VW Aims To Take Autonomous Parking Mainstream In 2020

Parking at an airport can be stressful as many people are forced to park their vehicles in massive lot, hop on a bus to the airport and hope they catch their flight on time.

The Volkswagen Group to trying to reduce the hassles by testing autonomous parking technology at a multi-story garage near the Hamburg Airport. Volkswagen envisions drivers would use an app to reserve a parking space and then simply leave their vehicle at the entrance of the parking garage. Thanks to “simple pictorial markers” that have been installed in the garage, the vehicle would then use its sensors to navigate the car park and look for an open parking space.

Users could also have items – such as packages and dry cleaning – delivered to the vehicle while they are away. Once they return, they use the app to let the vehicle know they’re ready to be picked up at the exit of the car park. The vehicle would then drive itself to meet the user while also handling all of the billing for the parking fees.

The test involves Audi, Porsche and Volkswagen vehicles and will initially focus on areas of the garage that are closed off to normal traffic. Once the company has gathered enough data, it will begin testing the models in real-life conditions that involve other vehicles and pedestrians.

In order to cope with the busy surroundings, the vehicles have been equipped with an “active surroundings recognition system” which can recognize objects and react accordingly. The vehicles also have an assortment of cameras and sensors.

The Volkswagen Group intends to incorporate the technology into production vehicles beginning in 2020. The company also noted the use of simple pictorial markers allows “essentially any car park” to become compatible with the technology.

According to VW Group Chief Digital Officer Johann Jungwirth, “People currently spend around 30 percent of their driving time in urban areas looking for a parking space. Autonomous parking like we are testing here at Hamburg Airport is an important step on the way to autonomous driving – as an integrated full-service concept via an app.”