Patent ID: 6487303
Filing Date: 2002-11-26
Classification: G06T

Abstract:
An object detector comprising distance image generating means for measuring a distance from a reference position to an object to be detected present on a plane and generating a distance image of the plane and the object to be detected, and detecting means for detecting the object on the plane by using the distance image generated by the distance image generating means, wherein the object detector comprises:three-dimensional distribution generating means for calculating three-dimensional co-ordinate position data in a three-dimensional co-ordinates system, for each pixel of the distance image, on the basis of two-dimensional co-ordinate position data for each pixel of the distance image and distance data from the reference position for each of the pixels, dividing a two-dimensional distribution in a depth direction Y and a height direction Z at prescribed intervals and selecting bottom point data thereof, on the basis of the calculated three-dimensional co-ordinate position data for each pixel, determining the plane by planar approximation of the height indicated by the three-dimensional co-ordinate position data for the selected pixels, and generating a three-dimensional distribution of pixels corresponding to the object to be detected; and wherein the detecting means detects groups of pixels having a prescribed height or more with reference to the determined plane as the object to be detected.