Patent ID: 7697749

Claim:
A stereo image processing apparatus, comprising: an imaging device for taking a pair of images of an object for stereo image processing purposes; a stereo processor for correlating the pair of images for each area thereof to thereby perform stereo matching processing for identifying corresponding areas, and obtaining an evaluation function as a result of said stereo matching processing, distance information to said object obtained based on said evaluation function, and reliability information indicating a reliability of said distance information; a parallax corrector for setting an adaptive search range around said area according to said reliability information, obtaining a corrected evaluation function by correcting said evaluation function obtained for said area based on said evaluation function obtained for a respective area within said adaptive search range; wherein said parallax corrector sets said adaptive search range only if a reliability of said area meets predetermined conditions for being moderately positive or negative, and extends said adaptive search range in at least one direction around said area within a predetermined distance from said area to include at least one respective area having a positive reliability, and wherein said parallax corrector applies a weighting to said evaluation function obtained for said respective area within said adaptive search range according to said reliability information obtained for said respective area such that when said reliability is lower, the weighting is lower and when said reliability is higher, the weighting is higher, and also according to a distance between said respective area and said area, and then takes a summation of all of said evaluation functions within said adaptive search range as said corrected evaluation function for said area, in order to correct said distance information to said object based on said corrected evaluation function obtained.