Method for providing presence information about the presence of an emergency vehicle in the vicinity of a motor vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for providing presence information (19) that describes the presence of an emergency vehicle (5) in the vicinity of a motor vehicle (1), comprising: receiving (S1) emergency vehicle information (10) that at least describes whether the emergency vehicle (5) is currently on duty or not; determining (S2) influence information (11) that describes whether the emergency vehicle (5) is likely to at least partially influence the journey of the motor vehicle (1) or not, by applying an influence determination criterion (12);and, if the received emergency vehicle information (10) describes that the emergency vehicle (5) is currently in operation, and if the determined interference information (11) describes that the emergency vehicle (5) is likely to at least partially interfere with the journey of the motor vehicle (1), provide (S5) the presence information (19).;

Description

The invention relates to a method for providing presence information. The presence information describes a presence of an emergency vehicle in the environment of a motor vehicle. The invention also relates to a motor vehicle and a system for carrying out such a method.If an emergency vehicle, such as a lift truck or a police vehicle, is located in the surroundings of a motor vehicle, a driver of the motor vehicle is often alerted to the presence of the emergency vehicle by an activated warning light device and / or an emitted warning sound sequence. However, for example, the motor vehicle can have means for acoustically insulating an interior of the motor vehicle and / or audio outputs in the interior can at least contribute to the driver only perceiving the emergency vehicle with a time delay or possibly not perceiving it at all, despite the warning sound sequence output.EP 3 150 436 A2 describes a danger indication system which indicates a danger to a driver of a motor vehicle. In this case, the presence of a possible risk is determined and a direction from which the potential risk relative to the driver is expected is determined. A warning sound is then output by means of one or more loudspeakers in the motor vehicle.WO 2016 / 196 003 A1 discloses a method for use in a vehicle to detect external events. This is based on the recognition that, for example, noise reduction methods or dual-isolated windows in a motor vehicle result in the driver having less awareness of events outside the vehicle.DE 102021 107 974 A1 discloses a method for coordinating a deployment travel of a deployment vehicle with motor vehicles which travel along a respective individual travel route. If location data of the respective motor vehicle meet a predetermined server-side relevance criterion with respect to the deployment data, control data for triggering at least one coordination measure are transmitted to each selected motor vehicle.DE 10 2008 037 690 A1 discloses a method and a device for warning emergency vehicles in emergency use. The emergency vehicles issue alerts via vehicle-to-vehicle communication that are received by other vehicles and displayed to the driver of the receiving vehicle.It is the object of the invention to provide a solution by means of which a driver of a motor vehicle is assisted in reliably detecting the presence of an emergency vehicle in the environment of the motor vehicle.The object is achieved by the subject matters of the independent claims.A first aspect of the invention relates to a method for providing presence information. The presence information describes a presence of an emergency vehicle in the environment of a motor vehicle. The presence information describes, for example, that the emergency vehicle is located in the predefined environment of the motor vehicle. The emergency vehicle can be, for example, a hospital vehicle, an emergency medical vehicle, a police vehicle and / or a fire truck. Alternative or additional emergency vehicles are possible.The method includes receiving emergency vehicle information. The emergency vehicle information describes at least whether or not the emergency vehicle is in an emergency at a current point in time. The emergency vehicle information can comprise further information about the emergency vehicle in one example. The emergency vehicle is in an emergency, for example, at least when an acoustic and / or optical warning output is carried out by means of an output device of the emergency vehicle. As an acoustic warning output, a warning sound and / or a warning sound sequence can be output by means of a loudspeaker device of the emergency vehicle. The loudspeaker device can be designed as a siren and / or a following sound horn or can comprise a siren and / or a following sound horn. As an optical warning output, a warning light device of the emergency vehicle can be activated. The warning light device can be designed as an all-round identification light, in particular as blue light or red light. In a preferred example, the emergency vehicle that is in operation has an activated siren and an activated blue light.The emergency vehicle information can be received, for example, by means of a communication interface of the motor vehicle. For this purpose, the emergency vehicle information can be transmitted, for example, by the emergency vehicle itself and / or by an external device, such as a backend, a server and / or a traffic monitoring device. Alternatively or additionally, the emergency vehicle information can be received from another motor vehicle which has received or determined the emergency vehicle information, for example. It can be provided that the emergency vehicle information can be received only if it relates to an emergency vehicle which is arranged in a predefined environment of the motor vehicle. Therefore, for example, an area around the motor vehicle can be specified in which the emergency vehicle must stay at the current time so that emergency vehicle information relating to this emergency vehicle can be received. In an alternative or additional example, the emergency vehicle can be received from the external device and / or the other motor vehicle and / or provided in the emergency vehicle, wherein it is then received by means of a control device of the emergency vehicle.The method comprises ascertaining influencing information. The influencing information describes whether or not the emergency vehicle is likely to at least partially influence a journey of the motor vehicle. The influencing information can describe a current influencing and / or an anticipated future influencing. The influencing information can alternatively be referred to as relevance information which describes whether or not the emergency vehicle is at least probably relevant for the journey of the motor vehicle.The influence information can be determined by applying an influence determination criterion. The influence determination criterion comprises at least one algorithm and / or a rule during which or during which the influence information is determined. The emergency vehicle, for example, is likely to influence at least partially the travel of the motor vehicle if it is at least partially travelling on a roadway on which the motor vehicle is currently travelling, such that, for example, a collision of the motor vehicle with the emergency vehicle could be possible if the motor vehicle, for example, does not brake or does not at least partially yield the emergency vehicle. Furthermore, there is, for example, an influence on the emergency vehicle by the travel of the motor vehicle if the emergency vehicle is likely to cross or pass a road in front of the motor vehicle in the direction of travel on which the motor vehicle is travelling, so that a speed reduction or even a stopping of the motor vehicle is necessary so that the emergency vehicle can continue to travel unaffected by the motor vehicle.If the received emergency vehicle information describes that the emergency vehicle is in operation at the current point in time, and if the ascertained influencing information describes that the emergency vehicle is expected to influence the travel of the motor vehicle at least partially, the presence information is provided. The information is then provided that an emergency vehicle of interest or relevant for the motor vehicle has been detected. On the basis of the consideration of the influencing information, the presence information is provided only when the journey of the motor vehicle is or can be influenced at least partially by the emergency vehicle, that is to say when the emergency vehicle has at least one predefined relevance for the journey of the motor vehicle.If the emergency vehicle is located on a first road, for example, and the motor vehicle is located on a second road different from the first road, the ascertained influencing information describes that the emergency vehicle is likely not to influence, at least partially, the travel of the motor vehicle. In this case, for example, no presence information can be provided, that is to say the motor vehicle is not informed about the emergency vehicle, since this will not likely influence the journey of the motor vehicle. Analogously, no provision of the presence information takes place whenever the emergency vehicle is not at all in an emergency, that is to say it is not to be taken into account in particular by other road users. This is because in this situation, no special measures have to be taken by the driver of the motor vehicle in order, for example, to give the emergency vehicle priority or free travel. It is therefore provided in a preferred example that only if the received vehicle information describes that the emergency vehicle is in use at the current point in time, and if the ascertained influencing information describes that the emergency vehicle is likely to influence the travel of the motor vehicle at least partially, the presence information is provided.In a preferred example, the presence information is provided in the motor vehicle. In a particularly preferred example, the described method is carried out by means of the motor vehicle, wherein the latter comprises a communication interface for receiving the vehicle information and a control device for ascertaining the influencing information and for providing the presence information for this purpose.In one example, it can be provided that the ascertainment of the influencing information is carried out only when emergency vehicle information has been received, which describes that the emergency vehicle is in operation at the current point in time. Alternatively, the determination of the influencing information can be effected independently of the received emergency vehicle information.By providing, in particular by taking into account the presence information, the driver of the motor vehicle can be assisted in reliably detecting the presence of an emergency vehicle in the environment of the motor vehicle. This is because it is automatically determined whether or not such an emergency vehicle can be detected. Therefore, by outputting the provided presence information, for example, the driver can be informed of the emergency vehicle in the environment, so that he can reliably recognize the presence of the emergency vehicle.The invention provides that after the presence information has been provided, at least one measure is carried out in the motor vehicle. One embodiment provides that the at least one measure is at least one of the following measures: One measure can provide that at least a reduction of a volume, in particular muting, of an audio output of a loudspeaker device in the motor vehicle and / or at least a reduction of a volume, in particular muting, of at least one noise output in the motor vehicle takes place. The audio output can be, for example, an output of an infotainment device in the motor vehicle. The loudspeaker device can comprise at least one loudspeaker. In one example, it has a plurality of speakers distributed in the motor vehicle. For example, the volume of music output, navigation information and / or other audio content in the motor vehicle can be partially or completely reduced. The at least one noise output on the motor vehicle can be provided, for example, by at least one controllable exhaust flap of a sport motor vehicle and / or by an external loudspeaker device which outputs artificial engine noises. The outputting of the artificial engine sounds may be performed by, for example, an electrically powered motor vehicle and / or a hybrid vehicle. In a sport motor vehicle with an internal combustion engine, the controllable exhaust flap may be present. For example, by closing the exhaust flap and / or at least reducing the volume of the external loudspeaker device for outputting the artificial engine noises, the at least one noise output on the motor vehicle can be reduced, in particular muted.Another measure can provide for at least partial opening of at least one window of the motor vehicle. In this case, for example, a direction-selective selection of the at least one window can be carried out, wherein this is selected taking into account a direction in which the emergency vehicle is moving towards the motor vehicle or in which the emergency vehicle is located relative to the motor vehicle. The at least one window is therefore, for example, the window of the motor vehicle which points in the direction from which the emergency vehicle is at least expected or approaches the motor vehicle. If, for example, the emergency vehicle moves directly toward one of the windows of the motor vehicle, exactly this window can be detected and at least partially opened. Alternatively or additionally to the at least one window, for example, at least one roof window of the motor vehicle and / or a convertible roof of the motor vehicle can be opened.A further measure can comprise deactivating a noise suppression function of the loudspeaker device in the motor vehicle. The noise suppression function may be referred to as noise cancellation. The noise suppression function comprises an active counter-control of noises, which come from the environment of the motor vehicle, for example, and can have an influence on the perceptibility of the audio output of the loudspeaker device in the motor vehicle. The noise suppression function can be based, for example, on data which are recorded by means of an external microphone device and / or an internal microphone device of the motor vehicle and describe ambient noises around the motor vehicle or in the motor vehicle. The external microphone device and / or the internal microphone device comprises, for example, at least one microphone.Another measure can comprise activating the external microphone device of the motor vehicle and outputting external noise detected by means of the activated external microphone device by means of the loudspeaker device in the motor vehicle. A noise from the environment of the motor vehicle, which for example comprises the warning sound and / or the warning sound sequence output by the emergency vehicle, can therefore be detected and output in the motor vehicle, so that the warning sound and / or the warning sound sequence can be audible in the motor vehicle. As a result, for example, a perception of the emergency vehicle can be improved.A further measure can comprise outputting a warning output by means of the loudspeaker device in the motor vehicle. The output of the warning output takes place in particular in a direction-selective manner from a direction from which the emergency vehicle moves towards the motor vehicle or in which the emergency vehicle is located relative to the motor vehicle. A directionally selective playback of, for example, a siren sound, that is to say, for example, an irritation or recording of the warning sound and / or of the warning sound sequence of the emergency vehicle, thus takes place in the interior of the motor vehicle. If the loudspeaker device comprises the plurality of spatially distributed loudspeakers, the direction from which the emergency vehicle also moves towards the motor vehicle or in which the emergency vehicle is located relative to the motor vehicle can be displayed by specifically activating loudspeakers in this direction or by switching loudspeakers more loud than other loudspeakers of the loudspeaker device.Another measure can provide that at least one optical warning output is output by means of at least one lighting device in the motor vehicle. This can be understood as a visualization in the interior, in which, for example, light in a color tone resembling blue light is displayed in the motor vehicle. The lighting device can comprise, for example, at least one light-emitting diode, in particular a color light-emitting diode, and / or be designed as an ambient lighting. The output of the optical warning output is in particular direction-selective from the direction from which the emergency vehicle moves towards the motor vehicle. For example, individual light elements of the lighting device, in particular individual light-emitting diodes, can be arranged at a plurality of locations in the interior of the motor vehicle. These can then be activated or controlled individually or at least locally limited in order to indicate the direction from which the emergency vehicle is moving towards the motor vehicle or in which the emergency vehicle is located relative to the motor vehicle.Numerous measures are therefore possible in order, after the presence information has been provided, to at least assist the driver in noticing or realizing the emergency vehicle in the environment. A plurality of the measures can be combined with one another and / or carried out successively.In one example, the direction from which the emergency vehicle moves toward the motor vehicle or in which the emergency vehicle is located relative to the motor vehicle is determined by determining and evaluating, for example, a relative position, a relative orientation and / or a relative movement of the emergency vehicle relative to the motor vehicle. For this purpose, it is possible to resort to various data or information provided in the motor vehicle.The various measures contribute to directing the attention of a driver of the motor vehicle to the detected present emergency vehicle in the environment of the motor vehicle, that is to say to actively assist the driver in being able to perceive the emergency vehicle better than in a situation in which none of the described measures is taken. The provided presence information can therefore be used particularly meaningfully and for assisting the driver when taking into account the emergency vehicle.The invention comprises that if the received emergency vehicle information describes that the emergency vehicle is not in use at the current time, and / or if the determined influencing information describes that the emergency vehicle is expected not to influence the travel of the motor vehicle at least partially, at least one preparation measure for the at least one measure which is carried out after the presence information is provided is carried out. It is therefore possible to continuously check, for example, whether the emergency vehicle information changes and describes that the emergency vehicle is in operation at the current point in time. Alternatively or additionally, it can be continuously checked whether the influencing information changes in such a way that it describes that the emergency vehicle is likely to influence the travel of the motor vehicle at least partially. In order to be prepared for such a change, that is to say for the described change of the emergency vehicle information and the influencing information, the preparation measure is already taken in advance, that is to say before at least one of the measures mentioned is actually carried out. This is configured such that the direction from which the emergency vehicle is expected to move toward the motor vehicle or in which it is expected to be located relative to the motor vehicle is already determined, so that it no longer has to be determined when at least one of the direction-selective measures is carried out. Furthermore, as a preparation measure, the external microphone device, the loudspeaker device and / or the lighting device is placed in an activated or at least partially activated state and thereby prepared for immediate use. Alternatively or additionally, the reduction, in particular muting, of the noise output in the motor vehicle is prepared or started as a preparation measure. The motor vehicle can therefore be prepared as early as possible for a possible provision of the presence information, so that the method is carried out in a particularly predictive manner.An additional specific embodiment provides that, when applying the ascertainment criterion, it is ascertained whether an emergency vehicle path of the emergency vehicle and a travel path of the motor vehicle are likely to cross or at least partially overlap in the predefined environment of the motor vehicle. If this is the case, the influencing information describes that the emergency vehicle is expected to influence the journey of the motor vehicle at least partially. The emergency vehicle path can be understood as a path or travel trajectory that the emergency vehicle is expected to travel. The travel path of the motor vehicle can be understood as a path or travel trajectory that the motor vehicle is expected to travel. The emergency vehicle path and / or the travel path can be known or determined, for example, on the basis of a predefined destination and / or depending on a current direction of travel, speed and / or acceleration of the emergency vehicle or of the motor vehicle.When crossing the emergency vehicle path and the travel path, at least a part of the emergency vehicle path and the travel path is traversed from two different directions. In the case of the at least partially overlapping, the emergency vehicle path and the travel path coincide at least partially, in particular exactly in the lane. The at least partially overlapping includes, for example, situations in which the emergency vehicle will pass the motor vehicle and / or in which the motor vehicle at least temporarily blocks the emergency vehicle path. It is ultimately clear in which situations influencing of the emergency vehicle by the travel of the motor vehicle is to be expected.In another embodiment, a relative position, a relative orientation and / or a relative movement of the emergency vehicle relative to the motor vehicle is determined and evaluated in order to determine whether the emergency vehicle path of the emergency vehicle and the travel path of the motor vehicle are likely to cross or at least partially overlap in the predefined environment. Thus, for example, classical arrangement information describing an arrangement of the motor vehicle relative to the arrangement of the emergency vehicle or vice versa can be used. The relative movement describes, for example, a direction of movement, acceleration and / or speed of the emergency vehicle relative to the motor vehicle or vice versa. A geometric arrangement and / or details for moving emergency vehicle and motor vehicle are therefore taken into account in order to be able to ascertain the influencing information. This illustrates how it is always possible to reliably determine whether or not the journey of the motor vehicle can influence or influence the emergency vehicle.An additional embodiment provides that the relative position, the relative orientation and / or the relative movement is determined by evaluating at least one piece of position information of a position determination device of the motor vehicle and / or of the emergency vehicle and / or by evaluating at least one piece of odometry information of the motor vehicle and / or of the emergency vehicle and / or by evaluating at least one piece of sensor information of at least one environmental sensor of the motor vehicle and / or of the emergency vehicle.The position information can describe an absolute position of the motor vehicle and / or of the emergency vehicle. The position determination device can determine the position information, for example, based on data of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), in particular on data of a global positioning system (GPS). If the position information describes, for example, the position of the emergency vehicle, this can be received as part of the emergency vehicle information.The odometry information describes, for example, a speed, an acceleration, a steering angle and / or another variable describing the movement of the motor vehicle and / or of the emergency vehicle. The odometry information can be determined and provided, for example, by means of at least one odometry measuring device and / or an odometry sensor of the motor vehicle and / or of the emergency vehicle. If the odometry information relates to the emergency vehicle, it can be comprised by the emergency vehicle information. The relative movement, the emergency vehicle path and / or the vehicle path can be determined, for example, from the odometry information and the position information.The at least one environment sensor comprises, for example, at least one camera, at least one radar device, at least one lidar device and / or at least one ultrasonic sensor of the motor vehicle and / or of the emergency vehicle. The sensor information describes at least a part of the environment of the motor vehicle and / or of the emergency vehicle. In the case of the sensor information ascertained by means of the surroundings sensor of the motor vehicle, this can, for example, at least partially describe the emergency vehicle. In the case of the sensor information of the emergency vehicle, this can be received as part of the emergency vehicle information, wherein it describes an environment of the emergency vehicle, in particular the motor vehicle in the environment of the emergency vehicle.Furthermore, for example, map matching can take place, that is to say the emergency vehicle is located, for example, in a map provided in the motor vehicle and the relative position, the relative orientation and / or the relative movement can then be calculated with respect to the motor vehicle likewise located in the map. For example, by evaluating the position information and in particular additionally the odometry information, a localization of the motor vehicle and / or of the emergency vehicle in the map can be carried out or a map matching can be carried out. In this example, the sensor information can be dispensed with or it can be additionally evaluated, for example in order to further improve an accuracy of the localization in the map.The described information is particularly suitable for the precise determination of the influencing information and / or for the precise performance of the respective measure, in particular the direction-selective measure.Another specific embodiment includes that the emergency vehicle information also describes a type of the emergency vehicle. The type of emergency vehicle can alternatively be referred to as emergency vehicle type or emergency vehicle type. The type of emergency vehicle distinguishes between, for example, a hospital vehicle, a police vehicle, an emergency medical vehicle, a fire truck and / or another type of emergency vehicle.The emergency vehicle information can describe a position of the emergency vehicle and / or an orientation of the emergency vehicle and / or the emergency vehicle path and / or a destination of the emergency vehicle, alternatively or in addition to the type of emergency vehicle. Therefore, further information can be included in the received emergency vehicle information in order to be able to reliably ascertain, for example, the relative position, relative orientation and / or relative movement of the emergency vehicle relative to the motor vehicle. The emergency vehicle information can therefore comprise numerous, optionally evaluation-relevant information about the emergency vehicle and does not have to be limited to the details concerning whether the emergency vehicle is currently in use or not.According to an additional specific embodiment, it is provided that the emergency vehicle information is received by means of a communication interface for vehicle-to-everything communication, in particular for vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Vehicle-to-everything communication may alternatively be referred to as V2X communication (V2X for vehicle-to-X). Vehicle-to-everything communication describes networking or communication between individual motor vehicles and infrastructure components. Vehicle-to-everything communication may include vehicle-to-vehicle communication, i.e., vehicle-to-vehicle communication between individual motor vehicles, vehicle-to-network communication (V2N for vehicle-to-network), i.e., communication with the Internet, the backend, and / or the servers via mobile radio, and / or vehicle-to-pedestrian communication (V2P for vehicle-to-pedestrian communication). The vehicle-to-pedestrian communication may be, for example, a communication between a mobile terminal of a pedestrian and the motor vehicle. A communication technique is therefore typically used which is limited to a predefined area and / or a specific range, such that it is possible, for example, to prevent the presence of an emergency vehicle which is far away from the motor vehicle and is currently not relevant to the driver.For use cases or application situations which can arise in the method and which are not explicitly described here, provision can be made for an error message and / or a request for inputting a user feedback to be output and / or for a default setting and / or a predetermined initial state to be set according to the method.Another aspect of the invention relates to a motor vehicle which is designed to carry out the method described above. The motor vehicle carries out the method.The motor vehicle according to the invention is preferably designed as a motor vehicle, in particular as a passenger car or truck, or as a passenger bus or motorcycle.A further aspect of the invention relates to a system for providing presence information describing a presence of an emergency vehicle in a surrounding area of a motor vehicle. The system comprises the motor vehicle and the emergency vehicle. The system is configured to perform the method described above. The system performs the method. The system may further perform steps performed, for example, by the emergency vehicle. For example, the system may be configured such that the emergency vehicle information is ascertained by means of a control device of the emergency vehicle and is transmitted by means of a communication interface of the emergency vehicle, so that it is then received, for example, by the communication interface of the motor vehicle. It is also possible for the emergency vehicle to carry out the method described above and, for example, to transmit the provided presence information to the motor vehicle concerned, so that the latter can then carry out at least one of the measures described.The invention also includes the control device for the motor vehicle or the control device for the emergency vehicle. The control device or the control device can have a data processing device or a processor device (processor circuit) which is configured to carry out an embodiment of the method according to the invention. For this purpose, the processor device can have at least one microprocessor and / or at least one microcontroller and / or at least one FPGA (field programmable gate array) and / or at least one DSP (digital signal processor). In particular, a CPU (central processing unit), a GPU (graphic processing unit) or an NPU (neural processing unit) can be used as the microprocessor in each case. Furthermore, the processor device can have program code which is configured to carry out the embodiment of the method according to the invention when executed by the processor device. The program code can be stored in a data memory of the processor device. The processor device can be based on at least one circuit board and / or on at least one SoC (system on chip), for example.The invention also includes developments of the motor vehicle or system according to the invention, which have features as have already been described in connection with the developments of the method according to the invention. For this reason, the corresponding refinements are not described once again.As a further solution, the invention comprises a computer-readable storage medium comprising program code which, when executed by a computer or a computer cluster, causes the latter to execute an embodiment of the method according to the invention. The storage medium may be provided at least partially as a non-volatile data memory (e.g. as a flash memory and / or as an SSD-solid state drive) and / or at least partially as a volatile data memory (e.g. as a RAM-random access memory). The storage medium can be arranged in the computer or computer network. However, the storage medium can also be operated, for example, as a so-called store server and / or cloud server on the Internet. The computer or computer network can provide a processor circuit with, for example, at least one microprocessor. The program code can be provided as binary code and / or as assembler code and / or as source code of a programming language (e.g. C) and / or as a program script (e.g. Python). The computer-readable storage medium can alternatively be realized by a signal with computer-readable data, e.g. a time-variant voltage signal and / or a radio signal.The invention comprises the combinations of the features of the described embodiments. The invention therefore comprises implementations which each have a combination of the features of a plurality of the described embodiments, provided that the embodiments have not been described as mutually exclusive.Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described below. The following shows: FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a system comprising a motor vehicle and an emergency vehicle; and FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of a signal flow graph of a method for providing presence information.The exemplary embodiments explained below are preferred embodiments of the invention. In the exemplary embodiments, the described components of the embodiments each represent individual features of the invention that are to be considered independently of one another and that develop the invention also independently of one another. Therefore, the disclosure is intended to include combinations of the features of the embodiments other than those illustrated. Furthermore, the described embodiments can also be supplemented by further features of the invention that have already been described.In the figures, identical reference numerals designate functionally identical elements.FIG. 1 shows a motor vehicle 1 travelling on a first road 2. In a region of a junction 3, a second road 4 leads to the first road 2. At least one further vehicle 6 can be located on the first road 2 and / or the second road 4 and can also travel, for example. Furthermore, driving directions 7 on the individual lanes of the first road 2 and of the second road 4 are shown by arrows. It becomes clear that the emergency vehicle 5 will likely cross a journey of the motor vehicle 1 and then at least partially coincide therewith, for example, if the emergency vehicle 5 will continue to travel on the first road 2 in the direction of travel 7 of the motor vehicle 1.The motor vehicle 1 and / or the emergency vehicle 5 can each have a communication interface 8 and a control unit 9, such as a control device or a control device.FIG. 2 shows the step of a method for providing presence information 19. the presence information 19 describes a presence of the emergency vehicle 5 in a surrounding area of the motor vehicle 1. the method can comprise receiving emergency vehicle information 10 in a method step S 1. This describes at least whether or not the emergency vehicle 5 is in an emergency at a current point in time. In one example, the emergency vehicle information 10 can also describe a type of the emergency vehicle 5 and / or a position of the emergency vehicle 5 and / or an orientation of the emergency vehicle 5 and / or an emergency vehicle path of the emergency vehicle 5 and / or a destination of the emergency vehicle 5. The emergency vehicle path describes, for example, an at least planned travel trajectory of the emergency vehicle 5. The communication interface 8 is, for example, a communication interface 8 for vehicle-to-everything communication. In particular, it is a communication interface 8 for vehicle-to-vehicle communication, i.e. for vehicle-to-vehicle communication, wherein in this example the emergency vehicle 5 directly transmits the emergency vehicle information 10, which is then received in the motor vehicle 1.In a method step S 2, an item of influencing information 11 can be ascertained. This describes whether the emergency vehicle 5 is likely to at least partially influence a journey of the motor vehicle 1 or not. The influencing information 11 can alternatively be understood as relevance information which describes a relevance of the emergency vehicle 5 for the journey of the motor vehicle 1. The influence information 11 can be determined by applying an influence determination criterion 12. The influence determination criterion 12 can be applied, for example, at least to position information 13, odometry information 14 and / or sensor information 15. The position information 13 can be determined by means of a position determination device 16 of the motor vehicle 1 and / or of the emergency vehicle 5 and describe an absolute position of the motor vehicle 1 or of the emergency vehicle 5. The at least one odometry information 14 can be determined by means of an odometry sensor 17 and / or an odometry measuring device which is assigned to the motor vehicle 1 and / or the emergency vehicle 5. The sensor information 15 can be recorded by means of at least one environment sensor 18 of the motor vehicle 1 and / or of the emergency vehicle 5.By evaluating the position information 13, the odometry information 14 and / or the sensor information 15, for example, a relative position, a relative orientation and / or a relative movement of the emergency vehicle 5 relative to the motor vehicle 1 can be determined. This can in turn be evaluated in order to determine whether the emergency vehicle path of the emergency vehicle 5 and a travel path of the motor vehicle 1 in the environment are likely to cross or at least intersect in sections. It can namely be determined when applying the influence determination criterion 12 whether the emergency vehicle path of the emergency vehicle 5 and the travel path of the motor vehicle 1 are likely to cross or at least partially overlap in the predefined environment of the motor vehicle 1, wherein only if this is the case does the influence information 11 describe that the emergency vehicle 5 at least partially influences the travel of the motor vehicle 1.The method can comprise a method step S 3 in which it is checked whether the emergency vehicle information 10 describes that the emergency vehicle 5 is in operation at the current point in time. It can also be checked in a method step S 7 whether the ascertained influencing information 11 describes that the emergency vehicle 5 is likely to influence the journey of the motor vehicle 1 at least partially.In a method step S 5, if the received emergency vehicle information 10 describes that the emergency vehicle 5 is in operation at the current point in time, and if the ascertained influencing information 11 describes that the emergency vehicle 5 is expected to influence the travel of the motor vehicle 1 at least partially, the presence information 19 can be provided.In a method step S 6, after the presence information 19 has been provided, at least one of the following measures 20 can be carried out in the motor vehicle 1:at least reducing a volume, in particular muting, of an audio output of a loudspeaker device 21 in the motor vehicle 1 and / or at least one noise output by means of a noise output device 22 in the motor vehicle 1;at least partially opening at least one window 23 of the motor vehicle 1;disabling a noise cancelling function of the loudspeaker device 21 in the motor vehicle 1;activating at least one external microphone device 24 of the motor vehicle 1 and outputting external noise detected by means of the activated external microphone device 24 by means of the loudspeaker device 21 in the motor vehicle 1;outputting an acoustic warning output by means of the loudspeaker device 21 in the motor vehicle 1; and / oroutputting at least one optical warning output by means of at least one lighting device 25 in the motor vehicle 1.Of the measures 20 mentioned, for example, the opened at least one window 23 and / or the output of the acoustic warning output and / or the output of the at least one optical warning output can take place in a direction-selective manner, that is to say from a direction from which the emergency vehicle 5 moves towards the motor vehicle 1 or in which the emergency vehicle 5 is located relative to the motor vehicle 1. The direction can be determined, for example, by determining and evaluating the above-described relative position, relative orientation and / or relative movement of the emergency vehicle 5 relative to the motor vehicle 1.If it is established in method step S 5, for example, that received emergency vehicle information 10 describes that emergency vehicle 5 is not in operation at the current point in time, and / or if ascertained influencing information 11 describes that emergency vehicle 5 is expected not to at least partially influence the travel of motor vehicle 1, at least one preparatory measure 26 for the at least one measure 20, which is carried out after the presence information 19 is provided, may be carried out. This can be done in a method step S 7.Overall, the examples show a method for better perception of emergency vehicles 5 on the basis of vehicle-to-everything data. The described measures 20 allow a driver to better recognize and locate external important noise sources, such as rescue and emergency vehicles 5. As a result, he or she has the chance to react earlier and better to this, whereby the occurrence probability of risky situations can be reduced. In addition, this supports emergency vehicle 5 and its driver by allowing driving past motor vehicle 1 earlier and better. The use of the vehicle data of the other vehicles provided via the vehicle-to-everything communication interface, which provide, for example, information about the vehicle type of the emergency vehicle 5 and the status of siren and blue light, and thus the emergency vehicle information 10, is carried out in order to be able to initiate individual measures or a combination of the described measures 20 for improved perceptibility on the basis thereof.

Claims

Method for providing presence information (19) describing a presence of an emergency vehicle (5) in the environment of a motor vehicle (1), comprising: - receiving (S1) emergency vehicle information (10), which at least describes whether the emergency vehicle (5) is in an emergency or not at a current point in time; - determining (S2) influence information (11), which describes whether the emergency vehicle (5) is expected to influence a journey of the motor vehicle (1) at least partially or not, by applying an influence determination criterion (12); if the received emergency vehicle information (10) describes that the emergency vehicle (5) is in operation at the current time, and if the determined influencing information (11) describes that the emergency vehicle (5) is expected to influence the travel of the motor vehicle (1) at least partially, providing (S5) the presence information (19), and after the providing of the presence information (19), carrying out (D6) at least one measure (20) in the motor vehicle; wherein, if the received emergency vehicle information (10) describes that the emergency vehicle (5) is not in use at the current time, and / or if the ascertained influencing information (11) describes that the emergency vehicle (5) is not likely to influence the travel of the motor vehicle (1) at least partially, at least one preparatory measure (26) is carried out for the at least one measures (20) which is carried out after the presence information (19) is provided, wherein the at least one preparatory measure (26) comprises: - a direction from which the emergency vehicle (5) is likely to move towards the motor vehicle (1) or in which it is likely to be located relative to the motor vehicle (1) is already ascertained, such that it is no longer ascertained if at least one direction-selective measure (20) is carried out as the measure (20); and / or - an external microphone device (24), a loudspeaker device (21) and / or a lighting device (25) is placed in an activated or at least partially activated state; and / or - a reduction of a noise output in the motor vehicle (1) is prepared or started.Method according to Claim 1, wherein the at least one measure (20) carried out after the presence information (19) has been provided is at least one of the following measures (20): - at least reducing a volume, in particular muting, of an audio output of the loudspeaker device (21) in the motor vehicle (1) and / or of the noise output on the motor vehicle (1); - at least partially opening at least one window (23) of the motor vehicle (1), wherein the at least one window (23) is selected in particular in a direction-selective manner taking into account a direction from which the emergency vehicle (5) is moving towards the motor vehicle (1) or in which the emergency vehicle (5) is located relative to the motor vehicle (1); - deactivating a noise suppression function of the loudspeaker device (21) in the motor vehicle (1); activating the external microphone device (24) of the motor vehicle (1) and outputting external noises detected by means of the activated external microphone device (24) by means of the loudspeaker device (21) in the motor vehicle (1); outputting an acoustic warning output by means of the loudspeaker device (21) in the motor vehicle (1), in particular in a direction-selective manner from the direction from which the emergency vehicle (5) moves toward the motor vehicle (1) or in which the emergency vehicle (5) is located relative to the motor vehicle (1); and / or outputting at least one optical warning output by means of the lighting device (25) in the motor vehicle (1), in particular in a direction-selective manner from the direction from which the emergency vehicle (5) moves toward the motor vehicle (1) or in which the emergency vehicle (5) is located relative to the motor vehicle (1).Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, when applying the influence determination criterion (12), it is determined whether an emergency vehicle path of the emergency vehicle (5) and a travel path of the motor vehicle (1) in the predefined environment of the motor vehicle (1) are likely to cross or at least partially overlap, wherein, if this is the case, the influence information (11) describes that the emergency vehicle (5) is likely to at least partially influence the travel of the motor vehicle (1).Method according to Claim 3, wherein a relative position, a relative orientation and / or a relative movement of the emergency vehicle (5) relative to the motor vehicle (1) is determined and evaluated in order to determine whether the emergency vehicle path of the emergency vehicle (5) and the travel path of the motor vehicle (1) are likely to cross or at least intersect in sections in the predefined environment.Method according to Claim 4, wherein the relative position, the relative orientation and / or the relative movement is determined by evaluating: - at least one piece of position information (13) of a position determination device (16) of the motor vehicle (1) and / or of the emergency vehicle (5); and / or - at least one piece of odometry information (14) of the motor vehicle (1) and / or of the emergency vehicle (5); and / or - at least one piece of sensor information (15) of at least one environment sensor (18) of the motor vehicle (1) and / or of the emergency vehicle (5).Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the emergency vehicle information (10) also describes a type of the emergency vehicle (5) and / or a position of the emergency vehicle (5) and / or an orientation of the emergency vehicle (5) and / or an emergency vehicle path and / or a destination of the emergency vehicle (5).Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the emergency vehicle information (10) is received by means of a communication interface (8) for vehicle-to-everything communication, in particular for vehicle-to-vehicle communication.Motor vehicle (1) designed to carry out a method according to one of the preceding claims.System for providing presence information (19) describing a presence of an emergency vehicle (5) in a surrounding environment of a motor vehicle (1), comprising the motor vehicle (1) and the emergency vehicle (5), wherein the system is configured to carry out a method according to one of Claims 1 to 7.

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