Mobile Parking Detection via Multi-Sensor Fusion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current parking guidance systems are limited to specific areas and rely on user reports, leading to inaccurate statistical evaluations and lack of automation in identifying potentially free parking spaces.
Innovation Solution
A mobile system equipped with sensors such as cameras, microphones, ultrasonic sensors, and satellite-based position sensors that detect and assess signals indicative of a vehicle preparing to leave a parking space, providing an optical and/or acoustic indication of available or soon-to-be available parking spots without user collaboration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a parking guidance system uses sensors to detect parking places in a central control device, then the system can quickly find parking places for arriving vehicles, but the system is limited to the respective parking lot and cannot provide broader coverage
Solution Approach 1:
The mobile system combines multiple sensor types (optical, acoustic, radio wave, ultrasound, radar, thermal imaging, GPS) into a single multi-functional platform that can operate across different locations and environments, transforming the system from location-specific to universally applicable throughout the entire road network
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile system automatically detects and evaluates signals from parked vehicles without requiring user reports or manual input, performing self-assessment of parking place availability and autonomously providing guidance information to users
2Loss of information
If the system relies on user reports to manage free parking places via an Internet server, then parking place information can be shared across users, but the system becomes dependent on user collaboration and statistical accuracy decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs automatic detection and evaluation of parking place status through its own sensors, eliminating the need for user reports and manual information submission, thereby achieving self-service operation with high information accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces the manual mechanical process of user reporting with automated sensor-based detection, substituting human action with technological means to achieve more reliable and continuous monitoring of parking place availability
3Loss of information
If statistical data is used to display road sections with easy or difficult parking, then users can identify potential parking areas, but the statistical evaluation may deviate considerably from the actual parking place situation
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection and evaluation of parking place availability in advance by continuously monitoring signals from parked vehicles, so that when a user searches for parking, accurate real-time information is already available rather than relying on delayed statistical data
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes continuous feedback loops where sensors detect current parking place status, the evaluation unit processes this information in real-time, and the results are immediately updated and provided to users, ensuring the information always reflects the actual current situation rather than historical statistics
4Reliability
If multiple types of sensors are used to detect signals of potentially free parking places, then the probability of accurate detection increases, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple different sensor types (optical, acoustic, radio wave, ultrasound, radar, thermal imaging, GPS) into a single integrated mobile system, merging their functions to achieve reliable detection while managing complexity through unified system architecture
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile system serves as a universal platform that performs multiple detection functions simultaneously using different sensor types, allowing one system to achieve high reliability through multi-sensor fusion rather than requiring separate systems for each detection type
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile system is provided for a vehicle for recognizing a parking place that is potentially becoming free, along with a method for recognizing a parking place that is potentially becoming free. The system includes at least one sensor for detecting a signal that is typical for a parking place that is potentially becoming free, an evaluation unit for assessing whether a signal received by the sensor signifies a parking place that is potentially becoming free, and an optical and/or acoustic indicator unit for indicating a parking place that is potentially becoming free. With the system and method, parking places that are becoming free can be detected automatically when travelling through a specific road section.