Lane Detection and Tracking Problems in Lane Departure Warning Systems

The chapter concerns the solutions of lane detection (LD) and lane tracking (LT) problems that are relevant in the implementation of lane departure warning systems (LDWSs), a kind of advanced driver assistance systems (ADASs) finalized to warn the driver that an imminent and possibly unintentional lane departure is taking place. The proposed solutions are based on simple image processing algorithms that work on the frames of a video stream of the oncoming road sections taken by a camera mounted on the front windshield of the vehicle. LD algorithms are finalized to identify the stripes demarcating the lane within a single frame, whereas LT algorithms try to track the demarcating stripes in subsequent frames of the stream. Final simulations on the software simulator CarSim 8 are also provided at the end of the chapter under realistic driving scenarios.