Detection and Tracking of Moving Objects at Road Intersections Using a 360-Degree Camera for Driver Assistance and Automated Driving

Many complicated road intersections are seen while driving. In some, blind spots make it difficult for drivers or automated vehicles to discern moving objects coming from certain directions, possibly confusing drivers or autonomous vehicles wishing to cross or to turn at the intersection. To address this problem, we investigate detection and tracking of all moving objects at an intersection using a single 360-degree-view camera (3DVC). Through experiments, we develop methods allowing a 3DVC to capture the entirety of a four-way intersection when installed at one corner. This paper also presents image processing algorithms for detecting and tracking moving objects at intersections by processing images from the installed 3DVC. Experiments under varied conditions demonstrate that the proposed detection algorithm has a very high detection rate. We also confirm the tracking ability for moving objects detected using the proposed algorithm.