Parking Entrance Characteristic Detection Using Vehicle Sensor Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Drivers face difficulties in identifying unfavorable parking facility entrances, such as narrow, bumpy, or obstructed entries, which can cause vehicle damage and panic, as the nature of the entrance is often discernible only after attempting to enter, making it hard to adapt navigation and find a new location.
Innovation Solution
A system that acquires and processes sensor data from vehicles, including IMU, camera, radar, and LiDAR, to identify characteristics of parking facility entrances, storing this information in a map to provide recommendations for parking facilities with favorable entrances based on user preferences and vehicle capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a driver navigates to a parking facility based on vacancy, location, and price, then the driver can find a parking facility that meets basic criteria, but the driver cannot identify unfavorable entrance characteristics (narrow entries, bumps, steep ramps, obstacles) until after arrival, making it too late to avoid them
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by collecting and storing entrance characteristic data from sensor data before drivers need this information. Vehicles equipped with sensors continuously capture data about entrance features (width, bumps, ramps, obstacles) and upload it to a server, so when a driver searches for parking, the information is already available for filtering and recommendation, eliminating the need for real-time discovery and adaptation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary component - a server that acts as a mediator between data-collecting vehicles and drivers seeking parking information. The server receives sensor data from multiple vehicles, processes and stores entrance characteristics in a database, and provides this processed information to drivers through the parking search interface, enabling informed decision-making without direct real-time interaction between drivers and data sources.
2Ease of operation
If drivers attempt to enter parking facilities without prior knowledge of entrance characteristics, then they can access available parking spaces, but they risk vehicle damage (undercarriage damage from curbs/potholes), uncomfortable maneuvers, and driver panic
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by using sensor data from vehicles that have already experienced entrance conditions to inform future parking decisions. The sensors detect actual entrance characteristics (bumps, narrow widths, steep ramps) and feed this information back through the network to other users, creating a collective knowledge base that helps avoid harmful conditions. This feedback loop transforms individual experiences into system-wide protection against vehicle damage and driver stress.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies preliminary anti-action by proactively identifying and flagging harmful entrance characteristics before drivers attempt to enter. By analyzing sensor data for indicators of potential damage (bumps, curbs, narrow entries) and incorporating this into parking recommendations, the system takes preventive action to avoid vehicle damage and driver panic before they occur, rather than reacting after damage happens.
3Measurement precision
If the system collects and processes sensor data from multiple vehicles to build a comprehensive map of entrance characteristics, then the accuracy and completeness of parking recommendations improve, but the system complexity and data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges sensor data from multiple vehicles into a unified database of entrance characteristics. Instead of each vehicle maintaining separate data, the system combines observations from numerous sources, correlating sensor readings with location data to build a comprehensive map of entrance features. This merging approach improves measurement precision through data aggregation while managing complexity through centralized processing and standardized data structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses copying by creating digital representations of physical entrance characteristics from sensor data. Rather than physically measuring each entrance, the system captures sensor readings (accelerometer data indicating bumps, camera images showing width, LiDAR point clouds mapping geometry) and creates copyable digital models that can be stored, processed, and shared across the network, reducing the complexity of physical measurement while maintaining accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to improving locating favorable entrances. In one embodiment, a method includes acquiring sensor data about a parking facility entrance from at least one vehicle sensor, processing the sensor data into characteristics about the parking facility entrance, storing the characteristics about the parking facility entrance in a map that includes a location of the parking facility entrance, and providing a recommendation for a parking facility based, at least in part, on the map.