Patent ID: 8055020

Claim:
A method for recognizing and tracking of a moving object from a motor vehicle having a camera device arranged thereon, the method comprising: taking, using the camera device, images of an environment within a range of view of the camera device at time intervals, said images including picture elements; identifying for each image, with the aid of an image processing system, the picture elements in the image that correspond to a moving object to be tracked, and extracting a picture element that represents a projection in image coordinates of a spatial point where the object contacts a road plane; and tracking movement of the spatial point in the road plane using a state estimator that includes an at least four-dimensional state vector comprising a position of the spatial point in the road plane and an associated speed in the road plane; said tracking comprising the steps of: generating a prediction for the state vector; converting the prediction into image coordinates by suitable projection equations; calculating an error for the prediction in image coordinates by using a covariance matrix; and comparing the prediction with the picture element extracted in a later image, and updating the prediction based upon the comparison.