Detecting system, detecting device, detecting method, and detecting program

Abstract

In order to detect an external object from an optical scanning sensor in a host vehicle, a processor of this detecting system is configured to: search for a scanning point of interest (PAi) defined at a scanning point at which a search index (Ij) correlated with a distance difference between measured distances to each scanning point is outside an allowable range, for each horizontal scanning line along which a scanning beam is steered from the optical scanning sensor; and output detected data (Dd) by detecting, as an obstacle, an object assumed to have a height of interest (hi) corresponding to the search index associated with the scanning point of interest (PAi).

Description

Detection system, detection device, detection method, detection program ,

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[0005] Cross-reference to related applications

[0001] This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2025-24426 filed in Japan on February 18, 2025, and the contents of the base application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a detection technique for detecting an external target from an optical scanning sensor in a vehicle.

[0003] The detection technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 measures the height of a target based on the length of a shadow generated by the target whose distance has been detected from a radar sensor, which is a type of optical scanning sensor mounted on a vehicle.

[0004] Japanese Patent No. 4887849

[0005] In the detection technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, the height of a target whose distance has been detected is further measured. Therefore, whether the target is an obstacle to vehicle travel or a non-obstacle such as dust or the like remains unknown until the height is measured. In other words, it is not until the height is measured that the correct / incorrect judgment as an obstacle is determined. Therefore, it can be said that there is a delay in the accurate detection of an obstacle.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a detection system that can detect an obstacle with high accuracy and in a short time. Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a detection device that can detect an obstacle with high accuracy and in a short time. Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a detection method that can detect an obstacle with high accuracy and in a short time. Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a detection program that can detect an obstacle with high accuracy and in a short time.

[0007] Hereinafter, the technical means of the present disclosure for solving the problems will be described.

[0008] A first aspect of this disclosure is a detection system having a processor for detecting external targets from an optical scanning sensor in a host vehicle, wherein the processor is configured to perform the following actions: search for a scanning point of interest defined at a scanning point outside the acceptable range, for each horizontal scanning line from which the scanning beam from the optical scanning sensor is steered, and output detection data by detecting a target whose height of interest is assumed to correspond to the search index associated with the scanning point of interest as an obstacle to the movement of the host vehicle.

[0009] A second aspect of the present disclosure is a detection device configured to be mounted on a host vehicle and having a processor for detecting external targets from an optical scanning sensor in the host vehicle, wherein the processor is configured to search for a scanning point of interest defined at a scanning point outside the acceptable range, for each horizontal scanning line from which the scanning beam from the optical scanning sensor is steered, and to output detection data by detecting a target whose height of interest is assumed to correspond to the search index associated with the scanning point of interest as an obstacle to the movement of the host vehicle.

[0010] A third aspect of this disclosure is a detection method performed by a processor to detect external targets from an optical scanning sensor in a host vehicle, comprising: searching for a scanning point of interest defined at a scanning point outside the acceptable range for each horizontal scanning line from which the scanning beam from the optical scanning sensor is steered, and outputting detection data by detecting a target whose height of interest is assumed to correspond to the search index associated with the scanning point of interest as an obstacle to the movement of the host vehicle.

[0011] A fourth aspect of the present disclosure is a detection program stored in a storage medium for detecting external targets from an optical scanning sensor in a host vehicle, and including instructions for causing a processor to perform said detection, the program including instructions for searching for a scanning point of interest defined at a scanning point outside the acceptable range, for each horizontal scanning line from which the scanning beam from the optical scanning sensor is steered, and for detecting a target whose height of interest is assumed to correspond to the search index associated with the scanning point of interest, as an obstacle to the movement of the host vehicle, and outputting detection data.

[0012] According to these first to fourth embodiments, a search index correlated with the distance difference between the measured distances to each scanning point is considered for each horizontal scanning line in which the scanning beam from the optical scanning sensor is steered. Thus, for each horizontal scanning line, a target scanning point outside the acceptable range of the search index is searched for. As a result, targets whose height can be accurately estimated according to the search index associated with the target scanning point can be quickly detected as obstacles to the host vehicle's movement. Therefore, detection data with high obstacle detection accuracy can be output in the shortest possible time.

[0013] This is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the first embodiment. This is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the detection system according to the first embodiment. This is a schematic top view showing the driving environment of a host vehicle to which the first embodiment is applied. This is a schematic side view showing the driving environment of a host vehicle to which the first embodiment is applied. This is a flowchart showing the detection flow according to the first embodiment. This is a top view for explaining the detection flow according to the first embodiment. This is a flowchart showing the search subroutine according to the first embodiment. This is a side view for explaining the detection flow according to the first embodiment. This is a flowchart showing the detection flow according to the second embodiment. This is a top view for explaining the detection flow according to the second embodiment. This is a flowchart showing the detection flow according to the third embodiment. This is a flowchart showing the search subroutine according to the third embodiment.

[0014] Hereinafter, several embodiments of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment, the same reference numerals will be used for corresponding components, and redundant explanations may be omitted. Furthermore, if only a part of the configuration is described in each embodiment, the configuration of other embodiments described earlier may be applied to the other parts of that configuration. Moreover, not only the combinations of configurations explicitly stated in the description of each embodiment, but also the configurations of multiple embodiments can be partially combined even if not explicitly stated, as long as there are no particular problems with the combination.

[0015] (First Embodiment) The detection system 1 of the first embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2 performs detection processing to detect external targets 3 shown in Figures 3 and 4 from an optical scanning sensor 50 in a host vehicle 2. The host vehicle 2 is a vehicle capable of traveling on a travel surface 4, such as a paved road surface and / or unpaved ground. The host vehicle 2 may be any of the following: an automobile, a truck, a bus, or an autonomous driving robot. From the perspective of the host vehicle 2, the host vehicle 2 can be said to be an ego-vehicle.

[0016] The operator of the host vehicle 2 may be a driver who is on board the host vehicle 2 and capable of performing manual driving operations. Alternatively, the operator of the host vehicle 2 may be a remote operator who is capable of performing manual driving operations or driving commands remotely from an external center outside the host vehicle 2. In either case, the host vehicle 2 is provided with an automated driving mode that is categorized into levels according to the degree of operator intervention in the dynamic driving task.

[0017] Here, the autonomous driving mode may be implemented by autonomous driving control, such as conditional driving automation, advanced driving automation, or full driving automation, in which the system performs all dynamic driving tasks during operation. The autonomous driving mode may also be implemented by advanced driver assistance control, such as driver assistance or partial driving automation, in which the operator performs some or all of the dynamic driving tasks. The autonomous driving mode may be implemented by either one of these autonomous driving controls or advanced driver assistance controls, in combination, or by switching between them.

[0018] The optical scanning sensor 50 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging / Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) mounted on the host vehicle 2, capable of scanning a specific direction (forward in the example of Figures 1 and 2) in the external environment of the vehicle 2 by beam irradiation. The optical scanning sensor 50 comprises a light-emitting unit 52, a scanning unit 54, and a light-receiving unit 56.

[0019] The light-emitting unit 52 is mainly composed of multiple light-emitting elements that emit directional laser light in the infrared region, such as laser diodes. The light-emitting unit 52 projects the collection of light emitted from each light-emitting element as a scanning beam in an intermittent pulsed manner. The scanning unit 54 is mainly composed of a scanning mirror and a scanning motor. The scanning unit 54 optically scans the outside world of the host vehicle 2 at each control cycle of the scanning direction Qi corresponding to the rotation angle, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, by steering the scanning beam from the light-emitting unit 52 in a horizontal direction with respect to the optical axis of the optical scanning sensor 50 through optical reflection corresponding to the rotation angle of the scanning mirror. Here, the index i that identifies each scanning direction Qi of the total number m corresponding to the finite rotation angle range of the scanning mirror is defined as an integer from "1" for the starting scanning direction to "m" for the ending scanning direction.

[0020] The light-receiving unit 56 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is constructed by combining a light-receiving element, which has multiple light-receiving pixels arranged in a single array and is highly sensitive to the scanning beam, such as a SPAD (Single Photon Avalanche Diode), with an integrated circuit. The light-receiving unit 56 receives the reflected beam from the scanning point Pi outside the host vehicle 2, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, through re-reflection by the scanning mirror of the scanning unit 54.

[0021] The light-receiving unit 56 shown in Figures 1 and 2 generates scanning data based on the light-receiving signals generated by each light-receiving pixel constituting the light-receiving element in response to the reception of the reflected beam. This data represents the measured distance Ri to the scanning point Pi for each horizontal scanning line Lj, ​​as shown in Figures 3 and 4, and outputs it to the detection system 1. At this time, the scanning data is generated as digital data representing the measured distance Ri to the scanning point Pi at each scanning direction Qi, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, for each of the multiple horizontal scanning lines Lj corresponding to the arrangement order of light-receiving pixels in the vertical direction of the light-receiving element of the light-receiving unit 56. Here, the index j that identifies each horizontal scanning line, for a total of n lines corresponding to the number of arrangement rows of light-receiving pixels in the vertical direction, is defined as an integer from "1" for the first line to "n" for the last line.

[0022] As shown in Figure 1, the detection system 1 is configured to include at least one dedicated computer. The detection system 1 is connected to the optical scanning sensor 50 via at least one of the following: a LAN (Local Area Network) line, a wire harness, an internal bus, and a wireless communication line. If the detection system 1 consists of multiple dedicated computers, the connections between those dedicated computers are similar.

[0023] The dedicated computer constituting the detection system 1 may be an electronic control unit (ECU) that controls the operation of the host vehicle 2. The dedicated computer constituting the detection system 1 may be a locator ECU that estimates the self-state quantities of the host vehicle 2. The dedicated computer constituting the detection system 1 may be a navigation ECU that navigates the travel route of the host vehicle 2 based on map information. The dedicated computer constituting the detection system 1 may be a sensing ECU that controls sensors other than the optical scanning sensor 50.

[0024] The dedicated computer constituting the detection system 1 may be an actuator ECU that controls the driving actuators of the host vehicle 2. The dedicated computer constituting the detection system 1 may be an HCU (HMI (Human Machine Interface) Control Unit) that controls the presentation of information within the host vehicle 2. The dedicated computer constituting the detection system 1 may be a communication ECU that controls wireless communication between the host vehicle 2 and the outside world. The dedicated computer constituting the detection system 1 may be a computer outside the host vehicle 2 that constructs, for example, an external center or mobile terminal capable of wireless communication with the host vehicle 2.

[0025] The dedicated computer comprising the detection system 1 has at least one memory 10 and one processor 12. The memory 10 is at least one type of non-transitory tangible storage medium, such as a semiconductor memory, magnetic medium, and optical medium, which non-temporarily stores programs and data that can be read by the computer. Here, storage may be an accumulation in which data is retained even when the host vehicle 2 is turned off, or it may be a temporary storage in which data is erased when the host vehicle 2 is turned off. The processor 12 includes at least one type as a core, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer)-CPU, DFP (Data Flow Processor), and GSP (Graph Streaming Processor).

[0026] In the detection system 1, the processor 12 executes a number of instructions included in the detection program stored in the memory 10 to detect external targets 3 from the optical scanning sensor 50 in the host vehicle 2. This allows the detection system 1 to construct multiple functional blocks for detecting external targets 3 from the optical scanning sensor 50 in the host vehicle 2. As shown in Figure 2, the multiple functional blocks constructed in the detection system 1 include a data acquisition block 100, a target search block 110, and a detection output block 120.

[0027] Through the combined efforts of these blocks 100, 110, and 120, the detection method by which the detection system 1 detects an external target 3 from the optical scanning sensor 50 in the host vehicle 2 is executed according to the detection flow shown in Figure 5. This detection flow is executed repeatedly while the host vehicle 2 is running. In this detection flow, each "S" represents a step executed by multiple instructions included in the detection program.

[0028] In S10, the data acquisition block 100 acquires scanning data from the light receiving unit 56, which is obtained by scanning the outside world of the host vehicle 2 for all scanning directions Qi. The scanning data acquired at this time represents the measured distance Ri (see Figures 3 and 4) to the scanning point Pi for each scanning direction Qi, for each horizontal scanning line Lj in the horizontal direction.

[0029] As shown in Figure 5, in S20 following S10, the focus search block 110 searches for the focus scan point PAi for each horizontal scan line Lj. In this search for each horizontal scan line Lj, ​​the focus scan point PAi is searched for as a scan point Pi where the search index Ij, which is correlated with the distance difference ΔPi (the difference between the measured distances Ri to each scan point Pi), is outside the acceptable range ω, as shown in Figure 6. Then, in S20, the search subroutine shown in Figure 7 is executed.

[0030] In the search subroutine S200, the search block 110 of interest initializes the index j of the horizontal scan line Lj to the value "0". In S201, following S200 of the search subroutine, the search block 110 of interest increments the index j of the horizontal scan line Lj by adding the value "1".

[0031] In S202, following S201 of the search subroutine, the focus search block 110 focuses on the distance difference ΔPi between the measured distance Ri of a candidate scan point PCi, which is a candidate for the focus scan point PAi, and the measured distance Rk of another scan point Pk, in the same horizontal scan line Lj that is the target of the current search, corresponding to the latest index j, according to Equation 1. Here, k in Equation 1 is defined as an index for distinguishing other scan points Pi that are not the focus scan point PAi.

[0032] Therefore, in S202, the focus search block 110 normalizes the distance difference ΔPi between the candidate scanning point PCi and other scanning points Pk by the measured distance Ri to the candidate scanning point PCi, and also averages it by the total number K of other scanning points Pk. With this normalized average value of the distance difference ΔPi between the candidate scanning point PCi and other scanning points Pk, the focus search block 110 in S202 correlates the search index Ij related to the horizontal scanning line Lj that is currently being searched with Equation 1.

[0033] In this case, for the horizontal scanning line Lj being searched, each scanning point Pi for each scanning direction Qi is sequentially selected as a candidate scanning point PCi, and the search index Ij is obtained for the total number of selected candidate scanning points PCi m. At this time, the other scanning points Pk that are compared with the selected candidate scanning points PCi may be set to all scanning points Pi other than the selected candidate scanning point PCi in the horizontal scanning line Lj being searched, or to some scanning points Pi that are adjacent or continuous with the selected candidate scanning point PCi in a clockwise and / or counterclockwise direction. Note that the other scanning points Pk that are set to some scanning points Pi other than the candidate scanning points PCi may be limited to scanning points Pi on the driving surface 4, for example, based on sensing information from other sensors in the host vehicle 2 or recognition information from the sensing ECU.

[0034] Based on the above, in S202, with respect to the horizontal scanning line Lj being searched, if at least one of the search indices Ij acquired in association with each of the multiple candidate scanning points PCi is a large value outside the acceptable range ω, as shown in Figures 6 and 8, the candidate scanning point PCi corresponding to that at least one is determined to be the scanning point of interest PAi. However, if all of the search indices Ij acquired in association with the candidate scanning points PCi for the horizontal scanning line Lj being searched are small values ​​within the acceptable range ω, then there is no determined scanning point of interest PAi. The acceptable range ω, which is the criterion for determining the search indice Ij to determine the scanning point of interest PAi, may be set to a fixed value, or it may be set to a variable value that changes depending on the measured distance Ri of the candidate scanning point PCi.

[0035] As shown in Figure 7, in S203 following S202 of the search subroutine, the search block 110 of interest determines whether the horizontal scanning line Lj being searched is the final line, that is, whether the latest index j has reached the value of "n". If the result is negative, the search subroutine returns to S201. On the other hand, if the result is positive, the search subroutine terminates, and the detection flow moves to S30 as shown in Figure 5.

[0036] In S30, the detection output block 120 detects a target 3 whose height hi is assumed to be a target, as an obstacle 3o for the movement of the host vehicle 2, as shown in Figures 6 and 8, according to the search index Ij associated with the target scanning point PAi searched in S20. At this time, the target height hi of the target 3 detected as an obstacle 3o is assumed according to Equation 2, using the mounting height H of the optical scanning sensor 50 from the running surface 4 of the host vehicle 2, as shown in Figure 8. In particular, if another target scanning point PAi with the same scanning direction Qi is searched on the horizontal scanning line Lj-1 or horizontal scanning line Lj+1 (Figure 8 is an example of Lj+1) which is a number of steps before or after the horizontal scanning line Lj searched for the target scanning point PAi, then the deviation between the target heights hi of those target scanning points PAi is considered. If the deviation is within the error range of the threshold, then it becomes possible to detect the obstacle 3o with high accuracy as the same target 3 whose target height hi is assumed to be consecutively above and below.

[0037] In Figure 5, the detection output block 120 in S30 generates and outputs detection data Dd so as to represent not only the height hi of interest of the detected obstacle 3o, but also the measured distance Ri and scanning direction Qi of the corresponding scanning point PAi. The output of the generated detection data Dd may be stored in the memory 10 that constitutes the detection system 1. The output of the generated detection data Dd may be transmitted to a computer within the host vehicle 2, such as a driving control ECU. The output of the generated detection data Dd may be transmitted to a computer outside the host vehicle 2, such as an external center or mobile terminal capable of wireless communication with the host vehicle 2. Once the execution of S30 is completed, the current execution of the detection flow ends. If no scanning point PAi of interest is found in S20, the execution of S30 is skipped, and the current execution of the detection flow ends.

[0038] (Effects) The effects of the first embodiment described above will be explained below.

[0039] According to the first embodiment, for each horizontal scanning line Lj to which the scanning beam from the optical scanning sensor 50 is steered, a search index Ij correlated with the distance difference ΔPi between the measured distances Ri to each scanning point Pi is considered. Therefore, for each horizontal scanning line, a target scanning point PAi that falls outside the acceptable range of the search index Ij is searched for. As a result, a target 3 whose target height hi can be accurately estimated according to the search index Ij associated with the target scanning point PAi can be quickly detected as an obstacle 3o for the movement of the host vehicle 2. This detection of obstacles 3o based on target height hi is particularly effective on unpaved driving surfaces 4, such as mines and / or construction sites. Therefore, it is possible to output detection data Dd with high detection accuracy of obstacles 3o in the shortest possible time.

[0040] Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, a search index Ij is considered that correlates with the average value of the distance difference ΔPi between a candidate scan point PCi, which is a candidate for the scan point of interest PAi, and another scan point Pk on the same horizontal scan line Lj. With this, by using the search index Ij, which can provide high robustness to the search for the scan point of interest PAi that scans the obstacle 3o, especially on an unpaved driving surface 4, it becomes possible to output detection data Dd that guarantees high detection accuracy of the obstacle 3o.

[0041] (Second Embodiment) The second embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment. In the detection flow of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, S2030, which replaces S30, is executed. In S2030, for a plurality of target scanning points PAi that are continuously scanned with a common horizontal scanning line Lj so as to correspond to the width of the obstacle 3o shown in FIG. 10 as the target scanning points PAi searched in S20, the associated search indices Ij are corrected. At this time, on the same horizontal scanning line Lj, the search indices Ij corresponding to each consecutive target scanning point PAi are all corrected based on the number M of consecutive target scanning points PAi according to Equation 3. Note that Equation 3 may be applied to each of the consecutive target scanning points PAi except for the both end points in the clockwise and counterclockwise directions on the same horizontal scanning line Lj. Further, the processing content of S2030 in other points than those described is in accordance with S30 of the first embodiment.

[0042] According to such S2030, the assumption of the target height hi at each target scanning point PAi can be made more accurate according to the search index Ij corrected based on the number M of consecutive target scanning points PAi on the same horizontal scanning line Lj. Therefore, it becomes possible to output the detection data Dd with high detection accuracy of the obstacle 3o ensured.

[0043] (Third Embodiment) The third embodiment is a modification of the first embodiment. In S3020, which replaces S20 in the detection flow of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 11, as shown in FIG. 12, S3202, which replaces S202 of the search subroutine, is executed. In S3202, the target search block 110 correlates a reference index IBj regarding the horizontal scanning line Lj of the current search target with the average value obtained by normalizing and averaging the distance difference ΔPi between the candidate scanning point PCi and each other scanning point Pk in accordance with Equation 4 according to the search index Ij by S202 of the first embodiment.

[0044] Therefore, in S3202, for at least one of the reference indicators IBj acquired in association with the candidate scan points PCi with respect to the horizontal scan line Lj to be searched this time, when the height search indicator I Hj correlated according to Equation 5 becomes a large value outside the allowable range ωH, the candidate scan point PCi corresponding to the at least one is determined as the target scan point PAi. However, also in S3202, when all of the height search indicators I Hj acquired in association with each candidate scan point PCi with respect to the horizontal scan line Lj to be searched this time are small values within the allowable range ωH, it is determined that there is no target scan point PAi.

[0045] When a negative determination is made in S203 following such S3202, in the detection flow shown in FIG. 11, S3030 which replaces S30 is executed. In S3030, the detection output block 120 detects the target 3 for which the target height hi is assumed according to Equation 6 as the obstacle 3o, according to the search indicator Ij associated with the target scan point PAi searched in S3020. Therefore, also according to such a third embodiment, it is possible to exhibit the same operational effects as the first embodiment.

[0046] (Other Embodiments) Although a plurality of embodiments have been described above, the present disclosure is not construed as being limited to those embodiments, and can be applied to various embodiments and combinations within the scope without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

[0047] In the modified embodiments of the first to third embodiments, the dedicated computer constituting the detection system 1 may have at least one of the digital circuit and the analog circuit as a processor. Here, the digital circuit is at least one of the following: ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), SOC (System on a Chip), PGA (Programmable Gate Array), and CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device). Such a digital circuit may also have a memory that stores a program.

[0048] In the modified versions of the first and second embodiments, equation 1 may be modified to obtain the search index Ij without normalizing it by the measured distance Ri of the scan point PAi of interest. However, in this case, it is preferable that the height hi at the scan point PAi of interest is assumed to correspond to the search index Ij that has been corrected by the measured distance Ri of the scan point PAi of interest in equations 2 and 3. In the modified version of the third embodiment, equation 4 may be modified to achieve a correction similar to that in equation 3.

[0049] In addition to the forms described so far, the detection system 1 of the above-described embodiments and modified examples may also be implemented in the form of a detection device, such as a processing circuit or semiconductor device, which is mounted on the host vehicle 2 and includes at least one processor 12 and one memory 10.

[0050] (Addendum) This specification discloses several technical ideas and several combinations thereof, as listed below. The symbols in parentheses in this addendum indicate the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments detailed above, and do not limit the technical scope of this disclosure.

[0051] (Technical Concept 1) A detection system having a processor (12) for detecting an external target (3) from an optical scanning sensor (50) in a host vehicle (2), wherein the processor is configured to: search for a point of interest (PAi) defined at a scanning point outside the acceptable range, for each horizontal scanning line from which the scanning beam from the optical scanning sensor is steered, and to output detection data (Dd) by detecting the target, for which a point of interest height (hi) corresponding to the search index associated with the point of interest is assumed, as an obstacle (3o) to the movement of the host vehicle.

[0052] (Technical Concept 2) The detection system according to Technical Concept 1, wherein the search for the scan point of interest is to search for the scan point of interest in which the search index, which correlates with the average value of the distance difference between candidate scan points (PCi) that are candidates for the scan point of interest and other scan points on the same horizontal scan line, is outside the acceptable range.

[0053] (Technical Concept 3) The detection system according to Technical Concept 2, wherein outputting the detection data is performed by detecting the obstacle whose height of interest is assumed to be determined according to the search index corrected based on the number of consecutive points of interest (M) in the same horizontal scanning line, thereby outputting the detection data.

[0054] (Technical Concept 4) A detection system according to any one of Technical Concepts 1 to 3, wherein the search for the scan point of interest is to search for the scan point of interest in which the search index, which correlates with the distance difference normalized by the measured distance to the candidate scan point, is outside the acceptable range, as the distance difference between a candidate scan point (PCi) that is a candidate for the scan point of interest and other scan points on the same horizontal scan line.

[0055] (Technical Idea 5) The detection system according to any one of Technical Ideas 1 to 4, wherein outputting the detection data includes detecting, with respect to the scan point of interest searched for each horizontal scan line, the target being assumed to have a continuous vertical height as an obstacle, and outputting the detection data.

[0056] Furthermore, the technical concepts 1 to 5 described above may be understood as the respective technical concepts of devices, methods, and programs that can be mounted on the host vehicle 2.

Claims

1. A detection system having a processor (12) for detecting an external target (3) from an optical scanning sensor (50) in a host vehicle (2), wherein the processor is configured to: search for a point of interest (PAi) defined at a scanning point outside the acceptable range, for each horizontal scanning line from which the scanning beam from the optical scanning sensor is steered, and detect the target, for which a point of interest height (hi) corresponding to the search index associated with the point of interest is assumed, as an obstacle (3o) to the movement of the host vehicle, and output detection data (Dd).

2. The detection system according to claim 1, wherein searching for the scan point of interest includes searching for the scan point of interest in which, on the same horizontal scan line, the search index correlated with the average value of the distance difference between a candidate scan point (PCi) that is a candidate for the scan point of interest and other scan points is outside the acceptable range.

3. The detection system according to claim 2, wherein outputting the detection data includes detecting the obstacle whose height is assumed to be the target height according to the search index corrected based on the number of consecutive (M) of consecutive scan points of interest on the same horizontal scan line, thereby outputting the detection data.

4. The detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the search for the scan point of interest is to search for the scan point of interest in which the search index, which correlates with the distance difference normalized by the measured distance to the candidate scan point, is outside the acceptable range, as the distance difference between a candidate scan point (PCi) that is a candidate for the scan point of interest and other scan points on the same horizontal scan line.

5. The detection system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein outputting the detection data includes detecting, with respect to the target scanning point searched for each horizontal scanning line, the target object whose height is assumed to be continuous vertically as the obstacle, and outputting the detection data.

6. A detection device configured to be mounted on a host vehicle (2), and having a processor (12) for detecting an external target (3) from an optical scanning sensor (50) in the host vehicle, wherein the processor is configured to: search for a point of interest (PAi) defined at a scanning point outside the acceptable range, for each horizontal scanning line from which the scanning beam from the optical scanning sensor is steered, and to output detection data (Dd) by detecting the target, for which a point of interest height (hi) corresponding to the search index associated with the point of interest is assumed, as an obstacle (3o) to the movement of the host vehicle.

7. A detection method performed by a processor (12) to detect an external target (3) from an optical scanning sensor (50) in a host vehicle (2), the method comprising: searching for a target of interest (PAi) defined at a scanning point outside the acceptable range for each horizontal scanning line from which the scanning beam from the optical scanning sensor is steered, where the search index (Ij, IHj) correlated with the distance difference (ΔPi) between the measured distances (Ri) to each scanning point (Pi) is outside the acceptable range; and outputting detection data (Dd) by detecting the target, for which a target of interest height (hi) corresponding to the search index associated with the target of interest is assumed, as an obstacle (3o) to the movement of the host vehicle.

8. A detection program stored in a storage medium (10) for detecting an external target (3) from an optical scanning sensor (50) in a host vehicle (2), and including instructions for causing a processor (12) to perform the detection, the program including instructions for: searching for a target of interest (PAi) defined at a scanning point outside the acceptable range for each horizontal scanning line from which the scanning beam is steered from the optical scanning sensor, where the search index (Ij, IHj) correlated with the distance difference (ΔPi) between the measured distances (Ri) to each scanning point (Pi) is outside the acceptable range; and outputting detection data (Dd) by detecting the target, for which a target of interest height (hi) corresponding to the search index associated with the target of interest is assumed, as an obstacle (3o) to the movement of the host vehicle.

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