Patent ID: 8487991

Claim:
A method for estimating a vanishing point in a roadway using a current image generated by a camera on a vehicle, the method comprising: defining an exemplary vanishing point for each of a plurality of sample images; identifying features within each of the plurality of sample images; monitoring the current image generated by the camera; identifying features within the current image; matching the current image to at least one of the sample images based upon the identified features within the current image and the identified features within the plurality of sample images; determining the vanishing point based upon the matching and the exemplary vanishing point for each of the plurality of sample images that have been matched with the current image; determining a horizon line on the current image based upon the exemplary vanishing points comprising: identifying a greatest number of the exemplary vanishing points along a horizontal row over the plurality of sample images as the horizon line, the current image is a separate and distinct image from each of the plurality of sample images; and utilizing the vanishing point and the horizon line to navigate the vehicle.