Panasonic (Osaka) — Society is increasingly seeking to build a safer, more comfortable automotive society through advancing automated driving and reducing traffic accidents. To achieve this goal, Panasonic has developed a driverless automated valet parking system and an AR-HUD (Augmented Reality Head-Up Display). The driverless automated valet parking system achieves fully automated driving in limited areas, while the AR-HUD offers safe, comfortable navigation so that the user can concentrate on driving. These technologies will be installed in Toyota Motor Corporation’s concept car, LQ.
Driverless automated valet parking system: This system is achieving driverless automated valet parking without dedicated expensive sensors. It accurately identifies the position of own vehicle by using multiple conventional in-vehicle cameras, sonars, and radar sensors as well as a 2D road map. The system enables safe parking by finding an empty space and detecting pedestrians who enter the roadway by linking to surveillance cameras in a parking lot and a control server. Driverless automated valet parking accomplishes parking in a very narrow space up to a minimum of 20cm clearance between cars, because it is unnecessary to open or close the doors after parking. An in-vehicle emergency braking system that detects people by using deep learning helps to prevent accidents.
This system is expected to offer the following advantages：
- Achieving driverless automated valet parking system, without dedicated expensive sensors. Reduce traffic accident in a parking lot at low cost and reduce significantly stress related to parking (e.g., finding a parking space, walking a long distance from a parking lot, dealing with adverse weather condition)
- Effectively utilize land by enabling the use of distant parking lots and small parking spaces
Large screen AR-HUD: A large image that gives a sense of depth is superimposed on the actual space in front of the driver’s seat. Based on the information from the vehicle, the AR-HUD indicates route information and obstacle alerts just like physical markings on the road. It presents a high-quality image on a large screen with minimal distortion by using the company’s proprietary optical technologies–refined through the development of audio-visual products–to reduce misalignment between the actual space and the image.
This system is expected to offer the following advantages：
- Assist with safe driving by reducing the movements and focus readjustments of the driver’s eyes by presenting information intuitively
- Reduce the misalignment caused by vibration between the actual space and the displayed image by using proprietary vibration compensation technology, achieving navigation that is easier to see and understand