Aisin Aw Co., Ltd.

Hidefumi Okabe

Tomoki Kubota

Minoru Takagi

Yuji Sato

Koji Hori

Yoshitaka Masuda

Tomoyuki Kokuryuu

A driving support device uses a camera mounted on a vehicle for imaging a blind spot area created by a pillar of the vehicle and displays an image taken by the camera on the interior surface of the pillar. A virtual plane passing through boundaries of the blind spot area is set, and an image plane of the camera is set at a predetermined position where a non-displayed area or an excess area, created by deviation between the virtual plane and the image plane of the camera, is reduced. Image data input from the camera is subjected to coordinate transformation on the virtual plane, and an image corresponding to the blind spot area created by the pillar is displayed on the interior surface of the pillar, based on the image data subjected to coordinate transformation on the virtual plane.

Driving support method and driving support device

A navigation apparatus and method are provided. The navigation apparatus includes an image acquiring part that acquires an image of a road feature from a vehicle camera. The apparatus also includes a correction distance table that stores a correction distance to correct a difference between a position of a vehicle when the feature disappears from an imaging area of the camera and a guidance output reference position that is a position of the vehicle when the feature disappears from a driver's view. Further, a judging part is included and judges, based on the image acquired by the image acquiring part and the correction distance stored in the correction distance table, whether the vehicle has arrived at the guidance output reference position. Lastly, the apparatus includes a guidance part that provides guidance regarding the traffic light at a predetermined position having the guidance output reference position as a reference.

Navigation device, navigation method, and navigation program

A driving support method and a driving support apparatus clearly project an image of a specific target object onto a pillar within a vehicle. The apparatus includes a camera installed on the vehicle that captures a dead-angle area created by the pillar and a projector projecting the image captured by the camera onto the interior surface of the pillar. The driving support unit also includes an image processor that sets a reference point Pc on an indicator on a road surface, sets a virtual plane VP passing through the reference point Pc, performs coordinate conversion for image data input from the camera onto the virtual plane VP, and outputs to a projector the image data for which the coordinate conversion has been performed.

Driving support method and driving support apparatus

A driving support device, a driving support method, and a computer program provide an image of the peripheral environment of a vehicle which is captured by a camera. The traveling state of the vehicle is obtained and, based on same, a blind spot region for a driver created by a right front pillar, as it would appear after a predetermined period of time, is calculated by taking into consideration the time lag between capture of an image by the camera and projection of that image by a projector. An image corresponding to the calculated blind spot region is extracted from the image captured by the camera, and the extracted image is projected onto the inside surface of the right front pillar.

Driving support device, driving support method and computer program

A driving support method and apparatus for displaying, on a medial side of a pillar of the vehicle, an image of an area which is hidden as a blind spot in a rear-view mirror mounted on or in a vehicle, when looking in the mirror from the driver's position and which is created by the pillar. The apparatus detects a head position of a driver, detects the angle of the rear-view mirror, calculates the area which is hidden as the blind spot on the basis of the detected driver's head position and the detected angle of the rear-view mirror, and projects an image of the area corresponding to the blind spot onto the pillar, the projected image being formed from image data which is obtained from a blind spot camera mounted on the vehicle.

A navigation system includes data storage that contains map data, a current position detection portion that detects a current position of a host vehicle, an acceleration lane remaining distance determination portion that determines a distance from the current position to the end of an acceleration lane where it merges with a main thoroughfare, based on the map data and the current position of the host vehicle, a merging support guidance selection portion that selects a type of merging support guidance for supporting the merging of the host vehicle from the acceleration lane into the main thoroughfare, based on information for the host vehicle in the acceleration lane, information for another vehicle so located on the main thoroughfare as to be accounted for in merging, and the distance from the current position to the end of the acceleration lane, and a guidance execution portion that executes the selected merging support guidance.

Navigation system

Navigation systems, methods, and programs provide appropriate driving guidance to a driver according to the level of the driving skills of the driver. The navigation systems, methods, and programs identify that the vehicle is in a predetermined specified condition based on information detected by a condition detecting device and detect an actual vehicle control state under the specified conditions based on information detected by an actual state detecting device. The systems, methods, and programs specify an appropriate vehicle control state according to the specified conditions. The systems, methods, and programs determine the level of the driving skills of a driver of the vehicle under the specified conditions based on the actual vehicle control state and the appropriate vehicle control state and output driving guidance according to the determined level of the driving skills under the specified conditions.

Navigation systems, methods, and programs

A navigation device provides support for a driver of a vehicle in merging from one road onto another road (main road). The navigation device receives traffic information including at least positions and speeds of other vehicles traveling the main road. The navigation device then detects at least positions of inter-vehicle spaces between those other vehicles, using the traffic information, and determines which one of the detected inter-vehicle spaces is most suitable for the driver's vehicle to enter for merging. A beam radiating unit provided in the driver's vehicle is used to form a moving first entry point mark on the road surface to indicate the inter-vehicle space the driver's vehicle is going to enter upon merging.

Driving support method and device

When it is determined that the host vehicle is stopped at the intersection in the right turn waiting state, the navigation ECU forms a right turn waiting mark representing the right turn waiting state on the road surface of the opposing lane at the intersection where the host vehicle is stopped with a visually identifiable laser beam with a predetermined color. When it is determined that the host vehicle is brought into the right turn start state from the right turn waiting state where the host vehicle is stopped at the intersection, the navigation ECU forms the right turn start mark representing the right turn start state instead of the right turn waiting mark on the road surface of the opposing lane at the intersection where the host vehicle enters with the visually identifiable laser beam with the color (for example, red) different from that of the right turn waiting mark, at substantially the same position thereof in accordance with the traveling state of the host vehicle.

Image forming system

A headlight beam control system includes an image taking apparatus for capturing an image to the rear of the user's vehicle and for generating image data from the captured image, a following vehicle information acquisition unit for acquiring following vehicle information from the image data, a passing action prediction unit for predicting a passing action based on the following vehicle information, a mode switching condition judgment unit for judging whether a mode switching condition is satisfied, based on the predicted passing action, and an automatic mode setting unit for switching the headlights between a high beam mode and a low beam mode when the mode switching condition is satisfied. When passing of the user's vehicle is predicted based on the following vehicle information, the headlights are switched from the high beam mode to the low beam mode.

Growing community of inventors

Okazaki, Japan

Hidefumi Okabe