A system for determining range and lateral position of a vehicle is
provided. The system includes a camera and a processor. The camera is
configured to view a region of interest including the vehicle and
generate an electrical image of the region. The processor is in
electrical communication with the camera to receive the electrical image.
The processor analyzes the image by identifying a series of windows
within the image each window corresponds to features of the vehicle at a
different target range. For example, from the perspective of the camera
the vehicle will appear larger when it is closer to the camera than if it
is further away from the camera. Accordingly, each window is sized
proportional to the vehicle as it would appear at each target range. The
processor evaluates characteristics in the electrical image within each
window to identify the vehicle. A score is determined indicating the
likelihood that certain characteristics of the electrical image actually
correspond to the vehicle and also that the vehicle is at target range
for that window.