Optical Monitoring of Vehicle Interiors

• US 20070262574A1
• Filed: 01/04/2007
• Published: 11/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/1982
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intelligent Technologies International, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intelligent Technologies International, Inc.
• Inventors: Breed, David, DuVall, Wilbur, Johnson, Wendell
• Granted Patent: US 8,948,442 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 280/735
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/00 Optical viewing arrangements; Real-time viewing arrangements for drivers or passengers using optical image capturing systems, e.g. cameras or video systems specially adapted for use in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 1/29 for viewing an area inside the vehicle, e.g. for viewing passengers or cargo
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0027 Post collision measures, e.g. notifying emergency services
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/015 including means for detecting the presence or position of passengers, passenger seats or child seats , and the related safety parameters therefor, e.g. speed or timing of airbag inflation in relation to occupant position or seat belt use
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0152 using strain gauges
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01526 using piezoelectric elements
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01538 for image processing, e.g. cameras or sensor arrays
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2300/8073 for vehicle security, e.g. parked vehicle surveillance, burglar detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/59 inside of a vehicle, e.g. relating to seat occupancy, driver state or inner lighting conditions
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/103 Static body considered as a whole, e.g. static pedestrian or occupant recognition

Abstract

Vehicle includes a structure defining an interior space for containing or designed to contain one or more objects, and an arrangement mounted on, joined or coupled to the structure for determining whether an object is present in the interior space, or the presence of multiple objects. One arrangement includes at least one optical imaging device arranged to receive images of the interior space defined by the structure, and a processor coupled to the optical imaging device(s) and arranged to determine whether one or more objects are present in the interior space and when one or more objects are determined to be present, to obtain information about the object or objects. The processor is preferably arranged to distinguish between different objects and/or different arrangements of objects. A related method for obtaining information about objects in interior spaces of vehicles is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A vehicle, comprising:

a structure defining an interior space for containing one or more objects; and

an arrangement mounted on said structure for determining whether an object is present in said interior space, said arrangement comprising;

at least one optical imaging device arranged to receive images of said interior space defined by said structure; and

a processor coupled to said at least one optical imaging device and arranged to determine whether one or more objects are present in said interior space and when one or more objects are determined to be present, to obtain information about the object or objects,

whereby said processor is arranged to distinguish between different objects or different arrangements of objects.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said at least one optical imaging device consists of a single optical imaging device.

3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said processor comprises a neural network arranged to determine whether an object is present after being trained in a training stage in which images received by said at least one optical imaging device in the absence of objects in said interior space and images received by said at least one optical imaging device with objects present in said interior space are collected and used to derive the neural network.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is an automobile, said interior space is a passenger compartment in the automobile, the vehicle including a front seat and said processor is arranged to determine the presence or absence of a human occupant in said front seat.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the vehicle is an automobile, said interior space is a passenger compartment in the automobile, the vehicle including multiple seating locations and said processor is arranged to determine the presence or absence of a human occupant in each of said seating locations to thereby enable a determination of the number of human occupants in the vehicle.

6. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising an illumination device mounted on said structure for illuminating at least a portion of said interior space with electromagnetic radiation.

7. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a structured light generator which transmits structured light into said interior space.

8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said processor is arranged to generate a signal characteristic of the object based on the received images, and categorize the signal to thereby identify the object.

9. The vehicle of claim 8, wherein said processor comprises pattern recognition means for recognizing and thus identifying a class of the object by processing the signal into a categorization of the signal based on data relating to images received by said at least one optical imaging device stored within said pattern recognition means and associated with possible classes of objects.

10. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said processor is arranged to apply a pattern recognition algorithm generated from images of said interior space with different objects therein in order to obtain information about the objects.

11. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said at least one optical imaging device comprises a plurality of optical imaging devices spaced apart from one another.

12. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein said structure includes a roof, said at least one optical imaging device being mounted on or proximate to said roof.

13. The vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a reactive system coupled to said processor and being controlled by said processor based on the determination by said processor as to whether an object is present in said interior space and the information about the object when present in said interior space.

14. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the information about the object determined by said processor when an object is present in said interior space is one or more of a position of the object, a type of the object and a size of the object.

15. A method for monitoring an interior space of a vehicle, comprising:

mounting at least one optical imaging device to a structure defining the interior space;

receiving images at the at least one optical imaging device during use of the vehicle; and

when images are received, determining whether any objects are present in the interior space based on analysis of the images and when one or more objects are determined to be present, obtaining information about the object or objects based on analysis of the received images.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising distinguishing between different objects or different arrangements of objects when one or more objects are determined to be present in the interior space of the vehicle.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of determining whether any objects are present and obtaining information about the object or objects when present comprises training a pattern recognition algorithm in a training stage to provide such output, and in the training stage, collecting images received by the at least one optical imaging device in the absence of objects in the interior space and with objects present in the interior space.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the vehicle is an automobile and the interior space is a passenger compartment in the automobile, the step of determining whether objects are present in the interior space comprising determining whether human occupants are present in the passenger compartment.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising illuminating at least a portion of the interior space with electromagnetic radiation.

20. The method of claim 15, further comprising controlling a reactive system based on the determination as to whether any objects are present in the interior space and the information about the object or objects when present in the interior space.