Method, apparatus and system for detecting narrow road

Abstract

A method for detecting a narrow road includes calculating relative heights of points from a distance measuring sensor to a ground based on distance information. A left boundary point and a right boundary point, at which a difference in relative heights from adjacent points becomes maximal, are acquired. A road boundary line of a driving road is acquired based on the left boundary point and the right boundary point depending on a movement trajectory of the vehicle when a difference in relative heights at the left boundary point and the right boundary point is more than or equal to a reference value. A road width of the driving road is calculated based on the road boundary line. It is detected whether the driving road of the vehicle is a narrow road based on the road width.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for detecting a narrow road, comprising:
 receiving, from a distance measuring sensor, distance information of points on a ground line at which a vertical surface in a driving direction of vehicle meets a ground; 
 calculating a relative height of the points from the distance measuring sensor to the ground based on the distance information; 
 acquiring a plurality of left boundary point points and a plurality of right boundary point points at which a difference in relative heights from adjacent points among the points becomes maximal; 
 acquiring a road boundary line lines of a driving road of the vehicle based on the left boundary point points and the right boundary point points depending on a movement trajectory of the vehicle when a difference in relative heights at one of the left boundary point points and one of the right boundary point points is more than or equal to a reference value; 
 calculating a road width of the driving road based on the acquired road boundary line lines of the driving road; and 
 determining that the driving road of the vehicle is a narrow road when the road width of the driving road is less than or equal to a reference road width, 
 wherein the acquiring of the road boundary lines includes:
 transforming coordinates of the left boundary points and the right boundary points in a local coordinate system into coordinates in a global coordinate system based on the position of the vehicle depending on the movement trajectory of the vehicle; and 
 generating the road boundary lines by connecting the coordinates of the left boundary points and connecting the coordinates of the right boundary points in the global coordinate system. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving a moving speed of the vehicle and steering information of the vehicle; and 
 calculating the movement trajectory of the vehicle based on the moving speed of the vehicle and the steering information of the vehicle. 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the calculating of the movement trajectory of the vehicle includes:
 acquiring a position and a heading angle of the vehicle over time, based on the moving speed of the vehicle and the steering information of the vehicle; and 
 calculating the movement trajectory of the vehicle based on the position and heading angle of the vehicle over time. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the calculating of the relative height includes calculating the relative height of the points from the distance measuring sensor to the ground based on a mounting height and a mounting angle of the distance measuring sensor and the distance information. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the acquiring of the road boundary line includes:
 transforming coordinates of the left boundary point and the right boundary point in a local coordinate system into coordinates in a global coordinate system based on the position of the vehicle depending on the movement trajectory of the vehicle; and   generating the road boundary line by connecting the coordinates of the left boundary point and connecting the coordinates of the right boundary point in the global coordinate system.   
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the road width is a minimum distance between the a left boundary line and the a right boundary line of the road boundary line lines. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 informing a driver of the vehicle that a driving section is a narrow road section, when the narrow road is detected. 
 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 displaying a road shape of the detected narrow driving road of the vehicle based on the road boundary line lines, when the driving road of the vehicle is determined as the narrow road is detected. 
 
     
     
       9. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium, comprising computer executable instructions which control, when exeucted by a processor, cause the processor to perform the a method of  claim 1  comprising:
 receiving, from a distance measuring sensor, distance information of points on a ground line at which a vertical surface in a driving direction of a vehicle meets a ground; 
 calculating a relative height of the points from the distance measuring sensor to the ground based on the distance information; 
 acquiring a plurality of left boundary points and a plurality of right boundary points at which a difference in relative heights from adjacent points among the points becomes maximal; 
 acquiring road boundary lines of a driving road of the vehicle based on the left boundary points and the right boundary points depending on a movement trajectory of the vehicle when a difference in relative heights at one of the left boundary points and one of the right boundary points is more than or equal to a reference value; 
 calculating a road width of the driving road based on the acquired road boundary lines of the driving road; and 
 determining that the driving road of the vehicle is a narrow road when the road width of the driving road is less than or equal to a reference road width, 
 wherein the acquiring of the road boundary lines includes:
 transforming coordinates of the left boundary points and the right boundary points in a local coordinate system into coordinates in a global coordinate system based on the position of the vehicle depending on the movement trajectory of the vehicle; and 
 generating the road boundary lines by connecting the coordinates of the left boundary points and connecting the coordinates of the right boundary points in the global coordinate system. 
 
 
     
     
       10. An apparatus for detecting a narrow road, comprising:
 a processor; and 
 a memory in which at least one instruction to be executed by the processor is stored, 
 wherein, when the at least one instruction is executed by the processor, the processor is configured to:
 a relative height calculation unit configured to calculate relative heights of points from a distance measuring sensor to a ground based on distance information of the points on a ground line at which a vertical surface in a driving direction of a vehicle received from the distance measuring sensor meets the ground; 
 a protruding determination unit configured to acquire a left boundary point and a right boundary point at which a difference in relative heights from adjacent points among the points is maximal and determine whether the difference in the relative heights at the left boundary point and the right boundary point is more than or equal to a reference value; 
 a road boundary line acquisition unit configured to acquire a road boundary line of a driving road of the vehicle based on the left boundary point and the right boundary point depending on a movement trajectory of the vehicle; 
 a road width calculation unit configured to calculate a road width of the driving road based on the acquired road boundary line of the driving road; and 
 a narrow road detection unit configured to determine whether the road width of the driving road is less than or equal to a reference road width and detect that the driving road of the vehicle is a narrow road when the road width of the driving road is less than or equal to the reference road width, 
 
 wherein the processor is further configured to transform coordinates of the left boundary point and the right boundary point in a local coordinate system into coordinates in a global coordinate system based on the position of the vehicle depending on the movement trajectory of the vehicle and generate the road boundary line in the global coordinate system. 
 
     
     
       11. The apparatus of  claim 10 , further comprising wherein the processor is further configured to:
 a movement trajectory modeling unit configured to calculate the movement trajectory of the vehicle based on a moving speed of the vehicle and steering information of the vehicle, and  
 wherein the movement trajectory modeling unit calculatescalculate the movement trajectory of the vehicle when the difference in the relative heights at the left boundary point and the right boundary point is more than or equal to a reference value. 
 
     
     
       12. The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the movement trajectory modeling unit processor is further configured to receive the moving speed of the vehicle and the steering information of the vehicle from a speed detection apparatus and a steering information detection apparatus, acquire a position and a heading angle of the vehicle over time based on the moving speed and the steering information, and calculate the movement trajectory of the vehicle based on the position and heading angle of the vehicle over time. 
     
     
       13. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the relative height calculation unit processor is further configured to calculate the relative height of the points from the distance measuring sensor to the ground based on a mounting height and a mounting angle of the distance measuring sensor and the distance information. 
     
     
       14. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the road boundary line acquisition unit is configured to transform coordinates of the left boundary point and the right boundary point in a local coordinate system into coordinates in a global coordinate system based on the position of the vehicle depending on the movement trajectory of the vehicle and generates the road boundary line in the global coordinate system. 
     
     
       15. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the road width is a minimum distance between the a left boundary line and the a right boundary line of the road boundary line. 
     
     
       16. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the narrow road detection unit processor is further configured to inform a driver of the vehicle that a driving section is a narrow road section when the narrow road is detected. 
     
     
       17. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the narrow detection unit processor is further configured to display a road shape of the detected narrow road based on the road boundary line when the narrow road is detected. 
     
     
       18. A system for detecting a narrow road, comprising:
 a speed output apparatus configured to output a moving speed of a vehicle;   a steering information output apparatus configured to output steering information of the vehicle;   a distance measuring sensor configured to output distance information of points on a ground line at which a vertical surface in a driving direction of the vehicle meets a ground; and   an apparatus for detecting a narrow road configured to receive the distance information of the points from the distance measuring sensor, calculate relative heights of the points from the distance measuring sensor to the ground based on the distance information, acquire a left boundary point and a right boundary point at which a difference in relative heights from adjacent points among the points becomes maximal, acquire a road boundary line of a driving road of the vehicle based on the left boundary point and the right boundary point depending on a movement trajectory of the vehicle when the difference in relative heights at the left boundary point and the right boundary point is more than or equal to a reference value, calculate a road width of the driving road based on the acquired road boundary line of the driving road, and detect that the driving road of the vehicle is a narrow road when the road width of the driving road is less than or equal to a reference road width.   
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the distance information includes a distance from the distance measuring sensor to the points on the ground line and an angle between a line segment connecting the distance measuring sensor and the points on the ground line and a reference line of the distance measuring sensor. 
     
     
       20. The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the distance information includes a distance from the distance measuring sensor to the points on the ground line and an angle between a line segment connecting the distance measuring sensor and the points on the ground line and a reference line of the distance measuring sensor. 
     
     
       21. A method for detecting road boundaries, comprising:
 receiving, from a distance measuring sensor, distance information of points on a ground line at which a vertical surface in a driving direction of a vehicle meets a ground;   calculating a relative height of the points from the distance measuring sensor to the ground based on the distance information;   acquiring a left boundary point and a right boundary point at which a difference in relative heights from adjacent points among the points becomes maximal; and   acquiring a road boundary line of a driving road of the vehicle based on the left boundary point and the right boundary point depending on a movement trajectory of the, vehicle when a difference in relative heights at the left boundary point and the right boundary point is more than or equal to a reference value,   wherein the left boundary point and the right boundary point are points that divides the driving road from a region out of the driving road,   wherein the reference value is a reference determining whether the driving road protrudes, and   wherein the acquiring of the road boundary line includes:
 transforming coordinates of the left boundary point and the right boundary point in a local coordinate system into coordinates in a global coordinate system based on the position of the vehicle depending on the movement trajectory of the vehicle; and 
 generating the road boundary line by connecting the coordinates of the left boundary point and connecting the coordinates of the right boundary point in the global coordinate system. 
   
     
     
       22. The method of claim 21, further comprising:
 receiving a moving speed of the vehicle and steering information of the vehicle; and   calculating the movement trajectory of the vehicle based on the moving speed of the vehicle and the steering information of the vehicle.   
     
     
       23. The method of claim 22, wherein the calculating of the movement trajectory of the vehicle includes:
 acquiring a position and a heading angle of the vehicle over time, based on the moving speed of the vehicle and the steering information of the vehicle; and   calculating the movement trajectory of the vehicle based on the position and heading angle of the vehicle over time.   
     
     
       24. The method of claim 21, wherein the calculating of the relative height includes calculating the relative height of the points from the distance measuring sensor to the ground based on a mounting height and a mounting angle of the distance measuring sensor and the distance information. 
     
     
       25. The method of claim 21, wherein the reference value is a maximum height which allows a vehicle to go up and down without damaging the vehicle. 
     
     
       26. The method of claim 21, wherein the reference value is calculated based on the heights of components of the vehicle. 
     
     
       27. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium, comprising computer executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method comprising:
 receiving, from a distance measuring sensor, distance information of points on a ground line at which a vertical surface in a driving direction of a vehicle meets a ground;   calculating a relative height of the points from the distance measuring sensor to the ground based on the distance information;   acquiring a left boundary point and a right boundary point at which a difference in relative heights from adjacent points among the points becomes maximal; and   acquiring a road boundary line of a driving road of the vehicle based on the left boundary point and the right boundary point depending on a movement trajectory of the vehicle when a difference in relative heights at the left boundary point and the right boundary point is more than or equal to a reference value,   wherein the left boundary point and the right boundary point are points that divides the driving road from a region out of the driving road, and   wherein the reference value is a reference determining whether the driving road protrudes,   wherein the acquiring of the road boundary line includes:
 transforming coordinates of the left boundary point and the right boundary point in a local coordinate system into coordinates in a global coordinate system based on the position of the vehicle depending on the movement trajectory of the vehicle; and 
 generating the road boundary line by connecting the coordinates of the left boundary point and connecting the coordinates of the right boundary point in the global coordinate system. 
   
     
     
       28. An apparatus for detecting a narrow road, comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory in which at least one instruction to be executed by the processor is stored,   wherein, when the at least one instruction is executed by the processor, the processor is configured to:
 calculate relative heights of points from a distance measuring sensor to a ground based on distance information of the points on a ground line at which a vertical surface in a driving direction of a vehicle received from the distance measuring sensor meets the ground; 
 acquire a left boundary point and a right boundary point at which a difference in relative heights from adjacent points among the points is maximal and determine whether the difference in the relative heights at the left boundary point and the right boundary point is more than or equal to a reference value; and 
 acquire a road boundary line of a driving road of the vehicle based on the left boundary point and the right boundary point depending on a movement trajectory of the vehicle, 
   wherein the left boundary point and the right boundary point are points that divide the driving road from a region out of the driving road, and   wherein the reference value is a reference determining whether the driving road protrudes, and   wherein the processor is configured to transform coordinates of the left boundary point and the right boundary point in a local coordinate system into coordinates in a global coordinate system based on the position of the vehicle depending on the movement trajectory of the vehicle and generate the road boundary line in the global coordinate system.   
     
     
       29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the processor is further configured to:
 calculate the movement trajectory of the vehicle based on a moving speed of the vehicle and steering information of the vehicle, and   calculate the movement trajectory of the vehicle when the difference in the relative heights at the left boundary point and the right boundary point is more than or equal to a reference value.   
     
     
       30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the processor is further configured to receive the moving speed of the vehicle and the steering information of the vehicle from a speed detection apparatus and a steering information detection apparatus, acquire a position and a heading angle of the vehicle over time based on the moving speed and the steering information, and calculate the movement trajectory of the vehicle based on the position and heading angle of the vehicle over time. 
     
     
       31. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the processor is further configured to calculate the relative height of the points from the distance measuring sensor to the ground based on a mounting height and a mounting angle of the distance measuring sensor and the distance information. 
     
     
       32. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the reference value is a maximum height which allows a vehicle to go up and down without damaging the vehicle. 
     
     
       33. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the reference value is calculated based on the heights of components of the vehicle.