Trajectory Folding-based Path Planning for Automated Parking System

In this paper, we propose a completely new path planning algorithm for automatic parking considering both physical constraints of a vehicle motion and computational complexity. The proposed algorithm provides a path for parking, whose curvature satisfies the clothoid constraint, so that the vehicle can smoothly follow the path. In the path planning, we introduce an innovative trajectory folding scheme which does not require a high-computational cost. Trajectory folding scheme can be used to create a general vehicle control path for longitudinal and lateral movement in desired parking slots. The folding scheme has an advantage that it can make a path satisfying the physical constraint of the vehicle while considering the surrounding obstacles. Finally, we introduce a completely automated parking system using the lateral motion control and a simple proportional control for longitudinal motion. The proposed scheme was validated via computational simulation results showing satisfactory performances on the tested scenario.