Patent Publication Number: US-2019191084-A1

Title: In-vehicle driving image map data establishment system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to Patent Application No. 201711368883.1 filed in China, P.R.C. on Dec. 18, 2017, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to a map data establishment system, and in particular, to an in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system. 
     Related Art 
     With the development and progress of the times, the instruction cycle of the Internet and the connection capability of a network device are improved continuously. Therefore, various devices can be connected to each other via networks, and a great variety of Internet of Vehicles applications come into being. For example, making of a street view map, real-time road condition monitoring, or cloud driving recording are achieved all by uploading, via the Internet, road condition images shot by vehicles. 
     However, currently, when a vehicle uploads a road condition image, it cannot be ensured that the vehicle is located in a good network environment. For example, during driving, signal strength of a vehicle network varies according to different geographical environments of a vehicle, and subsequently, available bandwidth of the vehicle network cannot be maintained stable, easily causing a result that the available bandwidth cannot satisfy a required image transmission quantity, and further affecting quality of map data establishment. 
     SUMMARY 
     In view of this, an embodiment provides an in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system, including an image capture apparatus, a vehicle speed unit, and a control apparatus. The image capture apparatus continuously captures and outputs a plurality of outside-vehicle images. The vehicle speed unit continuously detects and outputs real-time vehicle speed information. The control apparatus is electrically connected to the image capture apparatus and the vehicle speed unit, the control apparatus continuously receives the real-time vehicle speed information, and the control apparatus selectively controls, when the real-time vehicle speed information is greater than a threshold, the image capture apparatus to capture the outside-vehicle images at a first frequency, or the control apparatus selectively controls, when the real-time vehicle speed information is less than the threshold, the image capture apparatus to capture the outside-vehicle images at a second frequency, in which the second frequency is less than the first frequency. 
     In summary, in the in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system in this embodiment of the present disclosure, a frequency at which the image capture apparatus captures the outside-vehicle images can be adjusted according to a change of the real-time vehicle speed information. For example, when a vehicle speed is less than 30 km/h, the control apparatus controls the image capture apparatus to capture the outside-vehicle images at a frequency of three images per second; when the vehicle speed is between 30 km/h and 40 km/h, the control apparatus controls the image capture apparatus to capture the outside-vehicle images at a frequency of five images per second, so as to reduce a quantity of the outside-vehicle images and a file size of each of the outside-vehicle images to be uploaded (for example, uploaded to the cloud for making of a street view map, real-time road condition monitoring, or cloud driving recording), and further reduce load of network bandwidth, effectively improving the quality and efficiency of map data establishment. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below for illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present disclosure, and where: 
         FIG. 1  is a system block diagram of an embodiment of an in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of a vehicle in an embodiment of an in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic internal diagram of a vehicle in an embodiment of an in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system; 
         FIG. 4  is a system block diagram of another embodiment of an in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of image capture in an embodiment of an in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of image processing in  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram of image capture in another embodiment of an in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system; and 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram of image processing in  FIG. 7 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 1  is a system block diagram of an embodiment of an in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system. In this embodiment, the in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system  1  includes at least one image capture apparatus  10 , a vehicle speed unit  20 , and a control apparatus  30 . The in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system  1  may be applied to a remote system that requires a vehicle to upload, via a network, an image to establish map data, such as a system for making of a street view map, real-time road condition monitoring, or cloud driving recording. 
     In an embodiment, the in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system  1  may be disposed in a vehicle  2 . As shown in  FIG. 2 , in this embodiment, the in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system  1  includes a plurality of image capture apparatuses  10  (there are four image capture apparatuses  10  herein). The image capture apparatuses  10  may be specifically camera. These image capture apparatuses  10  are mounted at different locations on the vehicle  2  to respectively capture the outside-vehicle images I. For example, these image capture apparatuses  10  may be respectively mounted at a front side (such as an engine cover or a front air intake vent), a rear side (such as a rear trunk), a left side (such as a left rear-view mirror), and a right side (such as a right rear-view mirror) of the vehicle  2 , to respectively capture the outside-vehicle images I around the vehicle  2 . Actually, a quantity, locations, and angles of the image capture apparatuses  10  may all be adjusted according to an actual requirement. The foregoing is only an example, but is not used for limitation. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3 , the vehicle speed unit  20  and the control apparatus  30  may be integrated in a dashboard apparatus  3  in the vehicle  2 , but are not limited to this. The vehicle speed unit  20  and the control apparatus  30  may be alternatively independent components and respectively disposed at different locations in the vehicle  2 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the vehicle speed unit  20  may continuously detect and output real-time vehicle speed information S. For example, the vehicle speed unit  20  may be specifically a speed meter (such as a mechanical speed meter or an electronic speed meter), to detect current real-time vehicle speed information S of the vehicle  2  (for example, a current speed is 30 km/h, 40 km/h, 50 km/h, or 60 km/h). For example, when the vehicle speed unit  20  is a mechanical speed meter, the mechanical speed meter runs via a gear and shaft assembly, to measure a magnetic pole change caused by magnet rotation driven by the gear, so that a real-time speed of the vehicle  2  can be detected and the real-time vehicle speed information S can be output. For example, when the vehicle speed unit  20  is an electronic speed meter, the vehicle speed unit  20  obtains information from a speed sensor in a transmission, to detect a real-time speed of the vehicle  2  and output the real-time vehicle speed information S. 
     In an embodiment, the vehicle speed unit  20  may be alternatively a global positioning system (GPS) speed meter. For example, the GPS speed meter may continuously receive a GPS location of the vehicle  2 , to calculate a real-time speed of the vehicle  2  according to a change of the GPS location and output the real-time vehicle speed information S. Still alternatively, in another embodiment, the vehicle speed unit  20  may be a radar speed meter. For example, the radar speed meter may continuously transmit a radar signal, calculate a driving speed of the vehicle  2  according to a change value between a transmit frequency of the radar signal and a frequency of a reflected signal, and output the real-time vehicle speed information S. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , in an embodiment, the control apparatus  30  may be specifically a micro-processor, a micro-controller, a digital signal processor, a micro-computer, a central processing unit, a field programmable gate array, a programmable logic device, a state machine, a logic circuit, an analog circuit, or a digital circuit. In this embodiment, the control apparatus  30  is electrically connected to the image capture apparatus  10  and the vehicle speed unit  20 . The control apparatus  30  may continuously receive the real-time vehicle speed information S transmitted by the vehicle speed unit  20 , and the control apparatus  30  may control, when the real-time vehicle speed information S is greater than a threshold, the at least one image capture apparatus  10  to capture the outside-vehicle images I at a first frequency, or the control apparatus  30  controls, when the real-time vehicle speed information S is less than the threshold, the image capture apparatus  10  to capture the outside-vehicle images I at a second frequency less than the first frequency. For example, at least one threshold (such as 30 km/h) may be preset for the in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system  1 . When the real-time vehicle speed information S is less than 30 km/h (for example, the real-time vehicle speed information S is 28 km/h), the control apparatus  30  controls the image capture apparatus  10  to capture the outside-vehicle images I at a frequency of three images per second; or when the real-time vehicle speed information S is greater than 30 km/h (for example, the real-time vehicle speed information S is 35 km/h), the control apparatus  30  controls the image capture apparatus  10  to capture the outside-vehicle images I at a frequency of five images per second. However, the foregoing embodiment is only an example. Actually, a plurality of thresholds (such as 30 km/h, 40 km/h, or 50 km/h) may be preset for the in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system  1 . When the real-time vehicle speed information S is within different threshold ranges, the control apparatus  30  controls the image capture apparatus  10  to capture the outside-vehicle images I at different frequencies. For example, in the following Table 1, a larger value of the real-time vehicle speed information S indicates a higher frequency at which the image capture apparatus  10  captures the outside-vehicle images I under the control of the control apparatus  30 . 
     
       
         
           
               
               
             
               
                   
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
            
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Vehicle speed 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 Less 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 than 
                   
                   
                   
                   
                 Higher than 
               
               
                   
                 30 km/h 
                 30 km/h 
                 45 km/h 
                 60 km/h 
                 75 km/h 
                 75 km/h 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Quantity 
                 3 
                 5 
                 6 
                 7 
                 8 
                 9 
               
               
                 of images 
               
               
                 captured 
               
               
                 per second 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     Therefore, in the in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system  1  in this embodiment of the present disclosure, a frequency at which the image capture apparatus  10  captures the outside-vehicle images I can be adjusted according to a change of the real-time vehicle speed information S, so that a quantity of the outside-vehicle images I and a file size of each of the outside-vehicle images I to be uploaded (for example, uploaded to the cloud for making of a street view map, real-time road condition monitoring, or cloud driving recording) can be reduced, thereby reducing load of network bandwidth, preventing a case of insufficient bandwidth from occurring, and effectively improving the quality and efficiency of map data establishment. For example, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system  1  may include an image upload apparatus  40  (such as an antenna module, a WiFi module, or a 3G/4G module). The image upload apparatus  40  is electrically connected to the control apparatus  30  and the image capture apparatus  10  to receive the outside-vehicle images I, and the image upload apparatus  40  can upload the outside-vehicle images I to a cloud server  70  for making of map data, real-time road condition monitoring, or cloud driving recording. 
     For another example, as shown in  FIG. 1 , in an embodiment, the control apparatus  30  may further control an upload frequency of the image upload apparatus  40 . For example, the control apparatus  30  further controls, when the real-time vehicle speed information S is greater than a threshold, the image upload apparatus  40  to wirelessly transmit the outside-vehicle images I to the outside at a third frequency, or the control apparatus  30  further controls, when the real-time vehicle speed information S is less than the threshold, the image upload apparatus  40  to wirelessly transmit the outside-vehicle images I to the outside at a fourth frequency less than the third frequency. For example, at least one threshold (such as 40 km/h) may be preset for the in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system  1 . When the real-time vehicle speed information S is less than 40 km/h (for example, the real-time vehicle speed information S is 38 km/h), the control apparatus  30  may control the image capture apparatus  10  to capture the outside-vehicle images I at a frequency of three images per second and simultaneously control the image upload apparatus  40  to upload the outside-vehicle images I at a frequency of three images per second (that is, the first frequency may be equal to the third frequency), or when the real-time vehicle speed information S is greater than 40 km/h (for example, the real-time vehicle speed information S is 45 km/h), the control apparatus  30  may control the image capture apparatus  10  to capture the outside-vehicle images I at a frequency of five images per second and simultaneously control the image upload apparatus  40  to upload the outside-vehicle images I at a frequency of five images per second (that is, the second frequency may be equal to the fourth frequency). 
     In another embodiment, the control apparatus  30  may further control a transmission frequency of the image upload apparatus  40  to be less than a capture frequency of the image capture apparatus  10 . For example, when the real-time vehicle speed information S is less than 40 km/h (for example, the real-time vehicle speed information S is 38 km/h), the control apparatus  30  may control the image capture apparatus  10  to capture the outside-vehicle images I at a frequency of three images per second and simultaneously control the image upload apparatus  40  to upload the outside-vehicle images I at a frequency of two images per second (that is, the first frequency is greater than the third frequency), or when the real-time vehicle speed information S is greater than 40 km/h (for example, the real-time vehicle speed information S is 45 km/h), the control apparatus  30  may control the image capture apparatus  10  to capture the outside-vehicle images I at a frequency of five images per second and simultaneously control the image upload apparatus  40  to upload the outside-vehicle images I at a frequency of four images per second (that is, the second frequency is greater than fourth frequency). Therefore, in this embodiment, the upload frequency of the image upload apparatus  40  can be further adjusted according to a change of the real-time vehicle speed information S, so as to further reduce a quantity of the outside-vehicle images I and a file size of each of the outside-vehicle images I to be uploaded, and prevent a case of insufficient bandwidth from occurring. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 ,  FIG. 4  is a system block diagram of another embodiment of an in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system. In this embodiment, the in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system  1  further includes an image processing apparatus  50 , electrically connected to the image capture apparatus  10 . The image processing apparatus  50  may receive the outside-vehicle images I that are shot by the image capture apparatus  10  and correspondingly output a plurality of processed images D, and a data amount of each of the processed images D is less than a data amount of each of the outside-vehicle images I. For example, the data amount of each of the outside-vehicle images I is 2 MB, and the data amount of the processed image D obtained after the image processing apparatus  50  processes each of the outside-vehicle images I may be changed to 1 MB. The image upload apparatus  40  may be electrically connected to the image processing apparatus  50 , to wirelessly transmit these processed images D to the cloud server  70 , so as to further reduce a file size of each of the outside-vehicle images I to be uploaded, thereby further reducing the load of the network bandwidth, and continuously uploading the map data in limited and constantly-changing vehicle network bandwidth. 
     In some embodiments, the image processing apparatus  50  may process the outside-vehicle images I into the processed images D in the following plurality of manners. For example, as shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 , in an embodiment, the image processing apparatus  50  may combine two adjacent outside-vehicle images I 1  and I 2  into one processed image D, to further reduce a file size of the two outside-vehicle images I 1  and I 2 . For example, in this embodiment, the two adjacent outside-vehicle images I 1  and I 2  are consecutive images captured by the image capture apparatus  10  at a frequency (such as a frequency of two images per second). It can be seen from  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6  that the two adjacent outside-vehicle images I 1  and I 2  have an overlap area O. The image processing apparatus  50  may remove the overlap area O in the outside-vehicle image I 1 , and then merge a remaining partial image P of the outside-vehicle image I 1  with the outside-vehicle image I 2  to form the processed image D. Therefore, compared with the two outside-vehicle images I 1  and I 2 , in the processed image D, one image of the overlap area O is removed. Therefore, a file size of the processed image D is less than a sum of file sizes of the two outside-vehicle images I 1  and I 2 . For example, the sum of the file sizes of the original two outside-vehicle images I 1  and I 2  is 2 MB, and the file size of the processed image D may be changed to 1.5 MB. The image upload apparatus  40  uploads the processed image D. Therefore, compared with upload of the two outside-vehicle images I 1  and I 2 , the file size of the outside-vehicle images I 1  and I 2  to be uploaded can be further reduced. 
     Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 7  and  FIG. 8 , in an embodiment, each outside-vehicle image I may include a near-field image I N  and a far-field image I F , and the processed image D includes only the near-field image I N . For example, in this embodiment, the near-field image I N  in the outside-vehicle image I is a road image relatively close to the vehicle  2 , and the far-field image I F  is a non-road image relatively away from the vehicle  2 . After receiving the outside-vehicle image I, the image processing apparatus  50  may remove the far-field image I F  to form the processed image D, so that the processed image D includes only the near-field image I N . Therefore, a file size of the processed image D is less than a file size of the outside-vehicle image I. For example, a file size of the original outside-vehicle image I is 2 MB, and the file size of the processed image D may be changed to 1 MB. The image upload apparatus  40  uploads the processed image D. Therefore, compared with upload of the outside-vehicle image I, the file size of each of the outside-vehicle image I to be transmitted can be further reduced. In an embodiment, the image processing apparatus  50  may be connected to a map data library (not shown in the figure), to receive the outside-vehicle image I and identify the near-field image I N  and the far-field image I F  in the outside-vehicle image I. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the image processing apparatus  50  may identify the near-field image I N  and the far-field image I F  in the outside-vehicle image I by using a video image detection (VID) technology. This is not limited herein. 
     In an embodiment, after receiving the outside-vehicle images I, the image processing apparatus  50  may directly reduce resolution of the outside-vehicle images I to form the processed images D, so that resolution of each of the processed images D is less than resolution of each of the outside-vehicle images I. For example, resolution of the original outside-vehicle images I is 720P, and after processing by the image processing apparatus  50 , the processed images D whose resolution is 480P can be formed. The image upload apparatus  40  uploads the processed images D. Therefore, compared with upload of the outside-vehicle images I, the file size of each of the outside-vehicle images I to be uploaded can be further reduced. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , in an embodiment, the control apparatus  30  may further control a transmission frequency at which the image upload apparatus  40  uploads the processed images D. For example, the control apparatus  30  controls, when the real-time vehicle speed information S is greater than a threshold, the image upload apparatus  40  to wirelessly transmit the processed images D to the outside at a transmission frequency, or the control apparatus  30  controls, when the real-time vehicle speed information S is less than the threshold, the image upload apparatus  40  to wirelessly transmit the processed images D to the outside at another transmission frequency less than the foregoing transmission frequency. For example, at least one threshold (such as 40 km/h) may be preset for the in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system  1 . When the real-time vehicle speed information S is less than 40 km/h (for example, the real-time vehicle speed information S is 38 km/h), the control apparatus  30  may control the image upload apparatus  40  to wirelessly upload the processed images D at a frequency of three images per second, or when the real-time vehicle speed information S is greater than 40 km/h (for example, the real-time vehicle speed information S is 45 km/h), the control apparatus  30  may control the image upload apparatus  40  to wirelessly upload the processed images D at a frequency of five images per second. Therefore, a transmission frequency at which the image upload apparatus  40  uploads the processed images D can be adjusted according to a change of the real-time vehicle speed information S, thereby further reducing load of network bandwidth. 
     Still as shown in  FIG. 4 , in this embodiment, the in-vehicle driving image map data establishment system  1  further includes an image identification apparatus  60 . The image identification apparatus  60  is electrically connected to the image capture apparatus  10  and the control apparatus  30 , and the image identification apparatus  60  receives each outside-vehicle image I and correspondingly outputs a quantity of the identified objects. For example, the image identification apparatus  60  can identify an object (such as a house, a vehicle, a roadside tree, or a pedestrian) in the outside-vehicle image I by using the VID technology, to obtain the quantity of the identified objects. In addition, when the quantity of the identified objects is greater than a preset value (for example, the quantity of the identified objects is three, and the preset value is two identified objects), the control apparatus  30  controls the image capture apparatus  10  to capture the outside-vehicle images I at an adjusted frequency. The adjusted frequency is greater than the first frequency and the second frequency. That is, a larger quantity of objects (such as a house, a vehicle, a roadside tree, or a pedestrian) in the outside-vehicle images I indicates a higher frequency at which the image capture apparatus  10  captures the outside-vehicle images I under the control of the control apparatus  30 , thereby preventing some objects from being omitted from the captured the outside-vehicle images I. 
     Although the present disclosure has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, the disclosure is not for limiting the scope of the disclosure. Persons having ordinary skill in the art may make various modifications and changes without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred embodiments described above.