Apparatus and method for controlling lane following

1. A method for controlling lane following comprising:

acquiring front image information through a camera installed at an ego-vehicle during travel of the ego-vehicle;

setting a target trajectory of the ego-vehicle using line information and travel information of a preceding vehicle extracted based on the image information; and

calculating a steering torque to control steering of the ego-vehicle along the set target trajectory,

wherein the setting of the target trajectory includes setting the target trajectory by offsetting a minimum one of a first deviation distance and a second deviation distance in a lateral direction, based on recognizing a first preceding vehicle traveling a travel lane of the ego-vehicle,

wherein the first deviation distance is between the ego-vehicle and one line of both lines of the travel lane, and

wherein the second deviation distance is between the first preceding vehicle and the one line of the both lines of the travel lane.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the acquiring the image information comprises recognizing the one line of the both lines of the travel lane in which the ego-vehicle currently travels.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the acquiring the image information comprises recognizing the preceding vehicle traveling at least one of the travel lane of the ego-vehicle or a surrounding lane disposed adjacent to the travel lane, and

wherein the preceding vehicle includes the first preceding vehicle.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the line information comprises at least one of a curvature of the travel lane or the first deviation distance between the recognized one line and the ego-vehicle.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the travel information of the preceding vehicle comprises a lateral distance between the ego-vehicle and the preceding vehicle.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the setting the target trajectory comprises calculating the second deviation distance based on the first deviation distance, the curvature of the travel lane, and the lateral distance between the ego-vehicle and the preceding vehicle.

7. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the setting the target trajectory comprises:

calculating a lateral distance between plural preceding vehicles respectively traveling in the travel lane and the surrounding lane when the plural preceding vehicles are recognized;

generating a virtual line based on the second deviation distance and the lateral distance between the plural preceding vehicles; and

setting a centerline between the generated virtual line and the recognized line to the target trajectory.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the generating the virtual line is executed when the lateral distance between the plural preceding vehicles is not shorter than a predetermined safe distance.

9. A non-transitory recording medium on which an application program for executing the method described in claim 1 by a processor is written, the recording medium being readable by a computer.

10. An apparatus for controlling lane following comprising:

an information collector configured to acquire front image information through a camera installed at an ego-vehicle during travel of the ego-vehicle;

a target trajectory generator configured to set a target trajectory of the ego-vehicle using line information and travel information of a preceding vehicle extracted based on the image information; and

a steering torque calculator configured to calculate a steering torque to control steering of the ego-vehicle along the set target trajectory,

wherein the target trajectory generator is configured to set the target trajectory by offsetting a minimum one of a first deviation distance and a second deviation distance in a lateral direction, based on recognizing a first preceding vehicle traveling a travel lane of the ego-vehicle,

wherein the first deviation distance is between the ego-vehicle and one line of both lines of the travel lane, and

wherein the second deviation distance is between the first preceding vehicle and the one line of the both lines of the travel lane.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the information collector comprises a line recognizer configured to recognize the one line of the both lines of the travel lane in which the ego-vehicle currently travels.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the information collector comprises a preceding vehicle recognizer configured to recognize the preceding vehicle traveling at least one of the travel lane of the ego-vehicle or a surrounding lane disposed adjacent to the travel lane, and

wherein the preceding vehicle includes the first preceding vehicle.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the line information comprises at least one of a curvature of the travel lane or the first deviation distance between the recognized one line and the ego-vehicle.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the travel information of the preceding vehicle comprises a lateral distance between the ego-vehicle and the preceding vehicle.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the target trajectory generator calculates the second deviation distance based on the first deviation distance, the curvature of the travel lane, and the lateral distance between the ego-vehicle and the preceding vehicle.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein, when plural preceding vehicles respectively traveling in the travel lane and the surrounding lane are recognized, the target trajectory generator calculating a lateral distance between the plural preceding vehicles, generates a virtual line based on the second deviation distance and the lateral distance between the plural preceding vehicles, and sets a centerline between the generated virtual line and the recognized line to the target trajectory.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16 , wherein the target trajectory generator is configured to generate the virtual line when the lateral distance between the plural preceding vehicles is not shorter than a predetermined safe distance.