Patents by Inventor Nicolas VIGNARD

Nicolas VIGNARD has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11774554
    Abstract: An electronic device for a vehicle for augmenting image data of a passive optical sensor. The electronic device is configured to: receive first image data of a passive optical sensor, the first image data comprising a plurality of pixels in an image plane, receive second data of an active sensor, the passive optical sensor and the active sensor sensing the same scene outside the vehicle, the active sensor including a plurality of scan areas distributed over the scene, the second data including measurement values at returned scan areas, identify at least one cluster based on the distribution of returned scan areas, project the cluster onto the image plane, identify pixels which match with the projected cluster in the image plane, and associate the identified pixels with second data of the matching cluster. Further relates to a system and a method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA MOTOR EUROPE
    Inventors: Nicolas Vignard, Victor Romero Cano, Christian Laugier
  • Patent number: 11682129
    Abstract: An electronic device for determining a semantic grid of an environment of a vehicle is provided. The electronic device is configured to: receive first image data of an optical sensor, the first image data comprising a 2D image of the environment, perform a semantic segmentation of the 2D image and project the resulting semantic image into at least one predetermined semantic plane, receive an occupancy grid representing an allocentric bird eye's view of the environment. The control device further includes a neural network configured to determine a semantic grid by fusing the occupancy grid with the at least one predetermined semantic plane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA MOTOR EUROPE
    Inventors: Nicolas Vignard, Ozgur Erkent, Christian Laugier, Christian Wof
  • Patent number: 11648935
    Abstract: A driving assistance system includes a sensor set, a data storage device and an output device. The sensor set detects a set of road users and, for each road user, a current state including a current speed and a current position. The data storage device includes a finite plurality of behavioral models. The data processor assigns a behavioral model to each road user, probabilistically estimates, for each road user, a belief state comprising a set of alternative subsequent states and corresponding probabilities, each alternative subsequent state including a speed and a position, according to the behavioral model assigned to each road user, and determines a risk of collision of the road vehicle with a road user, based on the probabilistically estimated future state of each road user. The output device outputs a driver warning signal or executes an avoidance action if the risk of collision exceeds a predetermined threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA MOTOR EUROPE
    Inventors: David Sierra Gonzalez, Christian Laugier, Jilles Steeve Dibangoye, Alejandro Dizan Vasquez Govea, Nicolas Vignard
  • Publication number: 20220262023
    Abstract: A depth maps prediction system comprising a neural network (1000) configured to receive images (I) of a scene at successive time steps (t?1, t, t+1, . . . ) and comprising three sub-networks: an encoder (100), a ConvLSTM (200) and a decoder (300). The neural network (1000) is configured so that at each time step: a) the encoder sub-network (100) processes an image (I) and outputs a low resolution initial image representation (X); b) the CONVLSTM sub-network (200) processes the initial image representation (X), values for a previous time step (t?1) of an internal state (C(t?1)) and of an LSTM hidden variable data (H(t?1)) of the ConvLSTM sub-network, and outputs updated values of the internal state (C(t)) and of the LSTM hidden variable data (H(t)); and c) the decoder sub-network (300) inputs the LSTM output data (LOD) and generates a predicted dense depth map (D?) for the inputted image (I).
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 22, 2019
    Publication date: August 18, 2022
    Inventors: Nicolas VIGNARD, Dengxin DAI, Vaishakh PATIL, Luc VAN GOOL
  • Patent number: 11364899
    Abstract: A driving assistance system includes a sensor set, a data storage device and an output device. The sensor set observes apparent states of each road user of the plurality of road users at successive time steps, the data processor assigns a behavioral model stored in the data storage device, the data processor calculating a new maneuver distribution that is a probability distribution over a finite plurality of alternative maneuvers and a new state distribution that is a probability distribution of possible states for each alternative maneuver of the finite plurality of alternative maneuvers. The data processor determines a risk of collision of the road vehicle with another road user, based on the new maneuver and state distributions of the target road user, and outputs one or more of a driver warning signal and executes an avoidance action if the risk of collision exceeds a predetermined threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignees: TOYOTA MOTOR EUROPE, INSTITUT NATIONAL de RECHERCHE en INFORMATIQUE et en AUTOMATIQUE (INRIA), INSTITUT NATIONAL DES SCIENCES APPLQUEES DE LYON
    Inventors: Nicolas Vignard, David Sierra Gonzalez, Christian Laugier, Jilles Steeve Dibangoye, Victor Romero-Cano
  • Publication number: 20210334556
    Abstract: An electronic device for determining a semantic grid of an environment of a vehicle is provided. The electronic device is configured to: receive first image data of an optical sensor, the first image data comprising a 2D image of the environment, perform a semantic segmentation of the 2D image and project the resulting semantic image into at least one predetermined semantic plane, receive an occupancy grid representing an allocentric bird eye's view of the environment. The control device further includes a neural network configured to determine a semantic grid by fusing the occupancy grid with the at least one predetermined semantic plane.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 12, 2018
    Publication date: October 28, 2021
    Applicant: TOYOTA MOTOR EUROPE
    Inventors: Nicolas VIGNARD, Ozgur ERKENT, Christian LAUGIER, Christian WOF
  • Publication number: 20200189574
    Abstract: The present invention concerns a driving assistance method and system (100) for a road vehicle (1). The driving assistance system (100) comprises a sensor set (200), a data storage device (101, 102) and an output device (104, 105). The sensor set (200) observes, in a traffic scene including the road vehicle among a plurality of road users, apparent states of each road user of the plurality of road users at successive time steps. The data processor (103) assigns, to a target road user of the plurality of road users, a behavioral model stored in the data storage device (101, 102).
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 2, 2017
    Publication date: June 18, 2020
    Applicants: TOYOTA MOTOR EUROPE, INSTITUT NATIONAL de RECHERCHE en INFORMATIQUE et en AUTOMATIQUE (INRIA), INSTITUT NATIONAL DES SCIENCES APPLIQUEES DE LYON
    Inventors: Nicolas VIGNARD, David SIERRA GONZALEZ, Christian LAUGIER, Jilles Steeve DIBANGOYE, Victor ROMERO-CANO
  • Publication number: 20190353791
    Abstract: An electronic device for a vehicle for augmenting image data of a passive optical sensor. The electronic device is configured to: receive first image data of a passive optical sensor, the first image data comprising a plurality of pixels in an image plane, receive second data of an active sensor, the passive optical sensor and the active sensor sensing the same scene outside the vehicle, the active sensor including a plurality of scan areas distributed over the scene, the second data including measurement values at returned scan areas, identify at least one cluster based on the distribution of returned scan areas, project the cluster onto the image plane, identify pixels which match with the projected cluster in the image plane, and associate the identified pixels with second data of the matching cluster. Further relates to a system and a method.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2016
    Publication date: November 21, 2019
    Applicant: TOYOTA MOTOR EUROPE
    Inventors: Nicolas VIGNARD, Victor Romero CANO, Christian LAUGIER
  • Publication number: 20190329763
    Abstract: The present invention concerns a driving assistance method and system (100) for a road vehicle (1). The driving assistance system (100) comprises a sensor set (101), a data storage device (102) and an an output device (104,105). The sensor set (101) detects, within a traffic scene including the road vehicle (1), a set of road users and, for each road user of said set of road users, a current state including a current speed and a current position. The data storage device (102) comprises a finite plurality of behavioral models.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 31, 2016
    Publication date: October 31, 2019
    Applicant: TOYOTA MOTOR EUROPE
    Inventors: David SIERRA GONZALEZ, Christian LAUGIER, Jilles Steeve DIBANGOYE, Alejandro Dizan VASQUEZ GOVEA, Nicolas VIGNARD