Patent Document ID: 20120069181
Application ID: 13230009
Patent Status: 0

Claim One:
1. An object identification device, comprising: an image capturing device to receive polarized light polarized in two different directions included in light reflected from an object in an image capturing area and capture two polarized images, one polarized image for each type of polarized light; a noise removal unit to remove a noise component included in each of the two polarized images captured by the image capturing device, using a noise removing parameter; an index value computing unit to divide each of the two polarized images captured by the image capturing device into identification-processing areas to compute an object identification index value for each of the identification-processing areas using light intensity data of each of the two polarized images from which the noise component is removed by the noise removal unit; an object identification processing unit that conducts an object identification process that determines a plurality of identification processing areas corresponding to an identification target object based on the object identification index value of each of the identification processing areas computed by the index value computing unit, and identifies a plurality of adjacent identification processing areas as the identification processing areas corresponding to the identification target object as an image area of the identification target object; an environment information obtaining unit to obtain environment information to determine an environmental condition of an object in an image capturing area; an environmental condition determination unit to determine an environmental condition of the object in the image capturing area based on the environment information obtained by the environment information obtaining unit; and a parameter storage unit to store one or more noise removing parameters to remove a noise component included in the two polarized images captured under an environmental condition determined by the environmental condition determination unit, each noise removing parameter being prepared and stored for one of a plurality of mutually exclusive environmental conditions, wherein the noise removal unit reads out a noise removing parameter for the environmental condition determined by the environmental condition determination unit from the parameter storage unit, and conducts the noise removing process using the noise removing parameter.