Valet parking method and valet parking system

• US 10,409,290 B2
• Filed: 01/19/2016
• Issued: 09/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Mielenz, Holger
• Primary Examiner(s): Harold, Jefferey F
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sanders, Justin B
• Application Number:
  US15/538,811
• Publication Number:
  US 20170351267A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,330 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/06 Automatic manoeuvring for parking
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0285 Parking performed automatically
• CPC Class Codes: E04H 6/422 Automatically operated car-parks
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0212 with means for defining a desired trajectory involving a plurality of land vehicles G05D1/0287
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0289 with means for avoiding collisions between vehicles vehicle fittings for automatically controlling speed including means for detecting potential obstacles B60K31/0008; avoiding obstacles by action on the steering system B62D; radar, sonar, lidar systems designed for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0297 by controlling means in a control room
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30232 Surveillance
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30236 Traffic on road, railway or crossing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30241 Trajectory
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30264 Parking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/52 Surveillance or monitoring of activities, e.g. for recognising suspicious objects recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/54 of traffic, e.g. cars on the road, trains or boats
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/56 exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/143 inside the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/146 where the parking area is a limited parking space, e.g. parking garage, restricted space
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/164 Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/204 using stereoscopic image cameras stereoscopic photography G03B35/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/90 Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums

Abstract

A method for automatically transporting a vehicle from a transfer zone to an assigned parking space within a predefined parking facility with the aid of a parking facility monitoring system including at least one stationary sensor unit, and pieces of information about the present vehicle position being transmitted to a central control unit. Certain areas of the parking facility are monitored by the sensor units with high accuracy, and other areas of the parking facility are monitored by the sensor units with lesser accuracy, overlapping areas of trajectories of other vehicles with a trajectory being determined by the central control unit, and the trajectory being adapted in such a way that an overlapping area ends up in an area of the parking facility which is monitored by the sensor units with high accuracy.

Claims

1. A valet parking system for automatically transporting a vehicle from a transfer zone to an assigned parking space within a predefined parking facility and for automatically unparking and transporting the vehicle to a pick-up zone, comprising:

a central control unit; and

a parking facility monitoring system including at least one stationary sensor unit, the parking facility monitoring system being configured to localize the vehicles driving within the predefined parking facility and to transmit pieces of information about the present vehicle position to the central control unit;

wherein the central control unit is configured to transmit pieces of information to the vehicle so that the vehicle is autonomously guidable along a trajectory within the parking facility based on the pieces of information,

wherein the at least one stationary sensor unit includes sensor units situated so that certain areas of the parking facility are monitored by the sensor units with high accuracy, and other areas of the parking facility are monitored by the sensor units with lesser accuracy,

wherein the central control unit is configured to determine overlapping areas of trajectories of other vehicles with the trajectory and to adapt the trajectory so that an overlapping area ends up in an area of the parking facility which is monitored by the sensor units with high accuracy, and

wherein the central control unit includes a memory unit, a digital map of the predefined parking facility being stored on the memory unit which includes pieces of information about areas of the parking facility which are monitored by the sensor units with high accuracy, areas of the parking facility which are monitored by the sensor units with lesser accuracy, and the map being continuously updated with pieces of information detected by the sensor units, and the central control unit being configured to determine and adapt trajectories based on the digital map.

2. The valet parking system as recited in claim 1, wherein points of encounter are defined within the areas of the parking facility which are monitored by the sensor units with high accuracy, and the central control unit is configured to adapt the trajectory in such a way that an overlapping area ends up in an area of a point of encounter.

3. The valet parking system as recited in claim 1, wherein the pieces of information transmitted from the central control unit to the vehicle include at least one of:

(i) pieces of path information, (ii) pieces of speed information, (iii) pieces of steering information, and (iv) stop and start instructions.

4. The valet parking system as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the sensor units is one of a 2D video camera system or a 3D video camera system, the least one of the sensor units configured to implement at least one of an object identification function and an object tracking function.

5. The valet parking system as recited in claim 1, wherein the central control unit is configured to adapt the trajectory in an overlapping area in such a way that collisions with other vehicles are prevented, the trajectory being continuously adapted based on pieces of surroundings information detected by at least one of the sensor units.

6. The valet parking system as recited in claim 1, wherein pieces of surroundings information having at least one of a higher spatial resolution, a higher time resolution, and a higher image contrast, are available in the areas of the parking facility which are monitored by the sensor units with higher accuracy than in the areas of the parking facility which are monitored by the sensor units with lesser accuracy.

7. The valet parking system as recited in claim 5, wherein additional pieces of surroundings information are detected by surroundings detection sensors on the vehicle and transmitted from the vehicle to the central control unit, the additional pieces of surroundings information being taken into consideration in the adaptation of the trajectory.

8. The valet parking system as recited in claim 1, wherein the digital map includes a 2D map or a 3D map of the predefined parking facility includes further pieces of information, including, available parking areas, drivable traffic lanes, traffic rules and present positions of the vehicles.

9. A parking facility including a valet parking system, for automatically transporting a vehicle from a transfer zone to an assigned parking space within a predefined parking facility and for automatically unparking and transporting the vehicle to a pick-up zone, comprising:

a central control unit; and

a parking facility monitoring system including at least one stationary sensor unit, the parking facility monitoring system being configured to localize the vehicles driving within the predefined parking facility and to transmit pieces of information about the present vehicle position to the central control unit;

wherein the central control unit is configured to transmit pieces of information to the vehicle so that the vehicle is autonomously guidable along a trajectory within the parking facility based on the pieces of information,

wherein the at least one stationary sensor unit includes sensor units situated so that certain areas of the parking facility are monitored by the sensor units with high accuracy, and other areas of the parking facility are monitored by the sensor units with lesser accuracy, and

wherein the central control unit is configured to determine overlapping areas of trajectories of other vehicles with the trajectory and to adapt the trajectory so that an overlapping area ends up in an area of the parking facility which is monitored by the sensor units with high accuracy, and

wherein the central control unit includes a memory unit, a digital map of the predefined parking facility being stored on the memory unit which includes pieces of information about areas of the parking facility which are monitored by the sensor units with high accuracy, areas of the parking facility which are monitored by the sensor units with lesser accuracy, and the map being continuously updated with pieces of information detected by the sensor units, and the central control unit being configured to determine and adapt trajectories based on the digital map.

10. A method for automatically transporting a vehicle from a transfer zone to an assigned parking space within a predefined parking facility and for automatically unparking and transporting the vehicle to a pick-up zone, the method comprising:

localizing, the vehicle driving within the predefined parking facility, with a parking facility monitoring system including at least one stationary sensor unit;

transmitting pieces of information about the present vehicle position to a central control unit, the central control unit transmitting pieces of information to the vehicle so that the vehicle is autonomously guidable along a trajectory within the parking facility based on the pieces of information, wherein the at least one stationary sensor unit includes sensor units situated so that certain areas of the parking facility are monitored by the sensor units with high accuracy, and other areas of the parking facility are monitored by the sensor units with lesser accuracy;

determining, by the central control unit, overlapping areas of trajectories of other vehicles with the trajectory; and

adapting the trajectory so that an overlapping area ends up in an area of the parking facility which is monitored by the sensor units with high accuracy, and

wherein the central control unit includes a memory unit, a digital map of the predefined parking facility being stored on the memory unit which includes pieces of information about areas of the parking facility which are monitored by the sensor units with high accuracy, areas of the parking facility which are monitored by the sensor units with lesser accuracy, and the map being continuously updated with pieces of information detected by the sensor units, and the central control unit being configured to determine and adapt trajectories based on the digital map.

11. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium on which is stored a computer program, which is executable by a processor, comprising:

a program code arrangement having program code for automatically transporting a vehicle from a transfer zone to an assigned parking space within a predefined parking facility and for automatically unparking and transporting the vehicle to a pick-up zone, by performing the following;

localizing the vehicle driving within the predefined parking facility with a parking facility monitoring system including at least one stationary sensor unit;

transmitting pieces of information about the present vehicle position to a central control unit, the central control unit transmitting pieces of information to the vehicle so that the vehicle is autonomously guidable along a trajectory within the parking facility based on the pieces of information, wherein the at least one stationary sensor unit includes sensor units situated so that certain areas of the parking facility are monitored by the sensor units with high accuracy, and other areas of the parking facility are monitored by the sensor units with lesser accuracy;

determining, by the central control unit, overlapping areas of trajectories of other vehicles with the trajectory; and

adapting the trajectory so that an overlapping area ends up in an area of the parking facility which is monitored by the sensor units with high accuracy, and

wherein the central control unit includes a memory unit, a digital map of the predefined parking facility being stored on the memory unit which includes pieces of information about areas of the parking facility which are monitored by the sensor units with high accuracy, areas of the parking facility which are monitored by the sensor units with lesser accuracy, and the map being continuously updated with pieces of information detected by the sensor units, and the central control unit being configured to determine and adapt trajectories based on the digital map.