Automatic parking is an autonomous car-maneuvering system that moves a vehicle from a traffic lane into a parking spot to perform

parallel Parallel is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Computing * Parallel algorithm * Parallel computing * Parallel metaheuristic * Parallel (software), a UNIX utility for running programs in parallel * Parallel Sysplex, a cluster o ...

, perpendicular, or angle

parking Parking is the act of stopping and disengaging a vehicle and leaving it unoccupied. Parking on one or both sides of a road is often permitted, though sometimes with restrictions. Some buildings have parking facilities for use of the buildings' ...

. The automatic parking system aims to enhance the comfort and safety of driving in constrained environments where much attention and experience is required to steer the car. The parking maneuver is achieved by means of coordinated control of the

steering Steering is a system of components, linkages, and other parts that allows a driver to control the direction of the vehicle. Introduction The most conventional steering arrangement allows a driver to turn the front wheels of a vehicle using ...

angle and speed which takes into account the actual situation in the environment to ensure collision-free motion within the available space. The car is an example of a

nonholonomic system A nonholonomic system in physics and mathematics is a physical system whose state depends on the path taken in order to achieve it. Such a system is described by a set of parameters subject to differential constraints and non-linear constraint ...

where the number of control commands available is less than the number of coordinates that represent its position and orientation. One of the first assistance systems for car parking was manual. It used four

jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

s with wheels to raise the car and then move it sideways into the available parking space. This mechanical system was proposed in 1934, but was never offered on any production model.

Development

One of the world's first experimental prototypes of automatic parallel parking was developed on an

electric car An electric car, battery electric car, or all-electric car is an automobile that is propelled by one or more electric motors, using only energy stored in batteries. Compared to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, electric cars are quiet ...

Ligier Ligier (() is a French automobile and minibus maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier (1930–2015), specialized in the manufacturing of microcars. Ligier is best known for its involvement in the Formula 1 World Champ ...

INRIA The National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (Inria) () is a French national research institution focusing on computer science and applied mathematics. It was created under the name ''Institut de recherche en informatiq ...

in the mid-1990s. The underlying technology has been adopted by major automobile manufacturers offering an automatic parking option in their cars today. The automatic parallel parking algorithm localizes a sufficient parking place along the roadside, attains a convenient start location for the car in front of the parking place, and performs a parallel parking maneuver. Automatic pulling out involves localizing an available space for the car motion within the parking place, placing the car at an appropriate spot at the rear of the parking place, and performing a maneuver to pull out of the parking place into the traffic lane. The key concept behind automatic parking is to plan and parameterize the basic control profiles of steering angle and speed in order to achieve the desired shape of the vehicle's path within the available space. The parking maneuver is performed as a sequence of controlled motions using sensor data from the car servo systems and range measurements about the environment. The steering and velocity controls are computed in real time and executed. The approach results in various path shapes required to perform parking maneuvers. In 1992,

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German Automotive industry, motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a ...

proposed an automatic parking technology using four-wheel steering in its IRVW (Integrated Research Volkswagen) Futura

concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...

, allowing it to move sideward for parallel parking. However, no commercial version of this technology was ever offered. The idea of four-wheel steering has been revisited in an electric vehicle ROboMObil of the

German Aerospace Center The German Aerospace Center (german: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., abbreviated DLR, literally ''German Center for Air- and Space-flight'') is the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research of Germany ...

. The vehicle stops in front of an empty parking spot and re-orients its four wheels in the perpendicular direction (leaving rubber marks on the road) to prepare for subsequent sideward motion. In 2004, a group of

Linköping University Linköping University (, LiU) is a public research university based in Linköping, Sweden. Originally established in 1969, it was granted full university status in 1975 and is one of Sweden's largest academic institutions. The university has fou ...

students working with

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

developed a project Evolve. The Evolve car can automatically perform parallel parking by using sensors and a computer to control steering, acceleration and braking of

Volvo S60 The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

. An automatic parking system uses various methods to detect objects around the vehicle. Sensors installed on the front and rear bumpers can act as both a transmitter and a receiver. These sensors emit a signal that will be reflected back when it encounters an obstacle near the vehicle. Then, the car will use the

time of flight Time of flight (ToF) is the measurement of the time taken by an object, particle or wave (be it acoustic, electromagnetic, etc.) to travel a distance through a medium. This information can then be used to measure velocity or path length, or as a w ...

to determine the position of the obstacle. Other systems use cameras, e.g.

Omniview technology Omniview technology (also known as surround view or bird view) is a vehicle parking assistant technology that first was introduced in 2007 as the "Around View Monitor" option for the Nissan Elgrand and Infiniti EX. It is designed to assist drive ...

, or radars to detect obstacles and measure the parking space size and distance from the roadside. An automatic parking system has been shown to improve comfort and safety by reducing the level of stress people feel when manual steering for parallel parking and garage parking maneuvers.

Commercial systems

In 2003,

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

began to sell their Japanese

Prius The is a car built by Toyota which has a hybrid drivetrain, combining an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. Initially offered as a four-door sedan, it has been produced only as a five-door liftback since 2003. In 2007, th ...

hybrid vehicle A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids. The basic princi ...

with an automatic parallel parking capability offered as an option named Intelligent Parking Assist. In 2006,

Lexus is the luxury vehicle division of the Japanese automaker Toyota. The Lexus brand is marketed in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide and is Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. It has ranked among the 10 largest Japanese ...

added a self-parking system to the redesigned Lexus LS sedan; it parallel parks as well as angle parks. In 2009,

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

introduced their Active Park Assist beginning with their Lincoln models; it does parallel parking. In 2010, BMW introduced a system called "parking assistant" on the redesigned 5 Series to perform parallel parking. Up to 2012, automatic parking systems were being developed by several automobile manufacturers.

and

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

offered active park assist on

Ford Focus The Ford Focus is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by Ford Motor Company since 1998. It was created under Alexander Trotman's Ford 2000 plan, which aimed to globalize model development and sell one compact vehicle worldwide. The ...

Fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

Escape Escape or Escaping may refer to: Computing * Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation ** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some s ...

Explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

, and

Flex Flex or FLEX may refer to: Computing * Flex (language), developed by Alan Kay * FLEX (operating system), a single-tasking operating system for the Motorola 6800 * FlexOS, an operating system developed by Digital Research * FLEX (protocol), a com ...

and Lincoln MKS and MKT.

and

had advanced parking assistant on Toyota Prius V Five and Lexus LS460 and LS460 L. BMW all-new sixth-generation

3 Series The BMW 3 Series is a line of compact executive cars manufactured by the German automaker BMW since May 1975. It is the successor to the 02 Series and has been produced in seven generations. The first generation of the 3 Series was only avai ...

used a system called parking assistant.

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. ...

had a parking assistance system on the

Audi A6 The Audi A6 is an executive car made by the German automaker Audi. Now in its fifth generation, the successor to the Audi 100 is manufactured in Neckarsulm, Germany, and is available in saloon and estate configurations, the latter marketed by A ...

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquarte ...

also offered parktronic on their C-Class, CLS-Class Coupe, M-Class SUV, E-Class, S-Class, GL350, GL450 SUV (standard on the GL550), and R-Class in different prices.

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Motors ...

introduced an automatic parallel and perpendicular parking system, called ParkSense, on its 2014 Cherokee model.

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotiv ...

introduced an all new 2015 200 sedan, offering ParkSense as part of a SafetyTec package. In 2014, the parking assistant of

BMW i3 The BMW i3 is a B-segment, high-roof hatchback manufactured and marketed by BMW with an electric powertrain using rear-wheel drive via a single-speed transmission and an underfloor lithium-ion battery pack and an optional range-extending pe ...

can be activated from a

smartwatch A smartwatch is a wearable computer in the form of a watch; modern smartwatches provide a local touchscreen interface for daily use, while an associated smartphone app provides management and telemetry, such as long-term biomonitoring. Whil ...

. In 2015, Bosch plans to release a fully automated valet parking system. This driverless system allows the driver to get out of the car and activate an autonomous parking from a

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whi ...

. The system will calculate a parking maneuver and monitor the surroundings.

Automated Valet Parking

In 2020,

introduced world’s first commercial Automated Valet Parking (AVP) system named ''Intelligent Park Pilot'' for its new S-Class. The system was co-developed with Bosch and tested in Stuttgart Airport. It was also later showcased in the EQS in Los Angeles. Audi is also working on Automated Valet Parking.

References

{{Mobile robots Advanced driver assistance systems * Intelligent transportation systems

Development

Commercial systems

Automated Valet Parking

See also

References