System for determining a state of presence within a vehicle

Abstract

Title: System for Determining a Presence State in a Vehicle The invention relates to a system for determining a presence state in a motor vehicle by means of a presence sensor, the system being configured to implement the following steps: - generate a point cloud (50) from data from the presence sensor, in particular a radar, - detect, in the point cloud generated in the previous step, any points that are associated with an external target located outside a predetermined detection zone (60). Figure for the abstract: Fig. 4

Description

Title of the invention: System for determining a presence status within a vehicle

[0001] The invention relates to a system for determining a presence state within a motor vehicle.

[0002] It is known to carry out detection of the presence of a living being, in particular a person inside a motor vehicle, detection followed by an alert if a person is forgotten inside the motor vehicle. Such detection and such an alert makes it possible to reinforce the safety of passengers, and in particular to avoid the danger of forgetting a child inside the motor vehicle. Such detection can for example use a radar present inside the motor vehicle.

[0003] In particular, there is a need to prevent false alerts. Such a false alert can occur when a person outside the vehicle passes close to the radar and this radar detects this person outside the vehicle. This detection can thus produce confusion if the person, although outside the vehicle, is considered to be inside the vehicle. This is due to the fact that the radar inside the vehicle can pick up reflections of waves on the person outside the vehicle.

[0004] A false alarm can also occur when strong wind creates vibrations inside the vehicle.

[0005] Such false alarms are, of course, undesirable.

[0006] The invention aims in particular to prevent such false alerts.

[0007] The invention thus relates to a system for determining a presence state within a motor vehicle by means of a presence sensor, the system being configured to implement the following steps: - generate a point cloud from data coming from the presence sensor, in particular a radar, - detect, in the point cloud generated in the previous step, possible points which are associated with an external target located outside a predetermined detection zone, - in a first exemplary embodiment of the invention: removing, from the point cloud, points which are associated with the external target and which are located inside the predetermined detection zone in order to provide a filtered point cloud, then processing the filtered point cloud in a step of detecting a state of presence in the vehicle, to detect a possible presence of a target inside the motor vehicle, or - in a second exemplary embodiment of the invention: in the event of proven detection, in the point cloud, of points which are associated with the external target and which are located inside the predetermined detection zone, forcibly generate data indicating no presence detection within the vehicle, in particular even if there is someone in the vehicle.

[0008] Thanks to the invention, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of false alerts when the sensor, in particular a radar, captures points which come for example from a person outside the vehicle. The invention makes it possible not to take into account points which are linked to the person outside the vehicle, either by removing these points from the detected point cloud, or by forcing non-detection information whether or not there is a person in the vehicle.

[0009] In the first embodiment of the invention, the invention makes it possible to somehow conceal parasitic points generated by the presence of a person outside the vehicle.

[0010] In the second embodiment of the invention, the points which are due to the presence of the person outside the vehicle are not hidden and non-presence information is forced to avoid a false alert in the case where no person is present inside the vehicle.

[0011] Generally speaking, the invention makes it possible to prevent false alerts due to parasitic detection of a person or object moving in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle.

[0012] According to one aspect of the invention, the detection zone of the sensor corresponds to the interior of the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

[0013] According to one aspect of the invention, the detection zone is delimited by a volume, for example a parallelepiped, in particular a rectangular parallelepiped, corresponding substantially to the outline of the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

[0014] According to one aspect of the invention, the presence sensor, which is in particular a radar, is thus configured to detect a presence in the entire passenger compartment of the vehicle, in particular to detect the potential presence of people in the front seats and in the rear seats.

[0015] According to one aspect of the invention, the presence detection is carried out on the basis of points identified by the presence sensor and which are within this detection zone.

[0016] It should be noted that a person outside the vehicle who passes close to this vehicle is likely to generate the appearance of parasitic points captured by the radar, in the detection zone, due to a reflection of radar waves on the person towards the interior of the vehicle. It is the presence of these parasitic points which can generate a false alert.

[0017] According to one aspect of the invention, the sensor, in particular a radar, is configured to detect in the detection zone, points whose behavior is representative of a presence, in particular breathing, of a person.

[0018] Undesirably, the parasitic points linked to the presence and movement of a person near the car can be interpreted by the system for determining a presence state as being points inside the detection zone.

[0019] According to one aspect of the invention, the system for determining a presence state is configured to generate a grouping (or "Clustering" in English) of certain points of the point cloud and their tracking (or "Tracking" in English), in particular to identify parasitic points.

[0020] In the first exemplary embodiment of the invention (i.e. removing, from the point cloud, points which are associated with the external target and which are located within the predetermined detection area in order to provide a filtered point cloud), the parasitic points in the point cloud appearing within the detection area are removed in a processing of the point cloud. The parasitic points outside the detection area may, if desired, not be processed, i.e. are not removed, because they do not affect the determination of a presence state within the detection area.

[0021] Thus, if no person is present inside the vehicle, then the image obtained by such processing of the point cloud is devoid of points of interest, leading to a conclusion that no presence is detected inside the vehicle. There is therefore no need to trigger an alert.

[0022] The invention is advantageous because, thanks to this treatment of parasitic points, it is not necessary to have additional sensors to detect the presence of an external object / person (external target), for example a person passing outside the vehicle, close to this vehicle. The invention thus makes it possible to use the radar usually present in the passenger compartment to eliminate parasitic points.

[0023] Tracking refers, in general, in particular to a process of continuously tracking a moving object or target in order to determine its position and orientation in three-dimensional space. This makes it possible in particular to track the movements and changes in position of an object in real time.

[0024] In the situation, for example, where a child is inside the vehicle and an outside person (external target) passes near the vehicle, the sensor generates a cloud of points and the system allows the identification of two groups of points, including a group of points associated with the child (because these points have similar movements) and another group of points associated with the outside person (because these points have similar movements). In this situation, the system triggers an alert.

[0025] According to one aspect of the invention, the system is configured to use artificial intelligence to define whether a group of points, in particular on the basis of movements of the points, are linked to a person (a target) inside the vehicle or outside the vehicle.

[0026] For example, movements of points with particular vectors can be associated by artificial intelligence with a person outside the vehicle.

[0027] For example, some points of a group of points very close to the edge of the detection zone can be considered as belonging to an external person. In particular, the system is configured to recognize parasitic points generated by the reflection of waves from the sensor on the external person, parasitic points which present a particular movement of approach and distance which are characteristic of a person walking next to the vehicle.

[0028] It is also possible to deduce that points are parasitic points if they remain present on the image captured by the sensor for a period of time which is relatively short, for example less than 20 seconds or less than 10 seconds, meaning that the target appears and disappears relatively quickly, and making it possible to ensure that this target is outside the vehicle.

[0029] According to one aspect of the invention, the system uses artificial intelligence capable of learning to improve the identification of parasitic points.

[0030] According to one aspect of the invention, the system, in particular via artificial intelligence, is configured to compare a cloud of detected points, in particular its dynamics, to a stored catalog to define whether the cloud of points or a grouping of points of the cloud of points belong to a target in the vehicle or not.

[0031] An alert is issued if a presence is detected in the vehicle, whether or not parasitic points are detected.

[0032] In the second exemplary embodiment of the invention, in the event of proven detection, in the point cloud, of points which are associated with an external target and which are located inside the predetermined detection zone, forcibly generate data indicating no detection of presence within the vehicle, even if the presence of a person in the vehicle is detected simultaneously with the detection of parasitic points which are associated with an external target.

[0033] According to one aspect of the invention, a new presence detection post-processing step is repeated periodically so that the above forcing prevents a potential alert only over a period of time where the external target disrupts the detection.

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[0041] According to one aspect of the invention, the system is arranged to generate an alert signal based on the detected presence state and the signal is in particular an audible sound signal in the environment of the vehicle, or a message sent to a smartphone or an emergency center. According to one aspect of the invention, the system comprises a computer configured to process signals from the presence sensor. According to one aspect of the invention, the calculator is configured to operate an artificial intelligence to process the point cloud obtained using the presence sensor. The invention also relates to a method for determining a presence state within a motor vehicle by means of a presence sensor, the method comprising the following steps: - generate a point cloud from data coming from the presence sensor, in particular a radar, - detect, in the point cloud generated in the previous step, possible points which are associated with an external target located outside a predetermined detection zone, - in a first exemplary embodiment of the invention: removing, from the point cloud, points which are associated with the external target and which are located inside the predetermined detection zone in order to provide a filtered point cloud, then processing the filtered point cloud in a step of detecting a state of presence in the vehicle, to detect a possible presence of a target inside the motor vehicle, or - in a second exemplary embodiment of the invention: in the event of proven detection, in the point cloud, of points which are associated with the external target and which are located inside the predetermined detection zone, forcibly generate data indicating no presence detection within the vehicle (even if there is someone in the vehicle). Other characteristics, details and advantages of the invention will emerge more clearly on reading the description which follows on the one hand, and several examples of embodiment given for informational and non-limiting purposes with reference to the appended schematic drawings on the other hand, in which: [Fig.l] [Fig.l] is a schematic view of a vehicle comprising the system for determining a presence state according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, with an external person passing near the vehicle; [Fig.2] [Fig.2] is a block diagram representing the steps of determining a presence by the system of [Fig.l]; [Fig.3] [Fig.3] is a schematic representation of a detection zone used by the system of [Fig.l];

[0042] [Fig.4] [Fig.4] is a representation of three images of the detection area of ​​the [Fig.3], at three successive moments in a situation of approaching an outside person;

[0043] [Fig.5] [Fig.5] is a block diagram representing steps in determining a presence according to another exemplary embodiment of the invention.

[0044] The features, variants and different embodiments of the invention may be combined with each other, in various combinations, provided that they are not incompatible or mutually exclusive. In particular, variants of the invention may be imagined comprising only a selection of features described below in isolation from the other features described, if this selection of features is sufficient to confer a technical advantage and / or to differentiate the invention from the prior art.

[0045] [Fig. 1] shows a system 1 for determining a presence state E of an occupant within a vehicle V, here a motor vehicle, according to the invention. The system 1 comprises a presence sensor 10 and a computer 20 connected to the presence sensor 10.

[0046] The presence sensor 10 is configured to determine the presence of an occupant 30 within the vehicle V.

[0047] The presence sensor 10 is placed in a central area of ​​the vehicle V, here in the center of the roof 2 of the vehicle V as shown in [Fig.l], the presence sensor 10 can then advantageously cover all the seats of the vehicle V.

[0048] The presence sensor 10 may be any instrument making it possible to determine the presence of an occupant 30 within the vehicle V. The presence sensor 10 may consist of a single sensitive element or of a network of sensitive elements distributed throughout the vehicle V.

[0049] The presence sensor 10 may for example be a camera or a camera network or even an ultrasonic sensor or a network of ultrasonic sensors.

[0050] The presence sensor 10 is here a device for transmitting and receiving a radar wave.

[0051] The presence sensor 10 here comprises at least one antenna (not shown) designed to emit electromagnetic waves 11 and at least one sensor (not shown) designed to receive a reflected electromagnetic wave 12 after reflection of the electromagnetic wave 11, and in particular after reflection on a person 30 inside the vehicle V or an outside person 40 passing near the vehicle V.

[0052] The presence sensor 10 is here more specifically a radar (according to the acronym common English "radio detection and ranging") using millimeter electromagnetic waves. Radar is for example a Doppler type radar using CW or continuous waves.

[0053] The computer 20 comprises at least one memory and at least one processor. The computer 20 may be, for example, the electronic control unit (ECU) of the vehicle V. The computer 20 may also be a computer dedicated to the system 1. Instructions for determining the presence state E are recorded in the memory and are implemented by the processor. When implemented, these instructions make it possible to implement the method described later.

[0054] The computer 20 is in particular programmed to control the presence sensor 10, in particular to control the emission of the electromagnetic wave 11.

[0055] The determination system 1 is configured to implement the following steps: - generate a point cloud 50 from data coming from the presence sensor 10 (step 101 in [Fig.2]), - detect, in the point cloud 50 generated in the previous step, possible points which are associated with an external target located outside a predetermined detection zone 60 (step 102 in [Fig.2]),

[0056] In a first exemplary embodiment of the invention, the determination system 1 is configured to remove, from the point cloud, points which are associated with the external target and which are located inside the predetermined detection zone in order to provide a filtered point cloud 51 (step 103 in [Fig. 2]), then process the filtered point cloud 51 in a step of detecting a presence state E in the vehicle V, to detect a possible presence of a target inside the motor vehicle (step 104 in [Fig. 2]).

[0057] Steps 101, 102 and 103 can be considered as pre-processing and step 104 as post-processing.

[0058] In the event of the actual presence of a person 30 in the vehicle V, the system 1 sees, for the detection zone, only the points linked to this person 30 actually in the vehicle V because the parasitic points which are linked to the external person 40 have been removed from the points used in the step 104 of detecting a presence state E.

[0059] Thanks to the invention, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of false alerts when the sensor 10, here a radar, captures points which come from a person 40 outside the vehicle V. The invention makes it possible not to take into account points which are linked to the person outside the vehicle, either by removing these points from the detected point cloud. In this first exemplary embodiment of the invention, the invention makes it possible in some way to conceal parasitic points generated by the presence of a person outside the vehicle.

[0060] Generally speaking, the invention makes it possible to prevent false alerts due to parasitic detection of a person 40 or a moving object in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle V.

[0061] As can be seen in [Fig.3], the detection zone 60 corresponds to the interior of the passenger compartment of the vehicle V. Thus the system 1 relies on this detection zone 60 and the presence or absence of points in this detection zone 60 to detect a presence state E. It is understood that it is important that there are no parasitic points in this detection zone 60 which disturb step 104. The points of the point cloud can be located in an x, z reference frame.

[0062] The detection zone 60 is delimited by a volume, for example a rectangular parallelepiped, corresponding substantially to the outline of the passenger compartment of the vehicle V.

[0063] The presence sensor 10 is thus configured to detect a presence in the entire passenger compartment of the vehicle V, in particular to detect the potential presence of people in the front seats and in the rear seats.

[0064] The presence detection E is carried out on the basis of points identified by the presence sensor 10 and which are inside this detection zone 60.

[0065] As can be seen in [Fig.4] (which represents three images of the detection zone 60, at three successive times in a situation of approach of an outside person), a person 40 outside the vehicle who passes close to the vehicle V is likely to generate the appearance of parasitic points 61 captured by the radar 10, in the detection zone 60, due to a reflection of radar waves on the person 40 towards the interior of the vehicle V. It is the presence of these parasitic points 61 which can generate a false alert.

[0066] In the left image of [Fig.4], the point cloud 50 is generated by the person 40 outside the vehicle V, this person being initially far enough from the detection zone 60 so that the reflections do not generate parasitic points in the detection zone 60.

[0067] Then the person 40 approaches the vehicle V and reflections of waves on the person 40 generate the appearance of parasitic points 61 captured by the radar 10, in the detection zone 60 (see the image in the center of [Fig.4]).

[0068] After removal of the parasitic points 61 by the system 1, there remains a filtered point cloud 51 (on the right image of [Fig.4]) which does not affect the presence detection E.

[0069] The sensor 10 and the system 1 are configured to detect in the detection zone 60, points whose behavior is representative of a presence, in particular breathing, of a person.

[0070] In a known manner, the system 1 is configured to generate a grouping (or “Clustering” in English) of certain points of the point cloud and their tracking (or "Tracking" in English).

[0071] The parasitic points 61 in the point cloud appearing inside the detection zone 60 are deleted in a processing of the point cloud. The parasitic points outside the detection zone may, if desired, not be processed, i.e. are not deleted, because they do not affect the determination of a presence state inside the detection zone.

[0072] Thus, if no person is present inside the vehicle, then the image obtained by such processing of the point cloud is devoid of points of interest, leading to a conclusion that no presence is detected inside the vehicle. There is therefore no need to trigger an alert.

[0073] Clustering is performed using a Kalman filter. Other types of filters or means can be used, of course.

[0074] Generally speaking, grouping points by their speed vectors allows us to conclude that a group of points belongs to the same object / person (a target).

[0075] In the situation, for example, where a child is inside the vehicle and an outside person (outside target) passes near the vehicle V, the sensor generates a point cloud and the system 1 allows the identification of two groups of points, including a group of points associated with the child (because these points have similar movements) and another group of points associated with the outside person (because these points have similar movements). In this situation, the system triggers an alert.

[0076] The system 1 is configured to use artificial intelligence to define whether a group of points, in particular on the basis of movements of the points, are linked to a person (a target) inside the vehicle or outside the vehicle.

[0077] For example, movements of points with particular vectors can be associated by artificial intelligence with a person outside the vehicle.

[0078] For example, some points of a group of points very close to the edge of the detection zone can be considered as belonging to an external person. In particular, the system is configured to recognize parasitic points generated by the reflection of waves from the sensor 10 on the external person 40, parasitic points which have a particular movement of approach and distance which are characteristic of a person 40 who is walking next to the vehicle V.

[0079] It is also possible to deduce that points are parasitic points if they remain present on the image captured by the sensor for a period of time which is relatively short, for example less than 20 seconds or less than 10 seconds, meaning that the target appears and disappears relatively quickly, and making it possible to ensure that this target is outside the vehicle.

[0080] System 1 uses learning-capable artificial intelligence to improve the identification of parasitic points.

[0081] The system 1 can in particular be configured to compare a cloud of detected points, in particular its dynamics, with a stored catalog to define whether the cloud of points or a grouping of points of the cloud of points belong to a target in the vehicle or not.

[0082] An alert is issued in the event of detection of presence E in the vehicle V, whether or not parasitic points are detected.

[0083] In a second exemplary embodiment of the invention illustrated in [Fig. 5], in the event of proven detection (in a step 202), in the point cloud generated prior to a step 201, of points which are associated with an external target and which are located inside the predetermined detection zone 60, the system 1 is configured to forcibly generate data indicating no presence detection within the vehicle (even if there is someone in the vehicle), bypassing a presence detection post-processing step E (step 203).

[0084] By forcing the bypass of the presence detection post-processing step E, no alert is generated by the system 1 (step 204), even if the presence of a person in the vehicle is detected simultaneously with the detection of parasitic points which are associated with an external person 40.

[0085] If no parasitic point is detected, the presence detection post-processing step 203 E is implemented normally, and an alert can be generated if a presence is detected in the vehicle V.

[0086] A new presence detection post-processing step is repeated periodically so that the above forcing prevents a potential alert only over a period of time where the external target 40 disrupts the detection.

[0087] Generally speaking, the system is arranged to generate an alert signal based on the detected presence state and the signal is in particular an audible sound signal in the environment of the vehicle, or a message sent to a smartphone or an emergency center.

Claims

Claims

1. System (1) for determining a presence state within a motor vehicle (V) by means of a presence sensor (10), the system being configured to implement the following steps: - generating a point cloud (50) from data originating from the presence sensor, in particular a radar, - detecting, in the point cloud generated in the previous step, possible points which are associated with an external target located outside a predetermined detection zone (60), - in a first exemplary embodiment of the invention: removing, from the point cloud, points which are associated with the external target (40) and which are located inside the predetermined detection zone (60) in order to provide a filtered point cloud (51), then processing the filtered point cloud in a step of detecting a presence state in the vehicle,to detect a possible presence of a target (40) inside the motor vehicle, or - in a second exemplary embodiment of the invention): in the event of proven detection, in the point cloud, of points which are associated with the external target (40) and which are located inside the predetermined detection zone (60), forcibly generate data indicating no presence detection within the vehicle.,

2. System (1) according to the preceding claim, in which the detection zone (60) of the sensor (10) corresponds to the interior of the passenger compartment of the vehicle (V), being in particular delimited by a volume, for example a parallelepiped, in particular a rectangular parallelepiped, corresponding substantially to the outline of the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

3. System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the sensor (10), in particular a radar, is configured to detect in the detection zone (60), points whose behavior is representative of a presence, in particular breathing, of a person.

4. System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the system (1) for determining a presence state is configured to generate a grouping of certain points in the point cloud and their tracking, in particular to identify parasitic points.

5. System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the parasitic points linked to an external target (40) in the point cloud (50) appearing inside the detection zone (60) are removed in a processing of the point cloud.

6. System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the system is configured to use artificial intelligence to define whether a group of points, in particular on the basis of movements of the points, are linked to a person (a target) inside the vehicle or outside the vehicle, for example, movements of points with particular vectors can be associated by the artificial intelligence with a person outside the vehicle.

7. System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the system is configured to recognize parasitic points generated by the reflection of waves from the sensor on the external person (40), parasitic points which present a particular movement of approach and distance which are characteristic of a person walking next to the vehicle.

8. System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the system, in particular via artificial intelligence, is configured to compare a cloud of detected points (50), in particular its dynamics, with a stored catalog to define whether the cloud of points or a grouping of points of the cloud of points belong to a target in the vehicle or not.

9. System (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, in which, in the event of proven detection, in the point cloud (50), of points which are associated with an external target and which are located inside the predetermined detection zone (60), forcibly generating data indicating no presence detection within the vehicle, even if the presence of a person in the vehicle (V) is detected simultaneously with the detection of parasitic points which are associated with an external target.

10. System (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein the system (1) is configured such that a new presence detection post-processing step is repeated periodically such that the above forcing prevents a potential alert only over a period of time where the external target disrupts the detection.

11. System (1) according to one of the preceding claims, in which the system is arranged to generate an alert signal based on the detected presence status and the signal is in particular an audible sound signal in the vehicle's environment, or a message sent to a smartphone or an emergency center.

12. Method for determining a presence state within a motor vehicle (V) by means of a presence sensor (10), the method comprising the following steps: - generate a point cloud (50) from data coming from the presence sensor, in particular a radar, - detecting, in the point cloud generated in the previous step, possible points which are associated with an external target located outside a predetermined detection zone (60), - in a first exemplary embodiment of the invention: removing, from the point cloud, points which are associated with the external target and which are located inside the predetermined detection zone (60) in order to provide a filtered point cloud, then processing the filtered point cloud in a step of detecting a state of presence in the vehicle, to detect a possible presence of a target inside the motor vehicle, or - in a second exemplary embodiment of the invention: in the event of proven detection, in the point cloud, of points which are associated with the external target and which are located inside the predetermined detection zone (60), forcibly generate data indicating no presence detection within the vehicle, in particular even if there is someone in the vehicle.

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