Vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus

1. A vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus comprising:

a first luminance-image acquiring unit configured to acquire a plurality of first luminance images captured by a plurality of image-capturing units at a predetermined first exposure time, the plurality of image-capturing units being disposed at respective positions different from each other;

a second luminance-image acquiring unit configured to acquire a plurality of second luminance images captured by the plurality of image-capturing units at a second exposure time, the second exposure time being shorter than the first exposure time;

a first distance-image generating unit configured to generate a first distance image through pattern matching of the plurality of first luminance images;

a second distance-image generating unit configured to generate a second distance image through pattern matching of the plurality of second luminance images; and

a composite-image generating unit configured to generate a composite image by extracting one of a first block of the first distance image and a second block of the second distance image, the one of the first block of the first distance image and the second block of the second distance image including a distance having higher reliability, the first block comprising any of blocks of the first distance image, the second block comprising one of blocks of the second distance image corresponding to the first block,

wherein the composite-image generating unit evaluates that the reliability of the distance of the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image is higher when the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image has a parallax, than when the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image has no parallax.

2. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the composite-image generating unit evaluates that the reliability of the distance of the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image is higher when a number of blocks that are separated from the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image by a distance not greater than a distance threshold is not less than a predetermined number, than when the number of the blocks that are separated from the first block or the second block by the distance not greater than the distance threshold is less than the predetermined number.

3. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the composite-image generating unit evaluates that the reliability of the distance of the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image is higher when the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image has a cumulative luminance difference not less than a predetermined value, than when the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image has a cumulative luminance difference less than the predetermined value.

4. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the composite-image generating unit evaluates that the reliability of the distance of the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image is higher when the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image has a cumulative luminance difference not less than a predetermined value, than when the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image has a cumulative luminance difference less than the predetermined value.

5. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the composite-image generating unit evaluates that one of the first block of the first distance image and the second block of the second distance image that has a cumulative luminance difference higher than a cumulative luminance difference of the other of the first block of the first distance image and the second block of the second distance image includes the distance having higher reliability.

6. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the composite-image generating unit evaluates that one of the first block of the first distance image and the second block of the second distance image that has a cumulative luminance difference higher than a cumulative luminance difference of the other of the first block of the first distance image and the second block of the second distance image includes the distance having higher reliability.

7. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the composite-image generating unit extracts the second block of the second distance image as the block that includes the distance having higher reliability when the first block of the first distance image has a cumulative luminance difference equal to a cumulative luminance difference of the second block of the second distance image.

8. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the composite-image generating unit extracts the second block of the second distance image as the block that includes the distance having higher reliability when the first block of the first distance image has a cumulative luminance difference equal to a cumulative luminance difference of the second block of the second distance image.

9. A vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus comprising

circuitry configured to

acquire a plurality of first luminance images captured by a plurality of image-capturing units at a predetermined first exposure time, the plurality of image-capturing units being disposed at respective positions different from each other,

acquire a plurality of second luminance images captured by the plurality of image-capturing units at a second exposure time, the second exposure time being shorter than the first exposure time,

generate a first distance image through pattern matching of the plurality of first luminance images,

generate a second distance image through pattern matching of the plurality of second luminance images,

generate a composite image by extracting one of a first block of the first distance image and a second block of the second distance image, the one of the first block of the first distance image and the second block of the second distance image including a distance having higher reliability, the first block comprising any of blocks of the first distance image, the second block comprising one of blocks of the second distance image corresponding to the first block, and

evaluate that the reliability of the distance of the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image is higher when the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image has a parallax, than when the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image has no parallax.

10. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the circuitry configured to evaluate that the reliability of the distance of the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image is higher when a number of blocks that are separated from the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image by a distance not greater than a distance threshold is not less than a predetermined number, than when the number of the blocks that are separated from the first block or the second block by the distance not greater than the distance threshold is less than the predetermined number.

11. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the circuitry configured to evaluate that the reliability of the distance of the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image is higher when the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image has a cumulative luminance difference not less than a predetermined value, than when the first block of the first distance image or the second block of the second distance image has a cumulative luminance difference less than the predetermined value.

12. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the circuitry configured to evaluate that one of the first block of the first distance image and the second block of the second distance image that has a cumulative luminance difference higher than a cumulative luminance difference of the other of the first block of the first distance image and the second block of the second distance image includes the distance having higher reliability.

13. The vehicle exterior environment recognition apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the circuitry configured to extract the second block of the second distance image as the block that includes the distance having higher reliability when the first block of the first distance image has a cumulative luminance difference equal to a cumulative luminance difference of the second block of the second distance image.