Lets face it: parking sucks.
Come down to Earth, Ioanna, you might say, itll never happen.
But youd be wrong.
Because my dream is coming true as we speak.
The technology is known as automated valet parking (AVP) and it doesnt even need full self-driving functionality.
A modern vehicle equipped with electric power steering, electronic shifting, and connectivity capabilities is good enough.
Weve investigated the companies deploying AVP and where they are with the technology.
Lets dive right in.
The parking garage and the vehicle are interconnected via a standardized communications interface.
A kit is installed in the car.
For drivers, the process looks seamless.
First off, they reserve a parking spot through the AVP app.
The drivers stay connected to their car through the app.
And yes, the car will also do that independently.
STEER
The idea behindSTEERis very similar to CARIADs.
It offers an automated valet parking kit that can be installed in your car.
Your vehicle can park itself usingLevel 4autonomous parking capabilities but only at designated STEER garages.
A camera scans the license plate and raises the barrier gate automatically when the user approaches the entrance.
This enables the car to communicate with and receive driving commands from the parking garages automated valet parking server.
it’s possible for you to check out the demo video below:
Whats the takeaway here?
The tech for automated valet parking exists(!
), but its being hindered by the delayed rollout ofautonomous vehicles.
This means that AVP technology is still limited to designated parking spaces.
Okay, my dream isnt a realityyet but its coming far sooner than I thought it would.
Story byIoanna Lykiardopoulou
Ioanna is a writer at TNW.
With a background in the humanities, she has a soft spot for social impact-enabling technologies.
