Autonomous Driving Object Detection Under Reflective Light Interference
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous driving systems face reduced reliability in object detection due to reflective light from sources like streetlights, taillights, and brake lights, especially in rainy, snowy, or night-time conditions, leading to inaccurate object recognition and reduced driving stability.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle control apparatus that performs primary object detection, sets a reflective area to remove ghost images from camera images, and conducts secondary object detection to generate reliable object information, determining the reliability of the information using an IoU value and controlling autonomous driving based on this information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If camera-based object detection is used in autonomous driving, then object detection capability is provided, but detection reliability deteriorates in rainy, snowy, or night-time conditions due to reflective light
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the harmful reflective light components from the captured image. The processing unit identifies reflective light regions based on brightness thresholds and spatial relationships, then removes these regions to eliminate the harmful interference that causes false object detection in rainy, snowy, or night-time conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary processing to identify and mark reflective light regions before final object detection. By pre-identifying areas with reflective characteristics (high brightness, specific spatial patterns), the system prepares the cleaned image data in advance, ensuring reliable object detection without interference from reflective light.
2Reliability
If reflective light removal processing is performed, then object detection reliability is improved, but processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality processing by targeting only specific regions of the image that exhibit reflective light characteristics. Instead of processing the entire image uniformly, the system identifies local regions with abnormal brightness patterns and applies removal processing only to those areas, reducing overall processing complexity while maintaining detection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes processing parameters dynamically based on image characteristics. By adjusting brightness thresholds and processing intensity according to the specific conditions (rainy, snowy, or night-time), the system optimizes the balance between removal effectiveness and processing complexity, avoiding unnecessary computation in clear conditions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides highly reliable object information, enhancing the stability and accuracy of autonomous driving by removing reflective light interference and improving object detection in challenging environments.
Implementation Method 1
the light emitted from the headlamps of a vehicle, the taillights of a vehicle, the brake lights of a vehicle, streetlights, and traffic lights is reflected by wet or snow-covered roads
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is an operating method of a vehicle control apparatus controlling autonomous driving based on a vehicle external object including performing primary object detection based on a first vehicle external image received from a camera to obtain first object information, setting a first reflective area for reflection light based on the first object information, generating a second vehicle external image, in which a reflective image inside the first reflective area is removed from the first vehicle external image, using pixel values inside the first reflective area, performing secondary object detection based on the second vehicle external image to obtain second object information, determining reliability of the second object information based on information about the reflective image and the second object information, and controlling the autonomous driving of the vehicle based on the second object information when the reliability of the second object information is higher than a setting value.