Method and apparatus for detecting the presence of an occupant within a vehicle
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for detecting an occupant within a vehicle comprising:
- generating an image of a vehicle interior, containing depth information for a plurality of image pixels, at an image sensor;
dividing the image of the vehicle interior into at least one blob of contiguous pixels;
dividing the at least one blob into a series of layers, wherein each layer in the series of layers represents a range of depth within the image; and
determining if the at least one blob represents an occupant according to at least one characteristic of the series of layers.
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Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for detecting an occupant within a vehicle. An image of a vehicle interior, containing depth information for a plurality of image pixels, is generated at an image sensor (110). The vehicle interior is divided into at least one blob of contiguous pixels (160). The at least one blob is divided into a series of layers (170) wherein each successive layer represents a range of depth within the image. It is determined if the at least one blob represents an occupant according to at least one characteristic of the series of layers (190).
62 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method for detecting an occupant within a vehicle comprising:
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generating an image of a vehicle interior, containing depth information for a plurality of image pixels, at an image sensor;
dividing the image of the vehicle interior into at least one blob of contiguous pixels;
dividing the at least one blob into a series of layers, wherein each layer in the series of layers represents a range of depth within the image; and
determining if the at least one blob represents an occupant according to at least one characteristic of the series of layers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for determining if an occupant is present in a region of interest within a vehicle interior comprising:
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an image generator that generates an image of the region of interest, containing depth information for a plurality of image pixels;
a blob segmentation component that isolates at least one blob of contiguous pixels within the image;
a layer segmentation component that divides the identified at least one blob into a plurality of layers, wherein a given pixel within the at least one blob is assigned to a corresponding layer according to its distance from the image generator; and
an occupant classifier that determines an occupant class for at least one blob according to at least one characteristic of the layers associated with the at least one blob. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A computer program product, implemented in a computer readable medium and operative in a data processing system, for determining if an occupant is present in a region of interest from an image of the region of interest, containing depth information for a plurality of image pixels, comprising:
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a blob segmentation component that isolates at least one blob of contiguous pixels within the image;
a layer segmentation component that divides the at least one blob into a plurality of layers, a given layer being associated with a range of depth within the image; and
an occupant classifier that determines an occupant class for the at least one blob according to at least one characteristic of the layers associated with the at least one blob. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24)
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Specification