Improvement of Reverse Parking Assist with Automatic Steering

This paper describes some of the technology developed to help automobile drivers perform reverse parking operations. The authors note that reverse parking requires the driver to perform complicated steering operations while verifying the safety of the maneuver all around the vehicle. An efficient high-performance reverse parking assist with automatic steering was developed and commercialized in 2003. This was followed in 2006 by the development of a function that can determine the target parking position by parking space recognition using ultrasonic sensors, and parking space line recognition using image processing. As a result, the satisfaction level and use frequency by users has dramatically improved. The authors go on to describe the improvements achieved with an ultrasonic sensor which assists in the function that informs the driver of the reverse parking starting position, and the function to improve parking accuracy by capturing and tracking the parking space lines. These systems are characterized by an audio function which in essence talks the driver through the process of reverse parking.