Traffic signal mapping and detection
AssigneeGoogle Inc.
InventorsNathaniel Fairfield, Christopher Paul Urmson, Sebastian Thrun
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method provides maps identifying the 3D location of traffic lights. The position, location, and orientation of a traffic light may be automatically extrapolated from two or more images. The maps may then be used to assist robotic vehicles or human drivers to identify the location and status of a traffic signal.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- accessing a set of images which are associated with geographic locations proximate to a traffic intersection;
- for each particular image of the set of images, identifying, by one or more computing devices, brightly-colored red, yellow, and green objects within the particular image;
- generating, by the one or more computers, a set of traffic signal labels based on the identified brightly-colored red, yellow and green objects;
- filtering, by the one or more computers, the set of traffic signal labels to remove labels for brightly-colored red, yellow, or green objects that correspond to objects other than a traffic signal light;
- and
- determining, by the one or more computers, a three-dimensional location of a traffic signal based on the filtered set of traffic signal labels and the geographic locations of the images of the set of images.
A system comprising:
- memory storing a set of images which are associated with geographic locations proximate to a traffic intersection;
- one or more computers configured to:
- for each particular image of the set of images, identify brightly-colored red, yellow, and green objects within the particular image;
- generate a set of traffic signal labels based on the identified brightly-colored red, yellow and green objects;
- filter the set of traffic signal labels to remove labels for brightly-colored red, yellow, or green objects that correspond to objects other than a traffic signal light;
- and
- determine a three-dimensional location of a traffic signal based on the filtered set of traffic signal labels and the geographic locations of the images of the set of images.
A non-transitory tangible computer-readable storage medium on which computer readable instructions of a program are stored, the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method, the method comprising:
- accessing a set of images which are associated with geographic locations proximate to a traffic intersection;
- for each particular image of the set of images, identifying brightly-colored red, yellow, and green objects within the particular image;
- generating a set of traffic signal labels based on the identified brightly-colored red, yellow and green objects;
- filtering the set of traffic signal labels to remove labels for brightly-colored red, yellow, or green objects that correspond to objects other than a traffic signal light;
- and
- determining a three-dimensional location of a traffic signal based on the filtered set of traffic signal labels and the geographic locations of the images of the set of images.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.