A machine learning approach for the segmentation of driving maneuvers and its application in autonomous parking

Abstract

A classification system for the segmentation of driving maneuvers and its validation in autonomous parking using a small-scale vehicle are presented in this work. The classifiers are designed to detect points that are crucial for the path-planning task, thus enabling the implementation of efficient autonomous parking maneuvers. The training data set is generated by simulations using appropriate vehicle-dynamics models and the resulting classifiers are validated with the small-scale autonomous vehicle. To achieve both a high classification performance and a classification system that can be implemented on a microcontroller with limited computational resources, a two-stage design process is applied. In a first step an ensemble classifier, the Random Forest (RF) algorithm, is constructed and based on the RF-kernel a General Radial Basis Function (GRBF) classifier is generated. The GRBF-classifier is integrated into the small-scale autonomous vehicle leading to excellent performance in parallel-, cross- and oblique-parking maneuvers. The work shows that segmentation using classifies and open-loop control are an efficient approach in autonomous driving for the implementation of driving maneuvers.