Method and apparatus for detecting object

An apparatus for detecting an object, comprising:

• a plural depth images obtainment unit configured to obtain a plurality of depth images of the object by picking up the object by a plurality of stereo cameras;
• a foreground extraction unit configured to extract from the depth images, foregrounds with an image coordinate system;
• a foreground fusion unit configured to fuse the foregrounds in a unified three-dimensional world coordinate system defined by rectangular coordinates of x, y and z directions, where the object stands on an x-z plane limited by x and z axes;
• an appearance two-dimensional histogram calculation unit configured to calculate an appearance two-dimensional histogram on the x-z plane from the foreground fused in the three-dimensional world coordinate system by the following steps of dividing the foreground fused in the three-dimensional world coordinate system into vertical members extending along the y direction and getting statistics of the numbers of foreground points in the vertical members so as to obtain the appearance two-dimensional histogram representing the numbers of the foreground points in the vertical members;
• an overlap number determining unit configured to determine an overlapping region of the corresponding depth images on the x-z plane and determine the number of overlaps, based on the placement of the stereo cameras;
• a detection parameter determining unit configured to determine a detection parameter relating to a detection position, based on whether the detection position is located in the overlapping region or not and the corresponding number of overlaps;
• and
• an object detection unit configured to detect the object by the appearance two-dimensional histogram, based on the determined detection parameter.