Truth is, there are a lot of drivers out there that can’t quite handle the parallel parking job, mainly because they lack a perspective view on the objects surrounding them and how their car steers. Add the frustrated drivers waiting behind and honking to the lack of experience and you might have to perform the “drive of shame” to a larger parking spot, on an emptier street eventually.
To aid the less experienced drivers, carmakers have studied the problem since it was barely an issue; one of the first parking assistance systems was proposed in 1934 and was using four jacks with tiny wheels to raise the car and then push it sideways into a parking space.
Although the idea seemed quite interesting, back then people had fewer cars, thus bigger parking spaces were easy to find, so no one gave a "jack" and the system was never adopted.
Later, with millions of cars being sold each year, engineers started to believe such an assistive system will be required at some point. Several other concepts came by, but the real deal came when parking sensors and electric steering have been fitted to cars.
These two, along with increased computing power, allowed cars to “see” around them and replace the driver’s role when it comes to maneuvering in relativley tight spaces.
The first to come up with a parking assist solution was Volkswagen, when it deployed such a system in its IRVW (Integrated Research Volkswagen) Futura concept car in 1992. The driver could even get out of the car and watch it do the job.
Still that was a concept, using a huge computer in the trunk for the calculus and the automated driving job. It was only in 2003 when the first production self parking system became a real thing you could tick-mark on the optionals list - but it was on the Toyota Prius.
How does self-parking assist works? Before skipping to that part, you should know there are two main types - the assistive and the fully automatic one.
The assisting type
It uses front, rear and side proximity sensors and even cameras to scan the vehicle’s surroundings. You activate the system and drive slowly to find an empty space. The car will scan everything on the right side (or left, depending on country) and when it finds the right-sized spot it will tell you to stop. From here, it will require you to engage into reverse and take the hands off the wheel.
The car will now handle everything you should have done with the steering, calculating angles and speed in order to rotate the wheel as much and as fast as it takes to back the car in the spot. This is where the electric-assisted steering comes into place, since there’s actually an electric motor fitted to the steering column that can precisely turn the wheel as the computer dictates.
Your task here as a driver is to always check the surroundings and use the car’s pedals to actually move the vehicle. Most systems are offered on automatic gearbox fitted cars, leaving you to play only with the brake, since the car will crawl anyway. But, park assist systems are also offered on manual vehicles. Fine clutch and brake footwork will be required but at least you won’t mind about the steering part.
This type of system is the most common one, being found on cars from Toyota, Ford, Kia, Lexus or Volkswagen, and some of them, like the one on the Toyota Prius, also aids you when having to bay park.
The fully-automated type
This kind works more like an electronic parking valet, leaving you to only watch the show. It uses the same sensors and cameras as the type above, but it will take control of the "pedals" as well.
Since cars that are fitted with this sort of system tend to have fly-by-wire pedals, the computer will be able to handle the accelerator and brake as well, while you, as the driver, will only have to assist the process and interrupt it if something goes wrong.
You should take note that fully automated parking systems are offered only on automatic transmission fitted vehicles; that computer can control the brake and the gas electronically, but the clutch remains a problem.
Probably the most interesting automatic parking system is the one found on the BMW i3, which can squeeze the car in a space just 22 inches (56 cm) longer than the car itself. And all you have to do is keep pressing a button; no steering or pedal input is required.
Another thing to mention about these systems is their ability to align the car with the curb. Some smaller cars, like the VW Golf, will insert the car in the parking space and align it in one fluid move.
But there are other types that will require you to engage in Drive, or first gear, and move forward a bit, while the steering will do it's part to put the car straight. Depending on how large the car is, it might even require you to engage Reverse again to back it up a bit and leave equal spaces at the front and back.
What will the future bring us?
KITT cars, KITT cars everywhere. Most automakers are investing in autonomous driving right now. If they succeed and the thing catches on, soon you should expect to be dropped off by your personal car in front of the office building, after which it will continue driving on its own to find a parking space; even send you message on the phone to know where it is.
It sounds great and all, but what if an error occurs and the car smashes something or causes an injury to someone. Who will be responsible for that?
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