Detecting reflection posts - lane recognition on country roads

This paper presents a new approach to the challenging task of lane recognition on general roads. Lane recognition is the basis for many driver assistance systems, including lane departure warning and the assignment of vehicles to specific lanes. Most systems of the past are designed for the well defined highway scenario. They rely on white lane markings with known geometric appearance. Our method is an extension which also works when lane markings are in bad conditions or missing completely. We use reflection posts as a means of estimating the course of the road. In addition we are furthermore able to measure the horizontal and vertical slope of the road surface.