Method and system for providing an estimation of a vehicle geometry of a surrounding vehicle, vehicle, and computer-readable medium

A system for providing an estimation of a vehicle geometry of a surrounding vehicle, the system comprising a data processing device being connectable to a vision sensor unit for receiving an image (I) from the vision sensor unit, the data processing device having

• a license plate detection unit configured for detecting a license plate of the surrounding vehicle within an image (I) received from the vision sensor unit,
• a character recognition unit being configured for extracting the alphanumeric identification code of the license plate being detected within the received image (I) by the license plate detection unit,
• a vehicle geometry estimation unit being configured for providing an estimation of a vehicle geometry of the surrounding vehicle, and
• a communication unit being connected to the data processing device and being configured for exchanging data with a database via a wireless data connection.

A vehicle comprising a system for providing an estimation of a vehicle geometry of a surrounding vehicle, the system comprising a data processing device being connectable to a vision sensor unit for receiving an image (I) from the vision sensor unit, the data processing device having

• a license plate detection unit configured for detecting a license plate of the surrounding vehicle within an image (I) received from the vision sensor unit,
• a character recognition unit being configured for extracting the alphanumeric identification code of the license plate being detected within the received image (I) by the license plate detection unit,
• a vehicle geometry estimation unit being configured for providing an estimation of a vehicle geometry of the surrounding vehicle, and
• a communication unit being connected to the data processing device and being configured for exchanging data with a database via a wireless data connection.

A computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out a method for providing an estimation of a vehicle geometry of a surrounding vehicle, comprising:

• receiving an image (I) of at least a portion of the surrounding vehicle, the portion comprising a license plate affixed to the surrounding vehicle,
• detecting the license plate within the received image (I) and extracting the alphanumeric identification code of the license plate,
• requesting a vehicle geometry parameter (P) being linked to the alphanumeric identification code from a database via a wireless data connection,
• receiving the vehicle geometry parameter (P) from the database via the wireless data connection, and
• estimating the vehicle geometry based on the received vehicle geometry parameter (P).