Audi is currently showcasing an autopilot car at CES 2013, and more specifically “Audi Piloted Parking” which allows you to get out of the car before your enter the parking, run an app on your smartphone, and tap somewhere to let the car park itself, as you go shopping or attend a meeting. Once you’re done with your business, walk by the street, run the same app, and call your car back, sit on the driver seat and drive home.
The car is said to use 12 ultrasound sensors to navigate and avoid obstacles, and it can park itself using those sensors, as well as sensors in the garage & road, and information provided by the parking computer(s) to let it know where a parking space is available. The car is able to make turns on its own and knows how to maneuver around the garage with external laser sensors. All of this is still experimental, as PCWorld reports that people could not walk by the vehicle as it parked, because they may interfere the garage sensors.
It’s not only for parking, as Audi also achieved to drive an experimental car up to Pikes Peak on autopilot on 2010, completing the 156-turn, 12.42-mile Pikes Peak circuit in just 27 minutes.
Audi recently obtained a license from Nevada to operate self-driving autonomous cars, and you may see auto-piloted cars on the roads, or at least in parkings, within the next decade.
Thanks to Connolly.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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My GF’s Volkswagen Passat will already detect an empty parking space, will do the steering and tells the driver what to do: press gas or break pedal, and put gear into Drive or Reverse. So the Passat already knows that to do. Probably because of adoption and/or legal issues will let the driver do some things.
This Audi video shows additional capabilities: really steering around towards a goal. Nice. A pity that external sensors in the garage and road are needed.
PS: My guess is that Volkswagen engineers have an internal software version that will do the gas/break pedal and drive/reverse automatically.
And thinking about it: the Volkswagen Passat could also do some self-steering like the Audi. It already has lane-assist: it will keep between the lines on a highway. Very nice and handy feature.