Image processing apparatus and method

An image processing apparatus comprising:

• a camera configured to input a plurality of frame images serving as video images;
• a tracking unit configured to detect a horizontal line in a three dimensional space, the horizontal line being parallel to an image plane of the respective video image, in each of the plurality of frame images, to generate an obstacle candidate area as an image area in a vicinity of the straight-line component, to track the obstacle candidate area in an image succeeding each frame image in the plurality of frame images, and to produce a tracking result for the obstacle candidate area;
• and
• a detector configured to determine, using the tracking result of three or more obstacle candidate areas, whether the plural obstacle candidate areas belong to a plane extending in a specific direction in a three dimensional space and configured to detect an obstacle based on the determination,
• wherein the detector is configured to select a candidate area group consisting of three or more obstacle candidate areas, to compute a fitness between the candidate area group and a predetermined plane, and to evaluate whether the candidate area group belongs to the predetermined plane based on the fitness.

An image processing method executed using an image processing apparatus having an obstacle detection unit, comprising:

• Inputting a plurality of frame images serving as video images;
• detecting, using the image processing apparatus and from each frame image in the plurality of frame images, a straight line component in a horizontal direction in a three dimensional space, the horizontal line being parallel to an image plane of the respective video image,
• generating an obstacle candidate area as an image area in a vicinity of the detected straight-line component;
• tracking the obstacle candidate area in an image succeeding each frame image in the plurality of frame images, and producing a tracking result for the obstacle candidate area;
• determining, using the image processing apparatus and using the tracking result of three or more obstacle candidate areas, whether the three or more obstacle candidate areas belong to a plane extending in a specific direction in a three dimensional space, and producing a determination result, the determining further including selecting a candidate area group consisting of three or more obstacle candidate areas, and computing a fitness between the candidate area group and a predetermined plane and evaluating whether the candidate area group belongs to the predetermined plane based on the fitness;
• and
• detecting, using the image processing apparatus, an obstacle based on the determination result.

An image processing apparatus comprising:

• means for inputting a plurality of frame images serving as video images;
• means for detecting, from each frame image in the plurality of frame images, plural horizontal lines in a three dimensional space, the horizontal lines being parallel to an image plane of the respective video image, by applying an edge-detection filter;
• means for generating an obstacle candidate area as an image area in a vicinity of the detected straight-line component;
• means for tracking the obstacle candidate area in an image succeeding each frame image in the plurality of frame images based on information extracted by image processing, and producing a two-dimensional position in the image as a tracking result for each obstacle candidate area;
• means for determining, using the change of relative two-dimensional positions of three or more obstacle candidate regions between two or more image frames in the plurality of image frames, whether the three or more obstacle candidate areas belong to a plane extending in a specific direction in a three dimensional space and producing a determination result;
• and
• means for detecting an obstacle based on the determination result,
• wherein the means for detecting selects a candidate area group consisting of three or more obstacle candidate areas, computes a fitness between the candidate area group and a predetermined plane, and evaluates whether the candidate area group belongs to the predetermined plane based on the fitness.