Side-View Camera Road Slope Estimation on Uneven Roads
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies struggle to accurately calculate the slope of a road using a vehicle's front camera, especially when obstacles like speed bumps are present or the road surface is not flat, and inertial measurement units fail to accurately determine the relative pitch angle between a road and a camera on uphill or downhill roads.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus using a side view camera to divide the road image into regions, calculate the slope of each region based on driving lanes and curbstones, and convert the camera coordinate system to a real coordinate system to determine the slope between the camera and the road, allowing for accurate pitch angle and road profile estimation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a front camera is used to estimate pitch angle under the assumption of parallel driving lanes and constant lane width, then the calculation is simple, but the accuracy deteriorates when speed bumps are present or the road surface is not flat
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the road image into multiple regions and calculates the slope for each region separately based on driving lanes and curbstones. This segmentation allows the system to handle local variations in road surface (speed bumps, non-flat surfaces) by treating each region independently, thereby improving overall measurement accuracy without requiring overly complex global calculations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from using a front camera (providing a top-down view) to using a side view camera (providing a lateral view). This dimensional change allows direct observation of the road slope and pitch angle from the side, enabling accurate measurement of road profile and vehicle attitude even when the road surface is not flat or contains obstacles.
2Measurement precision
If an inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensor is used to calculate pitch angle, then the measurement is direct, but the relative pitch angle between road and camera deteriorates on uphill or downhill roads
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the side view camera as an intermediary to capture images of the road and curbstones, from which the pitch angle and road slope are calculated. This visual intermediary provides a reference frame that is independent of the vehicle's inertial sensors, allowing accurate determination of the relative pitch angle between the road and camera even on inclined surfaces where IMU-based measurements become unreliable.
3Measurement precision
If a side view camera is used to divide the road image into regions and calculate slope for each region, then the accuracy of road slope determination is improved, but the calculation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the road image into multiple regions and calculates the slope for each region separately. This segmentation improves accuracy by handling local road variations (speed bumps, non-flat surfaces) in each region independently. The use of standard computer vision techniques for line detection and coordinate transformation keeps the computational complexity manageable despite the multi-region approach.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for determining a slope of a road using a side view camera of a vehicle, the method includes identifying a road image collected from a side view camera, dividing the road image into a plurality of regions, calculating a slope of a road for each of the plurality of regions based on driving lanes comprised in each of the plurality of regions, and determining a slope between the side view camera and the road using the slope of the road calculated for each of the plurality of regions.