Manual Parking Assistance With Predictive Haptic Steering

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing parking assistance systems for manually steered vehicles often fail to achieve accurate and reliable parking due to driver reaction time delays, leading to deviations from the optimal trajectory, especially at higher speeds.

Innovation Solution

A method that generates a haptic steering recommendation based on predicted deviations from a reference trajectory, using environmental sensors and a computing unit to anticipate the driver's actions, allowing for timely steering interventions through an actuator system.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the driver receives parking instructions based on current deviation from trajectory, then the system provides real-time feedback, but the driver's reaction time causes delay in implementing corrections leading to suboptimal parking position

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveparking position accuracyVSAvoiddriver reaction time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system calculates and issues parking instructions based on predicted future deviation from the optimal trajectory rather than current deviation. This preliminary action allows the driver to receive advance warning and react in time, compensating for the driver's reaction time delay and achieving more accurate parking position.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Productivity

If the system issues correction instructions based on current steering angle, then the feedback is immediate, but the instructions may be issued too late to achieve optimal parking without additional maneuvers

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveparking maneuver efficiencyVSAvoidtime delay in correction
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system predicts the future steering angle based on current trajectory deviation and issues correction instructions in advance. This allows the driver to implement corrections earlier in the parking maneuver, improving overall efficiency and avoiding the need for additional correction maneuvers.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If the system provides continuous steering recommendations, then the driver is guided throughout the maneuver, but the driver must process and implement multiple instructions increasing the complexity of the task

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetrajectory following accuracyVSAvoiddriver task complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system continuously monitors the actual trajectory and compares it with the optimal trajectory, providing feedback based on the predicted deviation. This feedback mechanism guides the driver through the parking maneuver while adapting to the driver's actions, reducing the cognitive load by providing context-aware recommendations rather than rigid continuous instructions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP4161818B1Method and driver assistance system for parking assistance for a motor vehicle
Publication Date: 2025.10.15 VOLKSWAGEN AG
  • EP4161818B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4161818B1 patent drawingFigure 2a~2e
  • EP4161818B1 patent drawingFigure 3a~3d

AI summary

According to a method for parking assistance for a motor vehicle (1) in a manually steered parking manoeuvre, sensor data is generated by an environment sensor system (3) of the motor vehicle (1), which represents an environment of the motor vehicle (1), at least one reference trajectory (7) is determined by a computer unit (4) according to the sensor data and an actual value of a variable parameter at a time during a parking manoeuvre is determined by a sensor system (5) of the motor vehicle (1). By means of the computer unit (4), at least one predicted deviation of the parameter from a target value is determined according to the at least one reference trajectory (7) and the actual value, and a haptic signal is automatically generated as a steering recommendation for a driver of the motor vehicle (1) according to the at least one predicted deviation.