Patent ID: 10789492

Abstract:
Provided is a specific object detection apparatus capable of detecting a specific object even when a self-vehicle is positioned at a distance from the specific object during bad weather. A specific object detection apparatus 20 includes: imaging means (an imaging unit) 21 which captures a specific object V1 including a light source 11 driven based on a PWM signal with a frequency f and a duty ratio D, the specific object V1 being captured at a frame rate of f/D fps or higher; detecting means (a detecting unit) 22a which detects a relatively bright area in an image captured by the imaging means (imaging unit) 21; calculating means (a calculating unit) 22b which calculates a lighting frequency of the relatively bright area detected by the detecting means (detecting unit) 22a; and determining means (a determining unit) 22c which determines that, when the lighting frequency calculated by the calculating means (calculating unit) 22b is a frequency set in advance, the relatively bright area detected by the detecting means (detecting unit) 22a is a specific object.