Vehicular Parking Control System Using Camera and Ultrasonic Sensors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ultrasonic sensors face challenges in accurately recognizing available parking spaces due to temporary obstacles, which cause signal distortion and errors in maintaining a constant distance for final parking positions.
Innovation Solution
A vehicular parking control system that includes a camera, a sensing unit, and an electronic control unit to identify and remove the contours of temporary obstacles from the image of a parking space, allowing for accurate detection of available parking spaces and correct parking postures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If ultrasonic sensors are used to recognize parking spaces, then parking control can be automated, but temporary obstacles cause signal distortion and prevent accurate detection of available parking spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the detection task by using multiple sensor types (ultrasonic sensors for initial detection, camera for verification) rather than relying on a single sensor modality. This segmentation allows the system to overcome the limitations of ultrasonic sensors when temporary obstacles are present.
Solution Approach 2:
The camera acts as an intermediary verification device that confirms the nature of detected objects. When ultrasonic sensors detect obstacles, the camera captures images to determine whether they are temporary obstacles or permanent parking space boundaries, thereby resolving signal distortion issues.
2Ease of operation
If ultrasonic sensors detect objects in parking spaces, then parking space recognition is enabled, but temporary obstacles cause errors in maintaining constant distance for final parking positions
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring detected objects with both ultrasonic sensors and camera, comparing their readings, and adjusting the parking control signals accordingly. This feedback loop ensures that temporary obstacles are identified and excluded from distance calculations, maintaining accurate parking positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces pure mechanical/ultrasonic detection with a hybrid approach that incorporates optical verification (camera). This substitution allows for more accurate object classification and distance measurement by cross-referencing data from both sensor types.
3Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are used to improve detection accuracy, then temporary obstacles can be identified, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The camera serves multiple functions: it verifies ultrasonic sensor detections, identifies temporary obstacles, and provides visual confirmation for parking space boundaries. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional dedicated sensors, thereby limiting the increase in system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges ultrasonic sensing and visual detection into a unified parking control system. By combining these sensor types and processing their data together, the system achieves improved detection accuracy while managing complexity through integrated processing rather than separate independent systems.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a vehicular parking control system capable of removing temporary obstacles from an image of objects within a parking space so that an available parking space can be searched for, and a vehicular parking control method using the same. The vehicular parking control system includes: a camera configured to acquire an image of a parking space with reference to a position of a personal car; a sensing unit configured to sense an object in the parking space; and an electronic control unit configured to search for an available parking space by comparing an image pattern of an object within the image of the parking space acquired from the camera with a preset reference image pattern, identifying the type of the object, and removing a contour of the object, the type of which has been identified as a temporary obstacle, from contours of objects in the parking space corresponding to a sensing signal sensed by the sensing unit.