Apparatus for detecting inter-vehicle distance using lamp image and Method for detecting inter-vehicle distance using the same

摘要

The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus, A reference pixel recognition unit for recognizing, in the image, any one of a first reference pixel of the group of pixels representing the left lamp image of the opponent vehicle and a second reference pixel of the group of pixels representing the right lamp image of the opponent vehicle, A first inter-vehicle distance detecting unit for detecting a first inter-vehicle distance between the subject vehicle and the opponent vehicle based on the number of pixels in the lateral direction between the first reference pixel and the second reference pixel; A second inter-vehicle distance between the subject vehicle and the opponent vehicle based on either one of the recognized first reference pixel and the second reference pixel and the number of longitudinal pixels between the longitudinal edges of the region of interest of the image And an inter-vehicle distance determining unit that determines one of the first inter-vehicle distance and the second inter-vehicle distance as a vehicle-to-vehicle distance, the apparatus comprising: The present invention provides an advantageous effect that it is possible to easily acquire the headway distance information necessary for the headlamp control or the smart running control by utilizing the camera.