A Parallel System for Real-Time Traffic Sign Recognition

We present a system for the real-time recognition of traffic signs from a moving car on European highways. The traffic sign recognition system (TSR) was developed within the European PROMETHEUS project in cooperation with Daimler-Benz and is installed in an autonomous car. Our TSR is also intended to serve as a driver assistance tool. The TSR is based on a fast color image analysis. This analysis involves different methods, such as an inherently parallel color image segmentation, a data-driven decision graph with fuzzy techniques, and classical pattern recognition. Due to the good quality of the color segmentation and the fault-tolerant evaluation the system is highly robust against the difficult conditions in natural outdoor scenes. To meet real-time constraints the TSR has been implemented on a high speed parallel image processing system with MPC 601 processors. A prototype of the TSR runs in a usual car and reaches a recognition rate of 98 %

Traffic Sign Recognition Based on Color Image Evaluation

This paper originates from a cooperation of Daimler-Benz AG, the University of Paderborn, and our group, within the European PROMETHEUS project. Common aim is the development of a traffic sign recognition (TSR) system. The Paderborn group provides gray-level image evaluation, DaimlerBenz AG pictogram identification, and our group color image evaluation. Our approach to TSR is based on a fast and stable color segmentation, the CSC (Color Structure Code). For the segmentation we use a newly developed hierarchical region growing method. This technique combines the advantages of local (simplicity and quickness) and global region growing methods (robustness and accuracy) and avoids chaining mismatches. The result of this segmentation is a hierarchical data structure. In the evaluation phase geometrical primitives (as circles, ellipses, triangles, rectangles, etc.) can be quickly found in this data forest. Answering a few and simple questions (about inclusion of certain colored geometrical ..