EP4654166A1

EP4654166A1 - Method and device for monitoring an environment of a motor vehicle

Info

Publication number: EP4654166A1
Application number: EP24177637.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Rodrigo MAGALHAES PEREIRA; Alena Herzig; Yusuf Kurt
Original assignee: ZF CV Systems Global GmbH
Current assignee: ZF CV Systems Global GmbH
Priority date: 2024-05-23
Filing date: 2024-05-23
Publication date: 2025-11-26

Abstract

Computer-implemented method, wherein the method comprises receiving sensor data corresponding to an area in an environment of a motor vehicle, the area being divided into at least two sub-areas, wherein a first one of the at least two sub-areas is located closer to the motor vehicle than a second one of the at least two sub-areas, detecting and tracking a person while being located in the first and/or the second sub area using the received sensor data, determining a first timespan during which the detected person is located within the first sub area and determining a second timespan during which the detected person is located within the second sub area, and output a control signal to the motor vehicle and/or an external data processing device when a sum of the determined first timespan and the second timespan exceeds a predefined first threshold and/or when the determined first timespan exceeds a predefined second threshold.

Description

The present disclosure is directed to a computer-implemented method and a device for monitoring an environment of a motor vehicle. A computer program and a computer-readable medium are provided.
CN115880634A is directed to a vehicle monitoring method and device and a computer readable storage medium and relates to the technical field of vehicle monitoring. The vehicle monitoring method comprises the following steps: obtain a current surrounding image of the vehicle; identifying a target person in the current surrounding image, and judging whether the target person is located in a preset vigilance area or not; if the target person is located in the preset vigilance area, the staying duration of the target person in the preset vigilance area is counted; and when the stay duration reaches a preset duration threshold, executing a preset alert operation.
Against the background of this state of the art, one object of the present disclosure may be to provide a method and/or a device configured to monitor an environment of a motor vehicle and trigger a control signal based on a behavior of a person being located in the environment, each of which is suitable for enriching the state of the art.
The object is solved by the features of the independent claims. The dependent claims each relate to optional further implementations of the disclosure.
Accordingly, the object is solved by a computer-implemented method, wherein the method comprises receiving sensor data corresponding to an area in an environment of a motor vehicle. The area is divided into at least two sub areas, wherein a first one of the at least two sub areas is located closer to the motor vehicle than a second one of the at least two sub areas. The method comprises detecting and tracking a person while being located in the first and/or the second sub area using the received sensor data. The method comprises determining a first timespan during which the detected person is located within the first sub area and determining a second timespan during which the detected person is located within the second sub area. The method comprises to output a control signal to the motor vehicle and/or an external data processing device when a sum of the determined first timespan and the second timespan exceeds a predefined first threshold and/or when the determined first timespan exceeds a predefined second threshold.
A computer-implemented method may be a method where at least one part of the method is carried out by a computer. To carry out the method, the computer may comprise hardware and/or software elements being designed/configured to carry out the at least one part of the method.
The motor vehicle may be a personal vehicle, e.g., a car, and/or a commercial vehicle. The commercial vehicle may be a truck or lorry. The commercial vehicle may be a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, and/or perform other utilitarian work. Commercial vehicles may vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but may feature a body-on-frame construction, with a cabin that may be independent of the payload portion of the vehicle. Smaller varieties, e.g. pickup trucks, may be mechanically similar to some automobiles. Commercial vehicles may be configured to be mounted with specialized equipment, as is the case with refuse trucks, fire trucks, concrete mixers, and suction excavators. A commercial vehicle without a trailer may be called a "straight truck" while one designed specifically to pull a trailer may be called a "tractor". Both, trucks and tractors, are referred to when the disclosure refers to a commercial vehicle. Moreover, the term "commercial vehicle" as used herein also refers to truck trailer systems.
A sensor system capturing the sensor data may be installed at the motor vehicle, and may comprise at least one of the following sensors: a camera, a radar sensor, a lidar sensor, and/or an infrared sensor.
The term area refers to a zone in the environment of the vehicle. The area may have predefined outer dimensions and may be divided into several or multiple sub-areas or control zones, i.e. may consist of at least two sub-areas.
In other words, a method is provided that may detect and track people in a series of control zones around a motor vehicle. If a person stays in a control zone exceeding a predefined time limit, the method may trigger a control signal, e.g., triggering a notification to driver and/or an operation center.
One of the advantages the method provides is that the severity of the notification triggered by the control signal may depend on the sub area and thus the distance of the person to the motor vehicle.
The tracking of the detected person may comprise assigning an identifier to the detected person that stays with the detected person until the person leaves the area.
That is, the tracking of the detected person may comprise assigning an identifier to the detected person that remains their unique label until the person leaves the area.
An identifier may be defined as a name that identifies (in other words, labels the identity of) a unique object, whereas the "object" is the detected person. The identifier may be a word, number, letter, symbol, or any combination of those. The words, numbers, letters, or symbols may follow an encoding system (wherein letters, digits, words, or symbols stand for [represent] ideas or longer names) or they may be arbitrary. The identifier may be a unique identifier. The unique identifier is an identifier that refers to only one instance, i.e., only one particular object in the environment of the motor vehicle.
Using the identifier allows the tracking of a detected person within the whole area, and thus over multiple sub-areas. Therefore, situations may be avoided in which the timer or counter for one detected person is reset when leaving one sub-area and entering another sub-area.
The method may comprise determining if the detected person is a driver of the motor vehicle, wherein carrying out the method is stopped for the person that is determined to be the driver and/or for a certain area around the person that is determined to be the driver.
In other words, a driver presence detection function may be implemented. The function may detect driver presence, for example, by using a vehicle key, a mobile device of the driver, an RFID Tag, an UWB Tag and/or any other kind of detection system that can identify the driver location with a reasonable accuracy. If a driver presence is detected by the driver presence detection function the tracking of the driver may be stopped and/or tracking of any other person within a certain area around the driver, e.g. on the same side of the motor vehicle as the driver, may be stopped.
Therefore, false positive alarms caused by the presence of the driver in the environment of the motor vehicle may be avoided.
A predefined first notification may be associated with the first sub-area, wherein the control signal output when the sum of the determined first timespan and the second timespan exceeds the predefined first threshold is configured to trigger the first notification.
A predefined second notification may be associated with the second sub-area, wherein the control signal output when the second timespan exceeds the predefined second threshold is configured to trigger the second notification.
As already indicated above, the severity of the notification triggered by the control signal may depend on the sub-area and thus the distance of the person to the motor vehicle.
The method may comprise capturing video data of the detected person, optionally using an RGB (red-green-blue) camera installed at (optionally in) the motor vehicle.
This allows the provision of evidence in case a detected person damages the motor vehicle.
Carrying out the method may be stopped when a predefined external control signal is received from a predefined source.
The predefined source may comprise a door status determination device configured to determine a current opening status of a door (i.e., whether it is open or not) of the motor vehicle, and output the external control signal depending on the determined current opening status of the door, a human machine interface configured to receive input from a driver of the motor vehicle and to output the external control signal depending on the received input, and/or a fleet management system configured to output the external control signal.
The method may comprise receiving a location information representing the current location of the motor vehicle, wherein carrying out the method is stopped when the current location is outside a predefined area.
In other words, there may be situations in which notifications are not desirable, for example when the motor vehicle is loaded or unloaded. For that reason, some logics may be implemented to avoid notifications in such situations. At the same time it should be avoided that the monitoring function is turned off when required. Therefore, the monitoring function may always be activated when the vehicle is stopped (with and without the ignition turned on). The monitoring function may be deactivated under certain conditions to avoid false alarms (optionally issued either to the driver or to the driver and the fleet management). To do so, the monitoring function may be deactivated: (1) fleet management triggered, (2) geofence triggered, (3) driver triggered, and/or (4) door status triggered.
The method may comprise determining a body pose of the detected person (optionally based on the sensor data), wherein only those timespans are taken into account when determining the first and/or the second timespan during which the determined body pose fulfills a predefined criteria.
That is, a time counting system based on a body pose estimation may be implemented. The body pose estimation can be used for example to detect a relative pose of the detected person in relation to the vehicle and determine whether the detected person is facing away from the vehicle or not. If the detected person is facing away from vehicle, it is unlikely that the detected person poses an immediate risk, and the time should not be counted. However, if the detected person is facing in any other direction, it should be interpreted as a potential risk and the time should be counted.
The above described method may be summarized with other words and with respect to a more concrete implementation thereof, as outlined below. The following should not be interpreted as being limiting to the disclosure: The method or function (which may be implemented in soft- and/or hardware) may be configured to detect and track people in a series of control zones around a vehicle. If a person remains in a control zone for longer than a predefined time limit, the system may trigger a notification to a driver and/or an operation center. The severity of the notification may be based on the distance and/or behavior of the person. More specifically, when a person enters a control zone for the first time, the function may attribute an ID to the person, start counting time, and record the zone that the person entered. If the person leaves the control zone before a (preset) time limit is reached, the function may stop monitoring. If the person remains in the control zone for longer than the time limit, the function may trigger a notification to the driver and/or the fleet management according to a (preset or predefined) notification level. A level 1 notification may be triggered if the person continues walking and/or stopping nearby, i. e. within a third control zone, for longer than five minutes. A level 2 notification may be triggered if the person walks or stops next to the vehicle without making contact, and remaining in a second control zone for more than two minutes. A level 3 notification may be triggered if the person walks or stops next to the vehicle without making contact, and remaining in a first control zone for more than 60 seconds. The first control zone is the one directly next to the vehicle, followed by the second control zone which is in turn followed by the third control zone such that the second control zone is sandwiched between the first and the third control zone. If the person enters from another zone, i.e., enters one zone from another zone, the function may keep monitoring and using the original or initially assigned ID that was attributed to the person when they first entered a control zone. The notification may be triggered when the time spent in the current zone exceeds the maximum time of that zone, or the total time of being present in any of the zones exceeds the maximum time defined for the third control zone. If the detected person triggers a "Touching Event", i.e., touches the motor vehicle, or an "Intrusion Event", i.e., (tries) to enter the vehicle, the system may directly trigger a level 3 notification level without resetting the timer. At any given time when a level 1 notification is initiated, the function may automatically activate an RGB camera and begin recording and/or streaming the footage. If auxiliary lights are available, those lights may be activated as well to ensure high-quality recording of the event. The recorded event can be displayed on the driver's display, streamed via telematics, and/or viewed on the driver's mobile application. The above described function may be able to track multiple people simultaneously. The function may be able to detect when a person leaves a control zone and enters another zone. The function may be able to generate accurate and timely notifications. The function may be able to operate in different lighting conditions. For example, the function may be able to work at night or in low-light conditions. This function may offer a number of benefits, e.g., proactive intrusion detection (i.e., the system can detect potential intrusions before they occur, giving the driver and/or telematic system time to respond), high accuracy (i.e., an artificial intelligence perception software can accurately distinguish between humans and other objects, reducing the risk of false alarms), customizable warnings (i.e., the function can be configured to trigger warnings based on the severity of the intrusion, allowing the driver and/or telematic system to respond appropriately), and visual evidence (i.e., an RGB camera can provide visual evidence of intrusions, which can be used to identify and apprehend suspected criminals).
A data processing device is provided, wherein the data processing device comprises a processor being configured to carry out the method described above.
The data processing device may be a control device or control unit and can be part of a driver assistance system or represent it. The control device may be, for example, an electronic control unit (ECU). The ECU may be an intelligent processor-controlled unit that can communicate with other modules via a central gateway (CGW), which can, for example, form the vehicle electrical system via field buses such as the CAN bus, LIN bus, MOST bus, FlexRay and/or via automotive Ethernet, e.g., together with telematics control units and/or an environment sensor system.
It is possible that the data processing device controls functions relevant to the driving behavior of the vehicle, such as steering, engine control, power transmission and/or the braking system. In addition, driver assistance systems, such as a parking assistant, adaptive cruise control (ACC), a lane departure warning system, a lane change assistant, traffic sign recognition, light signal recognition, a collision assistant, a night vision assistant, an intersection assistant, and/or an automated emergency braking system (AEBS) may be controlled by the control device.
The description given above with respect to the method applies, mutatis mutandis, to the data processing device and vice versa.
A motor vehicle is provided, wherein the motor vehicle comprises the data processing device described above, and sensor system being configured to capture the sensor data corresponding to the area in the environment of the motor vehicle.
The motor vehicle can be automated. The motor vehicle can be designed to at least partially and/or at least temporarily take over longitudinal guidance and/or lateral guidance during automated driving of the vehicle by means of the control device.
Automated driving can take place in such a way that the movement of the vehicle is (largely) autonomous. Automated driving can be at least partially and/or temporarily controlled by the control device.
It is possible that the motor vehicle actively intervenes in the lateral guidance of the commercial vehicle by means of a driving assistance system, e.g. by adjusting an actual steering wheel position, and optionally passively, e.g. by displaying a turn instruction. The commercial vehicle can be an autonomous level 0 vehicle, i.e. the driver takes over the dynamic driving task, even if supporting systems (e.g. ABS or ESP) are present.
The commercial vehicle can be an autonomous level 1 vehicle, i.e. it can have certain driver assistance systems that support the driver in operating the vehicle, such as adaptive cruise control (ACC).
The commercial vehicle can be a motor vehicle of autonomy level 2, i.e. be partially automated in such a way, that functions such as automatic parking, lane keeping or lateral guidance, general longitudinal guidance, acceleration and/or braking are taken over by driver assistance systems.
The commercial vehicle can be an autonomous level 3 vehicle, i.e. conditionally automated in such a way, that the driver does not have to continuously monitor the vehicle system. The vehicle independently performs functions such as activating the indicator, changing lanes, and/or keeping the lane. The driver can turn their attention to other things, but is prompted by the system to take the lead within a warning time if necessary.
The commercial vehicle can be an autonomous level 4 vehicle, i.e. highly automated, to such an extent, that the vehicle is permanently guided by the vehicle system. If the system can no longer fulfill the driving tasks, the driver can be requested to take over the driving.
The commercial vehicle can be an autonomous level 5 vehicle, i.e. so fully automated, that the driver is not required to perform the driving task. Apart from setting the destination and starting the system, no human intervention is required. The vehicle can may be manufactured and/or used without a steering wheel and pedals.
The description given above with respect to the method and the data processing device applies, mutatis mutandis, to the motor vehicle and vice versa.
Furthermore, a computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method described above may be provided.
A program code of the computer program can be available in any code, in particular in a code that is suitable for motor vehicle control systems.
The description given above with respect to the method, the data processing device, and the motor vehicle apply, mutatis mutandis, to the computer program and vice versa.
Furthermore, a data carrier signal carrying the computer program may be provided.
Additionally, or alternatively, a computer-readable (storage) medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method described above may be provided.
In other words, a computer-readable medium comprising a computer program as defined above can be provided. The computer-readable medium can be any digital data storage device, such as a USB flash drive, a hard drive disk, a CD-ROM, an SD card or an SSD card.
The computer program does not necessarily have to be stored on such a computer-readable storage medium in order to be made available to the commercial vehicle, but can also be obtained via the Internet or otherwise externally using data transmission/data carrier signal(s).
The description given above with respect to the method, the data processing device the motor vehicle, and the computer program applies, mutatis mutandis, to the data carrier signal and the computer-readable medium, and vice versa.
One optional implementation of the disclosure is described below with reference to Figures 1 and 2.

Fig. 1 schematically shows a motor vehicle with a data processing device according to the disclosure; and
Fig. 2 schematically shows a flow chart of a computer-implemented method according to the disclosure.

In Figure 1 a motor vehicle 1, here a truck trailer system comprising a truck 11 and a trailer 12 connected to the truck 11, is shown schematically in a bird's-eye perspective.
Moreover, a coordinate system is shown with an X axis extending along a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, a Y axis extending along a width direction of the vehicle and a Z axis which is parallel to a vertical direction.
The truck comprises side view mirrors 13, wherein a sensor system 2 is installed in both of the side view mirrors 13. For reasons of clarity, only one of the two sensor systems 2 is and described shown.
The sensor system 2 comprises an infrared sensor 21 and an RGB camera 22 with an overlapping field of views 23, 24 along the side of the truck 11 and the trailer 22 where the sensor system 2 is installed.
Inside the field of views 23, 24 and thus in the environment of the motor vehicle 1 an area 3 is defined which comprises three sub-areas or zones 31 - 33.
A first one of the sub-areas, i.e., the first sub area 31, is located right next to the truck 11 and the trailer 12, has an essentially rectangular shape and extends 0,5 m in Y, away from the side of the truck 11 and the trailer 12, as well as 0,5 m in X, away from the end of the trailer 12.
A second one of the sub-areas, i.e. the second sub area 32, is located right next to the truck 11 and the trailer 12, has an essentially rectangular shape and extends 1 m in Y, away from the side of the truck 11 and the trailer 12 as well as 1 m in X, away from the end of the trailer 12.
A third one of the sub-areas, i.e. the third sub area 33, is located right next to the truck 11 and the trailer 12, has a substantially rectangular shape and extends 2 m in Y, away from the side of the truck 11 and the trailer 12 as well as 2 m in X, away from the end of the trailer 12.
The first sub-area 31 is thus located closest to the truck 11 and the trailer 12 in Y, followed by the second sub area 32, and then the third sub area 33.
The motor vehicle 1, here the truck 11, further comprises a data processing device 4 connected to the camera system 2, the data processing device 4 being configured to carry out the method 1000 described in detail with respect to figure 2 below.
Initially, a person enters one of the above-described sub-areas 31 - 33.
In a first step 101 of the method 1000 sensor data corresponding to the area 3 is received at the data processing device 4, the sensor data being captured by the camera system 2.
In a second step 102 of the method 1000, the person and its presence in one of the sub-areas 31 - 33 is detected using the received sensor data.
In a third step 103 of the method 1000, it is determined if the detected person is a driver of the motor vehicle 1, wherein carrying out the method 1000 is stopped for the person that is determined to be the driver and/or for a certain area around the person that is determined to be the driver. More specifically, in this present embodiment monitoring of the side of the motor vehicle 1 is stopped on which the driver is detected. If the detected person is not the driver, a fourth step 104 of the method 1000 is carried out.
In the fourth step 104 of the method 1000, tracking of the detected person is started and carried out as long as the detected person is located in one of the sub-areas 31 - 33. The received sensor data is used for the tracking. Tracking the detected persons comprises determining in which sub area 31 - 33 the detected person is located as well as determining a body pose of the detected person.
If it is determined in the fourth step 104 that the detected person is currently located within the first sub area 31, the camera 22 is used for capturing and storing video data of the detected person in a fifth step 105 for a as long as the detected person stays or remains within the first sub area 31.
If it is determined in the fourth step 104 that the detected person is currently located within the first sub area 31, it is determined based on the received sensor data if the detected person touches and/or tries to enter the motor vehicle 1 in a sixth step 106. If is determined in the sixth step 106 that the detected persons touches and/or tries to enter the motor vehicle 1, a control signal is output in a seventh step 107 to the motor vehicle 1 and/or an external data processing device, the control signal triggering a level 3 notification.
In an eight step 108 of the method 1000 it is determined whether the detected person is entering the sub area 31 - 33 where the person is currently located from another sub area 31 - 33 or if the detected person is initially entering the area 3, i.e., a first entering. If the person is initially entering the area 3, a ninth step 109 is carried out. Otherwise, a tenth step 110 is carried out directly.
In the ninth step 109 of the method 1000 an identifier is assigned to the detected person that stays with the detected person until the person leaves the area 3. The identifier is used for the tracking of the detected person initiated in the fourth step 104 of the method.
In the tenth step 110 of the method 1000 a total timespan is determined during which the detected person was located within one of the sub-areas 31 - 33 and also the respective timespans for all of the sub-areas 31 - 33 are determined, i.e. a first timespan during which the detected person is located within the first sub area 31, a second timespan during which the detected person is located within the second sub area 32, and a third timespan during which the detected person is located within the third sub area 33. The total timespan may be determined by calculating the sum of the first, the second and the third timespan. In determining the timespans only those timespans are taken into account during which the determined body pose (see step 104) fulfills a predefined criterion, e.g. where the detected person faces the motor vehicle 1.
In an eleventh step 111 of the method 1000 it is determined whether the determined total timespan exceeds a predefined third threshold, i.e., the threshold assigned to the third sub area 33. In the eleventh step 111 of the method 1000 it is also determined if the determined first timespan exceeds a predefined first threshold, i.e., the threshold assigned to the first sub area 31, and if the determined second timespan exceeds a predefined second threshold, i.e., the threshold assigned to the second sub area 32.
When it is determined in the eleventh step 111 that the determined total timespan exceeds the predefined third threshold, a control signal is output in a twelves step 112 to the motor vehicle 1 and/or an external data processing device, the control signal triggering a level 1 notification.
When it is determined in the eleventh step 111 that the determined first timespan exceeds the predefined first threshold, a control signal is output in a thirteenth step 113 to the motor vehicle 1 and/or an external data processing device, the control signal triggering a level 3 notification.
When it is determined in the eleventh step 111 that the determined second timespan exceeds the predefined second threshold, a control signal is output in a fourteenth step 114 to the motor vehicle 1 and/or an external data processing device, the control signal triggering a level 2 notification.
In the following it is summarized by using an example under which conditions which one of the predefined notifications is triggered. A so-called level 1 notification may be triggered because of incidents inside any of the three sub-areas 31 - 33. An incident may be when a person remains walking and/or stopping within the area 3 for longer than 5 minutes. A so-called level 2 notification may be triggered because of incidents inside the second sub area 32. An incident may be when a person walks and/or stops beside the vehicle 1 remaining in sub-area 32 for more than 2 minutes but without making contact with the vehicle 1. A so-called level 3 notification may be triggered because of incidents inside the first sub-area 31. An incident may be a person walking and/or stopping next to the vehicle 1 without making contact remaining in the first sub-area 31 for more than 60 seconds, the person touching the side of the vehicle 1 and/or the person entering the truck 11 while being detected, and/or the trailer 12 from the side where a percentage of the body disappears visually due to person climbing into the truck 11 and/or the trailer 12.
During the entire time of carrying out the method 1000 an initial step 100 is carried out. The initial step 100 comprises determining if a predefined condition is met leading to a stop of the method 1000. The predefined condition is met when a predefined external control signal is received from a predefined source. The predefined source comprises a door status determination device configured to determine a current opening status of a door of the motor vehicle, and outputs the external control signal depending on the determined current opening status of the door, a human machine interface configured to receive input from a driver of the motor vehicle and to output the external control signal depending on the received input, and/or a fleet management system configured to output the external control signal. The predefined condition is also met when a location information representing the current location of the motor vehicle is received, wherein said received current location is outside a predefined area.

Reference signs

1: motor vehicle
11: truck
12: trailer
13: side view mirrors
2: sensor system
21: infrared sensor
22: (optionally RGB) camera
23: field of view of infrared sensor
24: field of view of camera
3: area having a predefined size in the environment of the vehicle
31: first sub area
32: second sub area
33: third sub area
4: data processing device inside vehicle

1000: method
100: monitoring if stop condition is met
101: receiving sensor data
102: detecting person
103: determine if detected person is driver
104: start tracking of detected person when detected person is not the driver
105: capture video data of detected person when inside first sub-area
106: check for touch or intrusion event
107: trigger level 3 notification if touch or intrusion event detected
108: check if detected person already has identifier
109: assign identifier if needed
110: determine timespans (total and for each sub-area)
111: determine if timespans exceed respective threshold
112: trigger level 1 notification
113: trigger level 3 notification
114: trigger level 2 notification

X: longitudinal direction of vehicle
Y: width direction of vehicle
Z: vertical direction of vehicle

Claims

Computer-implemented method (1000), characterized in that the method (1000) comprises:
- receiving (101) sensor data corresponding to an area (3) in an environment of a motor vehicle (1), the area (3) being divided into at least two sub-areas (31 - 33), wherein a first one of the at least two sub-areas (31) is located closer to the motor vehicle (1) than a second one of the at least two sub-areas (32),

- detecting (102) and tracking (104) a person while being located in the first and/or the second sub area (31, 32) using the received sensor data,

- determining (110) a first timespan during which the detected person is located within the first sub-area (31) and determining (110) a second timespan during which the detected person is located within the second sub-area (32), and

- output (111) a control signal to the motor vehicle (1) and/or an external data processing device when a sum of the determined first timespan and the second timespan exceeds a predefined first threshold and/or when the determined first timespan exceeds a predefined second threshold.
Computer-implemented method (1000) according to claim 1, characterized in that the tracking (104) of the detected person comprises assigning (109) an identifier to the detected person that stays with the detected person until the person leaves the area (3).
Computer-implemented method (1000) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method (1000) comprises determining (103) if the detected person is a driver of the motor vehicle (1), wherein carrying out of the method (1000) is stopped for the person that is determined to be the driver and/or for a certain area around the person that is determined to be the driver.
Computer-implemented method (1000) according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a predefined first notification is associated with the second sub area (32), wherein the control signal is configured to trigger the first notification when the sum of the determined first timespan and the second timespan exceeds the predefined first threshold.
Computer-implemented method (1000) according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a predefined second notification is associated with the first sub area (31), wherein the control signal is configured to trigger the second notification when the first timespan exceeds the predefined second threshold.
Computer-implemented method (1000) according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the method (1000) comprises capturing (105) video data of the detected person.
Computer-implemented method (1000) according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that carrying out the method (1000) is stopped when a predefined external control signal is received from a predefined source.
Computer-implemented method (1000) according to claim 7, characterized in that the predefined source comprises:
- a door status determination device configured to determine a current opening status of a door of the motor vehicle (1) and output the external control signal depending on the determined current opening status of the door,

- a human machine interface configured to receive input from a driver of the motor vehicle (1) and to output the external control signal depending on the received input, and/or

- a fleet management system configured to output the external control signal.
Computer-implemented method (1000) according to any of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that carrying out the method comprises receiving a location information representing the current location of the motor vehicle (1), wherein carrying out the method (1000) is stopped when the current location is outside a predefined area.
Computer-implemented method (1000) according to any of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the method (1000) comprises:
- determining (104) a body pose of the detected person, and

- only taking into account those timespans when determining the first and/or the second timespan during which the determined body pose fulfills a predefined criterion.
Data processing device (4), characterized in that the data processing device (4) comprises a processor being configured to carry out the method (1000) according to any of claims 1 to 10.
Motor vehicle (1), characterized in that the motor vehicle (1) comprises:
- the data processing device (4) according to claim 11, and

- a sensor system (2) being configured to capture the sensor data corresponding to the area (3) in the environment of the motor vehicle (1).
Computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method (1000) according to any of claims 1 to 10.
A computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method (1000) according to any of claims 1 to 10.