Sunday Times 2
Volvo develops technology that parks its car perfectly at the touch of a button
It’s every shopper’s worst nightmare, driving around in circles looking for somewhere to park and then having to squeeze into a small gap between two other cars.
But it seems that Swedish car firm Volvo has finally solved that problem.
The Gothenburg-based manufacturer has unveiled new self-parking valet technology that lets the car do all the work for you – without the driver even having to be inside the car.
The technology not only finds a space for you , it drives to it and parks the car in it – while you’re on your way to the shops or your office.
The smart, driver-less car also reacts safely and smoothly with other cars and pedestrians in the car park.
The driver simply gets out of the car and instructs it to find a space via their smart phone and it will follow their command.
Like something out of Knight Rider, when the driver returns to the vehicle they simply use their smart phone again to alert the system, and it will start the engine and come right to the driver of its own accord.
Volvo’s ingenious autonomous parking system will undergo public trials next week.
Thomas Broberg, senior safety adviser for the Volvo Car Group said: ‘Autonomous Parking is a technology that relieves the driver of the time-consuming task of finding a vacant parking space.
‘The driver just drops the vehicle off at the entrance to the car park and picks it up in the same place later.’
He explained: ‘Transmitters in the road infrastructure tell the driver when the service is available.
The driver then uses a mobile phone application to activate the Autonomous Parking and walks away from the car. ‘
The car users sensors to pin-point its position and navigate to a free parking space.
At the click of button: The new technology is activated using a smart phone app. The driver gets out of the car and instructs the car to park
The procedure is reversed when the driver comes back to pick up the car.
The new Valet Volvo combines autonomous driving technology with sensors and automatic braking to ‘see’ other objects such as cars or people and interact with them safely.
So if a car pulls out suddenly from a nearby bay, it can stop and wait for it to pass -
Easy: Instead of having to squeeze their car between two other vehicles, drivers can relax and let the built in autonomous driver do all the hard work
even having the awareness to spot the newly vacant bay. Mr Broberg said: ‘Our approach is based on the principle that autonomously driven cars must be able to move safely in environments with non-autonomous vehicles and unprotected road users.’ Volvo said its aim is to be the world leader in the field of autonomous driving and to put the technology into real-world cars within a few year.
It said that by the end of 2014, the all new Volvo XC90 model will feature elements of autonomous steering.
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