Traveling road boundary estimation apparatus and traveling assistance system using same

A traveling road boundary estimation apparatus comprising:

• a processor that is configured to:
• generate, on the basis of an image obtained from an external sensor, a boundary feature map for storing a feature amount regarding a presence of a traveling road boundary for each grid of the image or an image obtained by converting the image into an image of another visual point;
• set a plurality of paths continuous in a depth direction from a coming-within-sight detection start-end position to a given detection tail end position, both positions falling within a preset sensor view angle, as a boundary candidate;
• calculate a boundary likelihood evaluation value in which a feature amount of the boundary feature map and a continuity evaluation value in the depth direction are added with respect to the boundary candidate;
• and
• determine a traveling road boundary by comparing the boundary likelihood evaluation value of each boundary candidate calculated in the processor,
• wherein in the processor, the continuity evaluation value in the depth direction is a negative evaluation value according to deviation of an expected value of a gradient in the depth direction of the traveling road boundary in each part of a boundary shape, and the expected value of the gradient is a gradient based on an edge feature amount in each part of the boundary shape, a gradient estimated by assuming a straight road with respect to a subject vehicle, a gradient of a white line detected by the external sensor, a gradient estimated using map information and subject vehicle position information, or a gradient estimated using position, deviation, and subject vehicle behavior information of the traveling road boundary detected at a previous time.