Patent ID: 8610620

Claim:
An object detecting apparatus for detecting an object on the basis of target information acquired by a radar and target information acquired from an image picked up by a monocular image sensor, the image being called a monocular image detection edge, the object detecting apparatus comprising: an edge acquiring unit configured to extract a target corresponding to a target recognized by the radar, from the image picked up by the monocular image sensor and to acquire a set of left edges by acquiring a left edge of the extracted target every time a predetermined period of time elapses; and a set of right edges by acquiring a right edge of the extracted target every time the predetermined period of time elapses; and a locus approximation line deriving unit configured to derive: for the set of left edges, a left edge locus approximation line as a straight line or predetermined curved line for approximating loci of the set of the left edges acquired by the edge acquiring unit every time the predetermined period of time elapses; and for the set of right edges, a right edge locus approximation line as a straight line or predetermined curved line for approximating loci of the set of the right edges acquired by the edge acquiring unit every time the predetermined period of time elapses; and a selecting unit configured to select a true edge of the target; a lateral position deriving unit configured to derive a lateral position of the target on the basis of a position of the true edge by the selecting unit; wherein: the true edge of the target is selected as either (1) a true left edge of the target in the event that a greater number of acquired left edges appear on the left edge locus approximation line than the number of acquired right edges that appear on the right edge locus approximation line; or (2) a true right edge of the target in the event that a greater number of acquired right edges appear on the right edge locus approximation line than the number of acquired left edges that appear on the left edge locus approximation line.