Method for autonomously parking and un-parking a motor vehicle

A method for autonomously parking or un-parking a motor vehicle, the method comprising:

• locating the motor vehicle within a parking area;
• setting a destination location within the parking area;
• generating a node tree from the location of the motor vehicle to the destination location, wherein the node tree includes a plurality of linked nodes organized into separate generations, each node having a cost associated therewith, wherein the cost of a node is equal to a base cost plus an inherited cost and a turning cost;
• selecting a path from the location of the motor vehicle to the destination location having the lowest cost;
• and
• autonomously driving the motor vehicle along the path from the location of the motor vehicle to the destination location.

A method for autonomously parking or un-parking a motor vehicle, the method comprising:

• locating the motor vehicle relative to a parking area;
• setting a destination location within the parking area;
• generating a path comprising the steps of:
• (a) generating a first set of nodes from the location of the motor vehicle;
• (b) assigning a cost to each node in the first set of nodes;
• (c) selecting a lowest cost node from the first set of nodes;
• (d) generating another set of nodes linked to the selected node and offset from the selected node by a fixed distance and a steering angle;
• (e) assigning a cost to each of the newly generated nodes, wherein the cost of a node is equal to a base cost plus an inherited cost from the selected node, a turning cost, and a reverse cost if the newly generated node is behind the selected node;
• (f) selecting a lowest cost node from all of the nodes;
• (g) repeating steps (d)-(f) until a lowest cost node is located at the destination location;
• and
• (h) setting a path from the location of the motor vehicle to the destination location comprising the last selected lowest cost node and parent nodes connected to the last selected cost node;
• and
• autonomously driving the motor vehicle along the path from the location of the motor vehicle to the destination location.