect obstacles based on one or more images of the tunnel entrance captured by the camera control module 902 and output the detection results. If the detection results indicate the presence of obstacles at the tunnel entrance, the vehicle warning module 903 can issue warnings to the driver through various means such as voice and beeping, reminding the driver to respond to the obstacles in advance and ensuring driving safety.

[0170] It should be noted that all relevant content of each step involved in the aforementioned method embodiments can be referenced from the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0171] Finally, it should be noted that the above description is only a specific implementation of this application, but the protection scope of this application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be covered within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A method for detecting obstacles at a tunnel entrance, characterized in that, Applied to vehicle-mounted terminals, the method includes: The vehicle-mounted terminal controls multiple cameras on the vehicle to capture images and obtain multiple images of the tunnel entrance. Each camera uses a different acquisition strategy when capturing images. The acquisition strategy includes a metering strategy, and the acquisition strategy of each camera is dynamically adjusted based on the tunnel entrance image obtained by the initial metering strategy. The vehicle-mounted terminal performs obstacle detection on each of the tunnel entrance images, and obtains multiple obstacle detection results corresponding to each of the tunnel entrance images. The vehicle-mounted terminal determines the final detection result based on multiple obstacle detection results.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The metering strategies include global metering, area metering, and / or spot metering.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The acquisition strategy also includes an exposure strategy. Before the vehicle-mounted terminal controls the multiple cameras on the vehicle to acquire images respectively, the method further includes: The vehicle-mounted terminal determines the light intensity value collected by each of the cameras under the corresponding photometric strategy; The vehicle-mounted terminal adjusts the exposure strategy of each camera according to the light intensity value, and the exposure strategy includes increasing the exposure time or decreasing the exposure time.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, Before the vehicle-mounted terminal determines the final detection result based on multiple obstacle detection results, the method further includes: The vehicle-mounted terminal fuses multiple images of the tunnel entrance to obtain a fused tunnel entrance image; The vehicle-mounted terminal performs obstacle detection on the fused image of the tunnel entrance and obtains the obstacle detection result corresponding to the fused image of the tunnel entrance.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The vehicle-mounted terminal fuses multiple images of the tunnel entrance to obtain a fused tunnel entrance image, including: The vehicle-mounted terminal registers multiple images of the tunnel entrance; The vehicle-mounted terminal performs high dynamic range imaging processing on the registered multiple tunnel entrance images to obtain the fused tunnel entrance image.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The vehicle-mounted terminal determines the final detection result based on multiple obstacle detection results, including: The vehicle-mounted terminal determines the final detection result based on multiple obstacle detection results corresponding to each of the tunnel entrance images and the obstacle detection results corresponding to the fused image of the tunnel entrance.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-3 or 5-6, characterized in that, The method further includes: The vehicle-mounted terminal acquires tunnel entrance identification information, which includes the vehicle's current location information, traffic sign information at the current location, and / or tunnel feature identification information. The vehicle-mounted terminal determines whether the vehicle has entered or exited the tunnel based on the tunnel entrance identification information. If the vehicle enters or exits the tunnel, the on-board terminal executes the step of controlling multiple cameras on the vehicle to capture images and obtain multiple images of the tunnel entrance.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-3 or 5-6, characterized in that, After the vehicle-mounted terminal determines the final detection result based on multiple obstacle detection results, the method further includes: If the final detection result shows that there is an obstacle at the tunnel entrance, the vehicle terminal will issue a warning about the obstacle.

9. A vehicle-mounted terminal, comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, characterized in that, When the processor executes the computer program, it implements the method for detecting obstacles at the tunnel entrance as described in any one of claims 1-8.

10. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions that, when executed on a terminal device, cause the terminal device to implement the method for detecting obstacles at a tunnel entrance as described in any one of claims 1-8.

Images