IMAGE-BASED PASSENGER DETECTION AND LOCALIZATION INSIDE VEHICLES
Petko Faber · 2000
In our paper we describe the ongoing research to develop an intelligent airbag system. Using image sequences acquired from a stereo camera, we detect the form and the position of the driver and passenger seat. And, if a seat is classified as occupied, we try to estimate the geometry and position of the human’s head as the most distinguishing feature of the body, if it is possible. The developed software system consists of five steps: the correction of distortions followed by an epipolar rectification of the stereo images, the feature extraction, the feature-based matching, the seat occupation detection and verification, and the approximation of the human’s head. The emphasis in this paper is on the used model to approximate the human’s head by an ellipsoid. The base of a subset of the estimated features as well as a certain assignment of the features to a human’s head. The used model bases on the least square method with a condition, which supports the approximation of an ellipsoid. To determine, if an obtained approximation is valid the result is compared with the standard dimensions of a human’s head. On tests on numerous image sequences recorded inside different vehicles the feasibility of the system is shown. The information about the seat occupation and the location of the detected passengers inside the vehicle can be used to control an intelligent airbag deployment.