Patent ID: 9239960
Filing Date: 2016-01-19
CPC Classification: B60R,G06K,G06T,G08G

Claim Text:
1. A three-dimensional object detection device comprising: an image capturing unit arranged to capture images of a predetermined detection area rearward of a host vehicle equipped with the three-dimensional object detection device; an image conversion unit programmed to convert a viewpoint of the images obtained by the image capturing unit to create bird's-eye view images; a three-dimensional object detection unit programmed to detect a presence of a three-dimensional object within the predetermined detection area in which the bird's-eye view images obtained at different times by the image conversion unit are aligned, and difference waveform information is generated by counting and creating a frequency distribution of a number of pixels that indicate a predetermined difference in a difference image of the bird's-eye view images that were aligned to detect the presence of the three-dimensional object within the predetermined detection area; a movement speed calculation unit programmed to calculate a movement speed of the three-dimensional object based on the difference waveform information; a three-dimensional object assessment unit programmed to assess whether the three-dimensional object detected by the three-dimensional object detection unit is another vehicle present in the predetermined detection area based on the difference waveform information; a non-detection-object assessment unit programmed to repeatedly calculate an amount of change in time of the movement speed of the three-dimensional object to thereby detect an amount of variability in the movement speed of the three-dimensional object, and to determine that the three-dimensional object has a greater possibility of being a non-detection object that is different from the another vehicle as the amount of variability becomes higher; and a control unit programmed to inhibit the three-dimensional object assessment unit from assessing that the three-dimensional object is the another vehicle based on an assessment results of the non-detection-object assessment unit.