NREC’s vehicle classifier identifies vehicles in video images of a road

NREC is teaming up with Continental Automotive, Inc. to develop driver assistance systems for mass-market passenger cars and trucks. NREC engineers have created a Vision-Based Vehicle Classifier for use in Continental’s future active safety systems. Their goal is to get these systems into the hands of drivers by 2010.

The vehicle classifier uses a windshield-mounted camera to scan areas where other vehicles are most likely to be found. The classifier examines the camera images and uses computer vision techniques to quickly and efficiently pick out vehicles. It will run on an on-board digital signal processor (DSP) to provide a variety of driver assistance capabilities.

Upcoming testing at Continental will evaluate the vehicle classifier’s performance under actual road conditions. If the classifier passes the tests, Continental plans to integrate it into its vision-based safety and driver assistance products.