Hitachi, Ltd.

Jiro Takezaki

Shoji Muramatsu

Hiroshi Takenaga

Tatsuhiko Monji

Isao Furusawa

Satoru Kuragaki

Yuuji Otsuka

Toshimichi Minowa

Yoshinori Endo

Tokuji Yoshikawa

Kimio Nishino

Akira Endo

Yuji Otsuka

Fumio Tsujii

Takafumi Miyatake

Akio Nagasaka

Hiroshi Kuroda

Naoto Miura

Takanori Shibata

Kazuaki Takano

Yoshiki Kobayashi

Katsuhiro Kimura

Hiroshi Shirai

Yoji Matsuoka

Hiroshi Kondo

Tatsuhiko Monjii

An image pickup device that acquires images is controlled by an image pickup device controller that accepts image acquisition requests from multiple application programs, and an application scheduler selects application programs to be executed. Information indicative of the image data volumes and image data acquisition rates required for each of the multiple application programs is stored and used to select multiple concurrently executable application programs on the basis of the image data volumes and image data acquisition rates. An image acquisition scheduler determines the timing and intervals at which the multiple executable application programs repeat receiving image data from the image pickup device, without overlapping in terms of time. In addition, an operations section, which explicitly presents concurrently executable application programs to a user and commands the startup of these programs, is displayed on a navigation screen menu.

Acquisition scheduler

Image-processing camera with application processing using acquired image data

Image-processing camera system and image-processing camera control method

Vehicle image-processing camera system for acquiring images for multiple vehicle applications

One of the objects of the present invention is to reduce the size of a radar device mounted on a vehicle body. To achieve the object, one aspect of the invention provides a radar device, which is mounted on a vehicle body and detects a target present in a moving direction of the vehicle body, with (1) a transmitting antenna for transmitting a mm-Wave that forms an electric field having a width equivalent to the width of the vehicle body at a position away in a moving direction of the vehicle body by a distance corresponding to the most-approached distance defined between the vehicle body and the target and (2) two receiving antennas for receiving the reflected mm-Waves at mutually different positions.

Radar device

A lane marker recognition method comprises the steps of inputting an image including a lane marker, extracting luminance change points in the image, and estimating the position of the lane marker using the extracted edge points. The edge extracting step includes calculating an angle of orientation of each of the edges and the lane marker position estimating step includes extracting edge points that are oriented toward a vanishing point of a road, from among the edge points extracted in the edge extracting step.

Lane marker recognition method

A driving lane recognition system which can improve the lane recognition accuracy by stably detecting the various kinds of lane markers is disclosed. An image processing meansfor image-processing a road image taken by a camerahas a plurality of different kinds of image processing algorithmsto. A driving lane is detected by selecting an image processing algorithm suitable for the driving lane out of the plurality of different kinds of image processing algorithmstocorresponding to a road on which a vehicle is running.

Lane recognition system

An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control apparatus which makes it possible to share information by a plurality of devices and which can improve controllability. An OS switching means (OS-CH) switches a plurality of operating system (OS, OS). A shared object (CO) has a memory resource which can be referred to from the plurality of operating systems. The shared object (CO) shares at least road information, and the road information registered by the application of one of the operating systems can be referred to from the application of the other operating system.

Vehicle travel control apparatus

Highly convenient automobile engine starting uses an individual authentication device which utilizes biological information and provides a security function required when starting the engine, while protecting a sensor for receiving the biological information. An engine starting system can comprise an ignition switch for controlling a state of an automobile; a key for changing a state of the ignition switch; a registration key for registering biological information; a switch for starting an engine; a sensor for inputting biological information; a device for storing biological information; a collating unit for collating the inputted biological information with the stored biological information; and a lid for covering the sensor of an authentication device.

Automobile controller using biological information, and system and method which use the automobile controller

Information of light from a subject is converted into information of the electric charges to generate image data for one screen in an image pickup device, the image data is outputted to an image processing LSI, only the image data belonging to a plurality of areas is selected by a processing amount reduction unit, the selected image data is transferred to a RAM in a single chop by a data transfer unit, and the processing of recognizing a white line is executed by a CPU on the basis of the image data stored in the RAM.

Image processing apparatus and image pickup device

A vehicle travel control apparatus includes a radar sensor, a vehicle speed controller, a hydraulic pump, a proportional solenoid valve and a brake controller. When the vehicle speed controller judges a braking situation based on information from the radar sensor, the brake controller actuates the hydraulic pump and the proportional solenoid valve based on a command from the vehicle speed controller, and controls a braking torque of wheels.

An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control apparatus which makes it possible to share information by a plurality of devices and which can improve controllability. An OS switching means (OS-CH) switches a plurality of operating system (OS , OS ). A shared object (CO) has a memory resource which can be referred to from the plurality of operating systems. The shared object (CO) shares at least road information, and the road information registered by the application of one of the operating systems can be referred to from the application of the other operating system.

A navigation apparatus mounted on a vehicle comprises a distance sensor sensing the travelled distance of the vehicle, a direction sensor sensing the advancing direction of the vehicle, an information storage unit storing map data, a signal processor computing the present position of the vehicle on the basis of the output signals from the distance sensor and direction sensor for displaying the computed present position of the vehicle on a color cathode-ray tube together with a map read out from the information storage unit. In the navigation apparatus, the map data are provided by position coordinate information or font information of division points dividing a road map into sections that can be linearly interpolated.

Growing community of inventors

Hitachinaka, Japan

Jiro Takezaki