Linux-Powered Auto-Parking Car

megmag writes "A really cool project using a Linux P4 machine for automatic parking of a Volvo S60 was presented last week. Take a look at the video. That's how your parking problem should be solved. It is a final-year student project within the mechanical engineering department at Linköping University, Sweden."

Comments

Funny, but if you look at the lines on the ground

[rsidd]

it looks like cars are supposed to park perpendicular to the edge there, not parallel. But both existing cars were also marked parallel.

Re:Suspicious

[dizdar]

that is because the parking lot that it is in is a normal parking lot. hence the lines pointing the wrong way.

mirror

[Chalex]

Here's a mirror of the 3.84MB video.

Re:that space would almost fit two cars

[mirko]

When I was in Germany, they'd fine you if you 'd let less than a meter between your park and the next so it might be the worst still legal situation in Sweden too.

More information

[Creamsickle]

One of the students on the project is actually the kid of an old friend of mine. In case you're wondering, the Linux system they are using is a custom system based on the Gentoo-HA (High Availability) distribution. In addition to parking cars, the optimized P4 box is also allegedly used for many games of Quake. :)

Also, according to my friend, large quantities of pizza were consumed as an essential part of this project.

Toyota

[pyreblade]

This is exciting and all, but the Japanese version of the Toyota Prius already does this.

Re:Toyota

[iggy3]

cool inventions 2003: Parking Space Invaders

Re:Toyota

[gearry]

If you RTFA, and then read this, you will see that what the two cars do is quite different. The Prius requires quite a bit of user interaction, whereas the system engineered with Volvo appears to require very little driver interaction, as well as the flexibility to be applied in vehicles with different steering systems.

Re:what the?

[PetoskeyGuy]

There is another video without the guy. http://www.ikp.liu.se/evolve/2004/filmer/Park_auto .wmv

Re:that space would almost fit two cars

[vrt3]

Not in Belgium. Check http://www.wegcode.be/wegcode/art25.htm (if you understand Dutch...):

Art. 25: parkeerverbod

* 25.1. Het is verboden een voertuig te parkeren:

1. op minder dan 1 meter zowel voor als achter een ander stilstaand of geparkeerd voertuig en op elke plaats waar het voertuig het instappen in of het wegrijden van een ander voertuig zou verhinderen;

Babelfish translation:

Art. 25: parkeerverbod

* 25.1. It has been prohibited park a vehicle:

1. parked on less than 1 meter both for and behind a another one stationary or vehicle and at each place where the vehicle getting in in or driving away a another vehicle would prevent;

Hm, I think I can bo better than the fish...

Art. 25: parking prohibition

* 25.1. It is prohibited to park a vehicle:

1. at less than 1 meter both before and behind another stationary or parked vehicle and at each place where the vehicle would prevent getting in or driving away another vehicle;