Vehicular control system using cameras and radar sensor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9834216-B2
Application number	US-201715413462-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 24, 2017
Priority date	May 3, 2002
Publication date	Dec 5, 2017
Grant date	Dec 5, 2017

Abstract

A vehicular control system includes a plurality of cameras that capture image data, at least one radar sensor that senses radar data and a control that processes image data captured by the cameras and sensed radar data. The control, responsive to processing of captured image data, detects lane markers and/or road edges and determines curvature of the road being traveled by the equipped vehicle. The control processes captured image data and sensed radar data to detect vehicles. The control, based on processing of captured image data and/or sensed radar data, detects another vehicle and determines distance from the equipped vehicle to the detected other vehicle. The control may, based at least in part on the detection of another vehicle and the determination of distance from the equipped vehicle to the detected other vehicle, determine whether it is safe for the equipped vehicle to execute a lane change maneuver.

First claim

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A vehicular control system, said vehicular control system comprising:
a plurality of cameras disposed at a vehicle equipped with said vehicular control system, wherein said plurality of cameras comprises at least three cameras;
said plurality of cameras at least comprising (i) a forward-viewing camera mounted at a front portion of the equipped vehicle and having a field of view at least forward of the equipped vehicle, said forward-viewing camera operable to capture image data, (ii) a driver side-viewing camera mounted at a driver-side portion of the equipped vehicle and having a field of view at least sideward and rearward of the equipped vehicle at the driver side of the equipped vehicle, said driver side-viewing camera operable to capture image data, and (iii) a passenger side-viewing camera mounted at a passenger-side portion of the equipped vehicle and having a field of view at least sideward and rearward of the equipped vehicle at the passenger side of the equipped vehicle, said passenger side-viewing camera operable to capture image data;
at least one radar sensor having a field of sensing exterior of the equipped vehicle and operable to sense radar data;
a control comprising a processor;
wherein image data captured by at least said forward-viewing camera, said driver side-viewing camera and said passenger side-viewing camera is provided to said control;
wherein radar data sensed by said at least one radar sensor is provided to said control;
wherein said control, responsive to processing of image data captured at least by said forward-viewing camera, detects at least one of (a) lane markers within the exterior field of view of at least said forward-viewing camera on a road being traveled by the equipped vehicle and (b) road edges within the exterior field of view of at least said forward-viewing camera on a road being traveled by the equipped vehicle;
wherein said control, based at least in part on detection of at least one of (a) lane markers via processing of captured image data and (b) road edges via processing of captured image data, determines curvature of the road being traveled by the equipped vehicle;
wherein said control processes captured image data provided thereto via an edge detection algorithm to detect vehicles present exteriorly of the equipped vehicle and within the exterior field of view of at least one of said forward-viewing camera, said driver side-viewing camera and said passenger side-viewing camera;
wherein said control processes sensed radar data provided thereto to detect vehicles present exteriorly of the equipped vehicle and within the exterior field of sensing of said at least one radar sensor;
wherein said control, based on processing of at least one of (i) captured image data and (ii) sensed radar data, detects another vehicle that is present exterior of the equipped vehicle and determines distance from the equipped vehicle to the detected other vehicle that is present exterior of the equipped vehicle; and
wherein said control, based at least in part on said detection of another vehicle and said determination of distance from the equipped vehicle to the detected other vehicle, determines whether it is safe for the equipped vehicle to execute a lane change maneuver.

2. The vehicular control system of claim 1 , wherein said vehicular control system is operable to wirelessly communicate data to a remote receiving device that is remote from the equipped vehicle.

3. The vehicular control system of claim 2 , wherein said vehicular control system wirelessly communicates data to indicate at least one of (i) a location of the equipped vehicle and (ii) a condition of the equipped vehicle.

4. The vehicular control system of claim 3 , wherein data is wirelessly communicated to said remote receiving device in response to an input from a transmitter associated with said remote receiving device.

5. The vehicular control system of claim 3 , wherein data is wirelessly communicated to said remote receiving device via a limited-range wireless communication.

6. The vehicular control system of claim 5 , wherein said limited-range wireless communication comprise a Bluetooth limited-range wireless communication.

7. The vehicular control system of claim 3 , wherein data wirelessly communicated to said remote receiving device comprises data derived from image data captured by at least one of said forward-viewing camera, said driver side-viewing camera and said passenger side-viewing camera.

8. The vehicular control system of claim 7 , wherein data wirelessly communicated to said remote receiving device comprises data relevant to the geographic location of the equipped vehicle.

9. The vehicular control system of claim 8 , wherein said data relevant to the geographic location of the equipped vehicle is derived, at least in part, from a global positioning system (GPS) that pinpoints the location of the equipped vehicle.

10. The vehicular control system of claim 1 , wherein said control is operable to determine whether detected edges constitute a portion of a vehicle and is operable to track at least one detected edge over multiple frames of captured image data.

11. The vehicular control system of claim 1 , wherein said control controls a passive steering system of the equipped vehicle, and wherein said passive steering system of the equipped vehicle comprises a steering system operable to adjust a steering direction of the equipped vehicle.

12. The vehicular control system of claim 11 , wherein, responsive at least in part to processing at said control of image data captured by at least one of said forward-viewing camera, said driver side-viewing camera and said passenger side-viewing camera, said control controls said steering system to adjust the steering direction of the equipped vehicle.

13. The vehicular control system of claim 12 , wherein, responsive to a determination of the equipped vehicle inadvertently drifting out of its occupied lane, said control maintains the equipped vehicle in its occupied lane.

14. The vehicular control system of claim 13 , wherein said control processes image data captured by said forward-viewing camera to estimate distance from the equipped vehicle to a detected leading vehicle that is present exteriorly of the equipped vehicle and within the exterior field of view of said forward-viewing camera, and wherein, when the detected leading vehicle is determined to be within a threshold distance from the equipped vehicle, speed of the equipped vehicle is reduced.

15. The vehicular control system of claim 14 , wherein said forward-viewing camera is primary to said at least one radar sensor.

16. The vehicular control system of claim 11 , wherein said steering system is manually controllable irrespective of said control.

17. The vehicular control system of claim 1 , wherein, responsive at least in part to processing of captured image data at said control, speed of the equipped vehicle is adjusted in accordance with a road condition detected by said vehicular control system.

18. The vehicular control system of claim 1 , wherein, responsive at least in part to processing of captured image data at said control, speed of the equipped vehicle is adjusted in accordance with a traffic condition detected by said vehicular control system.

19. The vehicular control system of claim 1 , wherein said forward-viewing camera is attached at a windshield of the equipped vehicle, and wherein said forward-vi

Assignees

• Magna Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Pawlicki John A
• Mcmahon Martha A
• Chinn Steven G
• Gibson Joel S

Classifications

• B60W30/18 Primary

  Propelling the vehicle · CPC title

• B60K31/0008 Primary

  including means for detecting potential obstacles in vehicle path · CPC title

• B60W2554/4041

  Position · CPC title

• B60W2555/20

  Ambient conditions, e.g. wind or rain · CPC title

• B60W2554/80

  Spatial relation or speed relative to objects · CPC title