Vehicle Occupancy Detection Data Reduction via Selective Region Processing

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current driver assistance systems face inefficiencies in providing occupancy information for vehicle surroundings, resulting in excessive data generation and potential inaccuracies due to uniform area division, which affects collision avoidance and decision-making processes.

Innovation Solution

A method that selectively provides the most reliably determined occupancy and the next occupancy per area using sensors, utilizing Cartesian or polar coordinate systems, with adjustable area sizes and probability-based detection, optimizing data reduction while ensuring critical information for driver assistance systems is communicated effectively.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If the environment is divided into uniform areas with size corresponding to the highest requirements of driver assistance systems, then measurement precision is improved, but the quantity of data generated increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveoccupancy detection accuracyVSAvoiddata volume
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by differentiating the treatment of areas based on their occupancy status. Reliable occupancies are processed with full detail while next occupancies use reduced representation. This selective processing approach maintains high detection accuracy for critical objects while reducing overall data volume by applying different quality levels to different spatial regions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent extracts and separates the most critical information (reliable occupancies) from less critical information (next occupancies). By identifying and prioritizing only the most relevant occupancy data for driver assistance decisions, the system reduces data processing requirements while maintaining safety-critical detection capabilities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

2Measurement precision

If the size of data reduction areas is reduced to improve accuracy, then measurement precision is improved, but the quantity of data increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveoccupancy detection accuracyVSAvoiddata volume
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the parameter representation by introducing probability thresholds and occupancy categories instead of uniform detailed representation. By transforming occupancy data into probabilistic states (reliable vs. next occupancy) with associated confidence levels, the system achieves accurate detection with reduced data requirements through parameter transformation rather than increased resolution.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Reliability

If all occupancy allocations are provided to ensure complete information, then reliability is improved, but transmission time and storage requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation completenessVSAvoidtransmission time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts only the essential occupancy information needed for driver assistance decisions. By identifying and transmitting only reliable occupancies and next occupancies with their probability values, the system maintains decision-making reliability while significantly reducing transmission time and storage requirements compared to providing all raw sensor data.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies partial action by providing a subset of occupancy information that is sufficient for safe driver assistance operations. Instead of transmitting complete environmental data, the system transmits only the portion of data (reliable and next occupancies) that is necessary for collision avoidance and safety-critical decisions, achieving adequate reliability with reduced transmission overhead.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP3024709B1Efficiently providing occupancy information on the surroundings of a vehicle
Publication Date: 2022.10.05 BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AG
  • EP3024709B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3024709B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

The invention relates to a method for efficiently providing occupancy information on the surroundings of a vehicle, which comprises sensors for ascertaining the occupancy of the surroundings, said method having the following steps: receiving sensor measurements of the surroundings of the vehicle; ascertaining the occupancy of the surroundings by obstacles using the sensor measurements; providing a division of the surroundings into regions; for each region of the surroundings, ascertaining the most reliably ascertained occupancy in the respective region if multiple occupancies of the surroundings have been detected in the respective region; and determining the next occupancy, namely the respective region occupancy for which the shortest distance has been ascertained according to a distance determination specified for the respective region; and providing the most reliably ascertained occupancy and the next occupancy.