EP3482384B1 - Determining laterally positioned parking spaces - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to the scanning of a parking space from a motor vehicle. In particular, the invention relates to the scanning of a parking space on the left side of the motor vehicle when driving on the right or on the right side of the motor vehicle when driving on the left.

State of the art

A motor vehicle can be parked in a parking space that exists at the edge of a road between other parked motor vehicles. The use of the parking space can be free of charge or subject to a charge. Different approaches to finding, managing and searching for such parking spaces are known.

DE 10 2004 062 021 A1 concerns the centralized collection of information about parking spaces.

DE 10 2008 028 550 A1 proposes scanning parking spaces from moving motor vehicles.

DE 10 2009 028 024 A1 shows how a motor vehicle can be guided to a free parking space.

DE 10 2006 036 423 A1 shows a method for determining a suitable parking space for a vehicle using sensors for measuring gaps between objects detected to the side of the vehicle.

DE 10 2011 003 881 A1 shows a method for supporting a driver of a motor vehicle, in which, while driving, the surroundings to the side of the motor vehicle are detected in order to detect a parking space. If a parking space is detected, a trajectory is determined along which the motor vehicle can park in the parking space.

DE 10 2013 211 632 A1 shows a method for providing parking information about free parking spaces, in which historical and current information about available, free parking spaces is determined for the at least one street, wherein at least one parking segment, which includes one or more streets, is determined from the information determined, and statistical parameters about free parking spaces are generated for each parking segment from the determined information.

A motor vehicle includes side-directed sensors to detect a parking space. If a parking space is determined, the motor vehicle can use this or transmit information about the parking space to an administration system. If the motor vehicle is on a road network with right-hand traffic, i.e. it usually drives on the right-hand side of the road, scanning a parking space on the right-hand side of the motor vehicle is much easier and safer than scanning a parking space on the left-hand side of the motor vehicle , which is further away from the motor vehicle and may in the meantime be shaded by overtaking or oncoming motor vehicles.

The object of the invention is to provide a technique for improved determination of a parking space. The invention solves this problem by means of the subject matter of the independent claims. Subclaims reflect preferred embodiments.

Disclosure of Invention

A method comprises the steps of driving on a section of a road using a plurality of first motor vehicles in the same direction of travel; scanning a right side of the road by means of a first sensor pointing laterally to the right, and a left side of the road by means of a second, lateral left facing sensor on each first motor vehicle; determining right parking spaces at the right side of the road based on data from the first sensor and left parking spaces at the left side of the road based on data from the second sensor; determining a confidence value based on a first cumulative used to determine right parking spaces on the segment and a second cumulative used to determine left parking spaces on the segment; and associating the confidence value with the segment and its direction of travel.

The following explanations are generally based on the fact that right-hand traffic prevails, ie a motor vehicle on a road usually uses the right-hand lane. However, the invention can also be applied to roads with left-hand traffic in a corresponding transfer.

The invention is based on the finding that on certain streets, in particular on narrow streets or one-way streets, specific parking spaces on the left-hand side of the street are more pronounced or correspond better to parking spaces defined on the right-hand side. By scanning the parking spaces with a large number of first motor vehicles, it can be estimated whether there is such a connection on a road or a section and whether a left-hand scan is likely to be realistic, or whether it cannot be assumed that a parking space determined on the left-hand side of the motor vehicle also actually exists. The higher the confidence value, the more confidence the left-side determination of a parking space can enjoy. The method can be used in particular to create a data collection that assigns a confidence value to different sections of a road network. The confidence value is linked to the direction of travel, so that the first motor vehicle and a second motor vehicle looking for a parking space must drive in the same direction.

In one embodiment, the confidence value is determined such that the better the first and second clusters along the road match, the higher the confidence value. In this case, the road is likely to be relatively narrow or unidirectional, and the left-hand scans are subject to little error.

In a further embodiment, the confidence value is determined in such a way that the higher the second accumulation of measurement noise, the lower it is. If certain parking spaces on the left differ only slightly from the measurement noise, the confidence value is therefore low. A signal-to-noise ratio can thereby be taken into account. In one embodiment, parking spaces determined on the left-hand side can be completely discarded if the second accumulation is below a predetermined threshold value with regard to the measurement noise.

In a further embodiment, the first motor vehicles can drive on the road several times in a predetermined direction and determine parking spaces on the right-hand side. Third motor vehicles can drive on the road in the opposite direction—before, interlaced, or after—with parking spaces being determined on the left-hand side. The confidence value can be determined such that it is higher the better accumulations of the parking spaces determined by the first motor vehicles correspond to accumulations of the parking spaces determined by the third motor vehicles or correlate with one another.

The measurement noise is preferably determined as an evenly distributed second accumulation along the road. These clusters are usually at relatively low levels.

It is also preferred that the measurement noise is the smaller, the greater the number of scans by means of the first motor vehicle. It is known that the measurement noise can be reduced by increasing the number of measurement processes that are as independent as possible from one another. The determination of the measurement noise can therefore depend on the number of scans of the first motor vehicle. In practice, it has been shown that a good differentiation between significant second accumulations and measurement noise is usually possible after scanning with approximately 500 first motor vehicles. In other implementation forums, good differentiation was also achieved with around 300 or even around 200 first motor vehicles.

It is also preferred that the confidence value is determined in such a way that the higher the second accumulation along the road, the higher it is.

A further method comprises the steps of driving on a section of a road using a second motor vehicle in one direction of travel; scanning a normally distant roadside with a sideways-looking sensor; determining a parking space based on the sample; determining a confidence value regarding the segment and the direction of travel; and issuing an indication of the parking space if a confidence value associated with the section of the road with regard to the same direction of travel exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

The roadside that is usually removed is the left-hand side of the road when traffic is on the right-hand side, and the right-hand side of the road when traffic is on the left-hand side. The method refers to the method described above, in which the confidence value used in the second method is generated using the first method. The second method can be used to subject measurements on the left-hand side on board the second motor vehicle to a plausibility check, so that measurements on the left-hand side can be permitted in an improved manner on certain streets and can be suppressed in an improved manner in other streets.

A computer program product includes program code means for performing one of the methods described above when the computer program product runs on a processing device or is stored on a computer-readable data carrier. Some of the methods can also be carried out by different processing devices or stored on spatially separate data carriers.

A device for determining a confidence value comprises a receiving device for receiving information from first motor vehicles which are driving on a section of a road in the same direction of travel; wherein on board the first motor vehicles a laterally directed first sensor for sensing a right roadside and a laterally directed second sensor for sensing a left roadside, a processing device for determining a first parking space on the right roadside on the basis of data from the first sensor and a second parking space on the left side of the road based on data from the second sensor, and a wireless transmission device for transmitting information relating to the specific parking spaces are provided. Furthermore, the device comprises a processing device which is set up to determine a first accumulation, with which first parking spaces on the right-hand side of the road were determined, and a second accumulation, with which second parking spaces on the left-hand side of the road were determined; and a confidence value based on the first and second clusters. In addition, a wireless transmission device is provided to provide the confidence value assigned to the section and the direction of travel.

The device is implemented as a central device or server and can wirelessly receive information from the first motor vehicle described above, process it and make it available to the second motor vehicle described above. In general, the second motor vehicle can also be taken from the set of first motor vehicles. In this sense, a first motor vehicle can coincide with the second motor vehicle.

A device for determining a parking space in the area of a second motor vehicle, which drives on a section of a road in one direction of travel, comprises a laterally directed sensor for scanning a roadside that is usually distant; a wireless transmitter for requesting and receiving a confidence value regarding the segment and the direction of travel; and a processing device configured to determine a parking space based on the scanning and to output an indication of the parking space if the confidence value exceeds a predetermined threshold value. The apparatus may enable the second motor vehicle to evaluate a left side roadside scan based on the previously determined confidence value. Unimportant or noisy measurements can thus be better suppressed. A number of incorrectly issued parking spaces determined on the left-hand side can be reduced.

Brief description of the figures

Fig. 1

ein System mit einem ersten Kraftfahrzeug, einem zweiten Kraftfahrzeug und einer zentralen Einrichtung;

Fig. 2

Ablaufdiagramme von Verfahren auf dem System von Fig. 1;

Fig. 3

beispielhafte Straßen; und

Fig. 4

beispielhafte Häufungen von bestimmten Parklücken auf den Straßen von Fig. 3

darstellt.The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the attached figures, in which:

1

a system with a first motor vehicle, a second motor vehicle and a central facility;

2

Flowcharts of procedures on the system from 1 ;

3

exemplary roads; and

4

exemplary accumulations of certain parking spaces on the streets of 3

represents.

figure 1 shows a system 100 with a first motor vehicle 105, a second motor vehicle 110 and a central device 115, which can also be called a server. The motor vehicles 105, 110 are on a road 120 with a left and a right roadside 125. The motor vehicles 105, 110 drive on the road 120 in the same direction of travel and each scan their lateral surroundings to determine parking spaces 130 to park a motor vehicle 105, 110 are suitable. As will be shown in more detail below, a large number of first motor vehicles 105 are required in order to determine a confidence value relating to the direction of travel and a section 135 of the road 120 from the scans of the first motor vehicles 105 . The confidence value is usually determined, stored or provided by the central facility 115 . Scans of the second motor vehicle 110 in the same direction of travel at the same section 135 can then be processed in an improved manner based on the confidence value.

The first motor vehicle 105 comprises a first sensor 140 pointing laterally to the right, a second sensor 145 pointing laterally to the left, a processing device 150 and a wireless interface 155. The sensors 140, 145 can comprise ultrasonic, radar or LiDAR sensors, for example. They are set up to scan the respective right or left roadside 125 in order to detect a parking space 130 . The determination of the parking space 130 on the basis of measurement signals can be carried out by the processing device 150 . The wireless interface 155 is set up to exchange information with the central facility 115 . Any radio technology can be used, such as mobile radio or WLAN.

The second motor vehicle 110 includes the same elements, it also being possible for the first sensor 140 to be dispensed with. If the second motor vehicle 110 is also to be able to operate as the first motor vehicle 105, then the first sensor 140 must be provided. Second motor vehicle 110 also includes an interface 160 for outputting a signal. An output device 165, which is aimed in particular at a driver of second motor vehicle 110 and can be optical, acoustic or haptic, is preferably connected to interface 160. However, the interface 160 can also lead to a further control device on board the second motor vehicle 110 .

The central device 115 preferably includes a wireless interface 170 for communication with the wireless interface 155 of the first motor vehicle 105 or the second motor vehicle 110, a processing device 175 and preferably a storage device 180. The central device 115 is set up to receive information regarding parking spaces 130 from a To receive a plurality of first motor vehicles 105 and to determine on their basis a confidence value which is related to a section 135 of the road 120 and the direction of travel of the first motor vehicle 105 . A large number of confidence values can be stored in the memory 180 in order to characterize adjacent sections 135 of the road 120, an entire road 120 or a road network. In addition, the central facility 115 is set up to receive a request from a second motor vehicle 110, the request including a section 135 of the road 120 and a direction of travel. In response to the request, the central facility 115 may return an appropriate confidence score to the second motor vehicle 110 via the wireless interfaces 170 and 155 .

figure 2 12 shows flowcharts of a first method 200, a second method 220, and a third method 250 that may be interleaved to improve sensing, processing, and use of parking space information. The first method 200 is preferably carried out in the first motor vehicle 105, the second method 220 in the central instance 115 and the third method 250 in the second motor vehicle 110.

In the first method 200, in a first step 202, the first motor vehicle 105 drives on the section 135 of the road 120 in a predetermined direction of travel. In a step 204 the first sensor 140 is used to scan the right roadside 125 and in a step 206 the second sensor 145 is used to scan the left roadside 125 of the road 120 . In steps 208 and 210 parking spaces 130 on the right and left side of the first motor vehicle 105 are determined on the basis of the scans. In a step 212 , information about specific parking spaces 130 is sent to the central device 115 using the wireless interface 155 .

In the second method 220 , information from the first motor vehicle 105 is received in a step 222 by means of the wireless interface 170 . On the basis of the information received, a frequency of parking spaces 130 determined on the right-hand side can be determined in particular in a step 224, a measurement noise of the determinations in a step 226, a number of scans of first motor vehicles 105 in a step 228, and frequencies of parking spaces 130 determined on the left-hand side in a step 230 become. On the basis of one or more of these results and pieces of information, a confidence is determined in a step 232, which expresses the probability with which a parking space 130 determined on the left-hand side of the road 125 of the road 120 actually corresponds to an existing parking space 130 and not just the result of a measurement error is.

In the third method 250 , in a step 252 , the section 135 of the road 120 is driven on by the second motor vehicle 110 . In a step 254, the second sensor 145 scans on the left side. In a step 258, a confidence or a confidence value is obtained which is related to the direction of travel of the second motor vehicle 110 and the section 135 of the road 120 on which the initially assumed parking space 130 is located. For this purpose, the second motor vehicle 110 can use the wireless interface 155 to send a corresponding request to the central entity 115 and receive a corresponding response. Of course, confidence values with regard to sections 135 of the road 120 can also be requested by the second motor vehicle 110 in advance from the central entity 115, so that the confidence values are present when the second motor vehicle 110 detects a parking space 130 on the left-hand side. In a step 260, an indication of the parking space 130 is output if the confidence at section 135 indicates that the measurement can be trusted. To this end, it can be checked whether the confidence exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

figure 3 shows an example road network 300 to illustrate the presented technology. Streets 120 of the street network 300 are driven on in a predetermined direction of travel 305 by first and second motor vehicles 105, 110. Purely by way of example, the directions of travel 305 are combined here to form an endless loop. Right-hand and left-hand parking spaces 130 on streets 120 are entered symbolically as bars. In the following, two streets 120 are considered in more detail, of which a first street 310 runs vertically in the left area of the illustration and a second street 315 runs horizontally in the lower area.

figure 4 shows abstract representations of frequencies of detected parking spaces 130 after the passage of a large number of first motor vehicles 105. Figure 4A shows frequencies of certain parking spaces 130 and on the right-hand side Figure 4B Frequencies of certain parking spaces 130 on the left-hand side. Each scan or parking space 130 relates to a section 135 of a road 120 and measurements by means of a large number of first motor vehicles 105. In the horizontal direction, courses of the roads 120 are as shown in FIG figure 3 and the frequencies plotted in the vertical direction.

It can be seen that in the first street 310 the left and right hand clusters are similar, while in the second street 315 such a relationship does not hold. A confidence value in sections 135 of the first road 310 is therefore high, while along the second road 315 low confidence values apply. A second motor vehicle 110 can accept a left-side measurement indicative of a parking space 130 in the first street 310 because of the high confidence value that applies there. In contrast, the same measurement result in the second street 315 can be discarded due to the low confidence value that applies there.

Claims (7)

1. Method (200, 220), comprising the following steps:

   - travelling (202) along a section (135) of a road (120) by way of a plurality of first motor vehicles (105) in the same direction of travel (305);

   - scanning (204) a right-hand roadside (125) by way of a first sensor (140), directed laterally to the right, and a left-hand roadside (125) by way of a second sensor (145), oriented laterally to the left, on each first motor vehicle (105);

   - determining (208) right-hand parking spaces (130) on the right-hand roadside (125) on the basis of data from the first sensor (140) and left-hand parking spaces (130) on the left-hand roadside (125) on the basis of data from the second sensor (145);

   characterized by the following steps:

   - transmitting (212) information about the determined parking spaces (130) to a central unit by way of a wireless interface (155) of each first motor vehicle (105) ;

   - receiving (222) the information about the determined parking spaces (130) by way of a wireless interface (170) of the central unit (115);

   - determining (232) a confidence value on the basis of a first frequency at which right-hand parking spaces (130) were determined on the section (135) and a second frequency at which left-hand parking spaces (130) were determined on the section (135), wherein the confidence value expresses the probability of a parking space (130) determined on the left-hand roadside (125) of the road (120) actually corresponding to a parking space (130) that is present, wherein the confidence value is higher the more the first and second frequencies along the road (120) correspond to one another and wherein the confidence value is lower the greater the second frequency consists of measurement noise; and

   - assigning (232) the confidence value to the section (135) and the direction of travel (305) and providing the confidence value by way of the central unit (115),

   - travelling (252) along a section (135) of a road (120) by way of a second motor vehicle (110) in a direction of travel (305);

   - scanning (254) a usually distant roadside (125) by way of a laterally directed sensor (145) of the second motor vehicle (110), wherein the usually distant roadside is the left-hand roadside when right-hand traffic is applicable and the right-hand roadside when left-hand traffic is applicable;

   - determining (256) a parking space (130) on the basis of the scanning;

   - the second motor vehicle (110) requesting and receiving (258) a confidence value in relation to the section (135) and the direction of travel (305) from the central unit (115); and

   - outputting (260) an indication of the parking space (130) if a confidence value assigned to the section (135) of the road (120) in relation to the same direction of travel (305) exceeds a predetermined threshold value.
2. Method (200, 220) according to Claim 1, wherein the measurement noise is defined as equally distributed second frequencies along the road (120).
3. Method (200, 220) according to Claim 2, wherein the measurement noise is smaller the greater the number of sampling operations performed by first motor vehicles (105) .
4. Method (200, 220) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the confidence value is higher the more pronounced the second frequency along the road (120).
5. Computer program product comprising program code means for performing a method (200, 220, 250) according to one of the preceding claims when the computer program product runs on a processing unit (150, 175) or is stored on a computer-readable data carrier.
6. Device (115) for determining a confidence value, for use as central unit in a method according to one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the device (115) comprises the following:

   - a reception unit (170) for receiving information from first motor vehicles (105) that are travelling along a section (135) of a road (120) in the same direction of travel (305);

   - wherein the following is provided on board the first motor vehicles (105):

   • a laterally directed first sensor (140) for scanning a right-hand roadside (125) and a laterally directed second sensor (145) for scanning a left-hand roadside (125);

   • a processing unit (150) for determining first parking spaces (130) on the right-hand roadside (125) on the basis of data from the first sensors (140) and second parking spaces (130) on the left-hand roadside (125) on the basis of data from the second sensors (145); and

   • a wireless transmission unit (155) for transmitting information in relation to the determined parking spaces (130);

   - a processing unit (175) that is configured to determine a first frequency at which first parking spaces (130) were determined on the right-hand roadside (125), and a second frequency at which second parking spaces (130) were determined on the left-hand roadside (125); and a confidence value on the basis of the first and the second frequency, wherein the confidence value expresses the probability of a parking space (130) determined on the left-hand roadside (125) of the road (120) actually corresponding to a parking space (130) that is present, wherein the confidence value is higher the more the first and second frequencies along the road (120) correspond to one another and wherein the confidence value is lower the greater the second frequency consists of measurement noise;

   - a wireless transmission unit (170) for providing the confidence value assigned to the section (135) and the direction of travel (305).
7. Device (115) according to Claim 6, wherein the following is provided on board a second motor vehicle in order to determine a parking space (130) in the region of the second motor vehicle (110) that is travelling along a section (135) of a road (120) in a direction of travel (305):

   - a laterally directed sensor (145) for scanning a usually distant roadside (125), wherein the usually distant roadside is the left-hand roadside when right-hand traffic is applicable and the right-hand roadside when left-hand traffic is applicable;

   - a wireless transmission unit (155) for requesting and receiving a confidence value in relation to the section (135) and the direction of travel (305); and

   - a processing unit (150) that is configured to determine a parking space (130) on the basis of the scanning and to output an indication of the parking space (130) if the confidence value exceeds a predetermined threshold value.

Images