Method and apparatus for estimating a range of a moving object
AssigneeContinental Automotive GmbH
InventorRobin Plowman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for estimating a range of a moving object (MO) includes steps of capturing (S1) images of a surrounding by a camera (2), processing (S2) features of captured images to determine a bearing of a moving object (MO) based on a detected cluster of features belonging to the moving object (MO) within the captured images, and estimating (S3) a range of the moving object (MO) based on determined ground features belonging to a ground plane (GP) along the determined bearing of the moving object (MO) which are not occluded by the moving object (MO).
Claims16
A method of estimating a distance to a moving object, comprising the steps:
- capturing images of a surrounding environment by a camera;
- by processing the images, detecting therein a cluster of features belonging to the moving object, and determining an azimuth angle of the moving object based on the cluster of features;
- in the images, determining static ground features that belong to a ground plane in the surrounding environment, and that are located along the azimuth angle of the moving object between the camera and the moving object, and that are not occluded from the images by the moving object;
- selecting a most-distant one of the static ground features that has a maximum distance from the camera among all of the determined static ground features;
- and
- estimating a distance to the moving object based on the maximum distance of the most-distant static ground feature.
An apparatus for estimating a distance to a moving object, comprising:
- a camera configured to capture images of a surrounding environment;
- and
- a processing unit configured:
- to process the images, so as to detect therein a cluster of features belonging to the moving object, and so as to determine an azimuth angle of the moving object based on the cluster of features;
- to determine, in the images, static ground features that belong to a ground plane in the surrounding environment, and that are located along the azimuth angle of the moving object between the camera and the moving object, and that are not occluded from the images by the moving object;
- to select a most-distant one of the static ground features that has a maximum distance from the camera among all of the determined static ground features;
- and
- to estimate a distance to the moving object based on the maximum distance of the most-distant static ground feature.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.