ROAD-SHOULDER DETECTING DEVICE AND VEHICLE USING ROAD-SHOULDER DETECTING DEVICE

摘要

Disclosed is a road-shoulder detecting device which comprises a distance-information calculating unit that detects the presence of an object and that calculates the distance from the object to the vehicle in which the device is installed from input three-dimensional image information relating to an environment outside the car; a roadway-surface detecting unit that detects a roadway surface on which the vehicle travels from an distance image based on the calculated distance; a level-difference calculating unit that measures level differences between the detected roadway surface and off-roadway portions; and a road-shoulder determining unit that determines whether or not the road shoulders serving as borders between the roadway surface and the off-roadway portions are formed between the roadway surface and the off-roadway portions that are lower than the roadway surface on the basis of the measured level differences. This device can detect the road shoulders from image information even when white lines or three-dimensional bodies such as guardrails do not exist on the road shoulder serving as the borders between the roadway surface and the off-roadway portions.