Park-Out Control Unit Using Stored Parking Environment Maps
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle systems struggle to accurately detect objects around the vehicle when leaving a parking space, due to reduced sensor accuracy at low speeds, close proximity of objects, and adverse weather conditions.
Innovation Solution
An electronic control unit equipped with object sensors, position sensors, and a processor that creates an environmental map of stationary objects during parking, storing it in non-volatile memory for retrieval during the next driving cycle, thereby enhancing object detection and collision avoidance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the vehicle uses environmental sensors to detect objects when standing still or at very low speed, then the vehicle can detect objects in the parking space, but the detection accuracy is reduced due to limitations in triangulation reference points
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary object detection and mapping during the parking-in maneuver at higher speeds before the vehicle stops. This preliminary action captures accurate spatial information about the environment while the vehicle is in motion, which is then stored and reused during the parking-out phase when the vehicle is stationary or moving slowly, avoiding the need for low-speed detection that suffers from poor triangulation accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a copy of the environmental map during parking-in at higher speeds when sensor accuracy is better. This copied spatial information is then used during parking-out operations, replacing the need for real-time low-speed detection that would yield poor measurement precision
2Reliability
If the vehicle collects sensor data at very low speed when leaving the parking space, then the vehicle can detect objects, but the traveling distance is very short so limited time is available for collecting sufficient sensor data
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs the data collection action in advance during the parking-in maneuver, when the vehicle is moving at higher speeds and has more time to collect sufficient sensor data. This preliminary data collection eliminates the time constraint that would exist if data were collected during the brief moment of parking-out at very low speed
3Reliability
If the vehicle relies on real-time sensor detection when parking out, then the vehicle can detect current objects, but detection of objects around the parking space is hindered by weather and lighting conditions having changed and being less favorable
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a copy of the environmental map during parking-in when weather and lighting conditions are more favorable. This copied spatial information is then reused during parking-out when conditions may have deteriorated, avoiding the need to perform new detection under adverse conditions that would reduce detection reliability
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic control unit (100) for a vehicle (1), comprising: at least one object sensor (120) for sensing objects in an environment in a vicinity of the vehicle, a position sensor (110, 180) for sensing a speed of the vehicle and/or for sensing a position of the vehicle, a non-volatile memory (130), a processor (140) connected to the object sensor (120), the position sensor (110, 180), and the non-volatile memory (130), the processor (140) being configured to instruct the object sensor (120) to sense and collect data on the environment in the vicinity of the vehicle (1) from a collect time tc when the position sensor (110, 180) measures a vehicle speed below a predetermined threshold and/or measures a vehicle position that corresponds to the position of a parking area, the processor (140) creating an environmental map of stationary objects around the vehicle on the basis of data of the at least one object sensor (120) and storing the environmental map in the non-volatile memory (130) prior to a sleep time ts, following on the collect time tc, when the electronic control unit is placed in a sleep mode.