System for alerting a vehicle occupant to a ground surface condition adjacent a vehicle door

1. A computing system for a vehicle, the computing system comprising one or more processors for controlling operation of the computing system, and a memory for storing data and program instructions usable by the one or more processors, wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to:

process sensor information to determine a condition of a portion of a ground surface adjacent at least one door opening of the vehicle; and

responsive to determination of the condition of the portion of the ground surface, control at least one ground surface condition detection sensor so as to deploy the at least one sensor when the vehicle stops moving and stow the at least one sensor when the vehicle starts moving.

2. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to lock a door positioned in the at least one door opening of the vehicle responsive to determination of a condition of a plurality of predetermined conditions of the portion of the ground surface adjacent the at least one door opening of the vehicle.

3. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to control operation of at least one light source configured to be perceivable by an occupant of the vehicle, responsive to determination of a condition of a plurality of predetermined conditions of the portion of the ground surface adjacent the at least one door opening of the vehicle.

4. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to control operation of a visual display configured to be perceivable by an occupant of the vehicle, responsive to determination of a condition of a plurality of predetermined conditions of the portion of the ground surface adjacent the at least one door opening of the vehicle.

5. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to control operation of at least one sound source of the vehicle so as to provide a sound configured to be perceivable by an occupant of the vehicle, responsive to determination of a condition of a plurality of predetermined conditions of the portion of the ground surface adjacent the at least one door opening of the vehicle.

6. The computing system of claim 1 wherein the one or more processors are configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to control an operation of the vehicle responsive to determination of a condition of a plurality of predetermined conditions of the portion of the ground surface adjacent the at least one door opening of the vehicle, in accordance with instructions received from a user prior to determination of a condition of a plurality of predetermined conditions of the portion of the ground surface adjacent the at least one door opening of the vehicle.

7. A ground surface condition information system for a vehicle, the information system comprising:

a ground surface condition determination system configured to determine a condition of a portion of a ground surface adjacent at least one door opening of a vehicle, the ground surface condition determination system including at least one ground surface condition detection sensor positionable and configurable to enable the at least one ground surface condition detection sensor to acquire information relating to the condition of the portion of the ground surface adjacent the at least one door opening of the vehicle, the at least one ground surface condition detection sensor being incorporated into a deployable sensor unit configurable so that the at least one ground surface condition detection sensor deploys when the vehicle is stops moving and the at least one ground surface condition detection sensor stows when the vehicle starts moving;

a computing system communicatively coupled to the at least one ground surface condition detection sensor and configured to process the information relating to the condition of the portion of the ground surface adjacent the at least one door opening of the vehicle, to determine the condition of the portion of the ground surface adjacent the at least one door opening of the vehicle; and

an alert system communicatively coupled to the ground surface condition determination system and operable to provide, responsive to a control signal from the ground surface condition determination system, a notification perceivable by a vehicle occupant and indicative of the condition of the portion of the ground surface adjacent the at least one door opening of the vehicle,

wherein the ground surface condition determination system is configured to provide the control signal to the alert system responsive to the condition of the portion of the ground surface adjacent the at least one door opening of the vehicle.

8. The ground surface condition information system of claim 7 wherein the ground surface condition determination system includes a plurality of ground surface condition detection sensors, each ground surface condition detection sensor of the plurality of ground surface condition detection sensors being positionable and configurable to enable the sensor to acquire information relating to a condition of a portion of a ground surface adjacent an associated door opening of the vehicle, and wherein the computing system is configured to process information acquired from each ground surface condition detection sensor of the plurality of ground surface condition detection sensors relating to the condition of the portion of the ground surface adjacent the associated door opening of the vehicle, to determine the condition of the ground surface adjacent the associated door opening of the vehicle.

9. The ground surface condition information system of claim 7 wherein the alert system comprises a visual display operable to display an image of the portion of the ground surface adjacent the at least one door opening of the vehicle.

10. The ground surface condition information system of claim 9 wherein the computing system is configured to generate a text string relating to the condition of the portion of the ground surface adjacent the at least one door opening of the vehicle, wherein the computing system is configured to operate the visual display to display the text string on the visual display.

11. The ground surface condition information system of claim 9 wherein the at least one ground surface condition detection sensor comprises at least one camera unit, the at least one camera unit including at least one camera positionable and configurable to image the portion of ground surface adjacent the at least one door opening of the vehicle.

12. The ground surface condition information system of claim 11 further comprising an illumination source configured to illuminate the portion of the ground surface adjacent the at least one door opening of the vehicle.

13. The ground surface condition information system of claim 12 further comprising an ambient light detection sensor communicatively coupled to the illumination source and configured to determine a level of ambient light in the vehicle exterior environment, and wherein the illumination source is configured to be operable responsive to the level of ambient light in the vehicle environment as determined by the ambient light detection sensor.

14. The ground surface condition information system of claim 11 wherein the computing system comprises an image processor incorporated into the at least one camera unit and configured to receive image data from the at least one camera and to process the image data, to determine the condition of the ground surface adjacent the at least one door opening of the vehicle.

15. The ground surface condition information system of claim 9 , wherein the ground surface condition determination system includes a plurality of camera units, each camera unit of the plurality of camera units including at least one camera positionable and configurable to image a portion of a ground surface adjacent an associated door opening of the vehicle, wherein the computing system is configured to process images acquired from each camera unit of the plurality of camera units relating to the condition of the portion of the ground surface adjacent the associated door opening of the vehicle, to determine the condition of the ground surface adjacent the associated door opening of the vehicle, and wherein the visual display is operable to simultaneously display an image of the ground surface adjacent each door opening provided by an associated camera unit of the plurality of camera units.

16. The ground surface condition information system of claim 7 wherein the ground surface condition determination system includes a plurality of ground surface condition detection sensors, the plurality of ground surface condition detection sensors including at least two different types of ground surface condition detection sensors, each ground surface condition detection sensor of the plurality of ground surface condition detection sensors being positionable and configurable to enable the ground surface condition detection sensor to acquire information relating to a condition of a portion of a ground surface adjacent a single door opening of the vehicle, and wherein the computing system is configured to process information acquired from each different type of ground surface condition detection sensor of the plurality of ground surface condition detection sensors relating to the condition of the portion of the ground surface adjacent the associated door opening of the vehicle, to determine the condition of the ground surface adjacent the associated door opening of the vehicle.