Vehicle-occupant capturing device and vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a vehicle-occupant capturing device comprising at least one infrared light source (1), a camera (2), and a computing unit (3) for controlling the infrared light source (1) and for evaluating camera images produced by the camera (2), wherein the infrared light source (1) and the camera (2) are directed at an observation region (4), the infrared light source (1) is designed to illuminate at least one part of the face of a person (5) staying in the observation region (4), the camera (2) is designed to capture at least the illuminated part of the face, and the computing unit (3) is designed to recognize in the camera images a viewing direction of the person (5). The vehicle-occupant capturing device according to the invention is characterized in that the infrared light source (1) is integrated into a display device (6) and is formed by a plurality of IR lighting elements (7) arranged in a matrix and the computing unit (3) is also designed to activate a selection of the IR lighting elements (7) for the emission of infrared light, wherein the selection of the IR lighting elements (7) to be activated is determined by the computing unit (3) according to the result of the evaluation of a camera image.

Description

[0001] Vehicle occupant detection device and vehicle

[0002] The invention relates to a vehicle occupant detection device according to the type defined in more detail in the preamble of claim 1 and to a vehicle with such a vehicle occupant detection device.

[0003] Modern vehicles are equipped with a wide variety of sensor systems for monitoring the vehicle's surroundings and interior. This enables the provision of various driver assistance systems to increase user comfort and safety on the road. For example, the detection of a person driving a vehicle using cameras is well known. This allows gestures to be recognized and interpreted to input operating actions, the presence of a vehicle occupant to be detected, a vehicle occupant to be identified based on biometric characteristics, and the driver's attention, state of health, and / or level of distraction to be determined.

[0004] Camera-based observation of the driver's eyes is particularly important. The blinking frequency, for example, can be an indicator of the driver's degree of fatigue. In addition, the driver's line of sight can be tracked, for example to determine the degree of distraction or to check what the driver is currently focusing on. This requires precise and reliable monitoring of the driver's eyes. In order to be able to clearly see the eyes even in poor visibility conditions such as at night, infrared cameras are often used, particularly in combination with active infrared lighting. In addition, filters such as bandpass filters can be provided, which only allow infrared light to pass through. Such a filter can be integrated into the optics of a corresponding camera or can be implemented digitally.This allows, for example, annoying glare effects resulting from ambient light to be reduced or filtered out, so that only relevant infrared light wavelength ranges are allowed through.

[0005] However, the use of infrared light sources can also result in reflections in the infrared light spectrum, for example, on glasses worn by the driver. Infrared light from the vehicle's surroundings can also penetrate the vehicle interior and cause glare. This can also create shadows. Relevant camera image areas can then be overexposed or underexposed in the infrared light spectrum, jeopardizing the reliable detection of the driver's eyes.

[0006] DE 102017 205 386 A1 discloses a driver observation device and a method for observing a driver in a vehicle to determine at least one position of the driver in the vehicle. The driver observation device provides double-sided illumination of the driver with light. Thus, the driver is illuminated from both behind and from the front, using infrared light in particular. Using appropriate light sources, a structured light pattern such as a grid of lines can also be projected onto the driver. This enables reliable determination of the position of the driver's head using active triangulation. The camera used to detect the driver's face can also be used to detect the direction of gaze.

[0007] Furthermore, DE 10 2017 216680 A1 discloses a vehicle cockpit element and a motor vehicle with such a vehicle cockpit element. This document describes an infrared light source designed as a surface illuminant for illuminating the face of a person driving the vehicle. Said surface illuminant is formed, for example, by an OLED film and can be integrated into the vehicle's steering wheel. A surface-mounted infrared light source, compared to a point light source, has the advantage that shadows on the face of the person driving the vehicle are reduced or even eliminated due to the diffuse light emission. This enables more reliable detection of the face of the person driving the vehicle. However, this cannot counteract the occurrence of reflections.In addition, the installation space in the vehicle for accommodating a corresponding vehicle cockpit element is limited, so that the vehicle cockpit element can only be integrated into a corresponding vehicle with considerable effort. WO 2019 / 215286 A1 further discloses a device and a method for operating an object recognition system for the interior of a motor vehicle, as well as a motor vehicle. The device uses an infrared light source integrated into a display device of the motor vehicle to illuminate the facial area of ​​a vehicle occupant with infrared light. The infrared light source comprises a plurality of IR lighting elements arranged in a matrix. The IR lighting elements can be controlled depending on an evaluation of a camera image showing the illuminated facial area.

[0008] DE 102014 009 143 B4 further discloses a motor vehicle camera device with controllable active lighting. An optical filter is arranged in a beam path of a light source of the active lighting. The filter has at least two different filter areas that differ in their transparency, at least temporarily. The transparency can be specifically increased or decreased to avoid light reflections in camera images generated by the camera device.

[0009] Furthermore, US Patent No. 9290146 B2 discloses optical monitoring of a vehicle interior. This can be used to trigger a vehicle's airbag only if a person is actually sitting in the seat assigned to the respective airbag.

[0010] The present invention is based on the object of providing an improved vehicle occupant detection device that enables even more reliable detection of the eyes of a person driving a vehicle. Said vehicle occupant detection device should be easily integrated into a vehicle.

[0011] According to the invention, this object is achieved by a vehicle occupant detection device having the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments and further developments as well as a vehicle comprising such a vehicle occupant detection device emerge from the dependent claims.

[0012] A generic vehicle occupant detection device, comprising at least one infrared light source, a camera, and a computing unit for controlling the infrared light source and for evaluating camera images generated by the camera, wherein the infrared light source and the camera are directed towards an observation region, the infrared light source is configured to illuminate at least one part of the face of a person located in the observation region, the camera is configured to capture at least the illuminated part of the face, and the computing unit is configured to recognize a viewing direction of the person in the camera images, wherein it is provided that the infrared light source is integrated into a display device and is formed by a plurality of IR lighting elements arranged in a matrix, and the computing unit is further configured to activate a selection of the IR lighting elements to emit infrared light,wherein the computing unit determines the selection of the IR lighting elements to be activated depending on the evaluation result of a camera image, is further developed according to the invention in that the computing unit is further configured to control the matrix of IR lighting elements to emit a structured light pattern and to determine the viewing direction of the person in a camera image, the relative position between the pupil of the person and at least a portion of the light pattern.

[0013] With the help of the vehicle occupant detection device according to the invention, even more reliable detection of an observed person is possible, particularly of the eye area. The infrared light source comprises a plurality of individually controllable IR lighting elements. These are arranged in the form of a matrix, so that each IR lighting element emits infrared light primarily into a specific spatial region. By selectively switching the IR lighting elements on and off, infrared light can be directed specifically into different spatial regions. This is used to more intensively illuminate spatial areas that are to be illuminated with infrared light and, accordingly, to de-illuminate spatial areas that should not be illuminated. This enables more uniform illumination of a scene with infrared light, so that camera images can be generated that contain fewer overexposed or underexposed areas.

[0014] To determine how the IR light elements should be activated, a camera image of the scene is first recorded. While this camera image is being recorded, the infrared light source can be deactivated or activated. If the infrared light source is deactivated, the influence of infrared light cast from the environment into the recorded scene can be determined. If, on the other hand, the infrared light source is activated - for example, in this case all IR light elements of the matrix can be activated - the influence of the infrared light source itself on the illumination of the scene can be determined. Multiple camera images can also be evaluated one after the other, with individual combinations of IR light elements being activated when the different camera images are recorded.If there are objects within the observation area that reflect infrared light, such as glasses worn by the person, a correspondingly overexposed area will be present in the corresponding camera image. The processing unit then controls the infrared light source to specifically deactivate IR lighting elements so that no reflections occur. Furthermore, IR lighting elements can be specifically activated to direct more infrared light into overly dark areas of the image.

[0015] For example, the processing unit evaluates the captured camera image based on certain predefined criteria. For example, different key performance indicators (KPIs) can be specified, which are used to evaluate the camera image. For example, the signal-to-noise ratio, the saturation of a specific color channel, or similar parameters can be evaluated for the entire camera image or for different areas of the camera image. Depending on the value of each key performance indicator in each image region, the lighting setup is changed via a controller, activating different IR lighting elements.

[0016] The vehicle occupant detection device according to the invention is also particularly easy to integrate into vehicles. The matrix of IR light elements is part of a display device, an element that is already installed multiple times in the cockpit of modern vehicles, for example, to display information output via an instrument cluster. The matrix of IR light elements is therefore not directly visible to the observer, which improves the visual appearance of the vehicle occupant detection device. This allows for aesthetic and concealed integration of at least the infrared light source.

[0017] The IR lighting elements can be designed in various ways. The IR lighting elements can, for example, be point-shaped, for example as pixels or subpixels. At least some of the IR lighting elements can also be designed as flat or area-shaped lighting elements, for example as a light strip or light square. Accordingly, several such areas or strips can be arranged next to one another to form the said matrix. Point-shaped and area-shaped lighting elements can also be combined. The IR lighting elements can be operated continuously or in pulsed mode while camera images are being recorded. In pulsed mode, the camera and the infrared light source are synchronized with each other, so that infrared light is emitted exactly when a camera image is being generated. This allows reliable video recording in the dark.

[0018] The infrared light output emitted to illuminate the scene, i.e., the observation region, remains virtually constant compared to using a single point light source. However, because the total output is distributed over a larger area, the area-related infrared light output decreases, thereby reducing radiation exposure to the person and improving eye safety. This also has the effect of achieving a more even heat distribution.

[0019] As described, the computing unit is further configured to control the matrix of IR light elements to emit a structured light pattern and to determine the person's line of sight in a camera image by determining the relative position between the person's pupil and at least a section of the light pattern. This enables an even more precise determination of the person's line of sight. The light pattern generated by the infrared light source is projected onto the cornea of ​​the observed person. Compared to a point light source, more IR structures are thus present on the cornea, allowing a more precise determination of the position of the pupil relative to the light pattern. This also enables a more precise determination of the relative position and thus the line of sight.

[0020] Conventional methods for recording gaze direction measure the distance from the pupil to the corneal reflection on the cornea. The location of the corneal reflection on the cornea is independent of the gaze direction. However, if the observed person moves, the angle of incidence of the infrared light on the eye can change, causing the corneal reflection to shift. By using a structured light pattern instead of a point light source, the head movements of the observed person can be tracked, allowing their influence on the gaze direction to be filtered out. For example, if the observed person moves toward the infrared light source, the structured light pattern becomes larger.If, however, it moves up, down, left, or right in the plane, different sections of the eyeball are illuminated, causing some areas of the structured light pattern to become larger and others to become smaller. Depending on which areas of the structured light pattern change in size and how significant the change is, the processing unit is able to detect a change in head position and take this into account when calculating the direction of gaze.

[0021] All imaginable shapes and geometries can be used as light patterns, such as straight or curved lines, diamond grids, cross grids, or even dot patterns and the like.

[0022] An advantageous development of the vehicle occupant detection device provides that, in a display device designed as an LCD display, the matrix of IR lighting elements is integrated into the backlight of the display device or at least partially forms this, and in a display device designed as an OLED display, the matrix of IR lighting elements corresponds to a matrix of pixels, so that each IR lighting element forms an additional subpixel of a pixel. The infrared light source designed as a matrix of IR lighting elements can thus be integrated into display devices using different technologies. Since the crystals of an LCD display are usually transparent to infrared light, a particularly simple and cost-effective integration of the IR lighting elements into an LCD display is possible by integrating the IR lighting elements into the backlight or at least partially forming it.The LCD display can be either monochrome or color. To ensure that the viewer can perceive the content displayed on the LCD even in adverse lighting conditions, it is illuminated by a backlight. Thus, white light emitting elements, for example, are still part of the backlight. The IR light elements can then be integrated into the LCD display in addition to these existing light elements.

[0023] A particularly energy-efficient design of the vehicle occupant detection device is possible using OLED displays. Such an OLED display comprises a plurality of pixels, also arranged in a matrix. The pixels, in turn, comprise subpixels of organic light-emitting diodes of different colors, for example red, green, and blue and / or cyan, magenta, and yellow. According to the invention, an additional subpixel emitting infrared light is then integrated for at least a portion of the pixels of the OLED display. Compared to the aforementioned LCD display, the light-emitting elements are then arranged comparatively far forward in the viewing direction of the OLED display, so that light can be projected into the environment with high efficiency and intensity. This eliminates the need to pass through deeper display layers, which could weaken the light intensity.

[0024] In addition, different display technologies are installed in vehicles, so that the infrared light source can be integrated into all possible types of display devices, regardless of the display design.

[0025] According to a further advantageous embodiment of the vehicle occupant detection device according to the invention, a grid is stored in the computing unit, wherein the grid describes a subdivision of at least one section of the observation region into a plurality of grid elements, an assignment between grid elements and IR lighting elements is stored in the computing unit, and the computing unit is further configured to deactivate the IR lighting element assigned to the at least one grid element in which the IR reflection is located or at least to reduce its brightness when an IR reflection is detected in a camera image.

[0026] In this way, it is particularly easy for the computing unit to determine which IR lighting elements need to be deactivated or their brightness reduced in order to prevent the reflection from occurring or at least to attenuate it to such an extent that the relevant part of the person's face to be observed can also be reliably captured.

[0027] A further advantageous embodiment of the vehicle occupant detection device according to the invention further provides that a grid is stored in the computing unit, wherein the grid describes a subdivision of at least one section of the observation region into a plurality of grid elements, an assignment between grid elements and IR lighting elements is stored in the computing unit, and the computing unit is further configured to activate the IR lighting element assigned to the at least one grid element in which the IR shadow lies or to increase its brightness upon detection of an IR shadow in a camera image. This makes it particularly simple to not only suppress or at least attenuate IR reflections, but also to counteract the formation of IR shadows. In this way, IR shadows can be brightened or even completely removed from a camera image.

[0028] The assignment between grid elements and IR light elements is fixed. The assignment can be learned, for example based on one-time calibration measurements carried out in advance. These calibration measurements can have been carried out during production or development of the vehicle occupant detection device. This grid-based control of the matrix of IR light elements (both in connection with the avoidance of IR reflections and in connection with the avoidance of IR shadows) can be compared to an adaptive high beam assistant in a vehicle with matrix headlights. With a corresponding high beam assistant, individual pixels of the matrix headlights are switched off in those regions of the room in which a preceding or oncoming road user is detected. Accordingly, IR light elements are specifically deactivated or switched on.activated when IR reflections or IR shadows are detected in the spatial regions illuminated by the corresponding IR lighting elements.

[0029] A further advantageous embodiment of the vehicle occupant detection device further provides that the computing unit is further configured to control the matrix of IR lighting elements to emit a structured light pattern and to determine a relative position of at least one body part of the person in the observation region by evaluating a distortion of the structured light pattern present in a camera image.

[0030] The vehicle occupant detection device according to the invention thus enables the localization of individual body parts of the observed person within the observation region based on active triangulation. Accordingly, the structured light pattern generated by the infrared light source is projected not only onto the person's eye area, but also onto other body parts, such as other facial areas, or even the shoulders, arms, hands, upper body, and the like. This enables the provision of additional assistance functions.

[0031] A further advantageous embodiment of the vehicle occupant detection device according to the invention provides that the computing unit is further configured to detect a change in the relative position of the body part by analyzing at least two consecutive camera images and, from this, to detect the execution of a gesture by the person. This enables the computing unit to recognize gestures, which in turn can be interpreted as operating actions. For example, the person can raise their hand and rotate it in a circle in the air, which can be interpreted as the rotation of a rotary control. Corresponding swiping movements up and down or to the side can be interpreted as the operation of a slide control.

[0032] A vehicle according to the invention comprises at least one vehicle occupant detection device as described above. At least one vehicle occupant detection device is provided for detecting the person driving the vehicle. However, additional vehicle occupant detection devices can also be integrated into the vehicle to detect additional vehicle occupants, for example, the front passenger.

[0033] The vehicle can be a car, truck, van, bus, or similar. It doesn't necessarily have to be a road vehicle. It can also be a rail vehicle, watercraft, or aircraft.

[0034] According to an advantageous embodiment of the vehicle according to the invention, the display device is formed by the display of an instrument cluster, a central display, a passenger display, or a head unit. Thus, the vehicle occupant detection device according to the invention can be integrated particularly flexibly and easily into a wide variety of vehicles. If the infrared light source, i.e., the matrix of IR lighting elements, is integrated into the instrument cluster, the central positioning in front of the driver allows for particularly comprehensive illumination. If integrated into the head unit, several vehicle occupants, for example, the driver, front passenger, and a person sitting centrally in the rear, can be illuminated simultaneously.

[0035] A further advantageous embodiment of the vehicle further provides that it comprises at least one airbag and a control function for deploying the airbag, wherein the computing unit is configured to provide the relative position of the at least one body part as an input variable for the control function, and the control function is configured to deploy the airbag in the event of an airbag deployment signal only if at least one body part is located within a predefined spatial region assigned to the airbag. This prevents incorrect deployment of the airbag or unnecessary deployments of the airbag. The predefined spatial region is formed by the spatial region in which a corresponding body part would impact the inflated airbag in the event of an accident. If no body part is located in this spatial region, deployment of the airbag is also obsolete.

[0036] The control function is, for example, a dedicated airbag control unit or an airbag control program executed on another control unit or a central on-board computer.

[0037] Further advantageous embodiments of the vehicle occupant detection device according to the invention and of the vehicle also emerge from the exemplary embodiments which are described in more detail below with reference to the figures.

[0038] Showing:

[0039] Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of a person monitored by means of a vehicle occupant detection device according to the invention;

[0040] Fig. 2 shows a schematic and simplified layer structure of an LCD display comprising a matrix of IR light elements;

[0041] Fig. 3 is a schematic representation of the pixels of a display device comprising subpixels configured to emit infrared light; and

[0042] Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of a section of a camera image of a detected person with a raster and an assignment between raster elements to corresponding IR lighting elements.

[0043] Figure 1 shows a side view of a vehicle 15 according to the invention. A person 5, in this case the person driving the vehicle, is located in the vehicle interior. The person 5 is detected by a vehicle occupant detection device according to the invention. This device comprises an infrared light source 1, a camera 2, and a computing unit 3. The vehicle occupant detection device tracks the line of sight of the person 5, which is used to provide driver assistance functions. For better detection of the person 5 in adverse lighting conditions, the person 5 is illuminated with infrared light from the infrared light source 1. Accordingly, the camera 2 is configured to detect light in the infrared spectrum. For this purpose, the camera 2 can also have various filters. In the exemplary embodiment shown in Figure 1, the infrared light source 1 is integrated into a display device 6, in this case the instrument cluster of the vehicle 15.In addition, the infrared light source 1 is formed by a matrix of IR lighting elements 7, which are shown in Figure 2. The infrared light source 1 and the camera 2 are directed toward an observation region 4, in which the head of the person 5 and thus the eyes to be observed are located during use of the vehicle 15.

[0044] The camera 2 can be arranged anywhere in the vehicle 15, as long as it can capture at least one part of the face of the person 5 in the observation region 4, preferably the eyes. For example, the camera 2 is integrated into the dashboard of the vehicle 15, in particular in the area of ​​the display device 6, or, as shown, also integrated into the display device 6.

[0045] By means of the vehicle occupant detection device according to the invention, even more reliable detection of the person 5, in particular their eyes and thus their direction of gaze, is possible. During operation, it may happen that IR reflections 13 shown in Figure 4 arise in a camera image generated by the camera 2 and / or that individual image areas exhibit an infrared shadow. Corresponding facial areas may then not be correctly recognized by the camera 2 or the computing unit 3. This can be prevented or at least mitigated by designing the infrared light source 1 as a matrix of IR lighting elements 7, as shown in Figure 2. In this way, individual IR lighting elements 7 are specifically activated or deactivated, thus counteracting the formation of IR reflections 13 and / or IR shadows.

[0046] Figure 2 shows the design of the infrared light source 1 as part of the display device 6. In Figure 2, the display device 6 is designed as an LCD display. The display device 6 comprises, for example, four layers 16.1, 16.2, 16.3 and 16.4. The first layer 16.1 is the backlight 8 of the display device 6. The second layer 16.2 is, for example, a thin-film transistor layer, also referred to as a thin-film transistor or TFT for short. The third layer 16.3 is a layer of liquid crystals, i.e. the actual liquid crystals. The fourth layer 16.4 is a color filter layer or “pixel layer” comprising a plurality of pixels 9 arranged in a matrix.The display device 6 may comprise further components not shown in detail, such as polarizing filters, a substrate, electrodes, a cover layer, a diffuser or scattering layer, and the like. The structure shown is exemplary; the LCD display may have an alternative structure known from the prior art, for example.

[0047] In Figure 2, the pixels 9 are shown oversized to better identify the subpixels 10. Particularly preferably, each pixel 9 is assigned an IR light element 7.

[0048] According to the invention, the individual IR lighting elements 7 can be designed as point light sources or as planar light sources. Figure 2 shows different possible embodiments in various regions of the backlight 8 (top left, top right, and bottom). The IR lighting elements 7 are shown hatched. The backlight 8 further comprises conventional lighting elements 17, for example, cool white LEDs, LED strips, or the like, to enable visibility of the display content of the display device 6 even under adverse lighting conditions.

[0049] The pixels 9 comprise various subpixels 10. For example, each pixel 9 contains a subpixel 10 for the colors red, green and blue, indicated by the letters R, G, B. Other color combinations are also conceivable, such as cyan, magenta and yellow, indicated by the letters C, M and Y. In the exemplary embodiment shown in Figure 2, at least one subpixel 10 of at least some of the pixels 9 or basically all pixels 9 is permeable to infrared light, so that the infrared light emitted by the IR lighting elements 7 can penetrate the front of the display device 6 and thus be projected onto the person 5. Recesses for allowing the infrared light to pass through could also be provided.

[0050] As Figure 3 shows, it is also possible to provide a separate subpixel 10 to allow infrared light to pass through. A corresponding subpixel 10 is identified by the letters IR.

[0051] The exemplary embodiment shown in Figure 3 can also be the pixels 9 of a display device 6 embodied as an OLED display. As Figure 3 shows, all conceivable arrangements and geometries of the subpixels 10 are possible. The examples shown in Figure 3 are not to be understood as limiting. Other arrangements and configurations not shown in detail are also possible.

[0052] Figure 4 illustrates the relationship between the facial areas illuminated by the infrared light source 1 and the arrangement of the corresponding IR lighting elements 7 on or in the display device 6. Figure 4 shows the eye area of ​​the person 5 captured by the camera 2. It shows a grid 11 consisting of a plurality of grid elements 12, of which only a few are provided with a reference symbol for the sake of clarity. The computing unit 3 stores an assignment indicating which of these grid elements 12 is primarily illuminated by which IR lighting element 7. If the computing unit 3 detects, by evaluating a corresponding camera image generated by the camera 2, that IR reflections 13 are present, the computing unit 3 determines in which grid elements 12 the IR reflection is located. The IR lighting elements 7 assigned to the respective grid elements 12, indicated in Figure 4 by dark hatching, are then deactivated.This results in the IR reflection 13 disappearing. The respective IR lighting elements 7 do not necessarily have to be deactivated, but can simply be reduced in brightness. This improves the detection of the pupil 14 of person 5, allowing the IR camera to determine the direction of person 5's gaze even more reliably.

[0053] Additionally or alternatively, IR shadows can be avoided or at least mitigated in the appropriate manner.

Claims

Patent claims 1. A vehicle occupant detection device comprising at least one infrared light source (1), a camera (2) and a computing unit (3) for controlling the infrared light source (1) and for evaluating camera images generated by the camera (2), wherein the infrared light source (1) and the camera (2) are directed towards an observation region (4), the infrared light source (1) is configured to illuminate at least one part of the face of a person (5) located in the observation region (4), the camera (2) is configured to capture at least the illuminated part of the face, and the computing unit (3) is configured to detect a viewing direction of the person (5) in the camera images,wherein the infrared light source (1) is integrated into a display device (6) and is formed by a plurality of IR lighting elements (7) arranged in a matrix, and the computing unit (3) is further configured to activate a selection of the IR lighting elements (7) to emit infrared light, wherein the computing unit (3) determines the selection of the IR lighting elements (7) to be activated depending on the evaluation result of a camera image, characterized in that the computing unit (3) is further configured to control the matrix of IR lighting elements (7) to emit a structured light pattern and to determine the viewing direction of the person (5) in a camera image, the relative position between the pupil (14) of the person (5) and at least a portion of the light pattern.

2. Vehicle occupant detection device according to claim 1, characterized in that in a display device (6) designed as an LCD display, the matrix of IR lighting elements (7) is integrated into the background lighting (8) of the display device (6) or at least partially forms this, and in a display device (6) designed as an OLED display, the matrix of IR lighting elements (7) corresponds to a matrix of pixels (9), so that a respective IR lighting element (7) forms an additional subpixel (10) of a pixel (9).

3. Vehicle occupant detection device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a grid (11) is stored in the computing unit (3), wherein the grid (11) describes a subdivision of at least one section of the observation region (4) into a plurality of grid elements (12), an assignment between grid elements (12) and IR lighting elements (7) is stored in the computing unit (3), and the computing unit (3) is further configured to deactivate the IR lighting element (7) assigned to the at least one grid element (12) in which the IR reflection (13) is located, or at least to reduce its brightness, upon detection of an IR reflection (13) in a camera image.

4. Vehicle occupant detection device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a grid (11) is stored in the computing unit (3), wherein the grid (11) describes a subdivision of at least one section of the observation region (4) into a plurality of grid elements (12), an assignment between grid elements (12) and IR lighting elements (7) is stored in the computing unit (3), and the computing unit (3) is further configured to activate the IR lighting element (7) assigned to the at least one grid element (12) in which the IR shadow lies or to increase its brightness when an IR shadow is detected in a camera image.

5. Vehicle occupant detection device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the computing unit (3) is further configured to control the matrix of IR lighting elements (7) to emit a structured light pattern and by evaluating a distortion of the structured light pattern present in a camera image light pattern to determine a relative position of at least one body part of the person (5) in the observation region (4).

6. Vehicle occupant detection device according to claim 5, characterized in that the computing unit (3) is further configured to detect a change in the relative position of the body part by analyzing at least two successive camera images and to detect therefrom the execution of a gesture by the person (5).

7. Vehicle (15), characterized by at least one vehicle occupant detection device according to one of claims 1 to 6.

8. Vehicle (15) according to claim 7, characterized in that the display device (6) is formed by the display of an instrument cluster, by a central display, by a passenger display or by a head unit.

9. Vehicle (15) according to claim 7 or 8, characterized by at least one airbag and a control function for triggering the airbag, wherein the computing unit (3) is configured to provide the relative position of the at least one body part as an input variable of the control function and the control function is configured to trigger the airbag in the event of an airbag triggering signal only if at least one body part is located within a predefined spatial region assigned to the airbag.

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