Parametric model of the perspective projection of a road with applicationsto lane keeping and 3D road reconstruction

This paper describes an algorithm for the computation of the 3D structure o f a road and of the motion state of an in-vehicle CCD camera from the lane borders on the image plane. A parametric model of the projective projection of the lane borders on the image plane is introduced and a fast and reliab le algorithm to compute its parameters is described. The physical significa nce of the model is demonstrated by showing that the model parameters compl etely determine the position of the vehicle inside the lane, its heading di rection, and the local structure of the road. The conditions of applicabili ty of the model are also given and the results of its application to a sequ ence of images taken during a test run discussed. The algorithm is suited t o real time applications and indeed an implementation on the dedicated hard ware of the mobile laboratory MOBLAB runs at a frame rate of 12 images per second. (C) 1999 Academic Press.