Vehicle object detection system and method for detecting objects in a detection area located behind a vehicle - Patents.com

Abstract

To appropriately give an alarm for warning that a vehicle is approaching from behind an own vehicle.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a vehicle object detection system for detecting a target object 60 in a detection area OL located behind an own vehicle 50. The vehicle object detection system generates a determination on whether a target object which has been detected to enter the detection area is an alert object, and warns a driver of the own vehicle that the target object is present in the detection area behind the own vehicle, on the basis of the determination. Determination means delays generation of the determination until a specified period of time elapses from a point in time when the target object has entered the detection area from an adjacent area AL located on a lateral side of the detection area, and / or generates the determination on the basis of a change in distance between the target object and the own vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Technical Field The present invention relates to a vehicle object detection system for detecting an object such as a vehicle (hereinafter also referred to as a "target vehicle") in a detection area located behind an ego vehicle. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a computer-implemented method for detecting an object in a detection area located behind an ego vehicle, in particular for controlling the vehicle object detection system.

[0002] Furthermore, the invention relates to a driver assistance system for a vehicle comprising such a vehicle object detection system, and to a corresponding computer program for carrying out said method, and to respective non-transitory computer readable media. [Background technology]

[0003] background Conventional driver assistance systems or advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) for vehicles, for example, which are widely used in connection with conventional and autonomous vehicles, may comprise such vehicle object detection systems.

[0004] Many vehicle accidents are caused by human error, which could have been avoided by such advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Commonly known safety-critical ADAS applications include, for example, pedestrian detection / avoidance, lane departure warning / correction, traffic sign recognition, automatic emergency braking and blind spot detection. Long-range radars are typically used for applications such as emergency braking assistance and adaptive cruise control, while short-range radars are often used in conjunction with applications such as blind spot detection (BSD), rear cross traffic alert, lane change assist and rear pre-crash systems.

[0005] For example, such a rear pre-crash system tracks vehicles approaching from behind the vehicle, for example from an adjacent lane adjacent to the vehicle's lane, and in the event of an imminent collision, activates safety devices such as indicators (optical or acoustic indicators), airbags, seat belts, etc. in advance. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In case of a possible collision or a potentially dangerous situation, a rear approaching traffic notification may also be output by such an indicator to the driver of the host vehicle. However, even if a target vehicle enters the (own / own) lane of the host vehicle, it is not necessarily necessary to output or activate an alarm to warn the driver of the host vehicle of an approaching vehicle from behind the host vehicle for his / her attention. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] Summary of the Invention The vehicle object detection system according to the present invention is for detecting objects such as other vehicles in a detection area located rear of the host vehicle, and the vehicle object detection system comprises a determination means configured to generate a determination as to whether an object detected entering the detection area is a subject to an alarm and to output the determination to a warning means, the warning means being configured to warn a driver of the host vehicle of the presence of an object in the detection area rear of the host vehicle based on a determination indicating that the object is a subject to an alarm, and the determination means being configured to delay generating the determination until a specified period has elapsed from the time the object enters the detection area from an adjacent area located to the side of the detection area, and / or to generate the determination based on the change in distance between the object and the host vehicle during and / or after the specified period.

[0008] Preferably, said distance means the distance in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle (x-direction in the conventional vehicle coordinate system) or in the longitudinal direction of the detection area, which is the (own) lane of the ego vehicle. As a result, the lateral neighboring areas of the detection area are located in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the ego lane or in the lateral direction of the vehicle (y-direction in the conventional vehicle coordinate system).

[0009] Therefore, the present invention achieves that when an object such as another vehicle enters the detection area (own lane) behind the own vehicle from an adjacent area which is an adjacent lane while the object is moving away from the own vehicle, i.e., when the distance between the object and the own vehicle increases during and / or after the specified period, an alarm or warning can be suppressed until a specified time has elapsed.

[0010] For example, the determination that an object (target vehicle) is moving away from the host vehicle can be made based on the relative longitudinal speed of the object and whether this relative speed is equal to or less than 0 km / h.

[0011] This determination may be based not only on the absolute value of the relative lateral velocity of the object (target vehicle) in the lateral direction, but also on whether the absolute value of the relative lateral velocity in the lateral direction is equal to or less than a specified lateral velocity, where the lateral direction corresponds to the lateral direction of the host vehicle.

[0012] However, even if an alarm or warning can be suppressed in the above situation where the above conditions (increased distance and consideration of speed) are met, an alarm or warning may still be output in a different situation until the specified time has elapsed.

[0013] Preferably, and briefly, if any of the following conditions are met, the determination means generates a determination indicating that the object is not a warning object and prevents the warning means from providing an alarm: the object is determined to be moving away if, until a specified time has elapsed when the object enters the area behind the vehicle from an adjacent lane, and during and / or after said specified time has elapsed, while the object vehicle is moving away from the host vehicle, the relative vehicle speed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle (i.e. in the direction of travel) is less than or equal to 0 km / h, and optionally, the absolute value of the relative lateral speed in the lateral direction (of the vehicle or lane) is less than or equal to a specified lateral speed.

[0014] Thus, one of the advantages achieved by the present invention is to avoid unnecessary alarms / triggering.

[0015] The vehicle object detection system may be further configured such that the determining means is configured to generate a determination indicating that the object is not a target for an alert based on an increase in distance between the object and the host vehicle during and / or after said designated period of time. As discussed above, if the target vehicle moves away during or after said designated period of time, it may be considered not to be a target for an alert.

[0016] Furthermore, the vehicle object detection system according to the present invention can be further modified such that the determining means is configured to generate a determination indicating that the object is a warning target based on a constant or decreasing distance between the object and the host vehicle during said specified period of time, and therefore, in the other case, the target vehicle is considered to be a warning target for safety reasons.

[0017] Furthermore, the vehicle object detection system according to the present invention may be further configured such that the determining means is configured to calculate a change in distance between the object and the host vehicle based on the detected relative speed of the object with respect to the host vehicle. For example, if a component of the detected relative speed in the longitudinal direction of the host vehicle is equal to or less than 0, it is determined that the distance between the object and the host vehicle is increasing.

[0018] Furthermore, the vehicle object detection system according to the present invention can be further realised such that the determination means is configured to calculate the absolute value of the lateral component of the detected relative velocity during and / or after a specified period of time, and is configured to generate a determination indicating that the object is a target for an alarm based on the absolute value of the lateral component of the detected relative velocity being less than or equal to a specified relative lateral velocity and the distance between the object and the host vehicle increasing.

[0019] Furthermore, the vehicle object detection system according to the present invention can be further implemented such that the determining means is configured to output a determination to the warning means indicating to suppress the warning even if an object is detected based on a determination indicating that the object is not a warning target, i.e., there is no warning target, so that even if a target vehicle is detected, the warning / activation of the alarm is suppressed if the target vehicle is deemed not to be a warning target.

[0020] In addition, the vehicle object detection system of the present invention can be further modified so that the detection area of ​​the host vehicle corresponds to the host vehicle's own lane and the area behind it, and / or the adjacent areas located to the sides of the detection area correspond to adjacent lanes adjacent to the host vehicle's own lane.

[0021] The driver assistance system according to the present invention is for a host vehicle and comprises a detection means configured to detect an object in a detection area located behind the host vehicle, a vehicle object detection system according to the present invention as described above, and a warning means configured to warn the driver of the host vehicle that an object is present in the detection area only based on a determination by a determination means of the vehicle object detection system indicating that the object is a target for an alarm.

[0022] Furthermore, the driver assistance system according to the present invention may be further configured such that the detection means comprises a radar sensor and / or a camera sensor, used individually or in combination, configured to detect objects in the detection area.

[0023] In addition, the driver assistance system according to the present invention can be further modified so that the warning means outputs a warning to the driver of the vehicle that an object is present in the detection area based on a determination indicating that the object is a target for a warning, and is configured to suppress the output of a warning even if an object is detected in the detection area by the detection means based on a determination indicating that the object is not a target for a warning.

[0024] A vehicle according to the invention, preferably an autonomous vehicle, is equipped with a driver assistance system according to the invention as described above.

[0025] The computer-implemented method according to the invention is intended in particular for controlling a vehicle object detection system according to the invention as described above, for detecting objects in a detection area located behind an ego-vehicle, comprising the following steps: generating a determination as to whether an object detected entering the detection area is an object of an alarm; a step of outputting a determination to a warning means for warning a driver of the host vehicle that an object is present in a detection area behind the host vehicle based on the determination that the object is a warning object; Including, In the step of generating a judgment, generation of the judgment is delayed until a specified period of time has elapsed from the time the object enters the detection area from an adjacent area located to the side of the detection area, and / or the judgment is generated based on a change in distance between the object and the vehicle during and / or after the specified period of time.

[0026] Therefore, the characteristics and advantages described in relation to the vehicle object detection system according to the present invention arise in the same or similar manner in relation to the method for detecting objects in a detection area located behind the host vehicle according to the present invention, which is why, to avoid repetition, reference is made to the respective description of the vehicle object detection system according to the present invention.

[0027] A computer program according to the invention comprises instructions which cause a computer to carry out a computer-implemented method according to the invention when the program is executed by a computer.

[0028] A non-transitory computer readable medium according to the invention stores a computer program according to the invention.

[0029] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Preferred embodiments and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0030] [Figure 1] 1 shows an embodiment of a vehicle according to the invention equipped with a driver assistance system according to the invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is a flow chart of a decision process executed by the driver assistance system according to the invention of FIG. 1; [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing in more detail the schematic configuration of the driver assistance system according to the present invention shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0031] Detailed Description In this regard, the vehicle object detection system described herein may include a memory for use in processes performed in the vehicle object detection system, for example. The memory used in the embodiments may be a volatile memory, such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), or a non-volatile memory, such as a PROM (Programmable Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable PROM), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable PROM), or a flash memory, such as a floating gate memory, a charge trap memory, an MRAM (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory), or a PCRAM (Phase Change Random Access Memory).

[0032] In this regard, the vehicle object detection system described herein may include a processor or a "circuit". A "circuit" may be understood as any kind of logic implementation entity, which may be a dedicated circuit or a processor executing software stored in a memory, firmware, or any combination thereof. Thus, in one embodiment, a "circuit" may be a hardwired logic circuit, or a programmable logic circuit, such as a programmable processor, for example, a microprocessor (e.g., a complex instruction set computer (CISC) processor or a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processor). A "circuit" may also be a processor executing software, for example, any kind of computer program, for example, a computer program using a virtual machine code such as Java. Any other kind of implementation of the respective functions described in more detail below may also be understood as a "circuit" according to alternative embodiments.

[0033] One preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be specifically described for illustrative purposes with reference to the drawings, in which components or elements are shown and described by way of example only, and it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the present invention thereto.

[0034] 1a) and 1b) show an embodiment of a vehicle 50 according to the invention (hereinafter referred to as "host vehicle") equipped with a driver assistance system 1 according to the invention, which will be explained in more detail in connection with FIG. 3.

[0035] FIG. 3 shows in more detail the schematic configuration of the driver assistance system 1 according to the present invention shown in FIG. As can be seen from FIG. 3, the driver assistance system 1 provided in the host vehicle 50 comprises the vehicle object detection system 10 according to the present invention, a detection means 40 and a warning means 30.

[0036] The detection means 40 are configured to detect an object 60, such as another vehicle (also called a "target vehicle"), in a detection area OL located behind the host vehicle 50, as will be described below.

[0037] In this embodiment, the detection means 40 comprise a radar sensor and a camera sensor, used separately or in combination, arranged to detect objects in a detection area OL. These sensors may for example be part of a conventional (rear) cross traffic warning system and are able to detect at least the relative position of an object 60 with respect to the ego-vehicle 50 in the x-direction and the relative speed of the object 60 with respect to the ego-vehicle, respectively, as shown in Fig. 1. In this case, the x-direction shown in Fig. 1 corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and the y-direction shown in Fig. 1 corresponds to the lateral direction of the vehicle.

[0038] The warning means 30 is configured to warn the driver of the host vehicle 50 of the presence of the object 60 in the detection area OL. For example, the warning means may be a conventional visual or audio indicator (display or speaker) capable of notifying the driver of the host vehicle 50 of the presence of the object 60 in the detection area OL.

[0039] The vehicle object detection system 10 according to the present invention can be formed by a computer or processor and is particularly intended to detect an object 60 such as another vehicle in a detection area OL located behind the host vehicle 50, and as can be seen in more detail in FIG. 1, the detection area OL of the host vehicle 50 corresponds to the area of ​​the host vehicle's lane behind the host vehicle 50, and the adjacent area AL located to the side / adjacent to the detection area OL corresponds to an adjacent lane adjacent to the host vehicle's 50's host lane.

[0040] The vehicle object detection system 10 comprises a determining means 20 configured to determine or generate a determination as to whether an object 60 detected entering a detection area OL is a warning subject or not, i.e. there is no warning subject, and to output the determination to the warning means 30. For example, the determining means 20 may be formed by a processor, in this case a determining processor.

[0041] There are certain conditions that must be met, which require the decision means 20 to generate a decision indicating that the object 60 present within the detection area OL is not an alarm target, ie there is no alarm target.

[0042] In particular, first, the judgment means 20 is configured to delay making a judgment as to whether the object 60 is a target for an alarm until a specified period of time has elapsed from the time the object 60 enters the detection area OL from the adjacent area AL (first condition).

[0043] Furthermore, the determining means 20 is preferably configured to generate a determination indicating that the object 60 entering the detection area OL from the adjacent area AL is not an object of an alarm only if the distance between the object 60 and the host vehicle 50 has increased (second condition) after said specified period of time, in this embodiment as shown in Fig. 1 the distance between the object 60 and the host vehicle 50 being measured in the X direction, i.e. in the longitudinal direction of the host vehicle 50. However, it is also possible for the determining means 20 to generate a determination during and / or after said specified period of time.

[0044] More specifically, the determination means 20 is configured to calculate a change in distance between the object 60 and the host vehicle 50, i.e., an increase or decrease in distance, based on the component of the detected relative velocity of the object 60 in the longitudinal direction of the host vehicle 50 relative to the host vehicle 50 detected by the detection means 40, and is further configured to determine that the distance between the object 60 and the host vehicle 50 has increased when the relative velocity is less than or equal to 0, a relative velocity less than 0 corresponding to a case where the absolute velocity of the object 60 is lower than the absolute velocity of the host vehicle 50 in the longitudinal direction of the host vehicle 50.

[0045] Furthermore, the determining means 20 is also configured to calculate a lateral component of the detected relative velocity of the object 60 in the lateral direction of the host vehicle 50, and determine whether the absolute value of the lateral component of the detected relative velocity is less than or equal to a specified relative lateral velocity (third condition). More specifically, the determining means 20 is configured to calculate an absolute value of the lateral component of the relative velocity based on the relative lateral movement of the object with respect to the host vehicle (50) after a specified period of time detected by the detecting means 40, and compare the absolute value of the calculated relative lateral velocity with the specified relative lateral velocity. If the calculated absolute value is less than the specified relative lateral velocity, the third condition is satisfied.

[0046] When all of these conditions (first to third conditions) are satisfied, the judgment means 20 generates a judgment indicating that the object 60 present in the detection area OL is not a warning target. On the other hand, when any of these conditions is not satisfied, the object 60 is judged to be a warning target, that is, a judgment is generated indicating that the object 60 is a warning target.

[0047] Thus, essentially, the determination means 20 is configured to generate a determination indicating that the object 60 is not a warning target if the absolute value of the lateral component of the relative velocity is less than or equal to a specified relative lateral velocity and the distance between the object 60 and the host vehicle 50 increases after a specified time period. In other cases, i.e. if one of these conditions is not met, the determination means 20 generates a determination indicating that the object 60 is a warning target.

[0048] For example, the determination means 20 generates a determination indicating that the object 60 is a subject of an alarm if the object 60 enters the detection area OL from the adjacent area AL and the distance between the object 60 and the vehicle 50 remains constant or decreases after the specified period of time.

[0049] Therefore, the warning means 30 warns the driver of the vehicle 50 that the object 60 is present in the detection area OL only when the determination means generates a determination indicating that the object 60 is a warning target. In other cases, no warning is output. That is, the warning means 30 is configured to output a warning that the object 60 is present in the detection area OL to the driver of the vehicle 50 when the determination means 20 generates a determination indicating that the object 60 is a warning target, and to suppress output of a warning even if the object 60 is detected in the detection area OL by the detection means 40 when the determination means 20 generates a determination indicating that the object 60 is not a warning target after the specified period.

[0050] Fig. 2 shows a flow chart of a determination process executed by the driver assistance system 1 according to the invention of Fig. 1. More specifically, the determination process as shown in Fig. 2 is executed by a determination means 20.

[0051] As can be seen in FIG. 2, in step 10, a data structure in the form of a flag "flagA" (an alarm flag for triggering an alarm / or warning process of the warning means 30) is set to either "true" or "false" depending on the decision of the decision means 20. More specifically, "flagA" is set to TRUE if all the above predefined conditions are met. If one of the above conditions is not met, "flagA" is set to FALSE. Then the procedure proceeds to step S20 to check whether "flagA" is set to TRUE. If it is set to TRUE, the procedure proceeds to step S30, otherwise step S30 is skipped and the procedure ends.

[0052] In step S30, a request to suppress the warning / alarm is sent to the warning means 30, thereby indicating that the object 60 is not to be warned, whereby a warning / alarm is not output by the warning means 30. In other words, if the determination means 20 generates a determination indicating that the object is not to be warned after said specified period of time, the determination means 20 outputs a determination to the warning means 30 indicating to the warning means 30 to suppress the warning even if the object is detected.

[0053] Next, an example of the operation of the driver assistance system 1 including the vehicle object detection system 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0054] As can be seen in FIG. 1a), the ego-vehicle 50 is moving forward and an object 60, ie another vehicle, enters the detection area OL.

[0055] As a result, the detection means 40 detects the time point when the object enters the detection area OL, the lateral component of the relative speed of the object 60, and the distance between the host vehicle 50 and the object 60 during the specified period.

[0056] The determination means 20 then delays generating a determination as to whether the object 60 is a subject to an alarm until a specified period of time has elapsed from the time the object 60 enters the detection area OL from the adjacent area AL, and in this case generates a determination indicating that the object 60 is not a subject to an alarm after the specified period of time as the distance between the object 60 and the vehicle 50 increases from Figure 1a) to Figure 1b) while the lateral component of the object's relative velocity was below the specified lateral velocity.

[0057] Therefore, in the next step, even if the object 60 is present in the detection area OL behind the vehicle 50, a determination indicating that the object is not a target for warning is output to the warning means 30 so that the warning means 30 does not output a warning to the driver of the vehicle 50.

[0058] The features of the invention disclosed in the foregoing description, in the drawings and in the claims may be essential both individually and in any combination for realizing the invention.

Claims

1. A vehicle object detection system (10) for detecting an object (60) in a detection area (OL) located behind a host vehicle (50), the vehicle object detection system (10) comprising: a determination means (20) configured to generate a determination as to whether an object (60) detected entering the detection area (OL) is a target for an alarm and to output the determination to a warning means (30), the warning means (30) configured to warn a driver of the host vehicle (50) of the presence of an object (60) in the detection area (OL) behind the host vehicle (50) based on a determination indicating that the object (60) is a target for an alarm; The determination means (20) is configured to delay generating the determination until a specified period has elapsed from the time the object (60) enters the detection area (OL) from an adjacent area (AL) located to the side of the detection area (OL), and / or to generate the determination based on a change in distance between the object (60) and the vehicle (50) during the specified period.

2. The vehicle object detection system (10) of claim 1, wherein the determination means (20) is configured to generate a determination indicating that the object is not an alarm target based on an increase in distance between the object (60) and the vehicle (50) during the specified period.

3. The vehicle object detection system (10) of claim 1, wherein the determination means (20) is configured to generate a determination indicating that the object (60) is an alarm target based on a constant distance or a decrease in the distance between the object (60) and the vehicle (50) during the specified period.

4. 2. The vehicle object detection system (10) of claim 1, wherein the determination means (20) is configured to calculate a change in distance between the object (60) and the host vehicle (50) based on a detected relative velocity of the object (60) with respect to the host vehicle (50).

5. 5. The vehicle object detection system (10) of claim 4, wherein the determination means (20) is configured to calculate an absolute value of a lateral component of the detected relative velocity during the specified period, and to generate the determination as to whether the object (60) is an alarm target based on the absolute value of the lateral component of the detected relative velocity being less than or equal to a specified relative lateral velocity and an increasing distance between the object (60) and the host vehicle (50).

6. 2. The vehicle object detection system (10) of claim 1, wherein the determination means (20) is configured to output the determination to the warning means (30) indicating to the warning means (30) to suppress a warning even if an object is detected, based on the determination indicating that the object is not a warning target.

7. 2. The vehicle object detection system (10) of claim 1, wherein the detection area (OL) of the host vehicle (50) corresponds to the host vehicle's (50) own lane and the area behind the host vehicle, and / or the adjacent area (AL) located to the side of the detection area (OL) corresponds to an adjacent lane adjacent to the host vehicle's (50) own lane.

8. A driver assistance system (1) for a host vehicle (50), comprising: A detection means (40) configured to detect an object (60) in a detection area (OL) located behind said vehicle (50); A vehicle object detection system (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, a warning means (30) configured to warn a driver of the vehicle (50) of the presence of an object (60) in the detection area (OL) only based on the determination by the determination means (20) of the vehicle object detection system (10) indicating that the object (60) is a warning target; A driver assistance system (1).

9. 9. A driver assistance system (1) according to claim 8, wherein the detection means (40) comprise radar and / or camera sensors, used individually or in combination, configured to detect objects (60) in the detection area (OL).

10. The driver assistance system (1) according to claim 8, wherein the warning means (30) is configured to output a warning to the driver of the vehicle (50) that an object (60) is present in the detection area (OL) based on a determination that the object (60) is a target for warning, and to suppress output of a warning based on the determination that the object (60) is not a target for warning, even if the detection means (40) detects an object (60) in the detection area (OL).

11. A vehicle equipped with a driver assistance system (1) as described in claim 8.

12. A computer-implemented method for detecting an object (60) in a detection area (OL) located behind a host vehicle (50) to control a vehicle object detection system (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, comprising: generating a decision as to whether an object (60) detected entering the detection area (OL) is an object to be alerted; and outputting the determination to a warning means (30), the warning means (30) warning a driver of the host vehicle (50) that an object (60) is present in the detection area (OL) behind the host vehicle (50) based on the determination indicating that the object (60) is a warning target. A computer-implemented method, in which in the step of generating the judgment, generation of the judgment is delayed until a specified period has elapsed from the time the object (60) enters the detection area (OL) from an adjacent area (AL) located to the side of the detection area (OL), and / or the judgment is generated based on a change in distance between the object (60) and the vehicle (50) during the specified period.

13. A computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the computer-implemented method of claim 12.

14. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing the computer program of claim 13.

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