Vehicle cabin safety monitoring method and system

Abstract

The invention relates to a vehicle cabin safety monitoring method. The method comprises the following steps: S1, acquiring an image in a vehicle cabin; s2, judging whether a target object exists in the vehicle cabin or not according to the image, wherein the target object is an object with potential safety hazards and / or a life entity with potential safety hazard exposure risks; s3, detecting the temperature and / or solar radiation intensity in the vehicle cabin under the condition of determining that the target object exists in the vehicle cabin; and S4, when the temperature and / or the solar radiation intensity in the vehicle cabin exceed / exceeds a preset value, giving an alarm to a vehicle user outside the vehicle. Therefore, the safety risk of the vehicle cabin can be predicted in advance, and the vehicle user can be reminded in time, so that safety accidents can be avoided. An automatic emergency alarm can also be set to deal with the untimely response of the vehicle user to the alarm.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a vehicle cabin safety monitoring method and a vehicle cabin safety monitoring system, and to a corresponding vehicle. BACKGROUND

[0002] In recent years, it is not uncommon for young children or pets to be left in a vehicle. In particular, on hot summer days, the temperature inside a closed vehicle cabin can quickly rise after the vehicle is parked in the sun. This can potentially endanger the lives of young children and / or pets, cause a fire and / or damage the vehicle, and even lead to tragedy. Therefore, it is crucial to prevent such incidents from occurring. SUMMARY

[0003] The present application aims to provide a vehicle cabin safety monitoring method and a vehicle cabin safety monitoring system, by which potential safety hazards in a vehicle cabin can be detected in a timely manner, and the vehicle user can be alerted to enable the vehicle user to take timely intervention measures, thereby helping to avoid vehicle damage and tragedy.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present application, a vehicle cabin safety monitoring method is provided, comprising: step S1, acquiring an image of a vehicle cabin; step S2, determining whether a target object exists in the vehicle cabin based on the image, the target object being an object with a safety hazard and / or a living being with a risk of exposure to a safety hazard; step S3, detecting the temperature and / or solar radiation intensity in the vehicle cabin if it is determined that the target object exists in the vehicle cabin; and step S4, alerting a vehicle user located outside the vehicle if the temperature and / or solar radiation intensity in the vehicle cabin exceeds a predetermined value.

[0005] According to an optional embodiment of the present application, the object with a safety hazard includes flammable and explosive articles and light-focusing articles, wherein the light-focusing articles particularly contain glass.

[0006] According to an optional embodiment of the present application, the living being with a risk of exposure to a safety hazard includes people with limited ability and pets.

[0007] According to an optional embodiment of the present application, step S2 comprises: step S21, if at least one living being and the object with a safety hazard are identified in the vehicle cabin based on the image, assessing whether the at least one living being is capable of eliminating the safety hazard of the object based on identity information and / or identification features of the at least one living being; and step S22, determining the at least one living being as the living being with a risk of exposure to a safety hazard if it is assessed that the at least one living being is not capable of eliminating the safety hazard of the object.

[0008] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, step S2 includes: step S23: if it is determined that there is a light-concentrating object in the vehicle cabin, based on the location of the light-concentrating object and information about surrounding objects, determine whether the light-concentrating object poses a risk of concentrating sunlight onto flammable objects in the vehicle cabin; and step S24: only if it is determined that the light-concentrating object poses the risk, identify the light-concentrating object as the object with the safety hazard.

[0009] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, step S2 includes: step S25: if it is determined that there is a container containing liquid in the vehicle cabin, determine whether the liquid is a flammable or explosive liquid based on the identification characteristics of the container; and step S26: only if it is determined that the liquid is a flammable or explosive liquid, identify the container containing the liquid as the object with safety hazards.

[0010] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, a trained object classifier and / or convolutional neural network are used to identify whether the target object exists in the vehicle cabin based on the acquired images of the vehicle cabin.

[0011] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, a thermometer is used to detect the temperature inside the vehicle cabin, particularly the temperature at the location of the target object.

[0012] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, a light sensor, particularly a rain sensor, is used to detect the intensity of solar radiation, especially the intensity of solar radiation directed toward the location of the target object.

[0013] According to an optional embodiment of the invention, the preset values ​​of temperature and / or solar radiation intensity inside the vehicle cabin are further modified based on the heat resistance of the target object.

[0014] According to an optional embodiment of the invention, the alarm is displayed on the mobile terminal of the vehicle user located outside the vehicle.

[0015] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, when there are multiple vehicle users located outside the vehicle, the alarm is displayed to the vehicle user who last left the vehicle and / or the vehicle user closest to the vehicle.

[0016] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle cabin safety monitoring method further includes: step S5: when no response to the alarm is received from the vehicle user within a preset time, an emergency alarm is automatically triggered.

[0017] According to an optional embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle cabin safety monitoring method further includes: specifically for the living organism at risk of exposure to safety hazards, assessing the urgency of the safety hazard of the object, and based on the assessed urgency, issuing a corresponding alarm to the vehicle user located outside the vehicle.

[0018] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a vehicle cabin safety monitoring system is provided, including a control unit configured to perform any of the vehicle cabin safety monitoring methods according to the present invention.

[0019] According to a third aspect of the invention, a vehicle is provided, including a vehicle cabin safety monitoring system according to the invention.

[0020] According to other aspects of the invention, a computer program product, particularly a computer-readable storage medium or computer program, is also provided, comprising program instructions configured to execute any of the vehicle cabin safety monitoring methods according to the invention when run by one or more processors.

[0021] Through certain embodiments of the present invention, image recognition technology can be used to promptly detect objects posing safety hazards and / or living beings at risk of exposure to safety hazards within the vehicle cabin. Then, by detecting the temperature and / or solar radiation intensity within the vehicle cabin, the likelihood of a safety hazard occurring can be determined. If a potential hazard is detected, an alert can be sent to the designated vehicle user, enabling timely intervention and helping to prevent tragedies. An automatic emergency alarm can also be set up to address situations where vehicle users do not respond promptly to alarms.

[0022] It is worth noting that the advantages and beneficial effects of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above. Those skilled in the art can understand other unmentioned advantages and beneficial effects of the present invention through the following specific embodiments and claims. Attached Figure Description

[0023] The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which will provide a better understanding of the principles, features, and advantages of the invention. In the drawings, Figure 1 A flowchart of an exemplary vehicle cabin safety monitoring method according to the present invention is shown; Figure 2 Several further flowcharts of step S2 of the exemplary vehicle cabin safety monitoring method according to the present invention are shown; Figure 3 A flowchart of another exemplary vehicle cabin safety monitoring method according to the present invention is shown; and Figure 4A schematic block diagram of an exemplary vehicle cabin safety monitoring system according to the present invention is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0024] To make the technical problems to be solved, the technical solutions, and the beneficial technical effects of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only for explaining the principles of the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the invention.

[0025] Figure 1 A flowchart illustrating an exemplary vehicle cabin safety monitoring method (hereinafter also simply referred to as the method) according to the present invention is shown. Figure 1 As shown, the method includes steps S1, S2, S3 and S4.

[0026] In step S1, images of the vehicle cabin are acquired. This can be done using an internal camera and / or an external camera equipped in the vehicle. For example, one or more cameras can be controlled to capture images of the vehicle cabin after the vehicle is turned off and the doors are locked. The images may include photos and videos, thus reflecting the instantaneous state and continuous changes within the vehicle cabin.

[0027] In step S2, the presence of a target object in the vehicle cabin is determined based on the image. The target object is an object posing a safety hazard and / or a living being at risk of exposure to a safety hazard. When a vehicle is parked for an extended period, especially in summer under direct sunlight, the temperature inside the vehicle cabin can rise significantly. This places living beings in the vehicle cabin in a potentially hazardous environment, exposing them to a safety hazard. It also renders items in the vehicle cabin that are safe at room temperature but pose high-temperature-related safety hazards unsafe, potentially even causing a fire. The object posing a safety hazard may specifically include flammable and explosive materials and items that attract light.

[0028] The flammable and explosive items mentioned can be, for example, common hazardous materials found in vehicle interiors, especially lighters, power banks, aerosols, and alcohol-containing liquids (such as disinfectants, alcohol, and perfumes). For instance, the butane gas inside a lighter expands rapidly when heated, exceeding the container's capacity and potentially exploding; the flying sparks could ignite interior fabrics. Power banks contain lithium batteries, and high temperatures can cause the batteries to bulge, short-circuit, and subsequently catch fire or even explode, especially with low-quality power banks. Various aerosols (such as sunscreen spray, hairspray, and air fresheners) are mostly packaged in high-pressure containers; high temperatures cause a significant increase in pressure inside the container, and the flammable propellant inside is easily volatilized when heated, potentially leading to combustion due to leakage or explosion. Alcohol-containing liquids have low boiling points and high volatility; at high temperatures, they rapidly release flammable gases, which can ignite quickly upon contact with an open flame (such as sparks from a lighter explosion or electrical short circuits), potentially causing the fire to spread. Especially in summer, a closed vehicle exposed to direct sunlight for extended periods can create a high-temperature environment, making these items highly susceptible to causing safety accidents.

[0029] The light-focusing items may contain glass, such as glass products. In vehicle settings, eyeglasses, sunglasses, and magnifying glasses are common examples. Especially in the summer when sunlight is strong, if these lensed items are placed on the dashboard or other areas exposed to direct sunlight, the lenses will focus parallel sunlight to a single point, causing the focal point temperature to rise significantly, potentially exceeding the ignition point of nearby vehicle components, thus igniting a fire. Besides lensed items, glass containers such as glass bottles may also be present in the vehicle cabin. In some cases, these glass containers may also possess convex lens / curved surface light-focusing properties. For example, a transparent glass container filled with liquid, if the glass is curved, and the liquid has high transparency or a high refractive index, will have a strong effect on focusing sunlight. When placed on the dashboard in summer, the focal point temperature will rise rapidly. Furthermore, some glass products, such as glass pendants, crystal ornaments, or glass car decorations, if their surfaces are smooth or have curved / angular surfaces, will reflect and focus light when exposed to direct sunlight, easily forming a high-temperature focal point with prolonged exposure. Therefore, the aforementioned and other similar glass products can, in some situations, create a convex lens effect, much like a magnifying glass focusing sunlight to ignite paper, generating a high-temperature focal point. This poses a safety risk of igniting surrounding vehicle parts (vehicle interior materials are flammable) or flammable items (such as tissues placed near the high-temperature focal point of a lens). However, this danger is often overlooked because the glass products themselves are not considered dangerous. Furthermore, vehicle owners are currently advised to store glasses and other glass-containing items in storage cases to prevent accidents. However, if vehicle owners forget to put these items away before leaving their vehicles, there is no way to provide advance warning using current technology.

[0030] Therefore, according to the present invention, it is preferable to include a light-focusing article, particularly a light-focusing article containing glass, within the object posing a safety hazard. This allows for monitoring of the aforementioned safety risks, enabling preventative measures.

[0031] The life forms at risk of exposure to safety hazards can include people with limited capabilities and pets. People with limited capabilities include those with behavioral or intellectual disabilities, such as children, the elderly, people with disabilities, the injured, and pregnant women. When the temperature inside a vehicle cabin rises significantly, these individuals with limited capabilities, due to weakened physical functions, insufficient self-rescue awareness or mobility, and lower tolerance to high temperatures than normal adults, are likely to suffer from heatstroke, exhaustion, or be unable to open doors or windows independently, thus posing a high risk of exposure to safety hazards in such scenarios. The same applies to pets. Therefore, when it is detected that a child or pet has been left in the back seat of a vehicle, an alert can be selectively issued to the vehicle user based on the temperature inside the cabin and / or the intensity of solar radiation, thereby reminding the user to return to the vehicle.

[0032] At least one of the aforementioned objects posing safety hazards and living organisms posing a risk of exposure to safety hazards can be defined as the target object. Preferably, a trained object classifier and / or a convolutional neural network can be used to identify the presence of the target object in the vehicle cabin based on acquired images of the vehicle cabin. The trained object classifier generates standardized feature templates by manually pre-setting typical features of the target object (such as shape, outline, color, and proportions of key parts). The input images of the vehicle cabin are then pre-processed (e.g., noise reduction, grayscale conversion), and the matching degree between the image region and the template is compared using rules. If a set threshold is reached, the presence of a target is determined. The convolutional neural network, on the other hand, does not require manually pre-setting features. It automatically mines shallow pixel and deep semantic features of the cabin image through network layers, iteratively optimizes model parameters based on training data, and relies on diverse architectures and strategies such as target detection, semantic segmentation, lightweight design, and transfer learning to achieve efficient and accurate target recognition.

[0033] Preferably, vehicle users can pre-set the desired target object range in the vehicle cabin safety monitoring system. For example, this could include selecting a desired object category from all categories of objects with safety hazards provided by the system based on their daily habits, or selecting a desired life form type from all life forms with potential safety hazard exposure provided by the system based on their family members. Furthermore, vehicle users can pre-input the desired object category and desired life form type's image recognition information and identity information into the corresponding control unit of the vehicle cabin safety monitoring system.

[0034] Figure 2Several further flowcharts of step S2 of an exemplary vehicle cabin safety monitoring method according to the present invention are shown. Optionally, in some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown in (a), step S2 may include: step S21: if the presence of at least one living being and the object posing a safety hazard is identified in the vehicle cabin through the image, assess whether the at least one living being is capable of eliminating the safety hazard posed by the object based on the identity information and / or identification features of the at least one living being; and step S22: if the assessment is that the at least one living being is not capable of eliminating the safety hazard posed by the object, identify the at least one living being as the living being at risk of exposure to the safety hazard.

[0035] This measure is proposed because at least one living being identified through image recognition may possess the ability to cope with safety hazards or to save oneself from safety accidents, such as an elderly person or a pregnant woman with good mobility. In this case, the at least one living being can take action on its own to prevent a safety hazard from escalating into a safety accident, such as opening car doors and windows, turning on the air conditioning to cool down, or opening the sun visor, without requiring the vehicle user outside the vehicle to return and intervene. In this case, such a living being does not need to be defined as a living being at risk of exposure to safety hazards in the sense of this invention. That is to say, in addition to inputting and setting the self-rescue capabilities of a living being in the system and determining whether to conduct safety monitoring on that living being based on its self-rescue capabilities, the system can also determine whether to conduct safety monitoring on that living being by assessing its ability to eliminate safety hazards even without setting or updating its self-rescue capabilities.

[0036] For example, if in step S21 a pair of glasses is identified on the vehicle's dashboard, glove box, or seat, and it is inferred that the lenses of these glasses can focus sunlight onto flammable materials, then it can be determined that there is a hazard in the vehicle's cabin. Simultaneously, if a sleeping toddler is identified in the back seat, then the toddler is identified as a living being at risk of exposure to the hazard. In this case, step S21 can further assess the toddler's ability to eliminate the hazard posed by the glasses. Since the toddler is asleep and likely does not understand the focusing properties of the glasses, it can be assumed that the toddler lacks the ability to eliminate the hazard. As another example, if in step S21 a sleeping pregnant woman is identified in the back seat, when sunlight directly hits the vehicle's cabin and causes the cabin temperature to rise rapidly, the pregnant woman will generally wake up due to discomfort. Under normal circumstances, she will actively adjust the cabin temperature or discover the smoking flammable material. Therefore, it can be assumed that the pregnant woman has the ability to eliminate the hazard. However, if the pregnant woman suddenly becomes unconscious, then it should be assumed that she lacks the ability to eliminate the hazard. Therefore, the ability of a living being to eliminate security risks can be assessed based on its identity information and / or identification features. This can further improve the accuracy of identifying living beings at risk of exposure to security risks and enhance the control accuracy of the method according to the present invention. The identity information and / or identification features may include facial features and body part features, used to determine the living being's identity, physical health status, and state of consciousness, etc.

[0037] Alternatively, in some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown in (b), step S2 may include: step S23: if it is determined that there is a light-concentrating object in the vehicle cabin, determine whether the light-concentrating object has the risk of concentrating sunlight onto flammable objects in the vehicle cabin based on the location of the light-concentrating object and information about surrounding objects; and step S24: only if it is determined that the light-concentrating object has the risk, identify the light-concentrating object as the object with the safety hazard.

[0038] In other words, as mentioned earlier, when a focusing object, such as eyeglasses or a magnifying glass, is present in a vehicle cabin, a fire hazard requires that the focusing object concentrate sunlight entering the vehicle cabin onto a flammable object. This involves two aspects of judgment: firstly, whether sunlight will reach the focusing object, which needs to be determined based on the incident direction of sunlight into the vehicle cabin and the position of the focusing object within the cabin; secondly, whether the focusing object will concentrate sunlight onto a flammable object, which needs to be determined based on information about the objects surrounding the focusing object. Therefore, after identifying the presence of a focusing object in the vehicle cabin through image recognition, the fire risk posed by the focusing object can be further determined based on its position and information about surrounding objects. Only when a corresponding risk is judged or predicted is the focusing object identified as a potential safety hazard. This further improves the accuracy of identifying potential safety hazard objects and enhances the control accuracy of the method according to the present invention. The flammable material may include, in particular, vehicle cabin interior components made of plastic, leather, etc., such as dashboards and seats, and may also include tissues, paper, fabrics, seat cushions, steering wheel covers, etc.

[0039] Alternatively, in some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown in (c), step S2 may include: step S25: if it is determined that there is a container containing liquid in the vehicle cabin, determine whether the liquid is a flammable or explosive liquid based on the identification characteristics of the container; and step S26: only if it is determined that the liquid is a flammable or explosive liquid, identify the container containing the liquid as the object with safety hazards.

[0040] Specifically, containers can be identified from images inside the vehicle cabin, and their identification features can be obtained. These features can then be used to determine whether the liquid is flammable or explosive. These identification features may include container type and material, labeling, container geometry and color, liquid transparency, and the reflectivity of the liquid surface. These features can be obtained based on image information. Only when the liquid is determined to be flammable or explosive is the container identified as an object posing a safety hazard. For example, if the container contains only water, the light-converging effect of a water container is relatively limited, thus the risk of a fire caused by light convergence is low. However, if the liquid in the container is flammable or explosive, under sunlight, in addition to light convergence, the risk of evaporation or combustion due to increased temperature will be significantly increased. Therefore, a container can only be identified as an object posing a safety hazard if the liquid inside is flammable or explosive. This improves the accuracy of identifying objects posing safety hazards and enhances the control accuracy of the method according to the present invention. Flammable and explosive liquids can include, in particular, alcohol, perfume, gasoline, and similar volatile liquids that are flammable or even explosive when exposed to a source of ignition.

[0041] The above combination Figure 2 The three further method flows described can be applied individually and / or in any combination to embodiments according to the invention.

[0042] In step S3, if it is determined that the target object is inside the vehicle cabin, the temperature and / or solar radiation intensity inside the vehicle cabin are detected.

[0043] Specifically, thermometers can be used to detect the temperature inside the vehicle cabin, particularly the temperature at the location of the target object. For example, in one embodiment, multiple thermometers can be installed inside the vehicle cabin. After determining that a target object is present in the vehicle cabin, the temperature value measured by the thermometer closest to the target object can be read based on the target object's location.

[0044] Specifically, light sensors, particularly rain sensors, can be used to detect solar radiation intensity, especially the solar radiation intensity at the location of the target object. Light sensors can be installed inside or outside the vehicle cabin. Rain sensors are typically installed on the exterior of the vehicle as an external environment sensor. Alternatively, light sensors are usually located on the inside or outside of the windshield, above the dashboard, or in the rearview mirror area, thus allowing the detection of solar radiation intensity at the location of the target object. For example, the solar radiation intensity at the location of the target object can be assessed based on information such as the position, size, and intensity of the light spot formed by sunlight on the windshield.

[0045] Optionally, in some embodiments, the preset values ​​of temperature and / or solar radiation intensity inside the vehicle cabin can be modified according to the heat resistance of the target object. For example, the preset temperature value can be modified based on human body temperature, pet body temperature, ignition point of combustibles, and the rapid evaporation temperature range of volatile substances. The heat resistance of the focusing item can be comprehensively evaluated based on its light-concentrating ability and the ignition point of the combustible. For example, when the focusing item has a strong light-concentrating ability, if the ignition point of the combustible is high, the light spot focused by the focusing item may not necessarily ignite the combustible, meaning the heat input to the combustible is insufficient to cause combustion. Conversely, when the ignition point of the combustible is low, even if the light-concentrating ability of the focusing item is not very strong, the heat input to the combustible may accumulate over time to be sufficient to ignite combustion.

[0046] Preset values ​​for the temperature and / or solar radiation intensity corresponding to each target object can be stored as a lookup table in the memory of the vehicle cabin safety monitoring system. The processor of the system's control unit can retrieve the corresponding preset value from the lookup table after identifying the target object through image recognition. In some cases, such a lookup table may not exist, or the preset values ​​for the temperature and / or solar radiation intensity corresponding to the identified target object may not be recorded in such a lookup table. Therefore, a fixed preset value can be set for the temperature and / or solar radiation intensity. If the lookup table and the preset value corresponding to the target object are found, the fixed preset value is corrected using the lookup result; otherwise, the fixed preset value is used to determine the temperature and / or solar radiation intensity.

[0047] In step S4, if the temperature and / or solar radiation intensity inside the vehicle cabin exceeds a preset value, an alarm is issued to the vehicle user located outside the vehicle. Specifically, this alarm is displayed on the vehicle user's mobile terminal located outside the vehicle. This relies on communication and data transmission between the vehicle user's mobile terminal and the vehicle. For example, a vehicle management platform typically has a user account, which registers the user's vehicle information and is associated with at least one of the user's mobile terminals.

[0048] Furthermore, a single vehicle can be associated with multiple vehicle users, thereby linking the mobile terminals of each user. Preferably, when multiple vehicle users are located outside the vehicle, the alarm is displayed to the user who last left the vehicle and / or the user closest to the vehicle. Relatively speaking, the user who last left the vehicle and / or the user closest to the vehicle is more likely to respond to the alarm and return to the vehicle in a timely manner. Therefore, this facilitates the faster elimination of safety hazards or even the prevention of further development of safety incidents that have already evolved from safety hazards.

[0049] The alarm can be displayed on the mobile device, for example, through an application (APP) on the mobile device. For instance, after the alarm is issued, an application message can automatically pop up on the mobile device.

[0050] Optionally, the vehicle cabin safety monitoring method may further include: specifically for the living organism at risk of exposure to safety hazards, assessing the urgency of the safety hazard posed by the object, and based on the assessed urgency, issuing a corresponding alarm to the vehicle user located outside the vehicle.

[0051] This measure is proposed because some safety hazards, while existing, have a low urgency level, meaning they may take a considerable amount of time to escalate into a safety incident. In such cases, even if the vehicle user fails to return to the vehicle quickly, no safety incident will occur. However, some safety hazards have a high urgency level, potentially escalating into a safety incident very quickly, requiring the vehicle user to return to the vehicle as soon as possible. Therefore, vehicle users can understand the urgency level of the safety hazard based on the received alarm level, and thus allocate their time accordingly. For example, for very high urgency levels, more urgent, obvious, or mandatory alarms can be set, such as displaying prominent icons, text, or combinations thereof on a large portion of the mobile terminal interface until the vehicle user effectively interacts with the mobile terminal, thereby ensuring that the vehicle user notices the alarm.

[0052] Optionally, the vehicle cabin safety monitoring method may further include: automatically triggering an emergency alarm if no response from the vehicle user is received within a preset time. For example, the system may directly dial an emergency number at this time.

[0053] Other embodiments of the present invention provide a vehicle cabin safety monitoring system including a control unit configured to perform any of the vehicle cabin safety monitoring methods according to the present invention. Figure 4 A schematic block diagram of an exemplary vehicle cabin safety monitoring system 1 according to the present invention and a schematic diagram of its communication connection with a mobile terminal 2 are shown. Figure 4As shown, the vehicle cabin safety monitoring system 1 may include a control unit 11, an onboard camera 12, a thermometer 13, and a light sensor (e.g., a rain sensor) 14. Specifically, the control unit 11 may include a processor and a memory connected in communication. In some embodiments, the control unit 11 may be, in particular, a vehicle electronic control unit (ECU), and may be connected in communication with the onboard camera 12, thermometer 13, and light sensor 14 via a CAN or LIN bus, thereby controlling the onboard camera 12, thermometer 13, and light sensor 14 and acquiring corresponding data (image data, temperature data, and light intensity data) from them. In other embodiments, the control unit 11 may specifically include a vehicle ECU and a cloud-based vehicle management platform. The vehicle ECU is connected in communication with the vehicle management platform, which in turn is connected in communication with the mobile terminal 2. Thus, some steps of the vehicle cabin safety monitoring method according to the present invention can be performed using the platform, such as image recognition, target object identification, alarm generation and issuance, and automatic alarm procedures.

[0054] Further embodiments of the present invention provide a vehicle including a vehicle cabin safety monitoring system according to the present invention.

[0055] Embodiments of the present invention also relate to a computer program product, particularly a computer-readable storage medium or computer program, including program instructions configured to execute any vehicle cabin safety monitoring method according to the present invention when run by one or more processors.

[0056] Herein, "computer-readable storage medium" may include, but is not limited to, random access memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, static random access memory, read-only optical disc or other optical disc storage, disk storage, magnetic tape storage, or any other computer-readable medium capable of carrying or storing data.

[0057] It should be understood that the vehicle cabin safety monitoring method according to the present invention mainly focuses on predicting vehicle cabin safety risks in advance and promptly alerting vehicle users located outside the vehicle. In some embodiments, it can also be combined with existing, under development or future vehicle-side automatic operation measures to mitigate the evolution of safety hazards into dangerous accidents.

[0058] It should also be understood that, in the description of this specification, the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," and "illustrative embodiment," etc., mean that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.

[0059] Although specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail herein, they are given for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Various substitutions, alterations, and modifications can be conceived without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A vehicle cabin safety monitoring method, comprising: Step S1: obtaining an image of a vehicle cabin; Step S2: determining whether a target object exists in the vehicle cabin according to the image, the target object being an object with a safety hazard and / or a living being with a risk of exposing the safety hazard; Step S3: detecting a temperature and / or a solar radiation intensity in the vehicle cabin if it is determined that the target object exists in the vehicle cabin; and Step S4: issuing an alarm to a vehicle user outside the vehicle if the temperature and / or the solar radiation intensity in the vehicle cabin exceeds a preset value. 2.The vehicle cabin safety monitoring method of claim 1, wherein: the object with a safety hazard comprises flammable and explosive articles and light-focusing articles, wherein the light-focusing articles particularly contain glass; and / or the living being with a risk of exposing the safety hazard comprises people with limited ability and pets. Step S2 comprises:

3. The vehicle cabin safety monitoring method of claim 2, wherein, Step S21: if at least one living being and the object with a safety hazard are identified in the vehicle cabin through the image, evaluating whether the at least one living being is capable of eliminating the safety hazard of the object based on identity information and / or identification features of the at least one living being; and Step S22: determining the at least one living being as the living being with a risk of exposing the safety hazard if it is evaluated that the at least one living being is not capable of eliminating the safety hazard of the object. Step S2 comprises:

4. The vehicle cabin safety monitoring method of claim 2 or 3, wherein, Step S23: if it is determined that a light-focusing article exists in the vehicle cabin, judging whether the light-focusing article has a risk of converging sunlight to a combustible object in the vehicle cabin according to a position of the light-focusing article and surrounding article information; and Step S24: determining the light-focusing article as the object with a safety hazard only if it is determined that the light-focusing article has the risk. Step S2 comprises:

5. The vehicle cabin safety monitoring method of any one of claims 2-4, wherein, Step S25: if it is determined that a container containing liquid exists in the vehicle cabin, judging whether the liquid belongs to flammable and explosive liquid according to identification features of the container; and Step S26: determining the container containing liquid as the object with a safety hazard only if it is judged that the liquid belongs to flammable and explosive liquid. 6.The vehicle cabin safety monitoring method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein: a trained object classifier and / or a convolutional neural network are used to identify whether the target object exists in the vehicle cabin based on the obtained image of the vehicle cabin; and / or a thermometer is used to detect the temperature in the vehicle cabin, particularly the temperature at a position where the target object is located; and / or a light sensor, particularly a rain light sensor, is used to detect the solar radiation intensity, particularly the solar radiation intensity directed to the position where the target object is located; and / or the preset value of the temperature and / or the solar radiation intensity in the vehicle cabin is further corrected according to a heat tolerance level of the target object. 7.The vehicle cabin safety monitoring method of any one of claims 1-6, wherein: the alarm is displayed in a mobile terminal of the vehicle user outside the vehicle; and / or ​ ​ When there are multiple vehicle users outside the vehicle, the alarm is displayed to the vehicle user who is last to leave the vehicle and / or the vehicle user who is closest to the vehicle.

8. The vehicle cabin safety monitoring method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein, The vehicle cabin safety monitoring method further comprises: automatically sending an emergency alarm when no response to the alarm is received from the vehicle user within a preset time; and / or In particular, for the living body with the safety hazard exposure risk, evaluating the urgency of the safety hazard of the object, and based on the evaluated urgency, sending a corresponding alarm to the vehicle user outside the vehicle.

9. A vehicle cabin safety monitoring system comprising a control unit configured to perform the vehicle cabin safety monitoring method according to any one of claims 1-8.

10. A vehicle comprising the vehicle cabin safety monitoring system according to claim 9.

Images