After our recent blog on the self driving cars and new steering wheels of the latest car models, we thought it would only be sensible to do another blog looking at this sort of technology and what exists of it already. The self parking car system is one designed to take away the problem of parallel parking that many drivers find to be a hassle.
Parallel parking has long been one of the parts of driving that people have had the biggest issue with. Parking in the middle of cities is often the most difficult of the lot as well, with a much smaller space to park in and the constant pressure of cues of traffic waiting for you to park. Self parking cars are designed to be a solution to this, replacing the panic of shuffling back and forth trying to fit your car into a space that is too small, all the while under tremendous pressure, with a simple button press. It is this convenience that is the reason that we can expect to see these systems appearing in more and more city cars in the next few years.
Taking the VW system as an example, the parking sensors on the front and rear are extended around the corner of the bumper as well. This allows the system to accurately measure the size of a space. As you approach a parking slot, with the system turned on, put your indicators on to the side that the space is on, this would anyway be good practice. Whilst travelling at under 10mph, the system measures the spaces and a readout indicates a suitable sized space. The instructions then tell you to put the car in reverse and let go of the steering wheel. The car then backs itself into the space, but needs you to move forwards and backwards to centre in the spot.
While the technology is in a good place, the future leads towards cars taking control of the full manouver which will be part of an overall model of the self driving car. For now however it is certainly making parking a much easier for those of us lucky enough to have it!
