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EP-4266283-B1 - ROAD OBSERVATION DEVICE AND ROAD OBSERVATION METHOD

EP4266283B1EP 4266283 B1EP4266283 B1EP 4266283B1EP-4266283-B1

Inventors

  • NEMOTO MASAYUKI

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20211206

Claims (8)

  1. A road observation apparatus (5) comprising: a visible range setter (531) that sets a visible range, which is a range within which an imaging target (6, 9) is recognisable by said observation apparatus on a basis of whether a marker (M) included in said imaging target is recognisable; and a recognition determiner (532) that, if a distant imaging target (6, 9), which is the imaging target (6, 9) located at a position beyond the set visible range, is recognised, initiates resetting of the visible range and that, if the reset visible range does not exceed the position of the distant imaging target (6, 9), determines that the recognition of the distant imaging target (6, 9) is incorrect.
  2. The road observation apparatus (5) according to claim 1, wherein the marker (M) includes a plurality of objects different distances away from an observation position (P), and wherein the visible range setter (531) sets, as the visible range, a distance to, among the plurality of objects included in the marker (M), a recognisable object farthest from the observation position (P).
  3. The road observation apparatus (5) according to claim 2, wherein the recognition determiner (532), when an object of the plurality of objects of the marker (M) beyond the position of the distant imaging target (6, 9) is not recognisable, determines that the recognition of the distant imaging target (6, 9) is incorrect.
  4. The road observation apparatus (5) according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein, if the reset visible range exceeds the position of the distant imaging target (6, 9), the recognition determiner (532) determines that the recognition of the distant imaging target (6, 9) is correct.
  5. The road observation apparatus (5) according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein, when regular update time has elapsed since the visible range was set, the recognition determiner (532) initiates the resetting of the visible range.
  6. The road observation apparatus (5) according to claim 5, wherein, if the distant imaging target (6, 9) is not recognised, the recognition determiner (532) increases the regular update time.
  7. The road observation apparatus (5) according to claim 5 or 6, wherein, even if the distant imaging target (6, 9) is recognised the recognition determiner (532) does not initiate the resetting of the visible range until retention time, which is shorter than the regular update time, has elapsed since the visible range was set.
  8. A method for observing a road, the method comprising: setting a visible range, which is a range within which an imaging target (6, 9) is recognisable by said imaging apparatus , on a basis of whether a marker (M) included in said imaging target is recognisable (S1); initiating, if a distant imaging target (6, 9), which is the imaging target (6, 9) located at a position beyond the set visible range, resetting of the visible range (S7); and determining, if the reset visible range does not exceed the position of the distant imaging target (6, 9), that the recognition of the distant imaging target (6, 9) is incorrect (S10).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-211815 (filed December 21, 2020). TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a road observation apparatus and a method for observing a road. BACKGROUND OF INVENTION During these years, safe driving assistance systems where a road observation apparatus is provided on a side of a road, vehicles, pedestrians, and the like are detected, and vehicles in close proximity to each other are notified of danger are being developed. Patent Literature 1, for example, discloses shape recognition of an object with a roadside apparatus, which is a type of road observation apparatus, and a determination as to a type of object. Patent Literature 2 discloses a method for updating a map of a surrounding area, wherein a vehicle attempts, when travelling along a carriageway, to detect, by means of sensors, a landmark recorded in the map of the surrounding area. Should the vehicle then be unable to detect the landmark using its sensors, the vehicle prepares a proposal for deletion which is sent to an external central computer, in which the proposal for deletion is examined and, if the proposal for deletion is verified, the landmark is deleted from the map of the surrounding area. Information regarding a visibility range for the landmark is entered in the map of the surrounding area specifying at what range the landmark is visible from the road. Non-Patent Literature 1 discloses detection of visibility conditions through use of onboard cameras, wherein measurement of a mobilized visibility distance is performed by combining a depth map of the environment ahead of a vehicle and contrasts of obstacles occluding part of the road above a certain threshold in an image. CITATION LIST PATENT LITERATURE Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-272598; Patent Literature 2: WO 2020/021009 A1 NON-PATENT LITERATURE Non-Patent Literature 1: HAUTIERE N ET AL: "Detection of visibility conditions through use of onboard cameras", INTELLIGENT VEHICLES SYMPOSIUM, 2005. PROCEEDINGS. IEEE LAS VEGAS, NV, USA, JUNE 6-8, 2005, PISCATAWAY, NJ, USA, IEEE, PISCATAWAY, NJ, USA 6 June 2005, pages 193-198, xp010833966, DOI: 10.1109/IVS.2005.1505101, ISBN: 978-0-7803-8961-8 SUMMARY The present invention provides a road observation apparatus according to claim 1, and a method for observing a road according to claim 8. Further embodiments are described in the dependent claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of configuration of a communication system including a road observation apparatus according to an embodiment.FIG. 2 is an example of a functional block diagram of the road observation apparatus according to the embodiment.FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of configuration of the road observation apparatus according to the embodiment.FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of installation of the road observation apparatus according to the embodiment.FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a visible range.FIG. 6 is another diagram illustrating the visible range.FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating when to set the visible range.FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for observing a road according to the embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS (Communication System) FIG. 1 illustrates an example of configuration of a communication system 1 including a road observation apparatus 5 according to an embodiment. The communication system 1 is, for example, a safe driving assistance communication system of an intelligent transport system (ITS). The safe driving assistance communication system is also called a safe driving assistance system or a safe driving assistance wireless system. The road observation apparatus 5 is an apparatus that observes vehicles 6, objects, and humans on roads, such as a roadside apparatus or a surveillance camera apparatus. In the present embodiment, the road observation apparatus 5 is a roadside apparatus provided near an intersection between a plurality of roads 7 (roadways). The road observation apparatus 5 may be provided on a side of a road other than an intersection, instead. Details of the road observation apparatus 5 will be described later. In the communication system 1, the road observation apparatus 5 and vehicles 6 running on the roads 7, such as automobiles, can wirelessly communicate with each other. The plurality of vehicles 6 may be wirelessly capable of communicating with one another. In the communication system 1, electronic devices carried by pedestrians 9 may also be capable of performing wireless communication. The electronic devices are, for example, mobile terminal devices such as smartphones. The road observation apparatus 5 is capable of transmitting, to the vehicles 6, safe driving assistance information for assisting drivers of the vehicles 6 in driving safely. The safe driving assistan