AUTONOMOUS PARALLEL PARKING -A study based on the implementation of a car-like mobile robot

Abstract: The area of autonomous parking attracts a great deal of attention from the research community and the automobile industry. Research has showed that many robotic navigation systems fail to deliver the performance and flexibility of animal navigation techniques, even though they are both mathematically and technologically complex. Biomimetic robotic research, i.e., research that tries to mimic biological solutions, has inspired me to take on a simplified approach to the task of autonomous parallel parking. In this study, three ways to reduce the complexity of the task are shown and demonstrated by the implementation of a car-like mobile robot. First, a distinction between to autonomouslyfind a free parking place and to autonomously park a vehicle is made, where only the latter is of relevance. Second, nothing but the goal, i.e., the free parking place, needs to be plotted on the internal map. Finally, the solution should only use cheap and commonly available technologies. The practicability of the prototype is measured in terms of performance, accuracy and reliability, with satisfactory results.