	US 12,466,422 B2
	Large animal detection and intervention in a vehicle
Alireza Rahimpour, Palo Alto, CA (US); Navid Fallahinia, Watertown, MA (US); Devesh Upadhyay, Canton, MI (US); and Justin Miller, Berkley, MI (US)
Assigned to Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US)
Filed by Ford Global Technologies, LLC, Dearborn, MI (US)
Filed on Jan. 30, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/161,290.
Prior Publication US 2024/0253652 A1, Aug. 1, 2024
Int. Cl. B60W 50/14 (2020.01); B60W 30/095 (2012.01); B60W 50/00 (2006.01); G06V 10/25 (2022.01); G06V 10/75 (2022.01); G06V 10/82 (2022.01); G06V 20/58 (2022.01); G06V 40/10 (2022.01); H04N 23/23 (2023.01)

CPC B60W 50/14 (2013.01) [B60W 30/0956 (2013.01); B60W 50/0097 (2013.01); G06V 10/25 (2022.01); G06V 10/751 (2022.01); G06V 10/82 (2022.01); G06V 20/58 (2022.01); G06V 40/10 (2022.01); H04N 23/23 (2023.01); B60W 2050/146 (2013.01); B60W 2420/403 (2013.01); B60W 2554/4045 (2020.02); B60W 2556/10 (2020.02)]

18 Claims

1. A computing device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory stores instructions executable by the processor such that the computing device is programmed to:

upon identifying an image of a large animal in an image frame obtained with a far-infrared camera mounted to a vehicle, wherein the identifying includes identifying a type of the large animal selected from a group including one or more of deer, bear, elk, horse, or cow:

determine a pixel intensity of the large animal image;

determine an estimated distance to the large animal from the far-infrared camera based on the pixel intensity;

classify the large animal as one of a tracked animal and a non-tracked animal based on the large animal image, including a pose based on the type of the large animal and whether the pose indicates that the large animal is likely to occupy a road; and

upon classifying the large animal as the tracked animal and upon determining that a future trajectory of the tracked animal and a future trajectory of the vehicle intersect, actuate a component in the vehicle.