Parking Assist Path Registration With Startable Section Notification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing parking assist systems require the vehicle to be near the registered parking position to initiate parking assist control, which limits convenience and can result in the system failing to start if the driver presses the start button while passing the registration start position.
Innovation Solution
A parking assist apparatus that uses an image pickup device and three-dimensional object information acquisition to register a path from a start position to a parking position, allowing the system to notify the driver of the startable section through display or sound, enabling parking assist control to begin even when the vehicle is distant from the registered position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the system notifies the driver during vehicle traveling, then the parking assist control can be started from a distance, but the vehicle may pass the registration start position before the driver presses the start button
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by continuously acquiring and storing surrounding information (feature points, three-dimensional objects) at the registration start position and along the path during vehicle traveling, before the driver decides to start the parking assist control. This ensures that when the driver presses the start button, the necessary information is already available even if the vehicle has moved past the original registration start position.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides feedback to the driver by notifying them when the parking assist control can be started, and simultaneously continues to acquire and update surrounding information in the background. This feedback mechanism allows the driver to make an informed decision while the system maintains readiness to execute the parking assist control with the most current surrounding information available.
2Ease of operation
If the vehicle must be near the registered parking position to detect entrance feature points, then the path calculation is accurate, but the convenience is reduced as the driver cannot start from a distance
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses multiple types of detection methods and data sources (feature point detection from images, three-dimensional object detection from ultrasonic sensors, and path information from navigation) to achieve both distant starting capability and accurate path calculation. By combining these different detection approaches, the system maintains measurement precision while expanding operational convenience.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from relying solely on two-dimensional feature point detection to incorporating three-dimensional object information and path-based navigation data. This dimensional expansion allows the system to calculate accurate paths even when the vehicle is at a distance from the parking position, as it can use spatial relationships and pre-registered path information in addition to visual feature points.
Data Source
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AI summary
To enable a driver to easily recognize, when parking assist control can be started during traveling of a vehicle, how long the state in which the parking assist control can be started is to continue, a parking assist apparatus includes an image pickup device (11), a three-dimensional object information acquisition device (12, 13) which acquires three-dimensional object information, and a control unit (10) which executes parking assist control of parking the vehicle in a parking position by automatically moving the vehicle along a registered path (Rreg). The control unit registers in a storage device a path along which the vehicle has traveled when the driver has driven the vehicle from a start position (P1) to the parking position (P3) as a registered path (Rreg) together with a feature point (F) extracted from an overhead view image of a surrounding of the path and a three-dimensional object included in the three-dimensional object information, calculates, when a feature point (F) and a three-dimensional object (31-36) are detected, the registered path (Rreg) based on the positions of the feature point (F) and the three-dimensional object (31-36), and notifies the driver, by display or a sound, of a first section in which the parking assist control can be started when a start condition which is satisfied when it is determined that the parking assist control can be started is satisfied.