Stop Line Detection Using Satellite-Image Segmentation

Current fields of research in the automotive sector are dealing with the development of new driving-assistance-functions that aim to improve safety, efficiency and comfort of vehicles. All these assisting functionalities necessitate a considerable amount of information from the vehicle´s environment. Autonomous cruise control (ACC) or efficient start-stop control for example require knowledge on the position of stop lines of crossings. In this paper we focus on the detection of those stop lines using satellite image segmentation. We thereby merge topological information from multiple sources (navigable maps, satellite images) for a region-of-interest-determination. Besides, we exploit knowledge of certain characteristics of stop lines, such as color, form, minimal estimated distance and relative position to the center of a crossing. We develop an automated image processing system that detects stop lines and provides the according geo-coordinates.