Red-eye detection device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9177202-B2
Application number	US-201114232175-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 11, 2011
Priority date	Jul 11, 2011
Publication date	Nov 3, 2015
Grant date	Nov 3, 2015

Abstract

An ECU connected to an image sensor includes a face position and face feature point detection unit that detects the feature points of the face of the driver, a red-eye detection unit that detects the red eye with template matching using a red-eye template, an eye opening degree calculation unit that calculates the degree of eye opening, a relative eye opening degree calculation unit that calculates the relative degree of eye opening which is 0% in an eye-closed state and is 100% in an eye-open state, and a red-eye template update unit that generates a red-eye template on the basis of the relative degree of eye opening and updates a red-eye template used for the next template matching with the generated red-eye template.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A red-eye detection device comprising:
an image sensor that captures a face image;
an eye opening degree calculation unit that calculates a relative degree of eye opening which is 0% in an eye-closed state and is 100% in an eye-open state from the face image captured by the image sensor;
a red-eye template generation unit that generates a red-eye template with a shape corresponding to the relative degree of eye opening calculated by the eye opening degree calculation unit; and
a red-eye detection unit that detects a red eye from the face image with template matching using the red-eye template which is generated by the template generation unit.

2. The red-eye detection device according to claim 1 ,
wherein, when it is determined that there is a change in the relative degree of eye opening calculated by the eye opening degree calculation unit between previous calculation and current calculation, the red-eye template generation unit updates a red-eye template used for next template matching with the generated red-eye template.

3. A red-eye detection device comprising:
an image sensor that captures a face image;
an eye opening degree calculation unit that calculates a degree of eye opening from the face image captured by the image sensor;
a drowsiness estimation unit that estimates a degree of drowsiness from the degree of eye opening calculated by the eye opening degree calculation unit;
a red-eye template generation unit that generates a red-eye template with a shape corresponding to the degree of drowsiness estimated by the drowsiness estimation unit; and
a red-eye detection unit that detects a red eye from the face image with template matching using the red-eye template generated by the template generation unit.

4. A red-eye detection device comprising:
an image sensor that captures a face image;
an out-vehicle light amount detection unit that detects an amount of light outside a vehicle;
an eye opening degree calculation unit that calculates a degree of eye opening from the face image captured by the image sensor;
a black eye detection unit that detects a black eye from the face image captured by the image sensor; and
a red-eye template generation unit that generates a red-eye template corresponding to the degree of eye opening calculated by the eye opening degree calculation unit,
wherein the red-eye template generation unit learns a correlation between the degree of eye opening and the size of the black eye at a time when the amount of light outside the vehicle detected by the out-vehicle light amount detection unit is large and generates a red-eye template with a size corresponding to the degree of eye opening with reference to the correlation at a time when the amount of light outside the vehicle detected by the out-vehicle light amount detection unit is small.

Assignees

• HANITA Kiyoto
• Takemae Yoshinao
• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• HANITA Kiyoto
• Takemae Yoshinao

Classifications

• G06V20/597 Primary

  Recognising the driver's state or behaviour, e.g. attention or drowsiness · CPC title

• G06V40/19

  Sensors therefor · CPC title

• G06V40/193

  Preprocessing; Feature extraction · CPC title

• G06T7/408

  Physics · mapped topic

• G06T2207/30216

  Redeye defect · CPC title