Vehicle Park Assist Sign Interpretation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle parking systems lack effective methods to interpret traffic signs and determine valid parking spots, leading to potential parking violations and inefficient parking processes.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing time series data from vehicle sensors, such as cameras, to detect and interpret traffic signs using hidden Markov models, determining the relevance of signs to potential parking spots and guiding the vehicle to valid spots, with alerts and payment initiation capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional parking systems are used without traffic sign interpretation, then the system complexity is low, but parking violations occur and parking spot validity cannot be determined
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system comprising cameras, processors, and algorithms that act as a mediator between the vehicle and parking management infrastructure. This intermediary automatically captures traffic sign images, interprets their meaning, and determines parking spot validity, thereby improving reliability without requiring direct complex interaction between the vehicle and parking authorities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical inspection of parking signs and spot validation with an automated optical and computational system. Cameras capture images of traffic signs, and computer vision algorithms automatically interpret the signs to determine parking validity, substituting human mechanical processes with automated electronic systems that improve reliability.
2Productivity
If manual parking monitoring is used, then the system is simple to implement, but time consumption is high and efficiency is low
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a self-service parking validation system where the vehicle's own camera system captures traffic sign images, the onboard processor automatically interprets the signs, and the system independently determines parking spot validity. This eliminates the need for manual monitoring by parking authorities, significantly improving productivity and reducing time consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables continuous automated monitoring of traffic signs and parking spot validity throughout the vehicle's approach to and parking in the spot. The system continuously captures images, processes them in real-time, and maintains updated validity information, ensuring uninterrupted parking process efficiency without manual intervention gaps.
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive traffic sign detection is implemented, then parking spot validity accuracy is improved, but the quantity of data to be processed increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and processes only the essential features and information from captured traffic sign images that are relevant to parking spot validity determination. The system identifies and extracts key elements such as sign type, text content, and regulatory meaning, discarding redundant visual data, thereby maintaining high interpretation accuracy while managing data volume efficiently.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the traffic sign interpretation process into distinct stages: image capture, sign detection, text recognition, meaning interpretation, and validity determination. This segmentation allows the system to process data in manageable chunks at each stage, improving measurement precision through focused processing while reducing overall data handling complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for reducing parking violations includes: receiving, by a controller of a vehicle, sign information of one or more traffic signs in an area surrounding the vehicle, wherein the sign information is a time series of data acquired by a set of cameras as the vehicle moves, using the vehicle as a frame of reference; identifying, by the controller, a potential parking spot in an area surrounding the vehicle; determining, by the controller, using the sign information, whether the potential parking spot is valid or invalid for the vehicle; and generating, by the controller, a notification if the potential parking spot is invalid.