Time-of-Flight Cameras for Parking Assistance: A Feasibility Study

Parking assistance is one of the most demanded assisted driving functionalities of today. In contrast to 2D cameras, time-of-flight (ToF) sensors provide real 3D data which can be used to inform the driver about the vehicle's surroundings. State-of-the-art ToF cameras are compact, inexpensive and capable of providing high frame-rate 3D data with minimal computational overhead. In this paper, we evaluate the feasibility of ToF cameras used as perception sensors in parking assistance applications. ToF cameras are highly capable for parking assistance applications, but for outdoor usage, an enhanced illumination unit is necessary.