Vehicle and method for detecting a parking space via a drone

• US 10,529,233 B1
• Filed: 09/24/2018
• Issued: 01/07/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/24/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Vieten, Florian, Roeber, Marc, Hanneken, Patrick
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Tanmay K
• Application Number:
  US16/139,488
• Time in Patent Office: 470 Days
• Field of Search: 3409322
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/30 for imaging, photography or videography
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/31 for surveillance
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 80/86 Land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/13 Satellite images
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/17 taken from planes or by drones
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/586 of parking space
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/143 inside the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/147 where the parking area is within an open public zone, e.g. city centre

Abstract

A vehicle includes processors, a display, and a drone comprising a camera and sensors. The processors receive an input indicating a destination, generate a zone including the destination, cause the drone to capture images of the zone, identify an unoccupied parking spot from the images of the zone, and present the unoccupied parking spot on the display.

Claims

1. A vehicle comprising:

a drone comprising a camera;

a display; and

processors configured to;

receive an input indicating a destination;

generate a zone including the destination;

responsive to the vehicle'"'"'s velocity being less than a threshold, enable the drone to take-off;

cause the drone to capture images of the zone;

identify an unoccupied parking spot from the images of the zone; and

present the unoccupied parking spot on the display.

2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processors are further configured to:

responsive to failing to identify any unoccupied parking spot from the images of the zone;

increase the zone;

cause the drone to capture images of the increased zone; and

identify any unoccupied parking spot from the images of the increased zone.

3. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processors are further configured to:

determine the vehicle'"'"'s estimated time for arrival (ETA) to the destination;

responsive to the vehicle'"'"'s ETA being lower than a threshold, enable the drone to take-off.

4. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processors are further configured to:

generate one or more routes in which the drone is to traverse within the zone.

5. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processors are further configured to cause the drone to capture the images of the zone based on a priority.

6. The vehicle of claim 5, wherein the priority causes the drone to prioritize a search in an area within the zone based on a type of parking spaces available within the zone.

7. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processors are further configured to generate a list of unoccupied parking spots based on the images of the zone.

8. The vehicle of claim 7, wherein the processors are further configured to:

responsive to selecting one of the unoccupied parking spots from the list, cause the drone to monitor the selected unoccupied parking spot; and

when the selected unoccupied parking spot becomes unavailable, remove the selected unoccupied parking spot from the list.

9. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the processors are further configured to:

while the drone is activated;

responsive to an amount of power remaining in the drone being less than a threshold, cause the drone to return to the vehicle.

10. A vehicle comprising:

a drone comprising a camera;

a display; and

processors configured to;

receive an input indicating a destination;

generate a zone including the destination;

cause the drone to capture images of the zone based on a priority;

generate a vehicle route to the destination, and wherein the priority causes the drone to prioritize a search in an area within the zone based on proximity of the area relative to the vehicle route;

identify an unoccupied parking spot from the images of the zone; and

present the unoccupied parking spot on the display.

11. A method of operating a drone to identify at least one unoccupied parking spot for a vehicle, the method comprising:

receiving an input indicating a destination;

generating a zone including the destination;

responsive to the vehicle'"'"'s velocity being less than a threshold, enabling the drone to take-off;

causing the drone to capture images of the zone;

identifying an unoccupied parking spot from the images of the zone; and

presenting the unoccupied parking spot.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

responsive to failing to identify any unoccupied parking spot from the images of the zone;

increasing the zone;

causing the drone to capture images of the increased zone; and

identifying any unoccupied parking spot from the images of the increased zone.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

determining the vehicle'"'"'s estimated time for arrival (ETA) to the destination;

responsive to the vehicle'"'"'s ETA being lower than a threshold, enabling the drone to take-off.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

generating one or more routes in which the drone is to traverse within the zone.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

causing the drone to capture the images of the zone based on a priority.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

generating a vehicle route to the destination, and wherein the priority causes the drone to prioritize a search in an area within the zone based on proximity of the area relative to the vehicle route.

17. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein the priority causes the drone to prioritize a search in an area within the zone based on a type of parking spaces available within the zone.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

generating a list of unoccupied parking spots based on the images of the zone.