It still sounds like something that is impossible: a car that parks itself. But in the car park of the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, this is really going to happen soon. Daimler and Bosch are working there on a pilot for driverless parking, or Automated Valet Parking.
In the Stuttgart car park, cars will soon automatically drive to an assigned parking space, indicated via a smartphone. The driver will not have to wait to park, everything will happen automatically.
The pilot in the car park of the Mercedes-Benz Museum is the world's first infrastructure-supported autonomous pick-up and parking service to be tested in real-life conditions. From early 2018, it will be possible for visitors to use the service, which will save them some parking time after all. According to the developers, autonomous parking fits in perfectly with autonomous driving, in which many developments are also underway.
"We are taking bigger steps towards autonomous driving than many people think. The driverless parking solution in the Mercedes-Benz Museum impressively demonstrates how far the technology has already advanced," said Dr Michael Hafner, head of Automated Driving and Active Safety at Mercedes-Benz Cars Development. Gerhard Steiger, Head of Chassis Systems Control at Bosch, says: "Parking will be an automated process in the future. By applying smart parking infrastructure and linking it to vehicle systems, we have succeeded in realising driverless parking earlier than expected."
Fully automatic
The autonomous car park works as follows: cars can be reserved using a smartphone app. The car drives itself to the pick-up area where the ride is started. Returning the car is just as fast. The customer picks up the car in the drop-off area of the car park and returns it using the smartphone app. After registration by the intelligent system installed in the car park, the car is started and driven to the assigned parking space.
The combination of a smart car park infrastructure from Bosch combined with vehicle technology from Mercedes-Benz will make autonomous parking possible. Sensors installed in the car park monitor the roadway and surroundings of the car and control the car accordingly. The on-board technology performs safe driving manoeuvres tailored to the inputs from the car park infrastructure and stops the car in time if necessary. The car park sensors and communication technology are from Bosch. Daimler will provide the museum car park and the pilot cars, define the interface between the infrastructure and the car together with Bosch, and install the sensor technology and software in the cars.
First-use authorisation
New Parking had its premiere on 24 July. This will be followed by an extensive testing and commissioning phase. The project is being carried out under the supervision of the local authorities - the Stuttgart Regional Council and the Land Transport Ministry - as well as inspectors from TÜV Rheinland, who want to ensure the safety of the car and parking technology. The licensing authority will have to give final approval before the autonomous parking service - which is unique in the world - is offered from early 2018.
Next, everyone in the Mercedes-Benz Museum car park will be able to use automated valet parking from the beginning of 2018. Bosch and Mercedes-Benz want to gather user experience on automated valet parking with this project. Bosch's infrastructure technology can also be used in other existing car parks. Driverless parking has an important advantage for car park operators. For example, the available parking space is used in the most efficient way; up to 20 per cent more cars can be accommodated in a car park thanks to this technology.
By: Kelly Bakker
Source: Mercedes-Benz
