Method and device for mitigating the effect of a faulty sensor in a vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a method (100) for mitigating the effect of a faulty sensor (200) of a vehicle (70), comprising the following steps: - Influencing (101) an environment (300), in particular an immediate environment, of the vehicle (70), wherein the environment (300) is influenced in such a way that the influence (101) can be detected by at least one sensor (200) of the vehicle (70); - Providing (101) sensor data (SDO, SD1, SD2, SD3) from at least one sensor (200) of the vehicle (70), wherein the sensor data (SDO, SD1, SD2, SD3) are specific to the, in particular immediate, environment of the vehicle; - Calculating (102) external processing results (eVE) based on the provided sensor data (SDO, SD1, SD2, SD3) of the at least one sensor (200) of the vehicle (70) and / or based on data (ID) to influence the, in particular immediate, environment (300) of the vehicle (70); - Providing (103) vehicle-internal processing results (iVE) based on the sensor data (SDO, SD1, SD2, SD3) of at least one sensor (200) of the vehicle (70); - Comparing (104) the external processing results (eVE) with the vehicle-internal processing results (iVE); - Initiating (105) the mitigation of the effect of the faulty sensor (200), preferably by outputting a signal to the vehicle (70), depending on the comparison.

Description

[0001] The invention is based on a method for mitigating the effect of a faulty sensor of a vehicle, a device for data processing, a vehicle and a system. State of the art

[0002] There are already approaches to diagnosing or validating sensors via infrastructure. For example, validation is carried out using "known objects" or test patterns in the vehicle's environment, as is the case with mobility service providers when driving out of a fleet garage. Validation via interaction with other V2V networked vehicles is also possible. However, safety considerations often force the deactivation of the sensor or sensor component when errors are diagnosed. This can be the case, for example, with only one sensor (+diagnosis) due to a lack of redundancy for fallback or for the implementation of a safety-related function. Even if two sensors are present, a fault cannot usually be diagnosed in a specific sensor; only the existing contradiction can be identified by comparing both sensors.In this case, it is often impossible to decide which of the two sensors is still trustworthy. Furthermore, a detailed interpretation of the specific effect and situational criticality of a failure is often lacking. It may happen that the failure of a sensor is not critical for the current situation and the remainder of the mission, but this assessment is difficult or even impossible to make from within the vehicle. Due to the aforementioned issues, correction or reparameterization is often not safely feasible. Even a temporary reboot for error diagnosis and correction is often not safely feasible without additional external information about the associated criticality.

[0003] EP 2436 192 A1 discloses a vehicle sensor or a system with a control unit for determining the vehicle state and at least two vehicle sensors, as well as a method for operating such a system. Disclosure of the invention

[0004] Against this background, the approach presented here provides a method having the features of claim 1, a device having the features of claim 11, a vehicle having the features of claim 12, a system having the features of claim 13, a computer program having the features of claim 14 and a computer-readable medium having the features of claim 15.

[0005] The method for mitigating the effect of a faulty sensor of a vehicle comprises a step of influencing the, in particular immediate, surroundings of the vehicle, wherein the surroundings are influenced in such a way that the influence can be detected by at least one sensor of the vehicle. Furthermore, the method comprises a step of providing sensor data from the at least one sensor of the vehicle, wherein the sensor data is specific to the, in particular immediate, surroundings of the vehicle. Furthermore, the method comprises a step of calculating external processing results based on the provided sensor data from the at least one sensor of the vehicle and / or based on data for influencing the, in particular immediate, surroundings of the vehicle.The method further comprises a step of providing internal vehicle processing results based on the sensor data of the at least one sensor of the vehicle, as well as a step of comparing the external processing results with the internal vehicle processing results. Furthermore, the method includes a step of initiating mitigation of the effect of the faulty sensor based on the comparison.

[0006] This can be understood, for example, as meaning that an output signal is sent to the vehicle so that the vehicle can initiate appropriate measures to mitigate the effect of the faulty sensor.

[0007] Providing sensor data can be understood, for example, as receiving the data from a device external to the vehicle. The data can be sent, for example, by the vehicle to the device external to the vehicle. Processing results can be understood as any results or information that can be calculated, extracted, or obtained from the sensor data. In particular, external processing results can be understood as any results or information that can be calculated, extracted, or obtained from the provided sensor data and / or from the data for influencing the, in particular immediate, surroundings of the vehicle.Data for influencing the vehicle's surroundings can be understood as data which, when output to at least one device in the vehicle's surroundings, causes this device to change its shape, color, form, position, pose, size, orientation, or the like. Providing internal vehicle processing results can be understood, for example, to mean that the internal vehicle processing results are received by the vehicle-external device. The internal vehicle processing results can, for example, be sent by the vehicle to the vehicle-external device. Furthermore, it can alternatively be understood that the internal vehicle processing results are provided to the vehicle or to internal vehicle devices, such as a control unit, by the vehicle. Advantages of the invention

[0008] On the one hand, the method enables more comprehensive diagnostics, even for sensor errors that are difficult to detect, especially using in-vehicle tools. In particular, the method can be used to generate any desired sensor tests by specifically modifying the environment. This increases the safety of the vehicle and its surroundings. On the other hand, required diagnostic functions can be partially or even completely moved to a cloud with potentially much higher computing power, leading to greater efficiency. Depending on the diagnostic function, not only software but also hardware can be saved. Furthermore, both the detection and evaluation of sensor errors take place in an independent system, which increases availability.This makes it possible to tolerate non-safety-critical errors or transient errors of the sensor in the current situation without immediately transferring the sensor, the vehicle or a system associated with the sensor into a safe state.

[0009] Further advantages arise from the subclaims.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the sensor data is specific to at least one sensor component, in particular for preprocessing, processing, postprocessing, and / or interpreting the sensor data. This allows the sensor error to be further narrowed down and even more specific measures to mitigate the faulty sensor or faulty sensor component to be taken.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, it is provided that in the influencing step the environment is changed, in particular temporarily, mechanically or spatially, optically and / or acoustically.

[0012] Particularly preferably, a test signal can be displayed on a digital display, on a lamp, and / or a traffic light, which is detected by the at least one sensor, e.g., embodied as a camera. This allows any optical, preferably infrared, test signal to be provided. Particularly preferably, the test signal is below and / or above a frequency perceptible to the human eye or is modulated in such a way that it is not noticeable to the human eye.

[0013] Furthermore, an optical test signal can be projected into the vehicle's surroundings. This can preferably be done below and / or above a frequency perceptible to the human eye.

[0014] Furthermore, a radar test signal, a LIDAR test signal, and / or an acoustic test signal can advantageously be output to test a sensor configured as a RADAR, LIDAR, and / or microphone. The frequency of the acoustic signal can preferably be below and / or above a frequency perceptible to the human ear.

[0015] Furthermore, the influence can be achieved by changing the spatial position and / or pose of an object external to the vehicle, in particular a roadside unit (RSU) and / or at least one other vehicle. This can be achieved, for example, by extending a spoiler, by changing the pose through active suspension of a chassis, by extending a robot arm of a delivery vehicle, in particular a future delivery vehicle, or by deliberately opening a door, a hood, and / or a trunk, in particular while the other vehicle is stationary at a traffic light or while parked.

[0016] Particularly preferably, several roadside units can be installed on a dedicated diagnostic route, which can generate optical, acoustic, RADAR and / or LIDAR test signals for the vehicle in order to test as many of the sensors installed or arranged in or on the vehicle for faults as possible. This is particularly advantageous before routes where at least some of the sensors installed or arranged in or on the vehicle will reach their limits. This can, for example, be a route with many RADAR reflections from metal, in the dark with people in the vicinity and / or with a diffuse environment or a lot of traffic and people present in the vicinity, whereby the RADAR sensor, an IR camera and / or an optical camera of the vehicle can be tested. The roadside units can be permanently installed on the route and / or be flexibly controllable and / or movable.

[0017] Furthermore, it is advantageous if, in the step of calculating external processing results, the external processing results are additionally based on external sensor data and / or data from an environment model. External sensor data can be, for example, data from roadside units, external traffic cameras, external radar, ultrasound, and / or lidar sensors. Data from an environment model can be understood, for example, as data that can be extracted from an environment model that has already been calculated, in particular based on the external sensor data. This can significantly increase the accuracy, confidence, and / or robustness of the external processing results.

[0018] In a further embodiment, it can be provided that a faulty sensor or a faulty sensor component is present if, in the comparison step, the vehicle-internal processing results deviate from the external processing results by a predeterminable or predefined limit value, preferably by more than 10%, particularly preferably by more than 5%, and most preferably by more than 2%. This allows the presence of a faulty sensor or a faulty sensor component to be determined in a simple manner.

[0019] Furthermore, it is advantageous if a determination step is performed before the initiation step, in which the comparison determines whether a safety-critical error or a non-safety-critical, particularly transient, error is present. Knowing this information allows the mitigation measures to mitigate the effects of the faulty sensor to be adjusted accordingly.

[0020] It is particularly advantageous if the determination step is carried out depending on current and / or future traffic conditions, in particular the remaining journey to be completed. This allows the determination of whether a safety-critical error or a non-safety-critical, particularly transient, error is present to be made even more precisely and, in particular, depending on the situation. This also allows any mitigation measures to be defined even more precisely, so that, for example, the frequency of complete sensor deactivation and the associated loss of a specific driving function can be significantly reduced.

[0021] In a further embodiment, it can be provided that, in the initiation step, an output signal is output such that a driver of the vehicle or the vehicle itself is informed of the presence of a fault, in particular one that is not safety-critical. This advantageously warns the driver of the vehicle, allowing them to adapt their driving style to the respective situation. In particular, it can be provided that the driver is instructed by the output signal to perform a specific action, such as deactivating a driving function impaired by the faulty sensor. This advantageously instructs the driver of the vehicle to return the vehicle to a safe state.

[0022] In a further preferred embodiment, it can be provided that, in the initiation step, the vehicle can still be operated for a predeterminable or predetermined period of time. This ensures that, in the event of a fault, particularly one that is not safety-critical, the vehicle is not instantly transferred to a safe state or even automatically shut down, but rather the driver can continue to drive the vehicle independently for a certain period of time.

[0023] Furthermore, it can be provided that the external processing results are transmitted to the vehicle during the initiation step. This allows the vehicle to choose whether and to what extent it considers the external processing results in its internal calculations.

[0024] Preferably, the external processing results, especially by the vehicle, can be checked for safety integrity, confidence, reliability, and / or availability along a route. This can be done using additional metadata of the data or the external processing results, which contain information about the ASIL and / or the confidence / uncertainty estimation and / or the QoS guarantees (latency, determinism, availability, etc.) of the external signal.

[0025] Furthermore, it can be provided that external sensor data is transmitted to the vehicle during the initiation step. This allows the vehicle to choose whether and to what extent it considers the external sensor data in its internal calculations.

[0026] Furthermore, it can be provided that data from an environment model is transmitted to the vehicle during the initiation step. This allows the vehicle to choose whether and to what extent it considers data from an environment model in its internal calculations.

[0027] In a further preferred embodiment, it can be provided that, in the initiation step, the external processing results replace the vehicle-internal processing results. This ensures that the faulty vehicle-internal processing results are not reused for the execution of, for example, a driving function, particularly a safety-relevant one. The driver can thus rely on the fact that the vehicle or its respective control or regulation systems are always supplied with the correct processing results.

[0028] In a further preferred embodiment, it can be provided that, in the initiation step, the external sensor data replace the vehicle's internal processing results and / or sensor data. This ensures that the faulty sensor data is not reused, for example, for the execution of a driving function, particularly a safety-relevant one. The driver can thus rely on the fact that the vehicle or its respective control or regulation systems are always supplied with the correct sensor data.

[0029] Alternatively or additionally, it can be provided that, in the initiation step, data from an environment model replaces the vehicle's internal processing results and / or sensor data. This ensures that the faulty sensor data is not reused, for example, for the execution of a driving function, particularly one that is safety-relevant. The driver can thus rely on the fact that the vehicle or its respective control systems are always supplied with the correct sensor data.

[0030] The above-mentioned advantages also apply correspondingly to a device, in particular for data processing, which is designed to carry out at least individual, preferably all, method steps of the method according to one of the previously described embodiments.

[0031] For example, the device can have a control unit, wherein the control unit is configured to carry out at least one of the steps of one of the methods according to the preceding embodiments. The device is preferably embodied as the vehicle-external device. Particularly preferably, the device is configured to influence the, in particular immediate, surroundings of the vehicle, for example by the device, in particular temporarily, mechanically or spatially, optically and / or acoustically changing other external vehicles and / or vehicle-external objects, in particular roadside units, so that this change is detected by the at least one sensor.

[0032] The method can be implemented, for example, in software or hardware or in a hybrid form of software and hardware in the device and / or the control unit. For this purpose, the device and / or the control unit can have at least one evaluation unit for processing signals or data, at least one memory unit for storing signals or data, at least one interface to a detection unit or an actuator for reading in sensor signals or parameters from the detection unit or for outputting control signals to the actuator and / or at least one communication interface for reading in or outputting data embedded in a communication protocol. The evaluation unit can be, for example, a signal processor, a microcontroller or the like, wherein the memory unit can be a flash memory, an EPROM or a magnetic storage unit.The communication interface can be designed to read in or output data wirelessly and / or wired, wherein a communication interface that can read in or output wired data can read this data, for example, electrically or optically from a corresponding data transmission line or output it to a corresponding data transmission line.

[0033] The invention also relates to a vehicle which is or can be connected to the device described above by means of signals, wherein the vehicle is configured to initiate a mitigation of an effect of the faulty sensor. This can be initiated, for example, by receiving a corresponding output signal.

[0034] Furthermore, a system comprising the device described above and the vehicle described above is also the subject of the invention.

[0035] The invention also relates to a computer program product or computer program with program code, which can be stored on a machine-readable, in particular non-volatile, carrier or storage medium such as a semiconductor memory, a hard disk memory or an optical memory and is used to carry out, implement and / or control the steps of the method according to one of the embodiments described above, in particular when the program product or program is executed on a computer or a device according to one of the embodiments described above.

[0036] The invention also relates to a computer-readable storage medium comprising the computer program. The storage medium is designed, for example, as a data storage device such as a hard disk and / or a non-volatile memory and / or a memory card. The storage medium can, for example, be integrated into the computer or a device according to one of the embodiments described above. Short description of the drawing

[0037] Embodiments of the invention are schematically illustrated in the drawings and explained in more detail in the following description. The same reference numerals are used for the elements shown in the various figures and have a similar effect, and a repeated description of the elements is omitted.

[0038] They show: Fig. 1 a schematic representation of a method, a device, a vehicle, a system and a computer program for mitigating an effect of a faulty sensor of a vehicle according to embodiments; and Fig. 2 a schematic representation of the system for mitigating an effect of a faulty sensor of a vehicle according to another embodiment.

[0039] As already stated above, the present invention describes a method, a device, a vehicle, a system and a computer program which make it possible to detect a faulty sensor at an early stage by specifically influencing the environment of the vehicle and thus to ensure safe operation of the vehicle.

[0040] Fig. 1 illustrates, according to embodiments of the invention, a method 100 and a system 80 for mitigating the impact of a faulty sensor of a vehicle 70.

[0041] According to a first method step 101, an influence can be exerted on the surroundings of the vehicle 70, in particular the immediate surroundings, wherein the surroundings are influenced in such a way that the influence can be detected by at least one sensor of the vehicle 70. Subsequently, according to a second method step 102, sensor data from at least one sensor of the vehicle 70 can be provided, in particular to a vehicle-external device 60. The sensor data can be specific to the surroundings, in particular the immediate surroundings, of the vehicle 70. The sensor data can be acquired, for example, by an internal sensor system of the vehicle 70, in particular by an inertial sensor, by an optical sensor, preferably a camera or a LIDAR sensor, by a RADAR sensor, or by an ultrasonic sensor.Subsequently, according to a third method step 103, external processing results can be calculated based on the sensor data provided by the at least one sensor of the vehicle 70 and / or based on data for influencing the, in particular immediate, surroundings of the vehicle 70. Then, according to a fourth method step 104, vehicle-internal processing results can be provided based on the sensor data of the at least one sensor of the vehicle 70. Thereafter, according to a fifth method step 105, the external processing results can be compared with the vehicle-internal processing results, and according to a sixth method step 106, mitigation of the effect of the faulty sensor can be initiated, preferably by outputting an output signal to the vehicle 70, depending on the comparison.

[0042] Method steps 101-106 can be carried out by a device 10. Device 10 is designed, for example, as a computer and / or as a device 10 for data processing and / or as the vehicle-external device 60 and can comprise means for carrying out the steps of a method 100 according to embodiments of the invention. Furthermore, device 10 can have a communication interface for networking, in particular wirelessly, with other devices, units, vehicles, or the like. Furthermore, device 10 can have a computer program 50 according to embodiments of the invention. When executed by a computer or device 10, computer program 50 can cause the computer or device 10 to carry out at least one, preferably all, step(s) of method 100 according to embodiments of the invention.Together, the vehicle 70 and the device 10 form a system 80 for mitigating the effect of the faulty sensor of the vehicle 70.

[0043] In Fig. Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of the system 80 for mitigating the effects of a faulty sensor 200 of a vehicle 70 according to another exemplary embodiment. The system 90 comprises a device 10 configured as an external vehicle device 60, in particular as a cloud 11, and at least one vehicle 70.

[0044] The vehicle 70 has at least one sensor 200, in particular one internal to the vehicle, which in turn can comprise individual sensor components 210, 211, 212, 213. A sensor component 210 can be provided for preprocessing, a sensor component 211 for processing, a sensor component 212 for postprocessing, and / or a sensor component 213 for interpreting the sensor data. The sensor 200 can be designed, for example, as a camera and record image data from an environment 300, in particular the immediate environment, of the vehicle 70. Alternatively, the sensor 200 can also be designed as an inertial sensor and sense a pose, a location, a speed, and / or an acceleration, in particular a current one, of the vehicle 70.

[0045] The vehicle-external device 60 can be configured to influence the environment 300 of the vehicle 70 such that the influence can be detected by the at least one sensor 200 of the vehicle 70. This can be achieved, for example, by a particularly temporary, mechanical or spatial, optical and / or acoustic change to the environment 300, preferably initiated and / or represented by data ID for influencing the particularly immediate environment 300 of the vehicle 70. In particular, a test signal can be displayed on a digital display, a lamp and / or a traffic light. The test signal is preferably optical and can be below and / or above a frequency perceptible to the human eye or modulated such that it is not noticeable to the human eye. Furthermore, an optical test signal can be projected into the environment of the vehicle.Influencing the environment 300 can also consist of emitting a radar test signal, a LIDAR test signal, and / or an acoustic test signal in order to test a sensor 200 configured as a RADAR, LIDAR, and / or microphone. The frequency of the acoustic signal is preferably below and / or above a frequency perceptible to the human ear. The influencing can also occur by changing a spatial position and / or pose of an object external to the vehicle, in particular a roadside unit and / or at least one other vehicle 70. In this case, several roadside units can be installed on a dedicated diagnostic line, which can generate optical, acoustic, RADAR, and / or LIDAR test signals for the vehicle in order to test as many of the sensors 200 installed or arranged in or on the vehicle 70 as possible for faults.

[0046] The sensor data SD0, SD1, SD2, SD3 of the sensor 200 are preferably processed along the individual sensor components 210, 211, 212, 213 and forwarded to a perception unit 220 of the vehicle 70. The perception unit 220 is configured to calculate an internal vehicle processing result iVE based on the sensor data SD0, SD1, SD2, SD3 of the sensor 200 and to regularly forward this to the vehicle 70 in order to implement a specific function, in particular a driving function, in the vehicle 70. The vehicle 70 further comprises a communication unit 230 to which the sensor data SD0, SD1, SD2, SD3 of the sensor 200 can also be forwarded, so that the communication unit 230, which is signal-connected to the vehicle-external device 60, can send the sensor data SD0, SD1, SD2, SD3 and / or the vehicle-internal processing result iVE to the vehicle-external device 60.In the vehicle-external device 60, an external processing result eVE is calculated based on the provided sensor data SD0, SD1, SD2, SD3 and / or based on the data ID for influencing the, in particular immediate, environment 300 of the vehicle 70. The vehicle-external device 60 can optionally be configured to additionally calculate the external processing result eVE based on external sensor data eSD, for example, an external camera 20, and / or data from an environment model UM. This makes the external processing result eVE particularly accurate and reliable.

[0047] The external processing result eVE can then be forwarded via the communication unit 230 to the perception unit 220 of the vehicle 70, wherein the perception unit 220 compares 104 the external processing result eVE with the vehicle-internal processing result iVE. In a preferred embodiment, the sensor 200 and / or one of the individual sensor components 210, 211, 212, 213 can be considered faulty if the vehicle-internal processing results iVE deviate from the external processing results eVE by a predeterminable or predetermined limit value, preferably by more than 10%, particularly preferably by more than 5% and most particularly preferably by more than 2%.Optionally, it can be determined whether the error is a safety-critical error or a non-safety-critical, in particular transient, error, preferably taking into account current and / or future traffic events, in particular the remaining journey to be completed. Depending on the result of the comparison, in particular if there is a fault in the sensor 200 and / or one of the individual sensor components 210, 211, 212, 213, the perception unit 220 can initiate mitigation measures. This can be done, for example, by outputting an output signal to the vehicle 70 to initiate mitigation of the effect of the faulty sensor 200. The mitigation measures can depend on whether the error is a safety-critical error or a non-safety-critical, in particular transient, error.

[0048] Alternatively, the perception unit 220 can transmit the in-vehicle processing result iVE to the vehicle-external device 60 via the communication unit 230, and the vehicle-external device 60 can perform the comparison 105. The vehicle-external device 60 can then transmit the result of the comparison to the perception unit 220 via the communication unit 230. Depending on the result of the comparison, in particular if a fault is present in the sensor 200 and / or one of the individual sensor components 210, 211, 212, 213, the perception unit 220 can initiate mitigation measures. This can be done, for example, by outputting an output signal to the vehicle 70 to initiate mitigation of the effect of the faulty sensor 200.

[0049] Mitigating the impact of the faulty sensor 200 can, for example, involve informing the driver of the vehicle 70 about the presence of a fault, particularly a non-safety-critical fault, in the sensor 200 and / or one of the individual sensor components 210, 211, 212, 213. Furthermore, it can be provided that the vehicle 70 can still be operated for a predeterminable or predetermined period of time.

[0050] Alternatively or additionally, it can be provided that, in the initiation step, the external processing results eVE replace the vehicle-internal processing results iVE and / or that external sensor data eSD and / or data from the environment model UM replace the sensor data SD0, SD1, SD2, SD3, or a reparameterization of the sensor 200 is performed. For example, in the case of a sensor 200 configured as a camera with a permanent bit flip in its signal processing chip, which leads to a mirroring of the image, this can be corrected by a subsequent software step and / or the aforementioned reparameterization.

[0051] In this case, for example, the output signal can be output in such a way that an intermediate result, namely the sensor data SD1 expected directly after the sensor component 211, is replaced by an external sensor data eSD1 forwarded by the vehicle-external device 60 as an external processing result eVE.

[0052] In this case, the method 100 can be carried out regularly, in particular according to predetermined or predeterminable intervals, and / or event-triggered to diagnose the sensor 200 or the entire vehicle 70. QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] EP 2436 192 A1

[0003]

Claims

[1] A method (100) for mitigating the effect of a faulty sensor (200) of a vehicle (70), comprising the following steps: - influencing (101) a, in particular immediate, environment (300) of the vehicle (70), wherein the environment (300) is influenced in such a way that the influence (101) can be detected by at least one sensor (200) of the vehicle (70); - Providing (101) sensor data (SDO, SD1, SD2, SD3) of the at least one sensor (200) of the vehicle (70), wherein the sensor data (SDO, SD1, SD2, SD3) are specific to the, in particular immediate, surroundings of the vehicle; - Calculating (102) external processing results (eVE) based on the provided sensor data (SDO, SD1, SD2, SD3) of the at least one sensor (200) of the vehicle (70) and / or based on data (ID) for influencing the, in particular immediate, environment (300) of the vehicle (70); - Providing (103) vehicle-internal processing results (iVE) based on the sensor data (SDO, SD1, SD2, SD3) of the at least one sensor (200) of the vehicle (70); - comparing (104) the external processing results (eVE) with the vehicle-internal processing results (iVE); - initiating (105) the mitigation of the effect of the faulty sensor (200), preferably outputting an output signal to the vehicle (70), depending on the comparison. [2] Method (100) according to claim 1, characterized by that in the influencing step (101) the environment (300) is changed, in particular temporarily, mechanically or spatially, optically and / or acoustically. [3] Method (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that the step of influencing (101) comprises at least, in particular temporarily: - Displaying a test signal on a digital display, on a lamp and / or a traffic light, in particular below and / or above a frequency perceptible to the human eye; - Projecting an optical test signal into the environment (300) of the vehicle (70), in particular below and / or above a frequency perceptible to a human eye; - Emitting a radar test signal, a LIDAR test signal and / or an acoustic test signal, in particular below and / or above a frequency perceptible to the human ear; - Changing a spatial position and / or pose of an object external to the vehicle, in particular a roadside unit and / or at least one other vehicle. [4] Method (100) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized bythat the sensor data (SDO, SD1, SD2, SD3) are specific for at least one sensor component (210, 211, 212, 213), in particular for preprocessing, processing, postprocessing and / or interpreting the sensor data (SDO, SD1, SD2, SD3) of the sensor (200). [5] Method (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that in the step of calculating (102) external processing results (eVE), the external processing results (eVE) are additionally based on external sensor data (eSD) and / or data from an environment model (UM). [6] Method (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat a faulty sensor (200) or a faulty sensor component (210, 211, 212, 213) is present if, in the step of comparing (104), the vehicle-internal processing results (iVE) deviate from the external processing results (eVE) by a predeterminable or predetermined limit value, preferably by more than 10%, particularly preferably by more than 5% and most particularly preferably by more than 2%. [7] Method (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that before the initiation step (105) a determination step takes place in which it is determined on the basis of the comparison whether a safety-critical error or a non-safety-critical, in particular transient, error is present, preferably that the determination step takes place as a function of a current and / or future traffic situation, in particular a remaining journey to be completed. [8] Method (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that in the initiating step an output signal is output such that a driver of the vehicle (70) is informed about the presence of an error, in particular a non-safety-critical error. [9] Method (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that in the initiating step the vehicle (70) is still operated for a predeterminable or predetermined period of time. [10] Method (100) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that in the initiation step, the external processing results (eVE) replace the vehicle-internal processing results (iVE) and / or that external sensor data (eSD) and / or data from the environment model (UM) replace the sensor data (SDO, SD1, SD2, SD3). [11] Device (10) for data processing, in particular vehicle-external device (60), which is designed to carry out at least one of the steps of the method (100) according to one of claims 1 to 10. [12] Vehicle (70), wherein the vehicle (70) is connectable or connected by signaling to the device (10) according to claim 11, wherein the vehicle (70) is configured to receive an output signal and, depending on the received output signal, to initiate a mitigation of an effect of the faulty sensor (200). [13] System (80) comprising a device (10) according to claim 11 and a vehicle (70) according to claim 12. [14] Computer program (50) comprising instructions which, when the computer program (50) is executed by a computer or by a device (10) according to claim 11, cause the computer or device (10) to carry out at least one of the steps of the method (100) according to one of claims 1 to 10. [15] A computer-readable medium on which the computer program (50) according to claim 14 is stored.

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