Patent ID: 7170548

Claim:
An obstacle monitoring device comprising: imaging means for taking an image of a predetermined area; one-dimension extracting means for extracting a one-dimensional signal from the image; and obstacle detecting means for determining presence or absence of an obstacle based on the one-dimensional signal, wherein the one-dimension extracting means includes: one-dimension setting means for setting a method of converting the image taken by the imaging means into the one-dimensional signal; and one-dimension generating means for converting the image into the one-dimensional signal in accordance with the converting method set by the one-dimension setting means, wherein the one-dimension setting means includes: line setting means for setting a suspected line on which an obstacle is suspected to be present; and process setting means for setting, based on a pixel on the suspected line, the converting method to be adopted by the one-dimension generating means; and data detecting means for detecting a speed and a steering angle of an own vehicle where the obstacle monitoring device is provided, wherein the line setting means adjusts the suspected line in accordance with the speed and the steering angle of the own vehicle detected by the data detecting means.