Abstract: An object detector includes: an acquiring unit that acquires an oscillation signal corresponding to an oscillation of a microphone, the microphone transmitting a transmission wave, which is an ultrasonic wave, on a basis of a driving signal, and being caused to oscillate by a reflected wave generated as a result of the transmission wave being reflected from an object; a fall identifying unit that identifies a fall time point of a first drop from a value more than a threshold to the threshold or less after termination of the driving signal; a rise estimating unit that estimates a rise-in-reverberation time point of the reflected wave, the rise-in-reverberation time point being before the fall time point and after a time point of start of the driving signal; and a distance determining unit that determines a distance to the object on a basis of the rise-in-reverberation time point.

Abstract: An object detection device includes: a wave receiver that receives a reflected wave generated by reflection, by an object, of a transmission wave incident on the object; a determination section that determines whether, in a change over time in an amplitude of the reflected wave received by the wave receiver, an amplitude of a falling portion is greater than a predetermined criterion, the amplitude of the falling portion being decreased after the amplitude has reached a maximum value; and a processing section that, on the basis of a determination by the determination section that the amplitude of the falling portion is greater than the predetermined criterion, performs a process in which the object is treated as an object to be avoided.

Abstract: An object detection apparatus drives a piezoelectric vibrator to transmit an ultrasonic wave, and receives a reflected wave that is reflected from an object. The object detection apparatus includes the piezoelectric vibrator, a drive circuit that supplies drive power which drives the piezoelectric vibrator, and a resistor section that is connected in parallel with the piezoelectric vibrator and has a resistance value that is variable.

Abstract: A parking space detection apparatus detects a parking space of an own vehicle and includes: a vehicle determination section that determines whether an other vehicle is present on at least one of two sides of a parking space, based on search information acquired from an in-vehicle search section that searches for the parking space; a width calculation section that, it is determined that the other vehicle is present on at least one of the two sides of the parking space, calculate a width of the parking space on an entrance side and a width of the parking space on an inner side based on the search information; and a parking determination section that determines whether the own vehicle is able to park in the parking space based on the widths of the parking space on the entrance side and on the inner side and size of the own vehicle.

Abstract: A parking assistance device is applied to a vehicle equipped with a camera for capturing an image of an area in front of the vehicle and is configured to assist forward parking of the vehicle in a parking space. The parking assistance device includes: a position estimation unit which, in a situation where the vehicle is advancing toward the parking space in a lateral passage of the parking space, estimates, based on an image captured by the camera, at least one of a first corner position, which is a near-side corner position at a vehicle entrance part of the parking space, and a second corner position, which is a far-side corner position at the vehicle entrance part, before the vehicle passes by the parking space; and a space recognition unit which recognizes the parking space for forward parking based on the at least one estimated corner position.

Abstract: A position acquisition unit acquires relative position information between an own vehicle and an obstacle based on a reception wave received by a distance measurement sensor. A shape recognition unit executes shape recognition of the obstacle based on image information acquired by an image capturing unit. A detection processing unit detects the obstacle based on the relative position information acquired by the position acquisition unit and a shape recognition result obtained by the shape recognition unit. The detection processing unit determines whether the height of the obstacle is equal to or greater than a predetermined height or not. The detection processing unit discards the relative position information corresponding to the obstacle in a case where the shape recognition result obtained by the shape recognition unit indicates that the height of the obstacle is less than the predetermined height.

Abstract: An object detection device which determines an amplitude Ar of an ultrasonic wave received by a receiving unit, detects a frequency fr of the ultrasonic wave, sweeps a frequency fp of a pulse signal after a predetermined time has elapsed from start of generation of the pulse signal, and determines that the received ultrasonic wave is a reflected wave of the probe wave when the frequency fr after the amplitude Ar becomes a predetermined reference value or more from start of transmission of the probe wave makes the same change as the frequency fp. When an ultrasonic wave received by a receiver is determined to be a reflected wave of the probe wave, the object detection unit calculates a distance to an object based on a time from transmission of the probe wave to reception of the ultrasonic wave.

Abstract: A vehicle information providing apparatus (hereinafter, apparatus) repeatedly acquires observation point information. The apparatus calculates at least one position of the predicted point. When the observation point information is acquired, the apparatus extracts a predicted point that can be connected to the observation point from the calculated predicted points. The apparatus calculates the position of the current filtered point based on the position of the current observation point and the position of the latest predicted point. When the observation point information of a new object (an object having no latest predicted point connectable to the observation point) is acquired, the device sets initial vectors. The apparatus calculates the position of the predicted point at time instants succeeding the current time instant for each of the traveling directions indicated by the initial vectors.

Abstract: An obstacle detection apparatus includes a distance measuring sensor, an imaging section, and a control section. Based on a reception result of reception waves obtained by the distance measuring sensor, the control section acquires an estimated reflection position in an illuminated region already irradiated with search waves. Based on the estimated reflection position, the control section recognizes an outer shape of an obstacle. Based on an imaging result obtained by the imaging section, the control section performs image recognition of the obstacle. Based on a recognition result of the outer shape of the obstacle and a result of the image recognition, the control section acquires a relative position, with respect to a vehicle, of a portion of the obstacle in an image captured by the imaging section included in a non-irradiated region ahead of the illuminated region in a vehicle traveling direction.

Abstract: A sensor unit including an object detection sensor and an inclination sensor is mounted to a vehicle, and axial misalignment of the object detection sensor is determined as follows. A first inclination angle acquiring step of disposing the sensor unit, so that a first predetermined direction is aligned with a second predetermined direction before the sensor unit is mounted to the vehicle, and acquiring a first inclination angle detected by the inclination sensor from the inclination sensor, is performed. Then, a second inclination angle acquiring step of mounting the sensor unit on the vehicle and acquiring a second inclination angle detected by the inclination sensor from the inclination sensor, is performed. Finally, an axial misalignment determining step of determining whether axial misalignment has occurred at the object detection sensor, based on the first inclination angle and the second inclination angle, is performed.

Abstract: An ultrasonic sensor, that transmits probe waves which are ultrasonic waves and acquires detection waves including reflected waves which have been reflected from surrounding objects, includes a transmitter/receiver that transmits the probe waves and acquires the detection waves, a detection wave processing section that executes processing for passing a predetermined frequency band which includes the frequency of the probe waves, an amplitude measurement section which measures the amplitude of the detection waves, and a judgement section which judges whether there is adherence of foreign matter on the transmitter/receiver, based on a relationship between a time axis and values of the amplitude of the detection waves during a reverberation interval following the termination of transmitting the probe waves.

Abstract: A parking assisting apparatus includes an imaging unit acquiring image information corresponding to an image of surroundings of a vehicle, an image processing section recognizing a feature shape in the image by processing the image information, an obstacle detecting section acquiring positional-relationship information corresponding to a positional relationship between the vehicle and an obstacle present around a parking space, and a manner-of-parking selecting section selecting a manner of parking the vehicle in the parking space from manner candidates including perpendicular parking and parallel parking based on the feature shape and the positional-relationship information.

Abstract: A parking assistance device is applied to a vehicle equipped with a camera for capturing an image of an area in front of the vehicle and is configured to assist forward parking of the vehicle in a parking space. The parking assistance device includes: a position estimation unit which, in a situation where the vehicle is advancing toward the parking space in a lateral passage of the parking space, estimates, based on an image captured by the camera, at least one of a first corner position, which is a near-side corner position at a vehicle entrance part of the parking space, and a second corner position, which is a far-side corner position at the vehicle entrance part, before the vehicle passes by the parking space; and a space recognition unit which recognizes the parking space for forward parking based on the at least one estimated corner position.

Abstract: An object detection apparatus is provided with a distance measurement sensor that measures a distance to an object which exists in a surrounding area of a vehicle, by transmitting scanning waves to the surrounding of the vehicle and receiving reflection waves of the scanning waves, and an image acquiring section that is adopted to the vehicle, and is provided with an on-vehicle camera that captures images in the surrounding of the vehicle, the imaging acquiring section acquiring an image that is captured by the camera. The apparatus includes a determination section that determines whether, a predetermined object that is difficult to detect by the reflection waves of the distance measurement sensor is included in the object image, and a sensitivity control section that increases a sensitivity of the object detection by the distance measurement sensor and a vehicle control that is executed relative to the predetermined object as a target object.

Abstract: An obstacle detection apparatus includes: a transceiver transmitting a transmission wave and receiving an ultrasonic wave; a transmission controller; a receiver circuit detecting a signal level of a receiving wave; a distance calculator sequentially calculating a distance to an object reflecting the transmission wave; a memory storing the distance to the object; an obstacle determination device determining whether the object is an obstacle; and a reception level monitoring device monitoring the signal level of the receiving wave before the transmission wave being transmitted. When the signal level exceeds a predetermined threshold, the obstacle determination device sets a first number of determination data elements to an increased number of determinations for a predetermined period to be used for determining whether the object is the obstacle, as being larger than a second number of determination data elements used when the signal level does not exceed the predetermined threshold.

Abstract: An ECU is applied to a vehicle system that is provided with lateral sensors which acquire distance information expressing a distance to an object that is located at a position on a lateral side of a vehicle. When distance information on the object is acquired by the lateral sensors, a judgement is made by the ECU as to whether or not the object is a predetermined moving object that moves relative to the vehicle. The ECU determines that the object is a target to be subjected to contact avoidance processing for avoiding contact with the object, based on a result of judging whether or not the object for which the distance information is acquired is a moving object.

Abstract: A dual-frequency CW processing unit (12) calculates an observation-point orientation of an observation point. An FMCW processing unit (11) calculates at least a power spectrum of a beat signal, which has been generated based on radar waves that have come from the calculated observation-point orientation, in terms of an up-modulation time interval and a down-modulation time interval (termed orientation power spectrum hereinafter). The FMCW processing unit (11) shifts the orientation power spectra of the up- and down-modulation time intervals to positive and negative directions, respectively, by an amount corresponding to a Doppler shift frequency. The FMCW processing unit (11) calculates a differential power spectrum by differentiating the orientation power spectra of the shifted up- and down-modulation time intervals, and detects a peak frequency where intensity is maximum.

Abstract: An object detection device is applied to an object detection system which includes an object detection sensor installed in a vehicle so as to be oriented outward to detect an object around the vehicle. The object detection device includes: an error-handling control section that notifies a user of a detection error, if any, occurring in the object detection sensor, and brings the object detection system into an error-handling state; an action determination section that determines whether an error correction action has been performed by a user to correct the detection error, under conditions where the user has been notified of the detection error occurring in the object detection sensor; and a cancellation control section that relaxes predetermined cancellation conditions for cancelling the error-handling state when the error correction action is determined to have been performed, compared to when not performed.

Abstract: An ECU of an object detection device stops transmission of search waves from a plurality of ultrasonic sensors when a vehicle travels at a predetermined speed or more, and counts the frequency of receiving waves with an intensity of not less than a threshold intensity for each of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors. The ECU acquires a first count that is a count of the frequency in a first sensor that is one of the plurality of ultrasonic sensors, and a second count that is a count of the frequency in a second sensor different from the first sensor. The ECU determines that snow accretion has occurred on the first sensor if the first count is smaller than the second count, and a difference between the first count and a representative value that is set based on the second count is not less than a predetermined value.

Abstract: An object detection apparatus is arranged to detect the distance to the object and includes: a transceiver repeatedly transmitting a wave as an ultrasonic wave and receives a reflection wave of the transmission wave; a transmission controller controlling the transceiver to transmit the transmission wave; a distance calculator calculating a distance to the object, based on a time interval from a moment when the transceiver transmits the wave to a moment when the reflection wave is received; and a transmission timing controller controlling timing at which the transmission controller controls the transmission wave to be transmitted. Moreover, the transmission timing controller inserts at least one type of temporary waiting time between a transmission/reception period in which the transceiver transmits the transmission wave and receives the reflection wave and a next transmission/reception period, when a predetermined crosstalk identification condition is established based on the distance to the object.