Vehicle operation in environments with second order objects

A system for detecting objects in an external environment of a vehicle, the system comprising:

• a sensor system operable to sense at least a portion of the external environment to detect a first order object therein;
• a processor operatively connected to the sensor system, the processor being programmed to initiate executable operations comprising:
• determining whether the first order object includes a translucent portion;
• responsive to determining that the first order object includes a translucent portion, analyzing the translucent portion to determine whether a second order object is located within the translucent portion, wherein the second order object is not associated with the first order object;
• and
• responsive to determining that a second order object is located within the translucent portion, analyzing the second order object.

A computer program product for detecting objects in an external environment of a vehicle, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therein, the program code executable by a processor to perform a method comprising:

• sensing at least a portion of the external environment to detect a first order object therein;
• determining whether the first order object includes a translucent portion;
• responsive to determining that the first order object includes a translucent portion, analyzing, using a processor, the translucent portion to determine whether a second order object is located within the translucent portion, wherein the second order object is not associated with the first order object;
• and
• responsive to determining that a second order object is located within the translucent portion, analyzing, using the processor, the second order object.