System and method for detecting and protecting pedestrians

A motor vehicle, comprising:

• a safety device deployable outside of the vehicle;
• an anticipatory sensor system for assessing the probable severity of an impact involving the vehicle based on data obtained prior to the impact and initiating deployment of the safety device in the event an impact above a threshold probable severity is assessed;
• and
• an actuator coupled to said anticipatory sensor system and said safety device for deploying said safety device when initiated by said anticipatory sensor system,
• said anticipatory sensor system comprising at least one receiver for receiving waves or energy and a pattern recognition system for analyzing the received waves or energy or data representative of the received waves or energy to assess the probable severity of the impact,
• said pattern recognition system being arranged to ascertain the identity of an object from which the waves or energy have been emitted, reflected or generated, the assessment of the probable severity of the impact being at least partially based on the identification of the object,
• said pattern recognition system comprising a processor embodying a pattern recognition algorithm designed to provide an output of one of a number of pre-determined identities of the object.