BYD has filed a patent for a vehicle safety system designed to detect people or animals beneath a parked car before it moves. The image-based technology remains at the patent stage, with no confirmed production plans.
Chinese automaker BYD is exploring a new approach to vehicle safety that extends beyond conventional collision-avoidance systems. A recently published patent describes a method for identifying living beings hidden underneath a parked vehicle—an area that is often difficult for drivers to inspect.
The patent application, published by the China National Intellectual Property Administration on June 12, 2026, carries the publication number CN122200729A.
How would BYD’s underbody detection system work?
According to the patent, the vehicle would capture and store an image of its underside when it is powered down. Later images of the same area would then be compared with this reference.
Rather than analysing the entire underbody every time, the system would first identify areas that have changed. These regions would undergo further processing to determine whether the difference was caused by a living being and to assess its condition.
This approach could reduce unnecessary computing by excluding components that remain unchanged, such as suspension parts, structural panels and battery enclosures. It may also help the system distinguish a genuine safety risk from the vehicle’s permanent underbody elements.
Potential protection for animals and children
Cats and small dogs sometimes shelter beneath parked vehicles, particularly during extreme weather. A small child or another vulnerable person could also enter an area that remains outside the driver’s direct view.
The proposed technology is intended to help identify such risks before the vehicle begins moving. However, the published information does not confirm whether the system would only warn the driver or could also prevent the vehicle from moving.
It should therefore be viewed as a proposed detection method rather than a confirmed automatic braking or movement-blocking feature.
BYD is also working on cabin occupant detection
The underbody monitoring patent forms part of BYD’s wider research into detecting people and animals around vehicles.
Another patent published during the same period describes a radar-based method for identifying occupants left inside a vehicle. That system would analyse radar signal characteristics, including frequency-domain data and angle-of-arrival information, to determine whether someone remains in the cabin.
Such technologies could help reduce incidents involving children, pets or other vulnerable occupants being left unattended in parked vehicles.
Patent publication does not guarantee production
The underbody detection technology has not been announced for any production BYD model. The patent documents do not provide a launch date, commercialisation plan or list of compatible vehicles.
Automakers routinely patent concepts and technical methods to protect their research. Some eventually reach production, while others remain experimental or are incorporated into different systems.
Nevertheless, BYD’s filing reflects a broader change in automotive safety. Cameras, radar and intelligent image processing are increasingly being developed not only to prevent collisions on the road, but also to monitor areas around a stationary vehicle that the driver may be unable to see.
