KR102472569B1 - Method and apparatus for determining the current lane of a vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining a vehicle's current lane. A method according to an embodiment of the present invention obtains a lane map, determines a current road on which a vehicle is driving based on the lane map and vehicle location information, and photographs the front of the vehicle. Based on one forward image, a current lane in which the vehicle is driving may be determined among at least one lane included in the current road. In addition, the method according to an embodiment of the present invention may determine the current lane using at least one of the left lane counting number and the right lane counting number obtained from the forward image.

Description

Method and apparatus for determining current lane of vehicle

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining a vehicle's current lane.

A vehicle running on the road may drive on any one of a plurality of lanes included in the road. A vehicle may frequently change lanes while driving, and a situation in which the number of lanes changes frequently occurs on a road.

A GPS device may be used to determine which lane the vehicle is currently traveling in. A predetermined device may receive a GPS signal from an artificial satellite through a GPS device, and from the GPS signal, an absolute position value on latitude and longitude of the vehicle may be derived. Through this, a device may estimate in which lane the vehicle is currently driving based on the GPS signal.

However, an error may exist in the location information of the vehicle estimated from the GPS signal. Since there may be an error of about 10 m in the location information of the vehicle estimated from the GPS signal, it may be difficult to determine the current lane in which the vehicle is driving among lanes having a width of about 3 m.

Accordingly, there is a need for research into a method for more accurately determining a lane in which the vehicle is currently driving.

The foregoing background art is technical information that the inventor possessed for derivation of the present invention or acquired during the derivation process of the present invention, and cannot necessarily be said to be known art disclosed to the general public prior to filing the present invention.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for determining the current lane of a vehicle. The problem to be solved by the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and other problems and advantages of the present invention that are not mentioned can be understood by the following description and more clearly understood by the embodiments of the present invention. It will be. In addition, it will be appreciated that the problems and advantages to be solved by the present invention can be realized by the means and combinations indicated in the claims.

As a technical means for achieving the above-described technical problem, a first aspect of the present disclosure is a method for determining a current lane of a vehicle, comprising: obtaining a lane map; determining a current road on which the vehicle is traveling based on the lane map and the location information of the vehicle; and determining a current lane on which the vehicle is traveling among at least one lane included in the current road, based on a front image obtained by photographing the front of the vehicle, wherein the current lane is determined. The step may include determining the current lane by using at least one of a left lane counting number and a right lane counting number obtained from the forward image.

A second aspect of the present disclosure provides an apparatus for determining a current lane of a vehicle, comprising: a memory in which at least one program is stored; and a processor that performs an operation by executing the at least one program, wherein the processor performs: obtaining a lane map; determining a current road on which the vehicle is traveling based on the lane map and the location information of the vehicle; and determining a current lane in which the vehicle is traveling from among at least one lane included in the current road, based on a front image obtained by photographing the front of the vehicle, wherein the processor performs The current lane may be determined using at least one of a left lane counting number and a right lane counting number acquired from an image.

A third aspect of the present disclosure may provide a computer-readable recording medium recording a program for executing the method according to the first aspect on a computer.

In addition to this, another method for implementing the present invention, another system, and a computer readable recording medium storing a computer program for executing the method may be further provided.

Other aspects, features and advantages other than those described above will become apparent from the following drawings, claims and detailed description of the invention.

According to the above-described means for solving the problems of the present disclosure, it is possible to more accurately provide the current lane in which the vehicle is currently driving.

1 is a diagram for explaining an example in which a road and a lane on which a vehicle is driving are displayed according to an exemplary embodiment.
2A and 2B are diagrams for explaining an example of recognizing a lane in front of a vehicle in a lane determining device according to an exemplary embodiment;
3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a situation in which it is difficult to determine a current lane of a vehicle through a front image according to an exemplary embodiment.
4A and 4B are exemplary diagrams for describing a situation in which a vehicle changes lanes according to an exemplary embodiment.
5A to 5D are exemplary diagrams for explaining a method of correcting a counting number of left and right lanes when the number of lanes is changed according to an exemplary embodiment.
6 is an exemplary diagram for explaining a method of correcting a counting number of left and right lanes when the number of lanes is changed according to an exemplary embodiment.
7 is a diagram for explaining an example of correcting a location of a vehicle in consideration of a feature on a road according to an exemplary embodiment.
8A and 8B are exemplary diagrams for explaining a method for determining a road according to an exemplary embodiment.
9 is a flowchart of a method of determining a current lane of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment.
10 is a block diagram of a lane determining device according to an exemplary embodiment.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and methods for achieving them will become clear with reference to the detailed description of embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments presented below, but may be implemented in a variety of different forms, and includes all conversions, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. . The embodiments presented below are provided to complete the disclosure of the present invention and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the invention to which the present invention belongs. In describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of related known technologies may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted.

Terms used in this application are only used to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this application, the terms "include" or "have" are intended to designate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but one or more other features It should be understood that the presence or addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof is not precluded.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure may be represented as functional block structures and various processing steps. Some or all of these functional blocks may be implemented as a varying number of hardware and/or software components that perform specific functions. For example, functional blocks of the present disclosure may be implemented by one or more microprocessors or circuit configurations for a predetermined function. Also, for example, the functional blocks of this disclosure may be implemented in various programming or scripting languages. Functional blocks may be implemented as an algorithm running on one or more processors. In addition, the present disclosure may employ prior art for electronic environment setup, signal processing, and/or data processing, etc. Terms such as “mechanism,” “element,” “means,” and “composition” will be used broadly. It can be, and is not limited to mechanical and physical configurations.

In addition, connecting lines or connecting members between components shown in the drawings are only examples of functional connections and/or physical or circuit connections. In an actual device, connections between components may be represented by various functional connections, physical connections, or circuit connections that can be replaced or added.

Hereinafter, 'vehicle' may refer to all types of transportation means such as a car, bus, motorcycle, kickboard, or truck that are used to move people or objects with engines.

In addition, a road means a road on which vehicles travel, and may include, for example, various types of roads, such as expressways, national highways, local roads, expressways, and automobile-only roads. A lane refers to a road space that is divided from each other through division lines displayed on a road surface. The division line refers to a solid line or a dotted line marked on the road surface for distinguishing lanes.

In addition, the 'current driving lane' is a lane in which the means of transportation is currently driving among several lanes, and means a lane space currently occupied and used by the means of transportation, and may also be referred to as an 'ego lane'.

Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram for explaining an example in which a road and a lane on which a vehicle is driving are displayed according to an exemplary embodiment.

In the present disclosure, the lane determining device may determine a current road on which the vehicle is driving based on a lane map and vehicle location information.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the lane determining device may display the road and lane on which the vehicle is driving through the display 100 based on the lane map. The lane map may include information about roads and lanes on which the vehicle can drive. Road 1 and road 2 are displayed on the display 100. Road 1 may include lanes 1-1 and 1-2, and road 2 may include lanes 2-1 and 2-2. It can be seen that the vehicle is currently driving on lanes 1-2 of road 1.

In an embodiment, the lane determining device may receive vehicle location information from a Global Positioning System (GPS) device and a Dead Reckoning (DR) device installed in the vehicle.

Specifically, the GPS device receives vehicle positioning data (latitude, longitude, heading), error information (DOP, Stdev), mode information, and information such as the number of satellites from GPS satellites, and processes them to receive first location information of the vehicle. can output In addition, the DR device is a sensor (eg, a geomagnetic sensor, a sensor for measuring a wheel speed measured by a sensor (eg, a vehicle speedometer, an odometer, an accelerometer, etc.) The second position information of the vehicle may be estimated using a yaw rate and a steering angle measured by a gyro sensor, etc.). Location information of the vehicle may be generated by convergence of the first location information and the second location information.

Meanwhile, an error may exist in vehicle location information generated from the GPS device and the DR device. Specifically, since there may be an error of about 10 m in the location information of the vehicle generated from the GPS device and the DR device, it is difficult to determine the current lane on which the vehicle is driving among lanes having a width of about 3 m.

Meanwhile, the lane determining device may be implemented as a computer device or a plurality of computer devices that provide commands, codes, files, contents, services, and the like by communicating over a network.

Network includes Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), Value Added Network (VAN), mobile radio communication network, satellite communication network, and combinations thereof It is a data communication network in a comprehensive sense that enables each network constituent entity shown in FIG. 1 to communicate smoothly with each other, and may include wired Internet, wireless Internet, and mobile wireless communication network. In addition, wireless communication, for example, wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy (Bluetooth low energy), Zigbee, WFD (Wi-Fi Direct), UWB (ultra wideband), infrared communication (IrDA, infrared Data Association), NFC (Near Field Communication), etc. may be present, but are not limited thereto.

2A and 2B are diagrams for explaining an example of recognizing a lane in front of a vehicle in a lane determining device according to an exemplary embodiment;

Referring to FIG. 2A , a front image 211 photographing the front of the vehicle 210 is shown. Meanwhile, in the front image 211, a X m distance may occur between the road being captured and the current position of the vehicle 210.

Referring to FIG. 2B , the vehicle 210 may calculate an Ego-Lane Recognition (ELR) output value based on a forward image. The ELR output value will be referred to as a left/right lane counting number hereinafter.

The left and right lane counting number may include the left lane counting number and the right lane counting number. The left lane counting number is the number obtained by counting lanes from the left boundary 221 , and the right lane counting number is the number obtained by counting lanes from the right boundary 222 .

For example, the left and right lane counting number may be expressed as L3/R2, which means that the vehicle 210 is currently driving in the third lane from the left boundary 221 and the second lane from the right boundary 222. . Alternatively, the left and right lane counting number may be more simply expressed as 3/2.

3 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a situation in which it is difficult to determine a current lane of a vehicle through a front image according to an exemplary embodiment.

As the lane determining device determines the left and right lane counting number based on the front image, when it cannot identify which lane the vehicle is located in or cannot check at least one of the left boundary and the right boundary, the lane counting number can be output as '0'.

In an embodiment, when the lane determining device cannot identify which lane the vehicle is located in, it may output the lane counting number as '0'.

Referring to FIG. 3 , when the vehicle is changing lanes, the lane determining device cannot identify which lane the vehicle is located in, so it may output the left and right lane counting numbers as 0/0.

In another embodiment, the lane determining device may output the lane counting number as '0' when at least one of the left and right boundaries cannot be identified as determining the left and right lane counting number based on the front image. have.

Specifically, when the left boundary cannot be identified, the lane determining device may output the counting number of the left lane as '0', such as 0/2 or 0/3. In addition, when the right boundary cannot be confirmed, the lane determining device may output the counting number of the right lane as '0', such as 2/0 or 3/0. In addition, when both the left boundary and the right boundary cannot be confirmed, the lane determining device may output the left and right lane counting number as 0/0.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the lane determining device sets the lane counting number to '0' when at least one of the left boundary and the right boundary cannot be identified, such as boundary blockage, intersection entry, merging point, pocket lane, and construction section. can be printed out.

4A and 4B are exemplary diagrams for describing a situation in which a vehicle changes lanes according to an exemplary embodiment.

The lane determining device may determine whether the vehicle 410 changes lanes by using a lane change detection (LCD) technique. In one embodiment, the LCD technique uses an image of the surroundings of the vehicle 410, the speed of the vehicle 410, the acceleration of the vehicle 410, the steering state of the vehicle 410, etc. It may be a technique for determining whether or not to change. However, the type of data used in the LCD technique is not limited to the above example.

The lane determining device may use the lane change detection technique to determine whether the vehicle 410 is maintaining the current lane, moving to the left lane, or moving to the right lane. For example, if the vehicle 410 maintains the current lane, the LCD value is '0', and if the vehicle 410 moves to the left lane, the LCD value is '-1', and the vehicle 410 moves to the right lane. In this case, the LCD value may be set to '+1', but the setting method is not limited thereto.

Referring to FIG. 4A , at a first time point, the vehicle 410 is driving at the left and right lane counting number (L/R) 2/2. Since the vehicle 410 maintains its lane at the first time point, the LCD value may be output as '0'. When the vehicle 410 starts to change lanes to the left lane, the lane determining device at the second time point does not identify which lane the vehicle 410 is located in, so outputs the left and right lane counting numbers as 0/0; The LCD value can be output as '-1'. When the vehicle 410 completes the lane change to the left lane at the third time point, the lane determining device may output the left and right lane counting number as 1/3 and the LCD value as '0'.

That is, when the vehicle 410 changes lanes from the second lane on the left to the first lane on the left, the lane determining device may update the left and right lane counting number of the vehicle 410 from 2/2 to 1/3.

Meanwhile, according to FIG. 4A , since the lane determining device determines the left and right lane counting number based on the forward image, the left and right lane counting number is updated after lane change is completed.

Referring to FIG. 4B , even before the lane change of the vehicle 410 is completed, the lane determination device may update the left and right lane counting numbers of the vehicle 410 based on whether or not the lane is changed.

At the first point in time, the vehicle 410 is driving in 2/2 of the left and right lane counting number. Since the vehicle 410 maintains its lane at the first time point, the LCD value may be output as '0'.

When the vehicle 410 starts to change lanes to the left lane, the lane determining device at the second time point does not identify which lane the vehicle 410 is located in, so outputs the left and right lane counting numbers as 0/0; The LCD value can be output as '-1'. In this case, although the actual vehicle is located at position 410, the lane determining device may recognize that the vehicle is still located at position 411 because the left and right lane counting numbers are updated after the lane change is completed. The lane determining apparatus according to the present disclosure may recognize that the vehicle is at position 412 even before the lane change is completed based on whether the lane is changed, ie, the LCD value is '-1'.

When the vehicle 410 completes the lane change to the left lane at the third time point, the lane determining device may output the left and right lane counting number as 1/3 and the LCD value as '0'.

Even before the lane change is completed, the lane determining apparatus according to the present disclosure may increase the response speed to the lane change by updating the left and right lane counting numbers of the vehicle based on whether the lane is changed.

Meanwhile, even after the lane change of the vehicle 410 is completed, a '0' value may be included in the left and right lane counting numbers.

In one embodiment, when the lane of the vehicle 410 is maintained (that is, the LCD value is '0') and at least one of the left boundary and the right boundary is not identified, the lane determining device may identify the unidentifiable boundary. The current lane of the vehicle 410 may be determined using the counting number of lanes at the time.

For example, if the left and right lane counting number of the vehicle 410 before lane change is 2/2, the LCD value is '0' and the right boundary is not identified after the lane change is completed, the lane determining device sets the left and right lane counting number to 2/2. It can be updated to 0. In this case, the lane determining device may determine the current lane of the vehicle 410 by correcting the left and right lane counting numbers from 2/0 to 2/2. That is, the lane determining device may correct the left and right lane counting number by reflecting the right lane counting number '2' when the right boundary can be identified to the left and right lane counting number.

Alternatively, if the counting number of the left and right lanes of the vehicle 410 before the lane change is 1/2, the LCD value is '0', and the left boundary and the right boundary are not identified after completing the lane change, the lane determining device sets the counting number of the left and right lanes to 0. It can be updated with /0. At this time, the lane determining device may determine the current lane of the vehicle 410 by correcting the left and right lane counting numbers from 0/0 to 1/2. That is, the lane determining device may correct the left and right lane counting numbers by reflecting the left lane counting number '1' and the right lane counting number '2' when the left boundary and the right boundary are identifiable to the left and right lane counting numbers.

In another embodiment, when the lane of the vehicle 410 changes (that is, the LCD value is '-1' or '+1') and at least one of the left boundary and the right boundary is not identified, the lane determining device identifies The current lane of the vehicle 410 may be determined using the number of lane counts when an impossible boundary is identifiable and a lane change result of the vehicle.

For example, if the counting number of left and right lanes of the vehicle 410 before the lane change is 2/2, the LCD value is '-1' and the right boundary is not identified after completing the lane change, the lane determining device sets the counting number of the left and right lanes to 1. It can be updated with /0. In this case, the lane determining device may determine the current lane of the vehicle 410 by correcting the left and right lane counting numbers from 1/0 to 1/2. That is, the lane determining device may correct the left and right lane counting number by reflecting the right lane counting number '2' when the right boundary can be identified to the left and right lane counting number.

5A to 5D are exemplary diagrams for explaining a method of correcting a counting number of left and right lanes when the number of lanes is changed according to an exemplary embodiment.

The lane determining device may identify lane networks in which the number of lanes varies by using the lane map. The lane determining device may identify a first lane network 511 and a second lane network 512 having different numbers of lanes and connected to each other by using the lane map. 5A to 5D , a vehicle 510 drives on a first lane network 511 having three lanes and then enters a second lane network 512 having four lanes.

Since the lane determining device calculates the counting number of left and right lanes based on the front image, even when the vehicle 510 is currently located on the first lane network 511, the second lane network 512 in front of the vehicle 510 The left and right lane counting number of can be calculated.

In an embodiment, the lane determining device may correct the left and right lane counting numbers when the left and right lane counting numbers of the second lane network 512 do not correspond to the number of lanes of the second lane network 512 . The lane determining device may determine the current lane on the second lane network 512 using the corrected left and right lane counting numbers.

Meanwhile, the lane determining device may calculate the number of lanes from the left and right lane counting numbers. Specifically, the lane determining device may calculate the number of lanes through an operation of subtracting '1', which is a redundant counting value, from a value obtained by adding the counting number of the left lane and the counting number of the right lane. For example, when the counting number of left and right lanes is 2/2, the lane determining device may calculate the number of lanes as three (2+2-1=3).

5A to 5B are examples of correcting the left and right counting numbers of the second lane network 512 when the same number of left and right lane counting numbers of the first lane network 511 and the second lane network 512 are determined.

Referring to FIG. 5A , although the number of lanes of the first lane network 511 and the second lane network 512 is different from each other to three and four, the first lane network 511 and the second lane network 512 ) may be equally determined as 3/1. That is, the number of left and right lane counting 3/1 means that the number of lanes is 3 (3+1-1=3), but since the number of lanes in the second lane network 512 is 4, the number of left and right lane counting and the second The number of lanes in the lane network 512 does not correspond.

In this case, the lane determining device determines that the vehicle 510 maintains a straight lane in the first lane network 511 and the second lane network 512, and calculates the counting number of left and right lanes in the second lane network 512. can be corrected Specifically, the lane determining device identifies that the right lane of the second lane network 512 has increased by one more when compared to the first lane network 511 based on the vehicle map, and the vehicle 510 is moving in a straight lane. Therefore, the left counting number can be maintained as '3' and the right counting number can be corrected from '1' to '2'. That is, the vehicle determining device may correct the left and right counting numbers from 3/1 to 3/2.

Referring to FIG. 5B , the lane determining device identifies that the left lane of the second lane network 512 has increased by one more when compared to the first lane network 511 based on the vehicle map, and the vehicle 510 Since the straight lane is maintained, the right counting number can be maintained at '2' and the left counting number can be corrected from '2' to '3'. That is, the vehicle determining device may correct the left and right counting numbers from 2/2 to 3/2.

5C to 5D are examples of correcting the left and right counting numbers of the second lane network 512 when different counting numbers of the left and right lanes of the first lane network 511 and the second lane network 512 are determined.

Referring to FIG. 5C , the lane determining device may compare the counting number of left and right lanes of the first lane network 511 and the counting number of left and right lanes of the second lane network 512 . When the left and right lane counting numbers of the first lane network 511 and the second lane network 512 are determined to be different, the lane determining device determines the driving lane on the second lane network 512 of the vehicle 510 and the second lane network ( 512), it is possible to compare left and right lane counting numbers, and determine whether any one of the left lane counting number and the right lane counting number corresponds to the driving lane on the second lane network 512. The lane determining device may maintain lane counting numbers corresponding to driving lanes on the second lane network 512 and correct the remaining lane counting numbers to correspond to the number of lanes in the second lane network 512 .

For example, in FIG. 5C , the left and right lane counting number of the second lane network 512 is 2/2, and the driving lanes of the vehicle 510 on the second lane network 512 are the third left lane and the second right lane. . In this case, the lane determining device maintains the right lane counting number '2' corresponding to the driving lane on the second lane network 512, and the left lane counting number is '2' to '3' so as to correspond to the third left lane. can be corrected with That is, the counting number of left and right lanes of the second lane network 512 may be corrected from 2/2 to 3/2.

Referring to FIG. 5D , the lane determining device may compare the counting number of left and right lanes of the first lane network 511 and the counting number of left and right lanes of the second lane network 512 . When the left and right lane counting numbers of the first lane network 511 and the second lane network 512 are determined to be different, the lane determining device determines the driving lane on the second lane network 512 of the vehicle 510 and the second lane network ( 512), it is possible to compare left and right lane counting numbers, and determine whether any one of the left lane counting number and the right lane counting number corresponds to the driving lane on the second lane network 512.

When there is no lane counting number corresponding to the driving lane on the second lane network 512, the second lane network 512 is calculated based on the smaller of the left lane counting number and the right lane counting number of the second lane network 512. The left and right lane counting number of can be corrected. The lane determining device may maintain a smaller lane counting number and correct the remaining lane counting numbers to correspond to the number of lanes of the second lane network 512 .

For example, in FIG. 5D , the counting number of left and right lanes of the second lane network 512 is 2/4, and the number of lanes of the second lane network 512 is four. In this case, the lane determining device may maintain the left counting number '2' and correct the right lane counting number from '4' to '3' so that the number of lanes corresponds to four. That is, the counting number of left and right lanes of the second lane network 512 may be corrected from 2/4 to 2/3.

6 is an exemplary diagram for explaining a method of correcting a counting number of left and right lanes when the number of lanes is changed according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the lane determining device may identify lane networks in which the number of lanes varies by using a lane map. The lane determining device may use the lane map to identify first lane networks 611 and second lane networks 612 having different numbers of lanes and connected to each other. Referring to FIG. 6 , a vehicle 610 drives on a first lane network 611 having three lanes and then enters a second lane network 612 having four lanes.

In an embodiment, the lane determining device may correct the left and right lane counting numbers when the left and right lane counting numbers of the first lane network 611 do not correspond to the number of lanes of the first lane network 611 . The lane determining device may determine the current lane on the first lane network 611 by using the corrected left and right lane counting numbers.

The lane determining device determines the lane position of the vehicle 610 on the second lane network 612 in response to a correspondence between the counting number of left and right lanes of the second lane network 612 and the number of lanes of the second lane network 612 . can decide In addition, the lane determining device may correct the left and right lane counting numbers of the first lane network 611 so that the vehicle 610 is positioned in a lane on the first lane network 611 connected to a lane on the second lane network 612. can

Referring to FIG. 6 , the number of lanes in the first lane network 611 is 3, and since the counting number of left and right lanes of the first lane network 611 is 3/2, the lane determining device calculates the number of left and right lanes and the first It may be determined that the number of lanes of the lane network 611 does not correspond. On the other hand, since the number of lanes in the second lane network 612 is four, the lane determining device may determine that the counting number of left and right lanes corresponds to the number of lanes in the second lane network 612 .

The lane determining device determines the lane position of the vehicle 610 on the second lane network 612 in response to a correspondence between the counting number of left and right lanes of the second lane network 612 and the number of lanes of the second lane network 612 . It can be determined by the third lane on the left and the second lane on the right. Also, the lane determining device may identify a lane on the first lane network 611 connected to the lane position of the vehicle 610 on the second lane network 612 . That is, the lane determining device may determine the lane position of the vehicle 610 as the third left lane and the first right lane on the first lane network 611 . In order for the vehicle 610 to be positioned in the third left lane and the first right lane on the first lane network 611, the lane determining device sets the counting number of the left and right lanes of the first lane network 611 from 3/2 to 3/1. can be corrected with

7 is a diagram for explaining an example of correcting a location of a vehicle in consideration of a feature on a road according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 7 , various features 720 may exist on a road on which a vehicle 710 travels. Feature 720 may include, without limitation, objects that can be identified on a road, such as stop lines, intersections, and the like.

The lane determining device may calculate a first separation distance between the vehicle 710 and the actual feature 720 based on location information of the vehicle 710 . For example, the lane determining device may calculate the first separation distance between the vehicle 710 and the actual feature 720 as Y m by using the GPS device and the DR device.

Also, the lane determining device may receive the image 730 in front of the vehicle 710 . The feature 720 may also be included in the front image 730 . The separation distance between the road being captured in the front image 730 and the current location of the vehicle 710 may be the second separation distance. For example, the second separation distance may be X m.

Since an error may exist in the location information of the vehicle generated from the GPS device and the DR device, the actual separation distance between the vehicle 710 and the feature 720 may be the second separation distance. The lane determining device may correct the position of the vehicle 710 by a difference between the first separation distance and the second separation distance. Referring to FIG. 7 , the lane determining device may move the position of the vehicle 710 by (Y - X)m. That is, the position of the vehicle may be moved from position 710 before movement to position 720 after movement.

As described above, the lane determining apparatus may more accurately display the position of the vehicle 710 by performing longitudinal correction on the position of the vehicle 710 by a difference between the first separation distance and the second separation distance. have.

8A and 8B are exemplary diagrams for explaining a method for determining a road according to an exemplary embodiment.

The lane determining device may obtain a lane map. The lane determining device may obtain a lane map from an external server. The lane map may include information about roads and lanes on which the vehicle can drive. Referring to FIGS. 8A and 8B , the lane map may include roads and lanes included in each road.

The lane determining device may determine a current road on which the vehicle 810 is driving based on the lane map and location information of the vehicle 810 .

In an embodiment, the lane determining device may apply a lane-based distance weighting scheme to determine the current road on which the vehicle 810 is driving.

Specifically, the lane determining device may determine candidate roads around the vehicle 810 based on location information of the vehicle 810 . Also, the lane determining device may determine an adjacent lane located closest to the vehicle 810 from among lanes included in each of the candidate roads. Also, the lane determining device may determine a candidate road including an adjacent lane as the current road.

Referring to FIG. 8A , the lane determining device may determine roads 1 and 2 as candidate roads based on location information of the vehicle 810 . The lane determining device may determine lanes 1 to 2 located closest to the vehicle 810 as adjacent lanes among lanes included in each of roads 1 and 2 . The lane determining device may determine road 1, which is a candidate road including lanes 1-2, as the current road on which the vehicle 810 is driving.

In the case of a method of simply determining a road close to the vehicle 810 as the current road, road 2 close to the vehicle 810 may be determined as the current road even though the vehicle 810 is actually driving on the road 1 in the situation shown in FIG. 8A. . In the present disclosure, the current road of the vehicle 810 may be more accurately determined by using the above-described lane-based distance weighting method.

In an embodiment, the lane determining device may determine the next road on which the vehicle 810 will travel based on the drivable weight method.

Specifically, the lane determining device may identify the first lane network 811 and the second lane network 812 connected to each other using the lane map. Also, the lane determining device may determine a next lane on the second lane network 812 connected to the current lane on the first lane network 811 . Also, the lane determining device may determine the next driving road by assigning a high weight to a road including the next lane among a plurality of roads included in the second lane network 812 .

Referring to FIG. 8B , the lane determining device may determine lane 2-1 on the second lane network 812, which is connected to lane 1-2, which is the current lane on the first lane network 811, as the next lane. Among roads 2 and 3 included in the second lane network 812, the lane determining device may determine road 2 as the next road by assigning a high weight to road 2 including lane 2-1 determined as the next lane.

In the present disclosure, by determining the next road on which the vehicle 810 will drive based on the drivable weight, it is possible to more quickly cope with the next situation.

9 is a flowchart of a method of determining a current lane of a vehicle according to an exemplary embodiment.

Since the method for determining the current lane of the vehicle shown in FIG. 9 is related to the embodiments described in the drawings described above, even if omitted below, the content described in the drawings is the same as that of FIG. 8 method can also be applied.

Referring to FIG. 9 , in step 910, the processor may obtain a lane map.

The lane map may include information about roads and lanes on which the vehicle can drive. Specifically, the lane map may include a plurality of roads and lanes included in each road.

In operation 920, the processor may determine a current road on which the vehicle is driving based on the lane map and the location information of the vehicle.

In one embodiment, the processor may use a lane-based distance weighting scheme to determine the current road along which it is traveling. The processor may determine candidate roads around the vehicle based on the location information of the vehicle. Also, the processor may determine an adjacent lane located closest to the vehicle among lanes included in each of the candidate roads. Also, the processor may determine a candidate road including adjacent lanes as the current road.

In one embodiment, the processor may determine the next road for the vehicle to drive based on the drivability weighting scheme. The processor may identify a first lane network and a second lane network connected to each other using the lane map. Also, the processor may determine a next lane on the second lane network that is connected to the current lane on the first lane network. Also, the processor may determine a road including the next lane as the next driving road among a plurality of roads included in the second lane network.

In step 930, the processor may determine a current lane in which the vehicle is driving from among at least one lane included in the current road, based on a front image obtained by photographing the front of the vehicle.

The processor may determine the current lane by using at least one of the left lane counting number and the right lane counting number obtained from the forward image. Specifically, the processor may identify a left boundary and a right boundary of the current road from the front image. In addition, the processor uses the left and right lane counting numbers including the left lane counting number by counting the number of lanes from the left boundary to the current lane, and the right lane counting number by counting the number of lanes from the right boundary to the current lane by counting the number of lanes from the left boundary to the current lane. lane can be determined.

The processor may determine whether the vehicle has changed lanes using a lane change detection technique, and may determine the current lane of the vehicle based on whether the vehicle has changed lanes.

When at least one of the left boundary and the right boundary is not identified, the processor may determine the current lane by using the lane counting number when the unidentifiable boundary is identifiable and the lane change result of the vehicle.

The processor may use the lane map to identify first lane networks and second lane networks having different numbers of lanes and connected to each other.

In an embodiment, the processor may correct the counting number of left and right lanes when the counting number of left and right lanes of the second lane network does not correspond to the number of lanes of the second lane network. Also, the processor may determine the current lane on the second lane network using the corrected left and right lane counting numbers.

In an embodiment, the processor may correct the counting number of left and right lanes when the counting number of left and right lanes of the first lane network does not correspond to the number of lanes of the first lane network. Also, the processor may determine the current lane using the corrected left and right lane counting numbers.

10 is a block diagram of a lane determining device according to an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 10 , the lane determining device 1000 may include a communication unit 1010, a processor 1020, and a DB 1030. In the lane determining device 1000 of FIG. 10 , only components related to the embodiment are shown. Accordingly, those skilled in the art can understand that other general-purpose components may be further included in addition to the components shown in FIG. 10 .

The communication unit 1010 may include one or more components that enable wired/wireless communication with an external server or external device. For example, the communication unit 1010 may include at least one of a short-range communication unit (not shown), a mobile communication unit (not shown), and a broadcast reception unit (not shown).

The DB 1030 is hardware for storing various data processed in the lane determining device 1000, and may store programs for processing and controlling the processor 1020. The DB 1030 may store payment information, user information, and the like.

The DB 1030 includes random access memory (RAM) such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and static random access memory (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and CD-ROM. ROM, Blu-ray or other optical disk storage, hard disk drive (HDD), solid state drive (SSD), or flash memory.

The processor 1020 controls the overall operation of the lane determining device 1000 . For example, the processor 1020 may generally control an input unit (not shown), a display (not shown), a communication unit 1010, and the DB 1030 by executing programs stored in the DB 1030. The processor 1020 may control the operation of the lane determining device 1000 by executing programs stored in the DB 1030 .

The processor 1020 may control at least some of the operations of the lane determining device described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9 .

The processor 1020 includes application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, and microcontrollers. It may be implemented using at least one of micro-controllers, microprocessors, and electrical units for performing other functions.

As an example, the lane determining device 1000 may be a mobile electronic device. For example, the lane determining apparatus 1000 may be implemented as a smart phone, a tablet PC, a PC, a smart TV, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop, a media player, a navigation device, a device equipped with a camera, and other mobile electronic devices. have. In addition, the lane determining device 1000 may be implemented as a wearable device such as a watch having a communication function and a data processing function, glasses, a hair band, and a ring.

As another embodiment, the lane determining device 1000 may be an electronic device embedded in a vehicle. For example, the lane determining device 1000 may be an electronic device inserted into a vehicle through tuning after production.

As another embodiment, the lane determining device 1000 may be a server located outside the vehicle. A server may be implemented as a computer device or a plurality of computer devices that communicate over a network to provide commands, codes, files, content, services, and the like. The server may receive data necessary for determining a current lane in which the vehicle is driving from devices installed in the vehicle, and determine the current lane in which the vehicle is driving based on the received data.

Embodiments according to the present invention may be implemented in the form of a computer program that can be executed on a computer through various components, and such a computer program may be recorded on a computer-readable medium. At this time, the medium is a magnetic medium such as a hard disk, a floppy disk and a magnetic tape, an optical recording medium such as a CD-ROM and a DVD, a magneto-optical medium such as a floptical disk, and a ROM hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions, such as RAM, flash memory, and the like.

Meanwhile, the computer program may be specially designed and configured for the present invention, or may be known and usable to those skilled in the art of computer software. An example of a computer program may include not only machine language code generated by a compiler but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

According to one embodiment, the method according to various embodiments of the present disclosure may be included and provided in a computer program product. Computer program products may be traded between sellers and buyers as commodities. A computer program product is distributed in the form of a device-readable storage medium (eg compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or through an application store (eg Play Store™) or between two user devices. It can be distributed (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) directly or online. In the case of online distribution, at least part of the computer program product may be temporarily stored or temporarily created in a device-readable storage medium such as a manufacturer's server, an application store server, or a relay server's memory.

The steps constituting the method according to the present invention may be performed in any suitable order unless an order is explicitly stated or stated to the contrary. The present invention is not necessarily limited according to the order of description of the steps. The use of all examples or exemplary terms (eg, etc.) in the present invention is simply to explain the present invention in detail, and the scope of the present invention is limited due to the examples or exemplary terms unless limited by the claims. it is not going to be In addition, those skilled in the art can appreciate that various modifications, combinations and changes can be made according to design conditions and factors within the scope of the appended claims or equivalents thereof.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be limited to the above-described embodiments and should not be determined, and all scopes equivalent to or equivalently changed from the claims as well as the claims described below are within the scope of the spirit of the present invention. will be said to belong to

Claims (11)

As a method for determining the current lane of a vehicle,
obtaining a lane map;
determining a current road on which the vehicle is traveling based on the lane map and the location information of the vehicle; and
determining a current lane in which the vehicle is driving from among at least one lane included in the current road, based on a front image obtained by photographing the front of the vehicle;
including,
The step of determining the current lane,
identifying a left boundary and a right boundary of the current road from the forward image; and
Left and right lane counting numbers (left/ calculating a right lane counting number);
identifying a first lane network and a second lane network having different numbers of lanes and connected to each other using the lane map;
In response to the fact that the counting number of left and right lanes of the second lane network does not correspond to the number of lanes of the second lane network or the counting number of left and right lanes of the first lane network does not correspond to the number of lanes of the first lane network , correcting the left and right lane counting numbers; and
determining the current lane on the first lane network or the second lane network using the corrected left and right lane counting numbers;
Including, method. delete According to claim 1,
The step of determining the current lane,
determining whether the vehicle changes lanes by using a lane change detection technique; and
determining a current lane of the vehicle based on whether the lane is changed;
Including, method. According to claim 3,
The step of determining the current lane,
if at least one of the left boundary and the right boundary is not identifiable, determining the current lane using a lane counting number when the unidentifiable boundary is identifiable and a lane change result of the vehicle;
Including, method. delete According to claim 1,
The correcting step is
determining a lane position of the vehicle on the second lane network in response to a correspondence between the counting number of left and right lanes of the second lane network and the number of lanes of the second lane network; and
correcting left and right lane counting numbers of the first lane network so that the vehicle is positioned in a lane on the first lane network connected to a lane on the second lane network;
Including, method. According to claim 1,
The method,
calculating a first separation distance between the vehicle and a feature based on location information of the vehicle;
determining a distance between the vehicle and the feature as a second separation distance in response to a feature being detected in the forward image; and
correcting the position of the vehicle by a difference between a first separation distance and a second separation distance;
Including, method. According to claim 1,
The step of determining the current road,
determining candidate roads around the vehicle based on location information of the vehicle;
determining an adjacent lane located closest to the vehicle among lanes included in each of the candidate roads; and
determining a candidate road including the adjacent lane as a current road;
Including, method. According to claim 1,
identifying a first lane network and a second lane network connected to each other using the lane map;
determining a next lane on the second lane network connected to the current lane on the first lane network; and
determining a road including the next lane as a next driving road among a plurality of roads included in the second lane network;
Including, method. An apparatus for determining a current lane of a vehicle,
a memory in which at least one program is stored; and
a processor that performs calculations by executing the at least one program;
the processor,
obtaining a lane map;
determining a current road on which the vehicle is traveling based on the lane map and the location information of the vehicle; and
Determining a current lane in which the vehicle is driving among at least one lane included in the current road based on a front image obtained by photographing the front of the vehicle;
The processor
Identifying a left boundary and a right boundary of the current road from the front image;
Calculate left and right lane counting numbers including the left lane counting number obtained by counting the number of lanes from the left boundary to the current lane, and the right lane counting number obtained by counting the number of lanes from the right boundary to the current lane; ,
Identifying a first lane network and a second lane network having different numbers of lanes and connected to each other using the lane map;
In response to the fact that the counting number of left and right lanes of the second lane network does not correspond to the number of lanes of the second lane network or the counting number of left and right lanes of the first lane network does not correspond to the number of lanes of the first lane network , Correcting the counting number of the left and right lanes,
and determining the current lane on the first lane network and the second lane network using the corrected left and right lane counting numbers. A computer-readable recording medium recording a program for executing the method of claim 1 on a computer.

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