Another major milestone on the road to fully self-driving
cars was reached Tuesday with the announcement that Daimler and Bosch have
received regulatory approval for operation of a fully automated valet in a
public parking station.
The approval came from local authorities in the German state
of Baden-Württemberg and is for use at the official museum of Daimler-owned
Mercedes-Benz, located in Stuttgart. Daimler and Bosch first
demonstrated the automated valet in 2017 at the museum's car park, and
with the new approval they plan to use the system daily.
You simply drive to a designated drop-off point at the
entrance of the car park, hop out and then use a smartphone to send the car to
an assigned parking space. The system relies on Bosch-developed sensors located
around the car park, which communicate with the self-driving system fitted in
Mercedes' latest cars. Later, the car returns to the drop-off point in exactly
the same way.
And since no doors need to be opened, cars can be parked
much closer to each other. This, according to Daimler and Bosch, can make car
parks 20 percent more efficient. And the best part is that the sensors can be
retrofitted to existing car parks, including multi-story car parks like the one
at the Mercedes museum.
The system is rated at Level 4 on the SAE's
scale for self-driving capability, as a human isn't required but the
movement is restricted within a geofenced zone. But what about more advanced
self-driving capability? Starting later this year, Daimler and Bosch plan to
trial Level 4 self-driving cars on public roads, with Silicon Valley's busy San
Carlos/Stevens Creek corridor confirmed
as the first location.
Don't expect to purchase a Mercedes with genuine
self-driving capability anytime soon, though. Mercedes says it will offer a car
with Level 4 self-driving capability in highway and parking situations, but
not until 2024. The final goal is a Level 5 car that can handle the same
conditions as a human driver. Such technology isn't expected to be ready until
next decade, at the earliest.
source: https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1124163_daimler-and-bosch-given-green-light-for-first-fully-automated-valet
by Viknesh Vijayenthiran
http://www.boscheuropean.com
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