Blinking traffic light detection

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for vehicle navigation. In one implementation, a system for navigating a vehicle may include at least one processor configured to receive a first image frame; detect in the first image frame a representation of a traffic light and determine a color state associated with lamps included on the traffic light. The at least one processor may receive an additional image frame includes a representation of the at least one traffic light; and determine, based on a comparison of the first image frame and the additional image frame, whether the at least one traffic light includes a blinking lamp. If the at least one traffic light includes a blinking lamp, the processor may cause the vehicle to implement a navigational action relative the traffic light in accordance with the determination and also based on a detected color state for the blinking lamp.

1 . A system for navigating a vehicle, the system comprising:
 at least one processor comprising circuitry and a memory, wherein the memory includes instructions that when executed by the circuitry cause the at least one processor to:
 receive a first image frame acquired by an image capture device, wherein the first image frame is representative of an environment of the vehicle, the environment including at least one traffic light; 
 detect in the first image frame a representation of the at least one traffic light and determine a color state associated with one or more lamps included on the at least one traffic light; 
 receive at least one additional image frame acquired by the image capture device, wherein the at least one additional image frame includes a representation of the at least one traffic light; 
 determine, based on a comparison of at least a portion of the first image frame and at least a portion of the at least one additional image frame, whether the at least one traffic light includes a blinking lamp; and 
 if the at least one traffic light is determined to include a blinking lamp, cause the vehicle to implement a navigational action relative the at least one traffic light in accordance with the determination that the at least one traffic light includes a blinking lamp and also based on a detected color state for the blinking lamp. 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the at least a portion of the at least one additional image frame constitutes an extracted subsection of the at least one additional image frame including the representation in the at least one additional image frame of the at least one traffic light. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein a location of the extracted subsection in the at least one additional image frame is determined based on a location in the first image frame of the representation of the at least one traffic light and based on a motion history of the vehicle between a time when the first image frame was acquired and a subsequent time when the at least one additional image frame was acquired. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the comparison includes providing the at least a portion of the first image frame and the at least a portion of the at least one additional image frame to a long short term memory (LSTM) network. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the LSTM network is configured to output for each of the one or more lamps included in the at least one traffic light a logical “V” if the no blinking is detected and a logical “1” if blinking is detected. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the navigational action includes stopping of the vehicle in response to a determination that the at least one traffic light includes a blinking lamp having a red color state. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the navigational action includes slowing of the vehicle in response to a determination that the at least one traffic light includes a blinking lamp having a yellow color state. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the navigational action includes causing the vehicle to yield in response to a determination that the at least one traffic light includes a blinking lamp having a yellow color state and wherein the blinking lamp includes a directional arrow. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the navigational action includes causing the vehicle to yield in response to a determination that the at least one traffic light includes a blinking lamp having a green color state. 
     
     
         10 . A method for navigating a vehicle, the method comprising:
 receiving a first image frame acquired by an image capture device, wherein the first image frame is representative of an environment of the vehicle, the environment including at least one traffic light;   detecting in the first image frame a representation of the at least one traffic light and determine a color state associated with one or more lamps included on the at least one traffic light;   receiving at least one additional image frame acquired by the image capture device, wherein the at least one additional image frame includes a representation of the at least one traffic light;   determining, based on a comparison of at least a portion of the first image frame and at least a portion of the at least one additional image frame, whether the at least one traffic light includes a blinking lamp; and   if the at least one traffic light is determined to include a blinking lamp, causing the vehicle to implement a navigational action relative the at least one traffic light in accordance with the determination that the at least one traffic light includes a blinking lamp and also based on a detected color state for the blinking lamp.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the at least a portion of the at least one additional image frame constitutes an extracted subsection of the at least one additional image frame including the representation in the at least one additional image frame of the at least one traffic light. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein a location of the extracted subsection in the at least one additional image frame is determined based on a location in the first image frame of the representation of the at least one traffic light and based on a motion history of the vehicle between a time when the first image frame was acquired and a subsequent time when the at least one additional image frame was acquired. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the comparison includes providing the at least a portion of the first image frame and the at least a portion of the at least one additional image frame to a long short term memory (LSTM) network. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the LSTM network is configured to output for each of the one or more lamps included in the at least one traffic light a logical “0” if the no blinking is detected and a logical “1” if blinking is detected. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the navigational action includes stopping of the vehicle in response to a determination that the at least one traffic light includes a blinking lamp having a red color state. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the navigational action includes slowing of the vehicle in response to a determination that the at least one traffic light includes a blinking lamp having a yellow color state. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the navigational action includes causing the vehicle to yield in response to a determination that the at least one traffic light includes a blinking lamp having a yellow color state and wherein the blinking lamp includes a directional arrow. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the navigational action includes causing the vehicle to yield in response to a determination that the at least one traffic light includes a blinking lamp having a green color state. 
     
     
         19 . A non-transitory computer readable medium containing instructions that when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:
 receiving a first image frame acquired by an image capture device, wherein the first image frame is representative of an environment of a vehicle, the environment including at least one traffic light;   detecting in the first image frame a representation of the at least one traffic light and determine a color state associated with one or more lamps included on the at least one traffic light;   receiving at least one additional image frame acquired by the image capture device, wherein the at least one additional image frame includes a representation of the at least one traffic light;   determining, based on a comparison of at least a portion of the first image frame and at least a portion of the at least one additional image frame, whether the at least one traffic light includes a blinking lamp; and   if the at least one traffic light is determined to include a blinking lamp, causing the vehicle to implement a navigational action relative the at least one traffic light in accordance with the determination that the at least one traffic light includes a blinking lamp and also based on a detected color state for the blinking lamp.   
     
     
         20 - 104 . (canceled)