Daimler, Bosch Testing Autonomous Parking at the Mercedes-Benz Museum
Cars are parking themselves without drivers in a garage in Stuttgart.


Autonomous driving is often pitched as a way to make life easier and more convenient, but not everyone views driving as a chore. Parking, on the other hand, isn't most people's idea of fun. Consequently, autonomous parking might be easier for the public to accept. Daimler and Bosch are aiming to find out through a pilot program at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. The two longtime partners have teamed up on an autonomous parking system that lets cars drive themselves into a parking garage without any human intervention.
The service is currently running as a demonstration only, although Daimler hopes to offer it to customers beginning in 2018. Right now, it works similar to a car-sharing service, with users reserving a car via smartphone app. The car drives itself out of the garage to a pickup point, and a human driver takes it from there. The driver then drops the car off at a designated spot, and it drives itself back into the parking garage.
This system relies not only on cars with some degree of autonomous driving capability, but also on sensors embedded in the parking garage itself. Provided by Bosch, the sensors monitor other vehicles in the area, and warn the car of potential obstacles.
Daimler hopes to offer autonomous parking to customers in 2018, pending regulatory approval. It's unclear whether the feature will be available on actual customer cars, or solely on cars made available through a car-sharing service. Either way, customers may be limited to certain parking garages that are equipped with the necessary sensors.
In the future, autonomous parking could have major efficiency benefits, Daimler believes. The company claims autonomous parking could allow up to 20 percent more vehicles to fit into the same space. Since doors won't need to be opened to let passengers out, cars will be able to park closer together. Having cars drive directly to a designated space rather than cruise around looking for one could also save fuel.
MORE TO READ

Related
Parkmobile Parking App Coming Soon to BMW Dashboards
Parkmobile is integrating its parking app with BMW infotainment systems.

Related
Daimler and Bosch Team Up On Self-Driving Cars
Daimler and Bosch want to put a completely driverless car on the road “by the beginning of the next decade.”

Related
Bosch, Nvidia Partner on Artificial Intelligence Supercomputer for Autonomous Cars
Massively powerful unit could make automated driving “possible in every situation” by the next decade, says Bosch CEO.

Related
Bosch Wants to Take the Pain out of Finding a Parking Space
Crowdsourced data, high-res maps, and artificial intelligence will team up to help you park faster.

Related