No Driver Required For Daimler, Bosch Valet Parking System

This won’t make those who make their living as valet parkers very happy. After three years of development and testing, Daimler AG and Robert Bosch GmbH have won approval from German authorities to operate the world’s first fully automated driverless parking system at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany.

It’s not like you can just pull up in your old beater and expect it to park itself. You have to be riding in what’s known as a Level 4 autonomous vehicle. That’s a self-driving vehicle that contains controls should a driver decide to take over, but is otherwise fully autonomous.

The automated parking system depends on a dance between Bosch sensors placed in the garage and Mercedes-Benz autonomous vehicle technology. The driver would pull the car up to the parking garage, get out, tap in a few commands on a smartphone app which would send the car to a parking space. Technology in the car converts commands from the sensors in the garage into driving maneuvers, to the extent of being able to drive itself up and down ramps to travels between the garage’s levels. If a sensor detects an obstacle, the vehicles stops immediately. When the driver returns, it’s the same process in reverse, where the car drives itself back to the drop-off point. 

Another aspect of the system is an evaluation of lighting schemes. Turquoise lighting indicates that a vehicle is in automated driving mode and informs passers-by and other road users that the vehicle is driving itself.

Approval to put the automated parking system into everyday use at the Mercedes-Benz Museum came from the German state where Stuttgart is located.

“This approval from the Baden-Württemberg authorities sets a precedent for obtaining approval in the future for the parking service in parking garages around the world,” said Dr. Michael Hafner, the head of drive technologies and automated driving at Daimler AG, in a statement. “As a pioneer in automated driving, our project paves the way for automated valet parking to go into mass production in the future.”

Daimler and Bosch began development of the system in 2015 and began pilot testing at the Mercedes-Benz Museum two years later with and without drivers at the wheel. In 2018 museum visitors accompanied by trained safety personnel were allowed to use the system. Those visitors then gave their feedback about the experience. 

This latest approval now gives the green light to allowing use of the automated parking system without an on-board safety driver. 

“Driverless driving and parking are important building blocks for tomorrow’s mobility. The automated parking system shows just how far we have already progressed along this development path,” said Dr. Markus Heyn, member of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, in a statement.