Self-Parking Car

The Self-Parking Car Rolls Into Your Garage

Is the self-parking car really more technology than we are ready for?  Yes, today you really can buy a car that will park its self!  Will this become hybrid vehicle technology
in the near future?

This is no fantasy, but self-parking cars have been in development for a few years.  Finally it looks like Toyota will be the first manufacturer to hit the U.S. market with the Prius, a real, no fooling, self-parking car.  The Prius is hybrid powered, so it will really be loaded with advanced electronics.  

Car Parking Aid

Don't ask me exactly how the Toyota system works, but the Car Parking Aid system being developed by a company called Roke Manor Research, combines information from a number of on-board sensors to execute self parking maneuvers quickly and accurately.

Their system uses millimeter wave radar sensors and advanced image processing algorithms. This sensor fusion approach enables parking spaces to be measured more accurately and robustly than would be possible using either technology alone.  I don't know exactly what all that means, but then I still can't program my VCR.

Intelligent Parking Assist

On the other hand,  Intelligent Parking Assist is an entirely different system. It is the new $2,200 option package for Toyota's Prius gas-electric hybrid car.  So many drivers seem to panic at the thought of parallel parking the Prius should be a big hit.  

Toyota's Intelligent Parking Assist relies on a built-in computer and a steering sensor.  A tiny camera is located in the car's rear and a dashboard monitor displays what the camera sees.  The driver just pulls up near a parking space and shifts into reverse.  Then computerized lines materialize on the camera display monitor. Next to the lines there are arrows pointing up, down, left and right.

The driver uses the arrows, to move the lines around on the computer's display monitor until the lines define exactly where you want the car to be parked.  Now that all the preliminaries have been taken care of you just push the "set" button.

It is here that the owner's manual says to "Keep your foot lightly on the brake pedal", and the car will start backing up.  The steering wheel will move as if the car is being driven by a heavenly force.  The car will magically ease into the parking space you've chosen with the computer display. 

Prius' Onboard Computer

The Prius' onboard computer senses when it's time to turn the car's wheel and the ride is over when you hear a computerized voice say "The assist is over."  (Now you can open your eyes and see of the darn thing really works.)

This new technology has already been available on Toyota hybrid models in Britain and 70 percent of the car buyers paid the $700 for the self-park feature.

In Japan about 80 percent of Prius buyers jumped at the Intelligent Parking Assist option. It's a well known fact that Japan has one trillion people and only 8 parking spaces, so drivers may never get the opportunity to use the new feature.

I love technology.  Cars now have automatic climate control. satellite guidance systems, surround sound, security sensors, cruise control and now self-parking.  I can hardly wait until my car will be able to do all of my grocery shopping!

Learn how to lower car insurance costs ...

                              Self-Parking Car