When the car parks itself

Briefly tap on the smartphone, open the app and send the car into the parking garage. And all of this without having to sit behind the steering wheel. A dream for the rushed and parking garage phobics.

There are many parking aids: after front and rear beepers came cameras for a better overview when manoeuvring, then parking using a mobile phone remote control like a remote-controlled car. Now the first models are driving independently into the gap – without you having to intervene in any way.

What sounds simple is technically highly complex. For this, cars must correspond to the fourth level on the scale for automated driving functions. So far, cars have only assisted drivers when parking.

At best, Level 2 is required, which describes semi-autonomous functions. At level 3, the driver no longer has to look at the road, but be prepared to take the wheel again within ten seconds in certain situations.

However, level 4 systems are required for cars that park themselves. Because no one has to be on board anymore, absolute skills are required of the car: Corresponding vehicles have to be “99.99999999 percent” reliable, says Markus Lienkamp, ​​Professor of Vehicle Technology at the Technical University of Munich. "This is an enormous challenge that requires fast, forward-looking and very good sensors and computers."

Mercedes-Benz was one of the first manufacturers to reach this level. A few weeks ago, together with Bosch, the company received approval from the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) for a Level 4 system in the P6 car park at Stuttgart Airport.

This means that certain S-Class and EQS models that are equipped accordingly can park there without a driver. "The challenge lies in the fact that the system has to fulfill this task in all situations, even if another car suddenly blocks the way," says Joachim Missel, who heads the development department for autonomous driving at Mercedes.

The system works like this: First, the driver reserves a parking space using the Mercedes app. The car is left to its own devices in a defined handover area in the multi-storey car park and the parking process is initiated via the app.

In order for the car to park successfully, the parking garage must have its own infrastructure: specially developed stereo cameras from Bosch and a radio link via which information is shared between the parking garage and the vehicle.

Because the car must always be able to stop at lightning speed. "Redundancies in the vehicle electrical system and the brakes are sufficient for driverless parking, because stopping is faster than evading," says Missel, "the safety precautions on the vehicle side are always tailored to the application."

So the Level 4 system works because it operates at walking speed. "The safety risk is low, the sensors don't have to look as far and fast ahead as they do at motorway speed," explains Lienkamp.

But the car manufacturers have long been working on other solutions. With more powerful sensors, Level 4 will be possible this decade, even at high speeds. This will initially be reserved for luxury vehicles such as Audi, BMW, Porsche and Mercedes. Or trucks.

Mercedes also wants to offer automatic parking for cars in other cities. Joachim Missel sees the next milestone in higher speeds for Level 3 vehicles on motorways and other Level 4 functions, also at higher speeds: "But we will develop systems for drivers who also want to drive themselves." But no more in the parking lot.

However, Professor Lienkamp does not believe that the parking assistant from Mercedes will be the big breakthrough for Level 4 vehicles.

"The application is manageable, so a traffic jam pilot offers more practical benefits." Or even autonomous driving - the scientist classifies the application area of ​​Level 4 technology as more relevant than a fully automatic parking assistant - especially in commercial vehicles.

There are already practical examples of this. The truck manufacturer MAN, for example, has developed the Truck Atlas-L4 together with the Technical University of Munich and other partners.

In the test project on public roads, a driver delivers a trailer to a hub station. There, a Level 4 truck takes over the load and drives independently to the next logistics center.

On the way there is still a safety driver on board to intervene. At the destination, another driver takes over the trailer and takes it to the customer in a conventional truck.

Torc Robotics has converted several Freightliner Cascadia, a fat US truck, for similar purposes in the USA and drives them autonomously in the southern part of the country. So far, a security driver has also been behind the wheel here, but in two years the wheeled pack donkeys should be on the road alone.

In addition to around 40 sensors with cameras, radar, microphones and lidar technology, powerful computers are used. This should make it possible to drive even in fog and snow. Torc redundantly designs safety-relevant components such as steering, brakes, on-board network and on-board voltage. If one instance fails, another takes over immediately.

Compared to cars, the effort is higher due to the length of the vehicle, and this increases the costs - but with trucks, the effort is worth it. Thanks to automation, they could be in use longer at a time, which saves time, money and resources, says Peter Vaughan Schmidt, Managing Director of Torc Robotics: "At the same time, it reduces accidents because truckers no longer have to get tired behind the wheel."

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