Apparatus and method for vehicle following with dynamic feature recognition
US5835880A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 19, 1995 |
| Grant date | Nov 10, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 19, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06V2201/08
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In an apparatus and method for automatic vehicle following, a pair of video cameras are mounted on the front portion of a following vehicle, and each camera generates image data indicative of a respective image of a distinctive mark located on a rearward portion of a lead vehicle. An image processor generates two one-dimensional image-intensity distributions for each mark image based on the image data, and in turn generates a respective edge-intensity distribution based on each image-intensity distribution. The edge-intensity distributions are each generated by taking the first derivative of the respective image-intensity distribution. The image processor in turn generates a respective feature vector based on each edge-intensity distribution, wherein the vector components of each feature vector define select characteristics of the respective mark image. The center points of the two corresponding mark images are determined based on the feature vectors, and a signal processor generates signals indicative of the following distance and the heading angle of the lead vehicle based on the image center points. A window enclosing each mark image is moved upon generating a new mark image to …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.