DETROIT – With a thumb swipe on a smartphone, your car one day will be able to drive into a parking deck, find an open spot and back into a space – all by itself.
Technology being honed by French auto-parts maker Valeo uses a dozen ultrasonic sound-wave sensors, 360-degree cameras and a laser scanner to safely park within a few centimeters of other vehicles. Then, when you’re done with dinner or a business meeting, the car will return to you after another swipe of the thumb.
The potential benefits are plenty. More orderly parking means less congestion. Drivers are spared the time and frustration of the hunt for a spot. Parking lots can squeeze more vehicles into limited space.
The fully automated system called “Connected Automated Valet Parking” is still about a decade away, however. More states must permit driverless cars, and regulations have to be crafted. Equipment, too, needs to be rolled out.
Here’s how it works: Drivers approach their destination, and the system finds a deck with an open space. The driver goes to the deck and activates the system. The deck then tells the car where the open space is. The sensors, cameras and laser activate, letting the car drive itself about 3 miles per hour, winding its way to the space and backing in. The system can even find a space on its own without a signal from a deck.
Although the technology is already available, there are hurdles. Only nine states allow driverless cars on public roads, and then only for testing purposes, said Scott Belcher, CEO of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, the group holding the conference.
Also, parking decks will have to be equipped with systems to communicate with cars. Radio frequencies haven’t been allocated yet by the federal government. The auto industry is vying with the cellphone industry for the bandwidth, for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, Belcher said.
Cyber security guidelines and government regulations have to be put in place. And legal liability has to be sorted out if the car somehow gets into a wreck.
“Driving around looking for a space is not dead yet,” said Eugene Tsyrklevich, the CEO of Parkopedia. “But it will be.”
