Abstract: An image processing apparatus which includes: an imaging device; a reference luminance property storage device that stores a predetermined reference luminance property; a luminance property calculating device that calculates a luminance property of the imaging device from an image obtained by the imaging device; a comparing device that compares the reference luminance property and the luminance property; a displacement determining device that determines whether or not the luminance property has relative displacement with respect to the reference luminance property based on a comparison result of the comparing device; and a luminance property correcting device that corrects the luminance property, wherein, when the luminance property is determined by the displacement determining device to have relative displacement with respect to the reference luminance property, the luminance property correcting device corrects the luminance property so as to become equivalent to the reference luminance property.

Abstract: The luminance signal of a reference image obtained by an infrared camera is adjusted such that the luminance signal of the reference image obtained is greater at all times than the luminance signal of a searching image obtained by an infrared camera. Correlative calculations are performed on the reference image and the searching image to detect one object in the reference image and the searching image without detecting the background of the images in error.

Abstract: A vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus recognizes a pedestrian from existence of a leg, in the case in which a width in real space of a binarized object is suitable as a pedestrian's leg, the binarized object has longwise shape, the lower end position of the binarized object exists in the lower part (lower half) of a gray scale object region, and a serial luminance transition exists in the binarized object. The vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus also recognizes a pedestrian from existence of an umbrella held up by the pedestrian, in the case in which an umbrella region with a low temperature exists above the binarized object, the width of the umbrella region is suitable as a pedestrian's umbrella, and, the spatial correlation between the centroid position of the umbrella region and the centroid position of the binarized object is suitable as a spatial relationship between a pedestrian and his/her umbrella.

Abstract: A vehicle surroundings monitoring apparatus, includes: an infrared imaging device that captures an image; a binarized object extraction device that extracts a binarized object by binarizing the image; an extraction region setting device that sets, as an extraction region, a region adjacent to one of an upper end and a lower end of the binarized object extracted by the binarized object extraction device; a search region setting device that sets a search region around the extraction region; a similar object extraction device that, when an object having a shape similar to that of the object in the extraction region is present in the search region, extracts the object in the search region as a similar object; and an identical object determination device that determines whether or not the object in the extraction region and the similar object in the search region are identical.