Pedestrian Detection System

A Pedestrian Detection (sometimes also called Pedestrian Recognition) System (PDS) is an ADAS (advanced driver assistant system) which acts as an extra set of eyes for motorists, helping them avoid potentially catastrophic collisions. Basically a vehicle’s PDS can determine the outline and movement of a pedestrian within the trajectory of the vehicle. PDS are fundamental for highly automated driving; they recognize people or animals in the car’s path, then tell the driver by delivering a visual and/or audible alert. Some systems may also automatically apply the brakes. Clearly, a PDS is a highly safety-critical system. Currently, a PDS may not always be able to avoid a collision, but the feature can significantly reduce the speed of an impact such that it is survivable.

For scanning the environment, in a PDS cameras or other sensors (e.g., radar, lidar) are used. Stereoscopic cameras mounted behind the rearview mirror and radar can detect more subtle movements of people in the environment. As research progresses, infrared technology is being added to improve performance, especially at night. Altogether, there are many design variants for a PDS. Moreover, as a PDS is integrated with other ADAS, complex configurations arise. Thus, a PDS constitutes an excellent case study for variant testing.