Abstract: A great force is prevented from acting on an elastic support section of a MEMS vibration-driven energy harvesting element. A vibration-driven energy harvesting element has a fixed electrode fixed to a base section, a movable electrode movable relative to the fixed electrode, an elastic support section which has one end connected to the base section and the other end connected to the movable electrode and elastically supports the movable electrode, and at least one of a first member which is fixed to the movable electrode and faces the base section or a member fixed to the base section at a distance in a direction orthogonal to a vibration plane on which the movable electrode vibrates, and a second member which is fixed to the base section and faces the movable electrode or a member fixed to the movable electrode at a distance in a direction orthogonal to the vibration plane.

Abstract: This MEMS element comprising: a base; a movable portion; and an elastic portion, and a fixing portion; and a fixed portion body to which the elastic portion is fixed, wherein the elastic portion extends in a direction intersecting a moving direction of the movable portion, includes a central portion receiving a force of the movable portion, and one end and another end fixed to the fixed portion body, and includes thin portions respectively between the central portion and the one end and between the central portion and the other end, the thin portions being thinner than the central portion, the one end, and the other end.

Abstract: A MEMS element according to the present invention is provided with a base, an insulation layer fixed to one surface of the base, a first upper layer at least portions of which are fixed to the insulation layer, and a second upper layer provided surrounding the first upper layer and disposed being separated from the first upper layer by slits, wherein the first upper layer includes, at predetermined portions, protruding portions protruding toward the second upper layer, and the protruding portions are fixed to the insulation layer.

Abstract: A vibration-driven energy harvesting element includes fixed electrodes that are fixed to a base part, a movable electrode that is movable with respect to the fixed electrodes, and an elastic support part that includes one end fixed to the base part and another end fixed to the movable electrode and elastically supports the movable electrode. The elastic support part of the vibration-driven energy harvesting element includes-: a plurality of elastic structures each of which has a linking portion, a first elastic portion, and a second elastic portion. The first elastic portion having one end fixed to the linking portion and another end fixed to the movable electrode and extending in a second direction orthogonal to a first direction in which the movable electrode vibrates. The second elastic portion having one end fixed to the linking portion and another end fixed to the base part and extending in the second direction.

Abstract: A control unit detects an object on the basis of information obtained from an object sensor and executes a weighting processing in which a weighting is made correspondent to a correlativity of the type of object to be detected with the detected information. The detection processing of the object occurs based on the information after the weighting is performed.

Abstract: To provide a preceding-vehicle detecting apparatus, own-vehicle controlling apparatus and preceding-vehicle detecting method capable of detecting a preceding vehicle in a more reliable manner, a preceding-vehicle detecting apparatus (1) comprises: a millimeter wave radar (11); a measuring-target-point-group generating part (131) setting measuring-target points based on reflected waves, and single-connecting those measuring-target points having the same relative velocities to thereby generate measuring-target point groups, respectively; a group-relative-velocity determining part (132) extracting those measuring-target point groups which meets conditions for preceding vehicle, respectively; and a temporal continuity judging part (133) regarding those measuring-target point groups as preceding vehicles, each of which has a number of detected times equal to or larger than a prescribed value (N1).

Abstract: To provide a preceding-vehicle detecting apparatus, own-vehicle controlling apparatus and preceding-vehicle detecting method capable of detecting a preceding vehicle in a more reliable manner, a preceding-vehicle detecting apparatus (1) comprises: a millimeter wave radar (11); a measuring-target-point-group generating part (131) setting measuring-target points based on reflected waves, and single-connecting those measuring-target points having the same relative velocities to thereby generate measuring-target point groups, respectively; a group-relative-velocity determining part (132) extracting those measuring-target point groups which meets conditions for preceding vehicle, respectively; and a temporal continuity judging part (133) regarding those measuring-target point groups as preceding vehicles, each of which has a number of detected times equal to or larger than a prescribed value (N1).

Abstract: A plurality of reflective points in front of one's vehicle in a traveling direction are detected by a radar device. The plurality of detected reflective points are grouped based on a predetermined standard, and the grouped reflective points are regarded as detection objects. Relative speeds of the detected detection objects are measured with respect to one's vehicle. Types of the detection objects are determined based on the measured relative speeds.

Abstract: A vehicle tracking system for a vehicle is configured to track a remote vehicle by template matching between a reference image and an input image obtained by a camera mounted on the vehicle. The position and distance of a remote vehicle is determined by calculating a position and an enlargement/reduction ratio of a portion of the input image that provide a maximum correlation value between the portion of the input image and the reference template that is greater than a threshold value. The reference template is updated by calculating a dispersion of at least one pixel of the reference template with respect to a corresponding pixel in a vehicle image extracted from the input image that provides the maximum correlation value, and by deleting the at least one pixel when the dispersion of the at least one pixel is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

Abstract: A vehicle tracking system for a vehicle is configured to track a remote vehicle by template matching between a reference image and an input image obtained by a camera mounted on the vehicle. The position and distance of a remote vehicle is determined by calculating a position and an enlargement/reduction ratio of a portion of the input image that provide a maximum correlation value between the portion of the input image and the reference template that is greater than a threshold value. The reference template is updated by calculating a dispersion of at least one pixel of the reference template with respect to a corresponding pixel in a vehicle image extracted from the input image that provides the maximum correlation value, and by deleting the at least one pixel when the dispersion of the at least one pixel is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

Abstract: A plurality of reflective points in front of one's vehicle in a traveling direction are detected by a radar device. The plurality of detected reflective points are grouped based on a predetermined standard, and the grouped reflective points are regarded as detection objects. Relative speeds of the detected detection objects are measured with respect to one's vehicle. Types of the detection objects are determined based on the measured relative speeds.

Abstract: A distance measuring apparatus applicable to a mobile body such as an automotive vehicle which detects a position of an obstacle (a target object) without influence of an ambient environment such as a white line and determines positions of lateral ends of the obstacle is disclosed. In the distance measuring apparatus, a pair of electronic cameras are mounted on the mobile body, optical axes of both of the cameras being mutually parallel to each other and being directed toward a forward direction or toward a rearward direction and horizontal axes of their photograph planes being aligned to the same line.