Selective privacy mode operation for in-cabin monitoring

1 . A system for monitoring one or more events in a vehicle, the system comprising:

a time-of-flight sensor configured to generate a point cloud representing an interior of the vehicle, the point cloud including three-dimensional positional information of the interior;

a camera configured to capture image data representing the interior of the vehicle; and

processing circuitry in communication with the time-of-flight sensor and the camera configured to:

process the image data from the camera in a corresponding first operational mode of the processing circuitry;

process the point cloud from the time-of-flight sensor in a corresponding second operational mode of the processing circuitry;

detect, based on either of the image data or the point cloud, an occupant of the vehicle;

detect an indication from the occupant to disable the first operational mode;

determine a privacy condition for the interior by processing identification features in the image data with a privacy detection algorithm, wherein the privacy detection algorithm compares the identification features to pre-stored proportional data;

selectively operate between the first and second operational modes based on at least one of the image data and the indication;

disable the first operational mode in response to detection of the privacy condition;

enable the second operational mode in response to detection of the privacy condition;

periodically enable the first operational mode temporarily and at intervals while in the second operational mode; and

process the image data captured during the temporary enabling of the first operational mode to determine a change in the privacy condition.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine an identity of the occupant based on the image data.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

classify the occupant as a child based on at least one of the image data and the point cloud.

4 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a user interface in communication with the processing circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

communicate an instruction to present an option to enable the first operational mode at the user interface based on determining the change in the privacy condition;

receive a selection by the occupant to select between the first and second operational modes; and

update the second operational mode based on the selection.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine a lighting condition of the interior based on the image data; and

operate in the second operational mode based on the lighting condition.

6 . The system of claim 5 , further comprising:

a light sensor in communication with the processing circuitry and configured to detect the lighting condition.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

determine an ineffective condition of a monitoring algorithm for the interior based on the image data; and

enable the second operational mode based on the ineffective condition.

8 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

an input device in communication with the processing circuitry, wherein the input device is configured to receive the indication.

9 . The system of claim 8 , further comprising:

a cover detector in communication with the processing circuitry and configured to detect an obstruction for the camera, wherein the input device is the cover detector.

10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

compare a first power consumption level of the first operational mode to a second power consumption level of the second operational mode, wherein selective operation between the first and second operational modes is based further on the comparison of the power consumption levels.

11 . The system of claim 10 , further comprising:

a user interface in communication with the processing circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

communicate an instruction to present an option to enable the first operational mode at the user interface based on the comparison of the power consumption levels;

receive a selection by the occupant to select between the first and second operational modes; and

update the second operational mode based on the selection.

12 . A method for monitoring one or more events in a vehicle, the method comprising:

generating, via a time-of-flight sensor, a point cloud representing an interior of the vehicle, the point cloud including three-dimensional positional information of the interior;

capturing, via a camera, image data representing the interior of the vehicle;

processing, via processing circuitry in communication with the time-of-flight sensor and the camera, the image data from the camera in a corresponding first operational mode of the processing circuitry;

processing, via the processing circuitry, the point cloud from the time-of-flight sensor in a corresponding second operational mode of the processing circuitry;

detecting, based on either of the image data or the point cloud, an occupant of the vehicle;

detecting an indication from the occupant to disable the first operational mode;

determining, via the processing circuitry, a privacy condition for the interior by processing identification features in the image data with a privacy detection algorithm, wherein the privacy detection algorithm compares the identification features to pre-stored proportional data;

at the processing circuitry, selectively operating between the first and second operational modes based on at least one of the image data and the indication;

disabling the first operational mode in response to detection of the privacy condition;

enabling the second operational mode in response to detection of the privacy condition;

periodically enabling the first operational mode temporarily and at intervals while in the second operational mode; and

processing the image data captured during the temporary enabling of the first operational mode to determine a change in the privacy condition.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

determining an identity of the occupant based on the image data.

14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

classifying the occupant as a child based on at least one of the image data and the point cloud.

15 . A system for monitoring one or more events in a vehicle, the system comprising:

a time-of-flight sensor configured to capture a point cloud representing an interior of the vehicle;

a camera configured to capture image data representing the interior of the vehicle;

processing circuitry in communication with the time-of-flight sensor, the camera, and the input device, the processing circuitry configured to:

process the image data from the camera in a corresponding first operational mode of the processing circuitry;

process the point cloud from the time-of-flight sensor in a corresponding second operational mode of the processing circuitry;

detect, based on either of the image data or the point cloud, an occupant of the vehicle;

classify the occupant as a child based on at least one of the image data and the point cloud;

determine a privacy condition for the interior by processing identification features in the image data with a privacy detection algorithm, wherein the privacy detection algorithm compares the identification features to pre-stored proportional data;

disable the first operational mode in response to detection of the privacy condition;

enable the second operational mode in response to detection of the privacy condition;

periodically enable the first operational mode temporarily and at intervals while in the second operational mode; and

process the image data captured during the temporary enabling of the first operational mode to determine a change in the privacy condition.

16 . The system of claim 1 , wherein periodically enabling the first operational mode temporarily and at intervals while in the second operational mode includes enabling the first operational mode at a first interval that is in the range of seconds to minutes.

17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to determine a change in the privacy condition by processing image data captured during a second interval when a time of running in the first operational mode meets or exceeds the second interval.