Sensor output correction apparatus

A sensor output correction apparatus comprising:

• one or more processors;
• a memory storing instructions that when executed by the one or more processors causes the sensor output correction apparatus to perform processes comprising:
• a detected value acquisition process which sequentially acquires a detected value of a sensor which is mounted in a vehicle and detects a given physical quantity acting on the vehicle;
• a stop determination process which determines whether the vehicle is stopped or moving;
• a curvature determining process which determines a curvature of a travel road on which the vehicle is moving;
• a zero-point determination process which determines a zero-point equivalent value that is a value corresponding to a current zero point of the sensor using the detected value of the sensor derived by the detected value acquisition process in response to the curvature, based on determination by the curvature determining process, being less than or equal to a curvature threshold value at which the travel road is considered being a straight path;
• a correction value determination process which determines a correction value for removing an error, based on arising from a deviation of the current zero point of the sensor, from the detected value of the sensor using the zero-point equivalent value determined by the zero-point determination process;
• and
• a reliability evaluation process which evaluates a degree of reliability of the zero-point equivalent value determined by the zero-point determination process,
• wherein the zero-point determination process sequentially determines the zero-point equivalent value based on detected values derived by the detected value acquisition process while the stop determination process is determining that the vehicle is stopped, and wherein the correction value determination process determines the correction value using a while-stationary determined value that is the zero-point equivalent value, based on determination by the zero-point determination process using the detected values derived in response to the vehicle being stopped,
• wherein the correction value determination process performs an addition operation to weight-add a newly determine value and the correction value, based on being used, to newly calculate the correction value, a newly determined value being the zero-point equivalent value newly determined by the zero-point determination process, and wherein a weight added to the newly determined value in the addition operation is increased with an increase in degree of reliability of the newly determined value, based on evaluation by the reliability evaluation process,
• wherein in response to the newly determined value being given by the while-stationary determined value, the reliability evaluation process determines that the newly determined value has a higher reliability than that of an in-motion determined value that is the zero-point equivalent value determined by a population of the detected values sampled while the vehicle is moving on a road where the curvature is less than or equal to the curvature threshold value, and
• wherein the curvature determining process determines the curvature of the road being a curvature of a lane boundary line on the road which is obtained by subjecting image recognition processing to an image captured by a vehicle-mounted camera designed to capture an image of a frontal or rearward view of the vehicle, and in response to the newly determined value being given by the in-motion determined value, the reliability evaluation process evaluates the newly determined value to have a higher degree of reliability with an increase in recognizable range in which it is possible to perceive the lane boundary line through the image recognition processing.