EP3167307A1

EP3167307A1 - Device and method for the acoustic examination of objects in the environment of a means of conveyance

Info

Publication number: EP3167307A1
Application number: EP15721727.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Matthias Karl
Original assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
Current assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
Priority date: 2014-07-09
Filing date: 2015-05-13
Publication date: 2017-05-17
Also published as: DE102014213359A1; CN106537175A; WO2016005087A1; CN106537175B

Abstract

The invention relates to a device and a method for the acoustic examination of objects (20, 30, 40) in the environment of a means of conveyance (10). The method comprises the steps of: - detecting sound emitted by an object (20, 30, 40) in the environment by means of a sensor (1, 2, 3, 4), - evaluating the sensor signal over time, and - recognising a position and/or a relative movement (P) and/or a spatial extent of the object (20, 30, 40) in the environment on the basis of a comparison of a time profile (5) of an intensity variable of the sensor signal with a predefined reference (6).

Description

description

title

Apparatus and method for the acoustic examination of

Environmental objects of a means of transportation

State of the art

The present invention relates to a device and a method for examining surrounding objects of a means of locomotion.

In particular, the present invention relates to the acoustic examination of a position and / or a relative movement and / or a spatial extent of the surrounding object.

In particular, sound-based driver assistance systems are known in the prior art which examine the echoes of emitted measurement signals as to whether environment objects are contained in the environment of the ego transportation means, at which distance they are located to the ego vehicle and, if appropriate, in which direction they are currently moving. Next to the

At low airspeed, such as during parking, sound-based surround detection systems are used to detect objects in the vehicle environment of the ego vehicle, even at higher intrinsic speeds. In this case, should be given to the driver of the means of transport in response to falling below critical distance limits. For this purpose, even when detecting the side of the ego vehicle existing environment objects (Blind Spot Assist, Side View Assist (SVA)) are usually measuring signals in the environment of

Propelled means of transport and examined the echoes automated. Since flow noise of both the ego vehicle and others

Road users increase significantly with increasing speed, prevent these flow noise clean reception of reflected by the surrounding objects measurement signals, so that is dispensed with the transmission of the measurement signals from a certain speed value, and Instead, by means of the characteristic of the volume of the flow noise threshold-based on the position of the environment objects is closed. If the flow noise in a sensor eg in the rear corners of the ego vehicle exceeds a minimum value (threshold value), nowadays the presence of a foreign vehicle in the vicinity of the ego vehicle is inferred. It is not distinguished whether it is a strong emitting sound source at a large distance or a low-emitting sound source at a small distance or with which relative movement moves the sound source along which trajectories along the sensors installed on the Ego vehicle. In this respect, the environmental detection based on flow noise and extraneous signals is still quite inaccurate today. It is therefore a method to develop, with which it can be more accurately determined whether an object in a certain area in the vehicle environment, such as the blind spot, is for a long time or is moving towards it or is about to leave or if there is no road user in this area.

In this context, DE 10 2009 002 870 A1 proposes an increase in the energy of emitted measuring signals in order to reduce the energy of the

Ambient signals reflected signals against the flow noise to better distinguish.

A disadvantage of today's method is that only the exceeding of a minimum volume is evaluated. DE 10 2009 027 842 A1 therefore proposes detection methods which, in addition to the

Evaluation of the received signal by cross-correlation with each predetermined by the transmission signal forms possible reception signal forms allow a lower-cost echo detection. DE 10 201 1 079 707 A1 discloses a further method for measuring-signal-free acoustic surroundings sensor system for use in a driver assistance system.

It is an object of the present invention to provide the acoustic

Monitoring the environment on the one hand simpler and on the other hand more extensive.

Disclosure of the invention The above object is achieved by a method for the acoustic examination of environmental objects of a

Means of locomotion and by a device for carrying out the

Procedure solved. For example, the environment objects can be

Road users and / or driving safety relevant and / or moving and / or static objects in the sensor range of the Ego-locomotion means. In a first step, sound emitted by an environmental object is detected by means of a sensor which is arranged on the ego locomotion means. The sound may have been generated independently by the environment object, as for example in the case of engine noise, tire rolling noise, wind noise, gear noise, engine noise, etc., takes place. Alternatively or additionally, from the

However, ambient sound radiated sound but also be reflected sound whose origin in the environment of the surrounding object, in particular in

Ego means of transportation lies. With respect to short measured signals emitted by the ego vehicle, in particular measuring pulses whose echoes are received and evaluated by the ego means of locomotion

According to the invention, a broader database is created, which the

subsequent evaluation can be based. It is thus a

Listening to the environment object, which gives additional information. According to the present invention, the time signal ("sound event versus time") is recorded and evaluated, in other words, the time course of an intensity magnitude of the sensor output signal (microphone, acoustic-to-electrical converter) is compared with predefined references as an "intensity variable" in the frame In contrast to the prior art, not only threshold considerations with respect to the sensor signal are provided, but an examination of the course of the sensor signal is made

Signal strength over time provided, thus, rather, the

Characteristic of the volume of the acoustic signature of the environment object over the time examined, which (among other things) from the

Noise emission of the surrounding object, its

Position / speed / extension and directivity of the used

Sensor results. In addition to the direct evaluation of the signal strength itself, this also includes evaluations of the time course of the signal strength derivatives, in particular the derivatives of the signal strength according to the time, ie with respect to its temporal change, and / or the derivative of the signal strength according to the location, wherein at a known instantaneous velocity temporal and local derivative can be converted into each other. By comparison with predefined references, which may be stored, for example, in a data memory, it is possible to deduce a position and / or a relative movement and / or a spatial extent of the surrounding object. In other words, the time profile of the intensity quantity of the sensor signal is classified and assigned to the determined class

Driving situation recognized as present. According to the invention can be dispensed with the transmission of measurement signals and the investigation of

Environment objects are placed on a broader signal base, whereby additional information about the present traffic situation of the

Means of transport can be collected.

The person skilled in various forms of representation of the time courses are common. Therefore, only two particularly common ones are emphasized here.

In equidistant sampling, the signals as well as the resulting

in particular by means of time derivation after regular (= equidistant) time differences Ts detected and processed as a result of (sample) values. It is also familiar to the person skilled in the art that a comparison of such sequences can preferably be carried out by means of correlation and that the resulting comparison result, that is to say the sequence of correlation values, for example by means of a threshold, which takes into account certain tolerances, can be evaluated.

An alternative preferred realization of the representation of time profiles by means of equidistant sampling may be based on the path equidistance, in which the signals and their derivatives are each after a certain distance

Distance to be detected, wherein preferably each of the respective

Acquisition time or equivalent variables, such as the respective

Instantaneous speed is saved with. This path-equidistant sampling could, for example, be realized in such a way that from the

Wheel revolutions of all wheels the track of a reference point of the vehicle

- such as center of the rear axle) is determined and after passing a certain path difference of this reference point, the signals to be detected and their derivatives are determined.

In the case of path-equidistant scanning, it may be advantageous to reduce the acquired data quantity, in particular at lower intrinsic speeds. Furthermore, the signal evaluation could be simplified because decision criteria easier with respect to the path or

Suspension movement geometry can be described. The dependent claims show preferred developments of the invention.

One way to characterize a current time course is to measure successive times in the strength (intensity) of the time

Compare sensor signal with each other. In mathematics, such a study is sometimes referred to as a "curve discussion." It can also be used sections of the time history, which are compared with sections of the predefined references, for example, in this context, a characteristic for a distance between the considered section of time and can be determined from the considered portion of a predefined reference, and compared with measures of distances to other references, thus making a highly probable one similar to the algorithms used in automated speech recognition

Relationship with exactly one predefined reference can be determined, which is assumed to be current when falling below a predefined maximum deviation. In other words, an acoustic signature of a

Traffic situation with respect to an environment object compared with corresponding predefined signatures and assumed a closest to the closest signature driving situation as related to the current driving situation.

The omission of the emission of measurement signals avoids the masking possibly also interesting environmental signals by their echoes and reduces the energy consumption within the electrical system.

However, the evaluation according to the invention of the signals arriving at the ego vehicle is not tied to the waiver of the emission of measurement signals. In particular, an alternating evaluation is conceivable, ie, according to the Emission of at least one measurement signal, the incoming echoes are evaluated and at the end of the echo cycle, ie, in periods in which the arrival of echoes on the Meßsignalaussendung due to the runtime-proportional increasing sound attenuation has become unlikely, at least one sample of the time course of the otherwise ego -

Vehicle received incoming sound signals.

The strength of the sensor signal over time can, for example, be designed and examined in a manner similar to an envelope. Accordingly, the shape of different envelopes can be stored as a reference and respective

Be assigned to traffic situations. The generation of an envelope is circuitically simple and the comparison of different envelopes (- sections) allows a cost-effective and rapid evaluation due to a significantly reduced database.

Comparing the intensity size over time with stored

References can be made iteratively, with more and more references being excluded as time progresses until finally only one reference (the one with the highest similarity to the examined sensor signal) remains. It is based on the fact that changes due to the directional characteristic of a transducer converted signal strength depending on the direction from which a sound signal is irradiated him. It is also considered that, due to the room damping, the sound intensity arriving at a sound transducer of a fixed geometry decreases with increasing distance to the sound source, or conversely increases with decreasing distance.

Particularly with approaching vehicles, the dynamics of the received volume increase over time as the vehicle moves along an axis of the directional characteristic of the sound transducer. Influences of

Directional characteristics or room damping can overlap positively or negatively. Due to the geometry of the Ego-locomotion means and due to the limited collision-free case possibly occurring accelerations, the variety of different possible

Motion trajectories of other road users with respect to the ego vehicle limited. Considering a finite variety of different trajectories between the ego vehicle and the

Ambient object in conjunction with the orientation and the directional characteristic of the sensor used or the sensors used results in a Restriction of possible occurring respective acoustic signatures for a position, a relative speed and a spatial extent of an environment object with respect to a sensor arranged on the ego transportation means. In addition, the absolute speed of the ego means of locomotion or the environment object, the road condition and other properties of the environment object have an influence on the signature. The aforementioned properties can be found at different locations or in different areas over the time of the intensity variable and can be read accordingly from the time course. If the environment object automatically generates sound (eg another means of transport), not even an operation of the ego means of locomotion (driving operation) is required. If the ego means of locomotion independently emits sound (driving mode, speed greater than zero), intensity variables of "silent" surrounding objects can also provide information on the surrounding object based on reflected self-sounds of the ego locomotion means.

For example, the presence of a guardrail or of

Road boundary posts are detected by suddenly increasing reflections emitted by the ego vehicle sound event. Both will be characterized by a change in the sound intensity equivalent to the speed of the ego vehicle, which can easily be investigated by deriving the course of the sound power.

However, while a continuous guardrail will then reflect an approximately constant signal strength corresponding to the pass-by distance, which will be proportional to the reflective surface of the guardrail, the signal strength will be immediately after passing through the guardrail

Street boundary post according to the determined by the intrinsic speed of the ego vehicle relative speed decrease rapidly. Due to the usually lower reflectivity of the

At the same time, the sound intensity of the road boundary pole will not be as high as the sound intensity of a well-reflecting guardrail when driving past at the same distance. On the basis of the spatial derivative of the intensity size can be concluded that the distance of the road boundary posts to each other. Changes in the maxima of the time courses Signal strengths can be an indication of changing pass-by distances, as well as the gradients of the derivatives of the signal strength curves. Equivalent applies to changing ones

Signal strengths when passing one as continuously expanded

assumed guardrail. Non-stationary sound sources or reflectors, such as in the same or in the opposite direction driving road users, will be characterized by other time courses of the intensity quantities and their derivatives. Especially at low intrinsic speeds of the ego

Vehicles are also possible with the method according to the invention further trajectories determined by collision-free crossing passage. In addition, higher detection ranges or greater reliabilities are possible with the method according to the invention, in particular if the signal intensity of an approaching sound source is greater than the signals emitted by the ego vehicle and reflected echoes.

In particular, the sound event emitted by the ego-locomotion means may represent an interesting measurement signal, since the operating state of the ego-locomotion means is determined by means of various messages, e.g. on one

Bus system can be used for the evaluation of the intensity magnitude of the echoes. For example, the ego speed, the engine speed, the

Gear stage, the configuration of the body (canopy open, window open, spoiler position, etc.) can affect the acoustic signature of the ego means of locomotion and in the evaluation

Environment objects of reflected echoes.

According to the invention, it has also been recognized that sound sources that pass the ego vehicle along one and the same trajectory, one

have comparable course of the time derivative of the intensity magnitude, the intensity values at a certain position of the trajectory but of the

Strength of the sound source is affected. In addition, the time characteristic of the intensity or its derivatives is influenced by the directional characteristic of the intensity variable. According to the invention, it has also been recognized that time courses of the intensity and / or their derivatives at the beginning of a passage can be the same, although the reflectors or sound sources move on different trajectories and that the differences in the trajectories, especially with respect to relative position or with respect to relative speed, only progressively Analysis of the time course of the intensity size and / or their derivatives can be seen. According to the invention, it has also been recognized that the time courses of the intensity and / or their derivatives of sound sources or reflectors located relative to the ego vehicle or reflectors in the case of sensors with respect to shoring position on the ego vehicle and / or with respect to their directional characteristic differ, will be different. Thus, by using several sensors based on the different time courses of the

Intensity sizes and / or their derivatives faster the number of possible candidate trajectories are limited and thus more reliable position or the course of the position of a sound source and / or a reflector with respect to the ego vehicle are determined.

For example, a predominantly backward sensor can only vaguely detect an approach of a road user from behind along a corresponding trajectory. However, if another sensor, e.g. directed by a predominantly towards a rear corner

Sensor detects a time course of the intensity of intensity, which, albeit vaguely, coincides with a corresponding trajectory, so increases the

Probability that the ensemble of incoming signals a

Approaching from behind corresponds.

Equivalent applies to a rapprochement from the beginning. An essential aspect is to detect how long the approaching road user will be in the area of the vehicle side, in particular in the area of a rear corner which is difficult to see by the driver, that is, the blind spot. Due to the timing of the intensity signals on the front sensors can on the

By-pass trajectory can be inferred and assuming a usual limited relative acceleration can then be estimated with which trajectory the road user will pass the critical rear area.

In the signal evaluation, in particular when detecting a position and / or a relative movement and / or a spatial extension of the

Environment object can be a probability-based analysis of the

Time course of the intensity size are performed to the place in

Determine the connection with the velocity of the surrounding object at a specific point in time as precisely as possible. Suitable for this purpose For example, the so-called. "Kalman filter" whose structure and operation is basically known in the art.

If the location and speed of an environment object have been determined with sufficient accuracy, the speed of the ego

Be calculated at what time the

Environment object is in which area, such as in a blind spot of the Ego-locomotion means. Correspondingly, an indication to the leader of the ego means of locomotion can be given with a sufficiently long lead time. The indication may be, for example, optically (by a display element in the mirror, in the instrument cluster, in a central information display (CID), etc.), haptically (eg by vibration of the steering wheel and / or the seat) and / or acoustically (eg by output one

Beeps or a corresponding voice signal and / or by means of conventional transmission means, such as e.g. Data bus, to facilities that assist at least in the vehicle control transmitted. In this way, the user is also on such environment objects

pointed out, with whose presence he did not expect situation-dependent. Thus, the driving safety increases in conjunction with the method according to the invention or the means of transport according to the invention.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device which includes at least one environment sensor (e.g., a sound sensor), an evaluation unit (e.g., in the form of a programmable processor, a microcontroller, a nanocontroller, or the like) and the like

Memory means (e.g., in the form of a non-volatile memory (e.g., a flash memory)). The storage means is furnished, references

be prepared, which is read by the evaluation and with

Time courses of an intensity size of a current sensor signal can be compared. In this way, the device is set up to realize the features, the combinations of features and the resulting advantages of the method according to the invention, for which reason reference is expressly made to avoid repetitions to the description of the same.

According to a third aspect of the present invention is a

Propulsion means proposed which, for example, as a car, as Transporter, as a truck, as a land and / or aircraft can be configured. The means of locomotion comprises a device according to the invention, as has been described above as the second-mentioned aspect of the invention. The

Features, combinations of features as well as the advantages arise

corresponding.

Brief description of the drawings

Hereinafter, embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of a driving situation of a

Embodiment of a means of transport according to the invention;

Figures 2 and 3 examples of different time courses of a

Intensity size of a sensor signal; and

Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating steps of a

Embodiment of a method according to the invention.

Embodiments of the invention

Figure 1 shows the top view of a car 10 as an ego means of locomotion, which has an embodiment of a device according to the invention. This includes a first sound sensor 1, which is embedded in a front left side surface of the car. Corresponding sound sensors 2, 3, 4 are provided in the remaining three corners and each with a

electronic control unit 5 as an evaluation unit connected by information technology. The electronic control unit 5 is also connected in terms of information technology with a non-volatile data memory 6, in which references in the form of time profiles of the intensity quantities of predefined sensor signals are stored. The sound sensors 1, 2, 3, 4 have different directional characteristics 1 1, 12, 13, 14, which due to

production-related differences and due to differences in the mounting within the respective periphery, etc., result. Moreover, the respective orientation of the sound sensors 1, 2, 3, 4 are four different assigned to azimuthal angular ranges. Right next to the car 10 is a car 30 as an environment object. To the left behind the car 10 is a second car 20 as environment object, which attaches according to an arrow P for overtaking the car 10. Until the second car 20 has reached the dead angle or the same height as the car 10, located to the left of the

PKW 10 only a guardrail 40 as an environment object whose acoustic signature (apart from wind noise) only consists of reflections of ambient noise. Since the spatial extent of the

Guard rail 40 does not change significantly over time, can according to the invention based on a reference assigned to her from the reflected from her

Noise of the car 10 are closed.

FIG. 2 shows two different time profiles of an intensity variable of a sensor signal recorded by means of a sound sensor arranged at the rear right corner of an ego vehicle in the case of a slow one

Passing by of a foreign vehicle. The time courses 5a, 5b represent differently loud third-party vehicles which, for example, move past the sensor at the same gradient, the volume also being for example at an absolute speed of the one considered

Other vehicle and the ego vehicle. In one

Time range I is a gradual increase in the time courses 5a, 5b instead. In a time range II, the foreign vehicle is relatively long in spatial proximity or next to the ego vehicle. Approximately in the ordinate range, the signals of the other vehicle received by the sound sensor are maximum. In this situation, the tailpipe of the other vehicle is approximately in the area of

Sound sensor. Then the volume of the from

Foreign vehicle on the sound sensor incoming signal. In a time range III, the foreign vehicle continues to move away from the ego vehicle and the

Intensity size of the sensor signal continues to ebb. Visible is the

Characteristic of the time courses 5a, 5b up to a constant factor in the

Essentially identical. The differences in the strength of the ambient sound, for example, come from different types of road users who pass the ego vehicle on otherwise similar trajectories. By the method according to the invention can be concluded by the evaluation of the strength of the ambient sound on the object type of the road user. For example, the rolling noise of wide tires of a heavy sedan will be stronger than the sounds of tires a light vehicle equipped with an otherwise identical trajectory and equipped with the usual narrow tire.

FIG. 3 shows the courses shown in connection with FIG. 2 for the case of a higher relative speed between the foreign vehicle and the ego vehicle.

Means of transport (fast passage). The characteristic of the illustrated intensity quantities 5c, 5d over time is recognizable as being related to the

Characteristic of the intensity quantities 5a, 5b shown in FIG. Due to the higher relative speed, however, the curves in FIG. 3 are compressed in the temporal direction. In other words, the time period for the

highlighted relative positions I, II and III another. In particular, the time range II, in which the two vehicles have a considerable spatial proximity, is dramatically shortened compared with the corresponding time range II in FIG. Depending on the characteristic of the increase can thus be concluded on an increased relative speed, in response to which at an earlier time an indication to the user must be issued to this timely to the future presence of the

To indicate foreign vehicle in the blind spot. The curves shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show the example only

Potentials in the evaluation of the time courses of the signal strength and / or their derivatives. Taking into account the limited accelerations occurring in traffic practice and the thus limited variants of

Trajectories, possible or usual sound intensity and directional characteristics of the sound sources, climate-related different signal attenuation in the

Sound propagation and the usually in their shoring positions on the ego vehicle and in their reception characteristics, in particular in their

Directional characteristics, known Schallaufnehmer can thus a wide

Data base on time courses of the intensity of recorded sound signals are created, for example, as predefined references in

Data stores can be stored and on the basis of which by traversing the discussion, in particular by evaluating the temporal or local derivative of the gradients of the sound, the trajectories of

Road users along the ego vehicle can be estimated more accurately to convey this information in an appropriate form to the driver, which may include a calculating machine. FIG. 4 shows steps of an exemplary embodiment of a method according to the invention for the acoustic examination of surrounding objects of a means of locomotion. In a step 100, sound emitted by an environmental object is detected by means of a sensor. In step 200, the sensor signal is evaluated over time. In step 300, a comparison of a time profile of an intensity variable of the sensor signal with a predefined reference is made for this purpose. In particular, a multiplicity of predefined references are each compared with a section of the time course, and finally a time course with the greatest possible similarity is determined. In step 400, based on the determined best possible

Match one of the found predefined reference assigned position and / or relative movement and / or relative speed and / or spatial extent as objectively recognized for a current environment object. Based on known dimensions of the Ego-locomotion means and / or based on the found predefined reference associated data, a time is calculated for outputting an indication of the environment object to the user of the Ego-locomotion means. When the calculated time has been reached, an optical, haptic and acoustic indication to the user is output in step 500. In particular, in the event that the intensity quantity over time in a time range II (see Figures

2, 3) does not change over a predefined period of time, it is possible according to the invention to deduce a foreign vehicle in the blind spot of the ego vehicle, in response to which the indication according to the invention is issued. A change in signal strength can have different causes. at

Sensors with directional characteristics, the signal strength changes even if the surrounding object moves equidistantly around the observed sensor. In the same way, the signal strength of a sensor can change if, while maintaining the same relative direction of movement, a foreign vehicle moves towards the ego vehicle.

For the predefined references, waveforms can be used, which are determined by calculations. For this purpose, in particular the knowledge of the directional characteristic and the position of a considered sensor within the outer skin of the means of transport are required. A simple one

Possibility to determine the predefined references can be to carry out driving tests in which different from each other Driving situations are reproduced and scaled, if necessary

be assigned to different speeds. Standardization can also simplify the described comparison

be made.

According to one embodiment, the acoustic signal obtained from the time characteristic of the intensity variable can be post-processed by means of a downstream filter before and / or after the transmission to a central evaluation unit, before the signals of a plurality of sensors are combined, for example.

Various architectures of the device for implementing this method come into question. For acoustic environment monitoring sensors are currently mainly used, which already have a pronounced narrow-band filter characteristic due to their resonance properties. Therefore, they are particularly suitable for the realization of the method according to the invention because only a small section of the frequency spectrum as

Representative for the incoming sound power is to evaluate.

Preferably, this measuring method can be combined with measuring signal emitting methods in a device so that both in the presence of strong sound signals, these are evaluated according to the invention and in particular in the absence of ambient noise by means of emitted measurement signals environment detection is also possible. The person skilled in various combination methods are familiar. Therefore, be here without

Claimed to be exhaustive just a few examples. While a simultaneous realization of the messsignalbehafteten environment detection with the inventive evaluation of the time courses of the signal states under

Using the same frequency range is quite complex, a combination in the frequency or time division multiplex can be quite easily realized. In frequency division multiplexing, the method according to the invention uses different ones

Spectral ranges as the measurement-signaled environment detection. One

Frequency division multiplexing is usually realized by means of appropriate filters.

A particularly efficient possible realization of the device for the combination of measurement signal-related environment detection with the invention

Evaluating the time course of the environmental strength is the time division multiplex. Depending on the range, echo cycles of the measurement-signal-aware environmental detection take about 20 ms to about 60 ms, which corresponds to a change in location of a maximum of about 20 cm to about 60 cm at a maximum relative speed of, for example, 10 m / s. Using in the time division the pause between successive echo cycles of Messsignalaussendendungen to obtain a value for the

Strength of the ambient scarf so you reach a sufficiently good

corresponding spatial resolution for the determination of the trajectories of the usual way less than 60 cm. Therefore, this time-division multiplex method can already be integrated with little effort even in today's conventional measuring methods.

Claims

Expectations

Method for the acoustic examination of surrounding objects (20, 30, 40) of a means of transport (10) comprising the steps:

Detecting (100) sound emitted by an environmental object (20, 30, 40) using a sensor (1,

2,

3,

4), evaluating (200) the sensor signal over time, and

Detecting (400) a position and/or a relative movement (P) and/or a spatial extent of the surrounding object (20, 30, 40) based on a comparison (300) of a time course

(5) an intensity variable of the sensor signal with a predefined reference (6).

Method according to claim 1, wherein the comparison (300) is carried out using a plurality of predefined references with the time course (5a, 5b, 5c, 5d) of the intensity magnitude of the signal, and / or wherein the evaluation (200) of the sensor signal is based on a derivation of the sensor signal based on time and/or location.

A method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a shape of an envelope of the intensity magnitude of the sensor signal is related to the reference.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the

Compare (400) iteratively and with a decreasing number of

References are made.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the sound emitted by the surrounding object (20, 30, 40) is sound generated by the surrounding object (20, 30, 40) and/or sound reflected by the surrounding object (20, 30, 40).

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the reference also represents a time course of an intensity variable, and/or

Each reference is assigned a situation of the means of transport (10) with respect to one or more environmental objects (20, 30, 40).

Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein

the reference takes into account the directional characteristics of the sensors (1, 2, 3, 4), in particular for each sensor (1, 2, 3, 4), preferably in conjunction with its respective installation location, separately.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the detection (400) comprises a probability-based analysis of the time course (5) of the intensity variable, in particular using a Kalman filter.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising issuing (500) an indication of an environmental object (20, 30, 40) to a user of the means of transport (10), the indication being given to the user visually, haptically and acoustically.

Device comprising

at least one sensor (1, 2, 3, 4), in particular one

sound sensor,

an evaluation unit (5),

storage means (6),

wherein the device is set up to carry out a method according to one of the preceding claims.

Means of transport, in particular a car (10), a transporter, a truck, a land vehicle and/or aircraft, comprising a device according to claim 10.