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DENSO's New Image Processing System Searches and Tracks Roadway Lines

9 February 2000

DENSO's New Image Processing System Searches and Tracks Roadway Lines

    DETROIT, Feb. 9 -- DENSO Corporation, parent company of DENSO
International America, Inc. in Southfield, Mich., announced it has developed a
new image processing system that advances the development of commercially
viable driving support systems (Intelligent Transportation Systems or ITS).
    In addition to recognizing the outline of an object, DENSO's unique system
can recognize a continuous line and track the course of that line, even if the
shape of the line changes.
    Applied to the recognition of a white line on a road surface, this
innovation makes advances possible in such systems as the Advanced Safety
Vehicle (ASV) and the Advanced Cruise-Assist Highway System (AHS), which go a
long way toward realizing the promise of ITS, according to Kunihiko Hara,
director, Corporate Research & Development, DENSO Corporation.
    Another example is the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system, which enables
a car to automatically recognize a specific driving lane and take control
while safely following the car ahead.
    DENSO's new image processing system gives a car the capability to detect
any cars directly ahead.  Such systems help a car to remain in its lane and
can issue warnings when a car wanders from its lane due to driver inattention
or drowsiness.
    Hara said, "In this system, the characteristics of the lines to be
detected (brightness and curvature, etc.) are programmed.  To detect the
lines, a string model is employed and the string model moves and changes its
shape based on the pre-programmed characteristics so that the model fits the
lines to be detected.  During the detection process, the string model behaves
as if it were 'alive' in the monitor.  Thus, this system can detect the line
in real time."
    DENSO used a "single-chip computer" in order to produce a compact system
no larger than a business card.  DENSO plans to introduce this new image
processing method in a practical application by 2002.
    The method has vast potential in a variety of fields, in addition to its
potential applications in the automobile industry.  For example, it can be
used for tracking the movements of an intruder on a monitor camera, for
monitoring the locations of parts on an automated assembly line, or for
recognizing the white line tape used for navigation by carrier robots
maneuvering on a shop floor.
    DENSO Corporation, a leading global supplier of advanced technology,
systems and components, has operations in 25 countries, including Japan where
it is headquartered in Kariya, Aichi Prefecture.  Global sales for 1999 fiscal
year totaled $14.5 billion.
    In North America, DENSO employs more than 11,000 at 21 companies, with
1999 consolidated sales estimated at $3.6 billion.