Lane following system and method considering driving assistance lane

1. A lane following system for controlling a steering device of a driving vehicle and responsive to a driving assistance lane formed in a vehicle path, the lane following system comprising:

an image receiving unit configured to receive front image data of the driving vehicle;

an image analysis unit configured to input the front image data to a pre-stored network and analyze a feature map for each pixel of the front image data;

an analysis processing unit configured to extract a lane change driving lane to be followed by the driving vehicle by using a result by the image analysis unit; and

a steering control unit configured to compare a driving line currently followed by the driving vehicle with the lane change driving lane extracted from the analysis processing unit, and, in response, generate a control signal for controlling a steering angle of the vehicle.

2. The lane following system of claim 1 , wherein the image analysis unit determines whether there is a driving assistance lane having a predetermined feature by using features included in each pixel, and, if so, extracts a pixel coordinate group corresponding to the driving assistance lane.

3. The lane following system of claim 2 , wherein the image analysis unit implements a semantic segmentation network that includes:

a classification unit configured to perform a classification into a plurality of classes using brightness values for each pixel;

a determination unit configured to set a predetermined class as a pixel according to the driving assistance lane, and determine the driving assistance lane including the predetermined class based upon classification by the classification unit; and

an output unit configured to output a coordinate group including corresponding pixels when the driving assistance lane including the predetermined class is determined by the determination unit.

4. The lane following system of claim 3 , wherein the analysis processing unit extracts a centerline of the driving assistance lane according to the coordinate group by using a pre-stored analysis algorithm, and sets the extracted centerline as a lane change driving lane.

5. The lane following system of claim 1 , wherein the steering control unit includes:

a driving extraction unit configured to receive the front image data and extract a driving lane currently followed by the driving vehicle; and

a control output unit configured to produce a difference value between the extracted driving lane and the lane change driving lane, calculate a proportional, integral, differential (PID) control value so that the driving vehicle follows the lane changing driving lane using the produced value, and generate a control signal accordingly.

6. The lane following system of claim 5 , wherein the steering control unit further includes a lane change extraction unit configured to extract the lane change driving lane and then generate a lane change guide lane extended so that the extracted lane is linearly connected to a start point of the lane change driving lane, and

the control output unit produces a difference value between the extracted lane driving lane and the lane change guide lane, compares and calculates a difference value between the lane change guide lane and the lane change driving lane, calculates a PID control value using the produced values so that the driving vehicle follows the lane change driving lane along the lane change guide lane, and generates a control signal accordingly.

7. A lane following method responsive to a driving assistance lane and performed by a processor, the lane following method comprising:

an image input step of inputting front image data of a driving vehicle;

an image analysis step of inputting the front image data to a pre-stored network to analyze feature maps for each pixel;

a lane change extraction step of applying the result of the image analysis step to a pre-stored analysis algorithm to extract a lane change driving lane to be followed by a driving vehicle;

a steering control step of comparing a driving lane currently followed by the driving vehicle with the lane change driving lane determined by the lane change extraction step, and, in response, generating a control signal for controlling a steering angle of the vehicle; and

a driving extraction step of analyzing the front image data input by the image input step to extract the driving lane currently followed by the driving vehicle.

8. The lane following method of claim 7 , wherein the image analysis step includes:

a determination step of determining a driving assistance lane having a preset feature by using features included in each pixel; and

a group extraction step of extracting a pixel coordinate group corresponding to the determined driving assistance lane, and

when it is determined that there is no driving assistance lane, maintaining the lane following system currently applied to the driving vehicle.

9. The lane following method of claim 8 , wherein the determination step uses a semantic segmentation network and includes:

a classification step of performing a classification into a plurality of classes using brightness values for each pixel; and

an existence determination step of determining the driving assistance lane based on classification by the classification step, and whether there is a pixel including the predetermined class by setting a predetermined class as the pixel according to the driving assistance lane.

10. The lane following method of claim 8 , wherein the lane change extraction step extracts a centerline of the driving assistance lane according to a pixel coordinate group extracted by the group extraction step, and sets the extracted centerline as the lane change driving lane to be followed.

11. The lane following method of claim 7 , wherein the steering control step includes:

a comparison step of producing a difference value between the driving lane to be followed extracted by the lane driving extraction step and the lane change driving lane extracted by the lane change extraction step; and

a control signal generation step of calculating a PID control value so that the driving vehicle follows the lane change driving lane by using the produced value of the comparison calculation step, and generating a control signal accordingly.

12. The lane following method of claim 11 , wherein the steering control step further includes a guide lane generation step of generating a lane change guide lane that extends so that the lane change driving lane extracted by the lane driving extraction step is linearly connected to a start point of the lane change driving lane extracted by the lane change extraction step,

in the comparison step, a difference between the lane driving lane and the lane change guide lane is compared and calculated, and a difference between the lane change guide lane and the lane change driving lane is produced, and

in the control signal generation step, a PID control value is calculated so that the driving vehicle follows the lane change driving lane along the lane change guide lane by using the produced values, and a control signal is generated accordingly.