The technology behind driverless parking
The procedure is very simple: drive into the parking garage, get out of your vehicle, and send it to a pre-booked parking space just by tapping in a smartphone app. While you use the time thus saved by doing something else, the vehicle drives itself to its assigned space and parks. Later, it returns to the pick-up point in the precise same way. This parking process relies on the interplay between the intelligent infrastructure supplied by Bosch and installed in the parking garage and Mercedes-Benz automotive technology. Bosch sensors in the garage monitor the driving corridor and its surroundings and provide the information needed to guide the vehicle. The technology in the vehicle converts the cues from the Bosch infrastructure sensors into driving maneuvers, allowing cars to drive themselves up and down ramps between parking garage levels. If the sensors detect an obstacle, the vehicle brakes and safely comes to a complete stop. Only once the route is clear does it proceed on its way.
The first customers with S-Class and EQS models built since July 2022 whose vehicle variants feature the INTELLIGENT PARK PILOT, will be able to use the function at the P6 parking garage once they have activated this service in the Mercedes me app.
Once drivers have used their Mercedes me app to book a parking space in advance, they can leave their vehicle in a predetermined drop-off area. After all the passengers have exited the vehicle, the app starts the parking maneuver. The parking system checks whether the route to the booked parking space is clear, and that all the other technical requirements have been satisfied. If this is the case, drivers receive a notification in the app confirming that the intelligent infrastructure has taken control of the vehicle. They can then leave the parking garage. The vehicle starts automatically and finds its own way to its parking space. When the driver wishes to retrieve their car from the parking garage, they can summon it via smartphone command. Their vehicle then makes its own way to a predetermined pick-up area.