Patent ID: 6075874
Filing Date: 2000-06-13
Classification: G06K,G08G

Abstract:
A traffic congestion measuring method of measuring a state of traffic congestion on the basis of a motion picture which represents a road and vehicles coming and going on said road and is formed by a series of images taken by a video camera, comprising the steps of:(a) setting a plurality of sample points in said motion picture, each of said sample points having a brightness level;(b) detecting, as presence sample points, the sample points which are situated in one of said series of images taken at a predetermined time and at each of which the vehicle is expected to be present;(c) detecting, as movement sample points, the sample points which are situated in the image taken at said predetermined time and at each of which the vehicle in motion is expected to be present;(d) detecting movement blocks each formed by part of the sample points adjacent to one another and including part of the movement sample points, a ratio of the movement sample points to all of the sample points contained in each movement block being larger than a predetermined level;(e) detecting, as congestion sample points, the presence sample points excluded from said movement blocks;(f) detecting congestion blocks each formed by part of the sample points adjacent to one another and including part of the congestion sample points, a ratio of the congestion sample points to all of the sample points contained in each congestion block being larger than a predetermined level; and(g) measuring the state of traffic congestion on said road at said predetermined time on the basis of said congestion blocks.