# US 2021/0241000 A1 · Quick identification of hazardous or at-risk objects in the surroundings of a vehicle > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2021/0241000 A1 - Document ID: US20210241000A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/972,590 - Filed: 2019-06-06 - Published: 2021-08-05 - Earliest claimed: 2018-07-04 - Assignees: Robert Bosch GmbH - Applicants: Robert Bosch GmbH - Inventors: Michael Pfeiffer; Jochen Marx; Oliver Lange - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20210241000A1 ## CPC - G06V 20/56: exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle - G06V 20/58: Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads - B60W 30/08: {Active safety systems} predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision {or attempting to minimise its consequences} - G06V 10/10: Image acquisition (document image scanning and transmission H04N1/00; control of digital cameras H04N23/60) - G06V 20/64: Three-dimensional [3D] objects - B60W 2420/403: Image sensing, e.g. optical camera - B60W 2552/05: Type of road, e.g. motorways, local streets, paved or unpaved roads - G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING - B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT ## Abstract A method for identifying potentially hazardous or at-risk objects in the surroundings of a vehicle. The method includes detecting an area of the surroundings using at least one event-based sensor, the event-based sensor including light-sensitive pixels, and a relative change of the light intensity incident upon a pixel by at least a predefined percentage prompting the sensor to output an event assigned to this pixel. The method also includes assigning events output by the sensor to objects in the area; analyzing, for at least one object to which events are assigned, the events assigned to the object with respect to present movements of the object; and ascertaining an impending movement of the object, and/or an impending change of state, of the object from the present movements. An associated computer program is also described. ## Claims ### Claim at position 1 1-13. (canceled) ### Claim 14 A method for identifying potentially hazardous or at-risk objects in surroundings of a vehicle, comprising the following steps: detecting an area of the surroundings using at least one event-based sensor, the event-based sensor including light-sensitive pixels, and a relative change of light intensity incident upon a pixel of the pixels by at least a predefined percentage prompting the sensor to output an event assigned to the pixel; assigning events output by the sensor to objects in the detected area; analyzing, for at least one object of the objects to which events are assigned, the events assigned to the at least one object with respect to a present movement of the at least one object; and ascertaining, from the present movement, an impending movement of the at least one object and/or an impending change of state of the at least one object. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method as recited in claim 14, wherein an object of the at least one objects is assessed as hazardous or at-risk in response to the impending movement of the object conflicting with the present or planned trajectory of the vehicle. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The method as recited in claim 14, wherein an object of the at least one objects is assessed as hazardous or at-risk in response to the impending change of state of the object having a potential to cause a conflict between at least a portion of the object and the present or planned trajectory of the vehicle. ### Claim 17 (depends on 14) The method as recited in claim 14, wherein at least one on-the-spot movement is selected as the present movement of an object of the at least one object. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The method as recited in claim 17, wherein rigid objects are excluded from the analysis with respect to on-the-spot movements and a subsequent evaluation of the on-the-spot movements. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The method as recited in claim 18, wherein the exclusion of the rigid objects from the analysis with respect to on-the-spot movements and the subsequent evaluation of the on-the-spot movements is activated as a function of a road category of a road negotiated by the vehicle. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The method as recited in claim 17, wherein a person or an animal is selected as an object of the at least one objects, whose on-the-spot movement is ascertained, and an impending movement of the person or animal and/or a change of state of the person or animal being ascertained from a change in amplitude and/or frequency of a periodic movement of at least one body part of the person or animal and/or from a rotation of the person or animal or of a body part of the person or animal as the on-the-spot movement. ### Claim 21 (depends on 17) The method as recited in claim 17, wherein a person is selected as an object of the at least one object, the on-the-spot movements of the person being analyzed, and, from movements which indicate a communication of the person in a spatial direction as on-the-spot movements, an impending movement of the person in the spatial direction is ascertained. ### Claim 22 (depends on 17) The method as recited in claim 17, wherein, from the on-the-spot movement of the object, which encompasses a movement or vibration of a portion of the object in relation to a remainder of the object, a detachment of the portion from the object is ascertained as an impending change of state of the object. ### Claim 23 (depends on 14) The method as recited in claim 14, wherein, an object of the at least one objects is assessed as hazardous or at-risk based on being assessed as hazardous or at-risk based on the impending movement of the object and/or the impending change of state of the object, and, in response to the object being assessed as hazardous or at-risk: (i) a warning unit which is physically perceptible to the driver of the vehicle is activated, and/or (ii) a drive system, and/or a steering system and/or a braking system of the vehicle is controlled by an intervention, to avoid a collision or mitigate consequences of a collision. ### Claim 24 (depends on 14) The method as recited in claim 14, wherein camera images of the area are additionally used for identification of the objects in the area and/or for segmentation of the objects into individual parts. ### Claim 25 (depends on 14) The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the analysis of the events with respect to present movements, and/or the evaluation of the present movements for an impending movement or change of state, is carried out using an artificial neural network. ### Claim 26 A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium on which is stored a computer program for identifying potentially hazardous or at-risk objects in surroundings of a vehicle, the computer program, when executed by a computer, causing the computer to perform the following steps: detecting an area of the surroundings using at least one event-based sensor, the event-based sensor including light-sensitive pixels, and a relative change of light intensity incident upon a pixel of the pixels by at least a predefined percentage prompting the sensor to output an event assigned to the pixel; assigning events output by the sensor to objects in the detected area; analyzing, for at least one object of the objects to which events are assigned, the events assigned to the at least one object with respect to a present movement of the at least one object; and ascertaining, from the present movement, an impending movement of the at least one object and/or an impending change of state of the at least one object.