Determining horizontal clearance for a vehicle

A method for determining horizontal clearance for a vehicle, the method comprising:

• determining an available clearance distance between a door of the vehicle and an object in an environment surrounding the vehicle using a ranging sensor;
• comparing the available clearance distance to one or more predetermined clearance distance thresholds;
• and
• providing information to an occupant of the vehicle using a human-machine interface (HMI) based at least in part on the available clearance distance and the one or more predetermined clearance distance thresholds, wherein the HMI further comprises at least one of:
• a first LED array affixed to an exterior surface of the door of the vehicle adjacent to an exterior handle of the door of the vehicle and a second LED array affixed to an interior surface of the door of the vehicle adjacent to an interior handle of the door of the vehicle.

A system for determining horizontal clearance for a vehicle, the system comprising:

• a ranging sensor configured to measure a distance between the vehicle and an object in an environment surrounding the vehicle, wherein the ranging sensor includes at least one of:
• one or more ultrasonic distance measurement sensors and a camera system;
• a human-machine interface (HMI) including:
• a first LED array affixed to an exterior surface of a door of the vehicle adjacent to an exterior handle of the door of the vehicle;
• a second LED array affixed to an interior surface of the door of the vehicle adjacent to an interior handle of the door of the vehicle;
• and
• an infotainment display disposed within the vehicle;
• and
• a controller in electrical communication with the ranging sensor and the HMI, wherein the controller is programmed to:
• determine an available clearance distance between a door of the vehicle and the object in the environment surrounding the vehicle using the ranging sensor;
• compare the available clearance distance to a first clearance distance threshold indicating that the door of the vehicle is openable to an entirety of a full opening distance, a second clearance distance threshold indicating that the door of the vehicle is openable to two thirds of the full opening distance, a third clearance distance threshold indicating that the door of the vehicle is openable to one third of the full opening distance, and a fourth clearance distance threshold indicating that the door of the vehicle is not openable;
• and
• provide a first indication to an occupant of the vehicle using the HMI in response to determining that the available clearance distance is greater than or equal to the first clearance distance threshold;
• provide a second indication to the occupant of the vehicle using the HMI in response to determining that the available clearance distance is greater than or equal to the second clearance distance threshold and less than the first clearance distance threshold;
• provide a third indication to the occupant of the vehicle using the HMI in response to determining that the available clearance distance is greater than or equal to the third clearance distance threshold and less than the second clearance distance threshold;
• and
• provide a fourth indication to the occupant of the vehicle using the HMI in response to determining that the available clearance distance is less than or equal to the fourth clearance distance threshold.