Parking Lot Mapping Using Vehicle Orientation and Parking Traces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing parking lot identification systems fail to accurately identify parking lot areas on a map, as they either assign attributes without shape estimation or focus solely on vehicle capacity, neglecting the actual shape and layout of parking spaces.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a control apparatus on vehicles and a central apparatus that communicates to identify parking lot areas by acquiring and transmitting parking-related data, including location and orientation, to accurately delineate parking slots and clusters them into recognizable parking lots.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If parking lot estimation is performed based on the number of times vehicles were parked and other factors, then the determination of whether an area is a parking lot can be made, but the actual shape and layout of parking spaces cannot be accurately identified
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional parking location coordinates to three-dimensional spatial information by incorporating vehicle orientation data. This additional dimensional information enables the reconstruction of parking slot shapes and layouts, resolving the contradiction between determining parking lot areas and identifying their actual shapes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a digital copy of the physical parking lot by collecting and processing vehicle parking data (locations and orientations) to generate map information that replicates the actual shape and layout of parking spaces, thereby preserving spatial information that would otherwise be lost.
2Device complexity
If parking lot areas are identified without considering vehicle orientation data, then the identification process is simpler, but the shape estimation of parking slots becomes inaccurate
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary data collection by accumulating vehicle location and orientation information during the parking process before conducting shape estimation. This preparatory accumulation of oriented parking data enables accurate shape reconstruction without requiring complex real-time processing, thus balancing simplicity and precision.
3Ease of manufacture
If only parking location data is collected from vehicles, then the data collection process is simpler, but the identification of parking lot shapes and aisles becomes impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle's positioning system, which naturally provides location data, is extended to also capture orientation information. This multi-functional use of the same data collection infrastructure enables shape and aisle identification without requiring separate complex sensing systems, thus maintaining ease of implementation while preserving spatial information.
Data Source
AI summary
A parking lot identification system includes a control apparatus mounted to each of a plurality of vehicles and a central apparatus that communicates with the control apparatus of each of the plurality of vehicles. In the control apparatus of each of the plurality of vehicles, a parking determination unit is configured to determine whether a parking action of the vehicle is recognized, a parking-related data acquisition unit is configured to, in response to the parking action of the vehicle being recognized, acquire parking-related data including data of a location and an orientation of the vehicle during the parking action, and a parking-related data transmission unit is configured to transmit the parking-related data to the central apparatus. The central apparatus is configured to identify a parking lot area based on the parking-related data transmitted from the plurality of vehicles.