Intersection Lane Network Generation From Bird's-Eye Road Markings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies struggle to automatically extract the connection relationship between lanes on which vehicles are allowed to travel in roads connected to an intersection, particularly from bird's-eye view images.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method that detect intersections and connected roads from a bird's-eye view image, identify entry and exit lanes, and generate a lane network by connecting entry lanes of one road to exit lanes of another based on road markings or structures indicating vehicle directions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If existing technologies are used to generate map data from images, then road regions can be extracted, but the connection relationship between lanes at intersections cannot be automatically extracted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the lane connection extraction task into multiple components: detecting intersections, detecting roads connected to intersections, detecting entry/exit lanes, detecting road markings, and generating the lane network. This segmentation allows each component to be processed independently and systematically, enabling automatic extraction of the complete connection relationship.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary detection of intersections and roads before extracting lane connections. By first identifying the geographic context (intersections and connected roads) and then detecting road markings within this context, the system prepares the necessary information in advance to automatically determine lane connection relationships.
2Productivity
If manual methods are used to determine lane connection relationships, then accuracy can be maintained, but automation and efficiency are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses road markings (arrows, signs) that already exist on the road itself to automatically determine lane connection relationships. The road infrastructure provides its own information for mapping purposes, eliminating the need for manual surveying or external data sources, thereby achieving both automation and accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical methods of determining lane connections with an automated image processing system. By using computer vision to detect road markings and automatically generate the lane network, the system substitutes human labor with computational processes, dramatically improving productivity while maintaining accuracy.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive road marking detection is performed to ensure accurate lane connection extraction, then measurement precision improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different detection strategies to different local contexts: detecting intersections using specific image processing techniques, detecting roads using other techniques, and detecting road markings (arrows, signs) using pattern recognition. Each detection task is optimized for its specific local requirements, improving overall precision without requiring a single overly complex system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a multi-functional detection system that can identify intersections, roads, entry/exit lanes, and various road markings (arrows, signs) using a unified image processing framework. This universal approach handles multiple detection tasks within a single system, avoiding the need for separate specialized devices for each function.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for generating a map includes a processor configured to: detect an intersection and roads connected to the intersection from a bird's-eye view image, detect, for each road, an entry lane for entering the intersection and an exit lane for exiting the intersection included in the road, detect, for each road, a road marking represented in the road or a road structure from the bird's-eye view image, the road marking and the road structure indicating a direction in which vehicles are allowed to proceed, and generate a lane network representing a connection relationship between lanes in the intersection so as to connect, for each road, an entry lane of the road to an exit lane of another of the roads to which vehicles are allowed to proceed from the entry lane of the road, based on the road marking marked on the entry lane or the structure.