A new real-time method for finding temporary and permanent road marking and its applications

In this paper, a new real-time method for finding temporary and permanent road marking is proposed. The method is based on the geometrized histograms method for segmenting and describing color images. This method is able to deal with both rectilinear and curvilinear marking, as well as with color temporary and permanent road marking. It also makes it possible to distinguish temporary road marking from white permanent road marking. The developed method is stable under illumination and is able to work even for partially disappearing road marking, typical for late winter and early spring. In contrast to many other methods, this method does not require any information about camera parameters and calibration and is able to find road marking in images taken under unknown conditions. The proposed method has been implemented by a program written in C++, operating under Windows and Linux. The program operation has been tested on video records shot on typical Russian roads during different seasons and under diverse whether and illumination conditions. The processing speed is about 20 fps for a standard modern computer. Using parallel computing, this speed is reduced considerably. The results of program operation are presented and discussed. The developed program is a part of the computer vision component of the control system of the AvtoNiva pilotless vehicle.