Method and apparatus for maintaining a lane

A method for maintaining a lane comprising:

• detecting a first lighting pattern from a first front view image acquired from a vehicle at a first time;
• determining reference information on a current driving lane of the vehicle based on the first lighting pattern;
• detecting a second lighting pattern from a second front view image acquired from the vehicle at a second time;
• and
• determining whether the vehicle departs from the current driving lane based on the second lighting pattern and the reference information.

A lane maintaining apparatus comprising:

• a camera configured to capture a front view image from a vehicle;
• and
• a processor is configured to:
• detect a first lighting pattern from a first front view image acquired from the vehicle at a first time;
• determine reference information on the current driving lane of the vehicle based on the first lighting pattern;
• detect a second lighting pattern from a second front view image acquired from the vehicle at a second time;
• and
• determine whether the vehicle departs from the current driving lane based on the second lighting pattern and the reference information.

A method for maintaining a lane comprising:

• detecting a first lighting pattern from a first front view image acquired at a first time;
• determining reference information on a current driving lane of the vehicle based on the first lighting pattern;
• detecting a second lighting pattern from a second front view image acquired from the vehicle at a second time;
• detecting lane markings from the second front view image;
• determining whether the lane markings from the second front view image are valid;
• and
• determining a position of the vehicle in the current driving lane based on the second lighting pattern and the reference information, in response to the lane markings not being valid.

A lane guidance apparatus comprising:

• a first sensor configured to capture an image in front of the vehicle;
• a head-up display (HUD);
• a processor configured to
• detect a first lighting pattern from a first front view image acquired from the vehicle at a first time;
• determine reference information on the current driving lane of the vehicle based on the detected first lighting pattern;
• detect a second lighting pattern from a second front view image acquired from the vehicle at a second time;
• and
• determine whether the vehicle departs from the current driving lane based on the detected second lighting pattern and the reference information, and
• control a steering of the vehicle or output a notification on the HUD, in response to the vehicle departing from the current driving lane.