Vehicle Exterior Environment Recognition Apparatus Speed Derivation

The patent changes the reference parameter from the center position of the side to the end position in the depth direction. This parameter change ensures that the reference point remains stable even when the object moves laterally, as the end position in depth direction is less affected by lateral movement. The determination condition checks whether the side is included in the end area to validate this parameter change approach.

The patent applies local quality by differentiating the treatment of different parts of the object based on visibility. When only the side is visible, the system specifically uses the end position in the depth direction rather than the center position, recognizing that different local features have different reliability characteristics under different visibility conditions. The determination condition identifies when this special local feature (end in depth direction) should be used.

The patent performs preliminary action by establishing determination conditions before speed derivation. The system first checks whether the side of the object is included in the end area of the image, and only when this condition is satisfied does it proceed to use the end position in the depth direction for speed calculation. This preliminary check ensures that the more complex determination logic is only applied when necessary, balancing accuracy improvement with computational complexity.