Automated Valet Parking Positioning With Indoor Feature Mapping

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing parking systems face challenges such as the risk of accidents, time consumption in finding parking spaces, and the inconvenience of having to manually locate parked vehicles, with existing automated valet parking technologies lacking accurate position measurement in indoor environments.

Innovation Solution

A system and method for automated valet parking that includes a vehicle equipped with sensors and a communication system to interact with infrastructure, allowing autonomous parking and retrieval, using particle filter-based positioning to enhance accuracy and safety.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If automated driving is performed along a guide route in indoor parking facilities, then the driver can exit the vehicle conveniently, but accurate position measurement becomes difficult due to the indoor environment

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedriver convenienceVSAvoidvehicle position measurement accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces environmental information (parking lot slot information, road signs, walls, columns, floor markings) as intermediary reference objects to enable position measurement in indoor environments where GPS is unavailable. These environmental features serve as mediators between the vehicle's navigation system and the physical space, allowing the vehicle to determine its position by detecting and matching these features with a precision map.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces traditional GPS-based mechanical positioning systems with a sensor-based environmental recognition system. Instead of relying on satellite signals that don't penetrate indoor structures, the system uses lidars, radars, and cameras to detect environmental features and calculate position through coordinate transformation and feature matching algorithms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Device complexity

If a driver manually finds and locates parking spaces in large parking facilities, then no additional automation systems are needed, but the driver spends a lot of time and energy searching for parking

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesystem simplicityVSAvoidtime to find parking
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The infrastructure performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing a precision map of the parking facility containing all environmental features, parking slot positions, and navigation paths. When a vehicle arrives, the system has already prepared the positional reference framework, enabling immediate automated navigation without requiring the driver to manually search for parking spaces.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables self-service automated valet parking where the vehicle autonomously navigates to and from parking spaces without driver intervention. The vehicle receives the guide route from the infrastructure and independently executes the parking maneuver, eliminating the time and effort the driver would otherwise spend searching for and reaching the vehicle.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Productivity

If automated valet parking is implemented, then parking efficiency improves, but the system complexity increases due to the need for infrastructure and sensor integration

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveparking efficiencyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the automated valet parking system into two independent segments: the infrastructure component (precision map storage, guide route calculation, target position determination) and the vehicle component (sensor data acquisition, environmental feature detection, position calculation). This segmentation allows each part to be optimized independently and reduces the complexity burden on individual components while maintaining high overall productivity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3845438B1System and method for supporting automated valet parking, and infrastructure and vehicle therefor
Publication Date: 2026.01.14 HYUNDAI MOTOR CO LTD
  • EP3845438B1 patent drawingFigure 1
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  • EP3845438B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A system and a method for supporting automated valet parking, and an infrastructure and a vehicle therefor are provided. The method for operating a vehicle which supports automated valet parking includes initializing automated valet parking and receiving, from an infrastructure, a target position which is related to the vehicle and a guide route which guides movement to the target position. Additionally, the method includes performing automated driving by the vehicle along the guide route, and measuring a position of the vehicle based on behavior information of the vehicle and environmental information, while the vehicle performs the automated driving. The environmental information includes at least one among parking lot slot information, road signs, walls, pillars, and floor markings.