BYD Patents a System for Detecting Living Things Under Cars

BYD Yangwang U9. (Photo: BYD)

JAKARTA - BYD is again expanding its development of smart vehicle technology by filing a new patent that allows cars to detect the presence of living creatures in the area under the vehicle body. The patent document was published by the China National Intellectual Property Administration on June 12 with application number CN122200729A.

Reported by Carnewschina, Monday, June 15, this technology works by recording the bottom of the vehicle when the car is in a dead state, then saving it as a basic reference. When the system performs the next scan, the latest image will be compared with the data that has been stored to identify changes that occur in the lower area of the vehicle.

Instead of processing the entire underside of the car continuously, the system will only focus the analysis on areas that show differences compared to the reference image. These areas then become the target of further examination to detect the presence of new objects or movements.

This approach is considered more efficient because static components such as suspension, battery housing, aerodynamic panels, and other vehicle structures do not need to be analyzed repeatedly. Thus, computing power can be focused on recognizing objects that actually appear under the vehicle.

After finding a changed area, the system will extract certain feature information to determine whether there are living organisms and evaluate their condition. This technology is designed to face the challenges of the under-vehicle environment which is often filled with shadows, changes in lighting, dirt, road debris, and variations in the ground surface.

BYD assesses that the reference-based method is able to create a unique environmental map for each vehicle when parked. After the change is identified, the recognition algorithm will work to determine whether the object is an animal, human, or other living creature.

This two-stage architecture is claimed to be able to increase the accuracy of detection while reducing the potential for identification errors that often occur in conventional motion detection-based systems. This latest patent complements various developments in monitoring technology that have previously been introduced by BYD.

Not long ago, the company also unveiled a system designed to detect passengers left inside a vehicle using a combination of radar data, frequency analysis, and signal arrival angles.

When combined, the two technologies cover monitoring in two different areas of the vehicle. One system focuses on passenger safety inside the cabin, while the latest technology is aimed at keeping an eye on the presence of living things under the vehicle.

This step shows BYD's efforts to build a more comprehensive vehicle sensor ecosystem through the integration of computer vision, radar, and intelligent monitoring systems. Previously, in May, the company also filed a patent for a sulfide-based solid-state battery for next-generation energy storage.

Meanwhile, in June, BYD began operating its first 1,500 kW ultra-fast charging station in Germany as part of its plan to develop a charging network in Europe that is targeted to reach 3,000 locations.

However, the publication of a patent does not necessarily indicate that the technology will be mass-produced immediately. Until now, BYD has not revealed which vehicle models will adopt the system, the launch schedule, or further commercialization plans.