System and method for reverse perpendicular parking a vehicle

A method of parking a vehicle 100 in a parking lot, or car park, includes generating steering commands based on an occupancy grid 108. The occupancy grid is derived from map data, which may be received from a parking manager system 102 or GPS system, and data from a plenoptic camera 104. The map data defines parking spots relative to topographical features, such as lights 110, 112, within the lot. The camera data defines depth maps and corresponding images that include the topological feature captured during movement of the vehicle. The steering command is generated such that the vehicle follows a reverse perpendicular path into one of the spots 116 without entering an occupied area. Braking and propulsion systems may also be controlled to effect the manoeuver autonomously.