Vehicle Parking Skill Grading via Camera Distance Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Drivers often lack the skills to park vehicles properly, leading to inadequate clearance and potential damage, with existing methods like trial-and-error or mentor coaching being time-consuming and potentially flawed.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle-mounted parking skills improvement system using cameras and computer processing to capture images, determine distance parameters, and assign a parking skills grade, providing coaching for improvement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If trial-and-error methods are used to improve parking skills, then drivers may eventually learn proper parking techniques, but the process is time-consuming and frustrating
Solution Approach 1:
The system captures images of the vehicle's parking position using cameras, processes these images to determine distance parameters between the vehicle and parking spot boundaries, and provides immediate feedback to the driver about parking accuracy. This automated feedback loop eliminates the need for time-consuming trial-and-error methods by objectively measuring and communicating parking skill levels.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual, experience-based trial-and-error learning process with an automated computer vision system that uses cameras and image processing algorithms to measure parking parameters. This substitution of mechanical/manual assessment with automated optical measurement significantly reduces the time required to evaluate and improve parking skills.
2Reliability
If mentor coaching is used to improve parking skills, then drivers receive guidance and supervision, but the mentor may unknowingly pass on bad habits and techniques
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces human mentor coaching with an automated computer-based evaluation system that objectively measures parking parameters against predefined standards. This eliminates the risk of mentors transmitting bad habits or subjective biases, ensuring consistent and accurate instruction based on measurable criteria rather than individual mentor expertise or experience.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the subjective art of mentor coaching into objective parameter-based assessment by measuring specific distance parameters (e.g., distance from vehicle to parking spot lines) and comparing them against ideal values. This parameterization of parking quality ensures consistent, repeatable evaluation free from human error or bias.
3Productivity
If drivers park without adequate clearance, then parking efficiency is improved, but the risk of damage to vehicles and inconvenience to others increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides real-time feedback to drivers about their clearance distances from parking spot boundaries and adjacent vehicles. By measuring and communicating these distances, the system enables drivers to optimize their parking position to achieve adequate clearance without excessive waste of space, balancing parking efficiency with safety margins.
Data Source
AI summary
Exemplary embodiments described in this disclosure are generally directed to systems and methods for improving vehicle parking skills. In an exemplary implementation, one or more cameras that are mounted in a vehicle may be used to capture a set of images when the vehicle is parked in a parking spot. The images may include a portion of the vehicle, a portion of another vehicle parked in an adjacent parking spot, an object located outside the parking spot, and/or one or more lines that delineate the parking spot. The images may be processed by a computer to determine distance parameters between the vehicle and items such as the other vehicle, the object located outside the parking spot, and/or the lines of the parking spot. A parking skills grade may then be assigned by the computer, to a driver of the vehicle, based on the distance parameters.