Mercedes-Benz Automated Valet Parking Tested in China

SInce 2017, the technology has been tweaked some more, and the latest version is currently being tested by the carmaker and its partner Bosch at the Mercedes Chinese research center, in Beijing.

The goal of the Mercedes technology is to provide accident and stress-free parking solutions for its customers, as its creators say. That means literally taking humans out of the car and letting the vehicle handle parking on its own.

And, more importantly, “Automated Valet Parking is an important milestone on the road towards autonomous driving,” as Hans Georg Engel, the head of the Mercedes development center in China says in a statement.

The technology being developed by Mercedes-Benz does not allow the driver to leave the car in the middle of the road and let it fend for itself.

The system uses designated drop-off areas for the car, as well as pre-assigned parking spots. Once the car is left at the appropriate spot and recognized by the parking system, it is guided to its place.

When ready to leave, the driver can summon his car with the help of an app and wait for it at an assigned pick-up location.

To be able to do all these operations, the car will follow instructions received from a multitude of sensors installed in the parking lot. It is actually these sensors that monitor the driving corridor and in need tell the car to steer or stop to avoid dangers.

Mercedes plans to test Automated valet Parking extensively over the following period. Hopes are that by automating existing parking lots, up to 20 percent more vehicles could be parked into the same area.