Vehicle control apparatus

[0027]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of a vehicle control apparatus 20 according to an embodiment of the invention, which is mounted on an own vehicle.

[0028]The vehicle control apparatus 20 is provided with an imaging device 11 and a radar device 12 which are mounted on the own vehicle for detecting objects present around the own vehicle.

[0029]The imaging device 11, which is an on-vehicle camera in this embodiment, includes a CCD element, or a CMOS image sensor or an infrared image sensor. The imaging device 11 captures an image of circumference environment of the own vehicle including the road on which the own vehicle is running, generates image data of the captured image, and outputs the image data successively to the vehicle control apparatus 20. In this embodiment, the imaging device 11 is mounted in the vicinity of the upper side of the windshield of the own vehicle to capture an image of a search area which extends ahead of the own vehicle at a predetermined angl