Vehicle Pickup Timing Control for Automated Valet Parking

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Solution Overview

Problem

In automated valet parking systems, vehicles often arrive at pick-up areas too early, causing congestion as they wait for passengers, leading to prolonged occupancy and delays for other users.

Innovation Solution

A control device that calculates a predicted user arrival time based on the user's position and movement speed, managing the vehicle's movement start timing to arrive at the pick-up area shortly before the user, using a margin to adjust for potential delays and congestion.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of time

If vehicles move to pick-up area immediately upon receiving a call, then user service responsiveness is improved, but pick-up area congestion increases and occupancy time is prolonged

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser waiting timeVSAvoidpick-up area throughput

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of timeVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The control device performs preliminary calculation of the predicted user arrival time at the pick-up area before instructing the vehicle to move. This allows the vehicle to be dispatched at an optimized timing that anticipates user arrival, rather than moving immediately upon receiving a call. The preliminary timing calculation prevents both early arrival (causing congestion) and late arrival (increasing user waiting time), thus resolving the contradiction between user service responsiveness and pick-up area throughput.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If vehicles arrive at pick-up area early to ensure user pickup, then service reliability is improved, but pick-up area occupancy time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser pickup reliabilityVSAvoidvehicle occupancy time at pick-up area

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDuration of action of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The control device continuously monitors the user's position and movement speed, and dynamically recalculates the predicted user arrival time at the pick-up area. This feedback mechanism allows the vehicle's departure timing to be adjusted in real-time based on actual user progress, ensuring reliable user pickup while minimizing unnecessary early arrival and reducing vehicle occupancy time at the pick-up area.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system transitions from a static, fixed-timing approach to a dynamic, adaptive timing approach. The vehicle's movement timing is no longer predetermined but is continuously optimized based on real-time user position and movement data. This dynamic adjustment ensures the vehicle arrives at the optimal moment for user pickup, improving reliability while reducing unnecessary occupancy time.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS11048259B2Control device

Publication Date: 2021.06.29 SUBARU CORP

AI summary

A control device is configured to cause a vehicle parked in a parking lot to move to a pick-up area in accordance with a call from a user who is a passenger of the vehicle. The control device includes a user position acquiring unit, a predicted time calculator, and a timing manager. The user position acquiring unit is configured to acquire, as a user position, a current position of the user who has made the call. The predicted time calculator is configured to calculate a predicted user arrival time on the basis of the user position, and the predicted user arrival time is a time in which the user is predicted to arrive at the pick-up area. The timing manager is configured to manage a movement start timing at which the vehicle to be called starts moving to the pick-up area on the basis of the predicted user arrival time.