The Detective of the Obstacle by Using the New System Called Horizon View Camera

Abstract

In this paper, we proposed a new camera system called Horizon View Camera (HVC). It is possible to install it in the small size robot. The HVC is the system in which the optical axis of a camera is directed to the horizon by using a mirror. The obtained image consists only objects without the ground. Therefore, the HVC system has a feature that distinction of the object from the ground becomes very easy. We presented the effectiveness of the HVC with experiments of the detection of the distance to the object by using feathers of the HVC. to keep the camera at a higher position in order to acquire higher accuracy, and this strategy had the problem that the height of the system becomes tall. To solve this, we came across the opposite viewpoint to this method. Our new method is keeping the camera at a low position, that is, the camera is put on the ground. By this method, the obtained image contains only surrounding objects without the ground because the system positions too low. In this paper, therefore, the camera was put on the ground, and the system was made so that the optical axis of a camera was directed to the horizon. This system was named Horizon View Camera. The obtained image by this system contains only objects without the ground. Therefore, this system has advantages that distinction the object from the ground becomes very easy, and the calculation time for that can be reduced. By moving forward, the system can measure the distance easily. We tried to make the HVC system, but we have to bury half of the cameras in the ground to make the optical axis of the camera direct to the horizon. But it is impossible in actual applications. Therefore, the optical axis of a camera was directed to the horizon by using a mirror. The HVC system is shown in figure 1. The height of the HVC system is decided according to the size of a camera and a mirror. In this paper, the size of the mirror used is 17cm× 11.9cm. The range of vision of this camera is about 46 degrees in the vertical direction,