Marking-Based Perpendicular Parking Slot Detection Algorithm Using LiDAR Sensors

Vehicles, vol. 6, pp. 1717–1729

Abstract

The emergence of automotive-grade LiDARs has given rise to new potential methods to develop novel advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). However, accurate and reliable parking slot detection (PSD) remains a challenge, especially in the low-light conditions typical of indoor car parks. Existing camera-based approaches struggle with these conditions and require sensor fusion to determine parking slot occupancy. This paper proposes a parking slot detection (PSD) algorithm which utilizes the intensity of a LiDAR point cloud to detect the markings of perpendicular parking slots. LiDAR-based approaches offer robustness in low-light environments and can directly determine occupancy status using 3D information. The proposed PSD algorithm first segments the ground plane from the LiDAR point cloud and detects the main axis along the driving direction using a random sample consensus algorithm (RANSAC). The remaining ground point cloud is filtered by a dynamic Otsu’s threshold, and the markings of parking slots are detected in multiple windows along the driving direction separately. Hypotheses of parking slots are generated between the markings, which are cross-checked with a non-ground point cloud to determine the occupancy status. Test results showed that the proposed algorithm is robust in detecting perpendicular parking slots in well-marked car parks with high precision, low width error, and low variance. The proposed algorithm is designed in such a way that future adoption for parallel parking slots and combination with free-space-based detection approaches is possible. This solution addresses the limitations of camera-based systems and enhances PSD accuracy and reliability in challenging lighting conditions.

Authors 4

1. Jing Gong
   Affiliation as printed

   Porsche Engineering Services GmbH, Etzelstraße 1, 74321 Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany

2. Amod Raut
   Affiliation as printed

   Porsche Engineering Services GmbH, Etzelstraße 1, 74321 Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany

3. Marcel Pelzer
   Affiliation as printed

   Porsche Engineering Services GmbH, Etzelstraße 1, 74321 Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany

4. Felix Huening corresponding Aachen Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology

   FH Aachen

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, University of Applied Science Aachen, 52066 Aachen, Germany