Systems and methods for obstacle proximity detection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11599117-B2
Application number	US-202016796012-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 20, 2020
Priority date	Feb 20, 2020
Publication date	Mar 7, 2023
Grant date	Mar 7, 2023

Abstract

Embodiments for assisting steering of a vehicle responsive to detecting an object in a proximity of a vehicle are described. Embodiments described include: receiving an image of a lane indicator corresponding to a lane of travel of the vehicle from an image capturing device; determining, based on the image, reference values corresponding to a position of the lane indicator relative to the vehicle; associating each of the reference values to values used to locate a point within a reference frame related to a direction the vehicle is traveling; receiving position information of an object in an environment external to the vehicle from a radar sensor; determining, based on the values and the position information, an assigned lane of the object; detecting an impending change of the lane of travel of the vehicle to the assigned lane of the object; generating a steering control value based on the impending change.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A remote object detection system of a vehicle, comprising:
a processor; and
a memory that includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
receive an image of a lane indicator in front of the vehicle from an image capturing device, the lane indicator corresponding to a lane of travel of the vehicle;
determine, based on the image, reference values corresponding to a position of the lane indicator relative to the vehicle within a first reference frame, wherein the position of the lane indicator is on a side of or behind the vehicle;
associate each of the reference values to values within a second reference frame related to a direction the vehicle is traveling, wherein the values correspond to a position of the lane indicator on the side of or behind the vehicle that accounts for the direction the vehicle is traveling;
receive position information of an object in an environment external to the vehicle from a radar sensor;
determine, based on the values and the position information, an assigned lane of the object;
detect an impending change of the lane of travel of the vehicle to the assigned lane of the object;
generate a steering control value based on the impending change; and
selectively control steering of the vehicle based on the steering control value.

2. The remote object detection system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to associate each of the reference values to the values using coordinate transformation.

3. The remote object detection system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to determine, based on the image, reference values corresponding to a position of another lane indicator relative to the vehicle.

4. The remote object detection system of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to determine a proximity of the object to the lane indicator based on the values and the position information.

5. The remote object detection system of claim 1 , wherein the object is in a blind spot of the vehicle.

6. The remote object detection system of claim 1 , wherein the image represents a portion of the environment external to the vehicle that is within a field of view of the image capturing device and the position information indicates that the object is in a blind spot of the vehicle.

7. The remote object detection system of claim 6 , wherein the image is of a front view of the vehicle.

8. A method for assisting steering of a vehicle in response to detecting an object in a proximity of the vehicle, comprising:
receiving an image of a lane indicator in front of the vehicle from an image capturing device, the lane indicator corresponding to a lane of travel of the vehicle;
determining, based on the image, reference values corresponding to a position of the lane indicator relative to the vehicle within a first reference frame, wherein the position of the lane indicator is on a side of or behind the vehicle;
associating each of the reference values to values within a second reference frame related to a direction the vehicle is traveling, wherein the values correspond to a position of the lane indicator on the side of or behind the vehicle that accounts for the direction the vehicle is traveling;
receiving position information of an object in an environment external to the vehicle from a radar sensor;
determining, based on the values and the position information, an assigned lane of the object;
detecting an impending change of the lane of travel of the vehicle to the assigned lane of the object;
generating a steering control value based on the impending change; and
selectively controlling steering of the vehicle based on the steering control value.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the associating each of the reference values to the values is performed using coordinate transformation.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising determining, based on the image, reference values corresponding to a position of another lane indicator relative to the vehicle.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising determining a proximity of the object to the lane indicator based on the values and the position information.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the object is in a blind spot of the vehicle.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the image represents a portion of the environment external to the vehicle that is within a field of view of the image capturing device and the position information indicates that the object is in a blind spot of the vehicle.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the image is of a front view of the vehicle.

15. A remote object detection system of a vehicle, comprising:
a radar sensor configured to detect an object in an environment external to the vehicle;
an image capturing device configured to capture an image representing an environment within a field of view of the image capturing device;
a processor; and
a memory that includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
receive, from the image capturing device, the image, wherein the image is of a lane indicator in front of the vehicle, the lane indicator corresponding to a lane of travel of the vehicle;
determine, based on the image, reference values corresponding to a position of the lane indicator relative to the vehicle within a first reference frame, wherein the position of the lane indicator is on a side of or behind the vehicle;
associate each of the reference values to values within a second reference frame related to a direction the vehicle is traveling, wherein the values correspond to a position of the lane indicator on the side of or behind the vehicle that accounts for the direction the vehicle is traveling;
receive, from the radar sensor, position information of the object;
determine, based on the values and the position information, an assigned lane of the object;
detect an impending change of the lane of travel of the vehicle to the assigned lane of the object;
generate a steering control value based on the impending change; and
selectively control steering of the vehicle based on the steering control value.

16. The remote object detection system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to associate each of the reference values to the values using coordinate transformation.

17. The remote object detection system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to determine, based on the image, reference values corresponding to a position of another lane indicator relative to the vehicle.

18. The remote object detection system of claim 15 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to determine a proximity of the object to the lane indicator based on the values and the position information.

19. The remote object detection system of claim 15 , wherein the object is in a blind spot of the vehicle.

20. The remote object detection system of claim 15 , wherein:
the radar sensor is further configured to track a number of times a signal is returned from an area in a predetermined distance of the vehicle; and
the instructions further cause the processor to generate the steering control value based on the number of times the signal is returned and the predetermined distance.

Assignees

• Steering Solutions Ip Holding

Inventors

• Sheng Jian
• Varunjikar Tejas M
• Ryne Zaki

Classifications

• B62D15/0265

  Automatic obstacle avoidance by steering · CPC title

• B62D15/025 Primary

  Active steering aids, e.g. helping the driver by actively influencing the steering system after environment evaluation (B62D1/28 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06V20/588

  Recognition of the road, e.g. of lane markings; Recognition of the vehicle driving pattern in relation to the road · CPC title

• B60R21/0134

  responsive to imminent contact with an obstacle {, e.g. using radar systems} · CPC title

• G01S13/931

  of land vehicles · CPC title