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EP-4739550-A1 - METHOD FOR LOCATING A STOLEN VEHICLE

EP4739550A1EP 4739550 A1EP4739550 A1EP 4739550A1EP-4739550-A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for locating a stolen vehicle (2). If the vehicle (2) is stolen, a search request (SA) to search for the vehicle (2) is transmitted to a backend server (3), wherein the backend server (3) then transmits a collection request (A) to collect sensor data (D1 to Dn) to the vehicle (2), which sensor data contain location-specific information (OI) and are recorded by means of onboard sensors (5.1 to 5.n) of the vehicle (2). Sensor data (D1 to Dn) are then recorded by means of the onboard sensors (5.1 to 5.n) and transmitted to the backend server (3). By means of the backend server (3), location-specific information (OI) is extracted from the transmitted sensor data (D1 to Dn, D1' to Dn') and the location of the vehicle (2) is determined by comparing the location-specific information (OI) with location information (KOI) stored in a digital map (7).

Inventors

  • Walz, Fabian
  • Spengler, Jochen
  • Eisen, Albert
  • SCHANZ, Hannah, Thea

Assignees

  • Mercedes-Benz Group AG

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240621

Claims (10)

  1. 1. Method for locating a stolen vehicle (2), characterized in that - in the event of theft of the vehicle (2), a search request (SA) to search for the vehicle (2) is transmitted to a backend server (3), - a collection order (A) for collecting sensor data (D1 to Dn), which contain location-specific information (Ol) and are recorded by onboard sensors (5.1 to 5.n) of the vehicle (2), is then transmitted from the backend server (3) to the vehicle (2), - sensor data (D1 to Dn) are then recorded using the onboard sensors (5.1 to 5.n), - the sensor data (D1 to Dn, DT to Dn') are transmitted to the backend server (3), - using the backend server (3), location-specific information (Ol) is extracted from the transmitted sensor data (D1 to Dn, DT to Dn') and - a location of the vehicle (2) is carried out by comparing the location-specific information (Ol) with location information (KOI) stored in a digital map (7).
  2. 2. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that in a filtering of the sensor data (D1 to Dn) before transmission from the vehicle (2) to the backend server (3) - personal data of other road users and/or - vehicle-related data of other road users are removed.
  3. 3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that image data captured by means of at least one camera are used as sensor data (D1 to Dn).
  4. 4. Method according to claim 3, characterized in that the location-specific information (Ol) is extracted from traffic signs (V1 to V7) shown in the image data.
  5. 5. Method according to claim 4, characterized in that as traffic signs (V1 to V7) at least - Signposts and/or - Place names and/or - Place information signs and/or - Street name signs and/or - tourist information boards are taken into account.
  6. 6. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the location-specific information (Ol) is combined with further information acquired by means of the onboard sensors (5.1 to 5.n). Sensor data (D1 to Dn, DT to Dn') are checked for plausibility in the backend server (3) and/or their accuracy is increased, whereby - further image data captured by at least one camera are used as further sensor data (D1 to Dn, DT to Dn'), whereby plausibility information extracted from the image data - Regulatory content of traffic signs regulating a permissible maximum speed and/or - Regulatory content of traffic signs to mark the beginning and/or the course and/or the end of a road construction site and/or - Information about road markings and/or - Information about traffic lights and/or - information about buildings is used, and/or - radar data acquired by means of at least one radar are used as further sensor data (D1 to Dn, DT to Dn'), whereby information extracted from the radar data about a start and/or an end of a tunnel structure is used as plausibility information, and/or - chassis data recorded by means of at least one chassis sensor and/or by means of at least one acceleration sensor are used as further sensor data (D1 to Dn, DT to Dn'), wherein information extracted from the chassis data about road humps and/or potholes in a road surface is used as plausibility information, and/or - data acquired by means of at least one inertial sensor system of the vehicle (2) and/or wheel speed sensors of the vehicle (2) are used as further sensor data (D1 to Dn, D to Dn'), wherein a vehicle trajectory calculated from the data is used as plausibility information.
  7. 7. Method according to claim 6, characterized in that the plausibility information is compared with information stored in the backend server (3) and location-specific information (Ol) is determined on the basis of the comparison.
  8. 8. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sensor data (D1 to Dn, DT to Dn') before transmission from the vehicle (2) to the backend server (3) - a calendar date of a day on which the sensor data was recorded (D1 to Dn, DT to Dn') and/or - a time of recording the sensor data (D1 to Dn, DT to Dn') and/or - a distance travelled by the vehicle (2) since the last activation after the theft is assigned and stored together with the Sensor data (D1 to Dn, DT to Dn') are transmitted to the backend server (3).
  9. 9. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a travel route of the vehicle (2) is determined on the basis of geographical positions of the vehicle (2) determined in the location of the vehicle (2), and at least one possible destination of the vehicle (2) is predicted on the basis of the travel route.
  10. 10. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the determination of the location-specific information (Ol) is carried out automatically by a machine-trained algorithm.

Description

Procedure for locating a stolen vehicle The invention relates to a method for locating a stolen vehicle. From DE 102009 028297 A1 a method for locating a stolen or crashed vehicle is known, in which it is provided that a position of the vehicle is determined by means of a position detection means arranged on the vehicle, that a quality of the position determination is evaluated and that the determined position and the evaluated quality are transmitted to a control center, wherein the transmission takes place by means of a device arranged on the vehicle for automatically transmitting the position. A tracking system for finding stolen vehicles is known from DE 19649 136 A1. The tracking system comprises a combination of - a satellite station in space with a receiving part and a transmitting part with data transmission links for sending and receiving data for vehicle recognition from and to a computer on the premises of a searcher and from and to a decodable microchip of a sought-after vehicle; - a transmitter and receiver in the vehicle in the form of a microchip, whereby the vehicle identification is encoded in the microchip, the transmitter and receiver are powered by a power supply in the vehicle and the microchip is housed in the vehicle in such a way that it is as undetectable as possible for third parties, and - the computer for storing and providing data for vehicle recognition with a transmitter and a receiver for transmitting the data to the satellite station and for receiving the data from the satellite station. Furthermore, DE 102008 023 970 A1 discloses a method for detecting traffic-relevant information in a moving vehicle, in which Image data from a visual sensor and map data from a navigation system are each pre-evaluated for recognition and the results of the pre-evaluation are merged and interpreted. In a first scene interpretation, the image data is searched for traffic-relevant information it contains and condensed into relevant image data. In a second scene interpretation, the map data is searched for traffic-relevant information it contains and condensed into relevant map data. The relevant image data and the relevant map data are fed to a set of rules and a state machine for interpreting the image and map data, with the set of rules evaluating the image data and the map data and passing on an action to be carried out to the state machine. Based on the action to be carried out, the state machine carries out a transition in its state space with predefined states and outputs information associated with the state or transition. The invention is based on the object of providing a novel method for locating a stolen vehicle. The object is achieved according to the invention by a method which has the features specified in claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject of the subclaims. In the method for locating a stolen vehicle, according to the invention, if the vehicle is stolen, a search request to search for the vehicle is transmitted to a backend server, wherein the backend server then transmits a collection order to collect sensor data, which contains location-specific information and is recorded by onboard sensors of the vehicle, to the vehicle. Sensor data is then recorded by the onboard sensors and transmitted to the backend server, wherein location-specific information is extracted from the transmitted sensor data by the backend server and the vehicle is located by comparing the location-specific information with location information stored in a digital map. After a vehicle has been stolen, a quick and reliable location is required in order to find it. However, vehicle thieves often use so-called GPS jammers to prevent tracking using GPS data. Using this method, even when using such a GPS jammer, The current position of the vehicle can be determined easily and reliably. Sensors already installed in the vehicle can be used to record the sensor data, which is particularly advantageous. This in turn enables the process to be implemented with a particularly low additional hardware requirement in the vehicle. In a further possible embodiment of the method, the sensor data are filtered before being transmitted from the vehicle to the backend server. - personal data of other road users and/or - vehicle-related data of other road users is removed. This enables protection of personal and/or vehicle-related data so that the location of the vehicle can be safely fulfilled without violating data protection requirements. In another possible embodiment of the method, image data captured by at least one camera is used as sensor data. Image data of a vehicle environment captured by a camera is particularly suitable for reliably determining location-specific information, with cameras being robust, inexpensive and often already part of vehicles. Personal and/or vehicle-related data can also be detected and filtered particularly easily and reliably in image data captured by cameras