Method and driving-environment sensor for determining the position and/or the movement of at least one object in the vicinity of a vehicle on the basis of acoustic signals reflected off of the object

A method for determining at least one of a position and a movement of an object in the vicinity of a vehicle, comprising:

• receiving echo signals which represent acoustic detection signals reflected off of the object;
• amplifying each of the received echo signals by an amplification which is dependent on the propagation delay of the respective echo signal;
• converting each of the amplified echo signals of a plurality of measuring channels into at least one of a value-discretized and time-discretized measurement signal having a predefined, first dynamic range;
• and
• mapping each of the measurement signals which have the first dynamic range onto a second dynamic range of a processing device, the second dynamic range being larger than the first dynamic range, whereby the processing device simultaneously processes the measurement signals at least periodically.

A driving environment sensor for determining at least one of a position and a movement of an object in the vicinity of a vehicle based on received echo signals which represent acoustic detection signals reflected off of the object, comprising:

• amplifying, by at least one amplifier, each of the received echo signals by an amplification which is dependent on the propagation delay of the respective echo signal;
• converting, by at least one of a threshold switch and an analog-digital converter, each of the amplified echo signals of a plurality of measuring channels into at least one of a value-discretized and time-discretized measurement signal having a predefined, first dynamic range;
• and
• a processing device which (i) maps each of the measurement signals which have the first dynamic range onto a second dynamic range of a processing device, the second dynamic range being larger than the first dynamic range, and (ii) simultaneously processes the measurement signals at least periodically.