Tag: smart car

Cars May Soon Be Able To Park Themselves

Car companies have been boasting about features like blindspot monitoring and active park assist for some time, but a French automaker is looking to make the next parking enhancement by fully automating the parking experience by simply hitting a button on your smartphone.

According to the French car company Valeo, technological ingenuities like ultrasonic sound-wave sensors, 360-degree cameras and laser scanners will allow cars to park themselves safely. All a driver will have to do is hit a button on his or her smart phone. The fully-automated system is called “Connected Automated Valet Parking.”

“Driving around looking for a space is not dead yet,” said Eugene Tsyrklevich, CEO of Parkopedia, an app that helps drivers find open parking spaces. “But it will be.”

Self-Parking Benefits

Unlike cars that can parallel park for the driver, the Connected Automated Valet Parking would go beyond simply turning the wheel. After a driver parks on a connection deck near the lot’s entrance, the driver would hit a button on their smartphone. The car will sync up with the parking lot and travel at a blistering 3 miles an hour towards the most efficient parking spot. The car would then back itself in, making it easier for the driver to exit the space when desired.

Valeo said the technology would have numerous benefits, including:

  • More orderly parking
  • Less driver frustration
  • More efficient parking, squeezing more cars into parking lots
  • Hazard detection that may not be visible to human drivers

While the benefits are numerous, the technology still has a long way to go before you’ll see it on a parking ramp near you. Once the technology is sharpened in the vehicle – think perfected sound-wave sensors and laser scanners – car manufacturers would have to get parking lot owners on board. This would require a hi-tech communications system and a unique radio frequency with government approval. On top of that, government regulations and legal liabilities still need to be hammered out, and currently only nine states allow driverless cars on public roads.

So while the technology may seem cool, economists and automakers say the technology is still a few years away. Automakers hope to have self-parking cars with the sensors and laser technology within the next five years, but they expect that it would be in the form of an on-board control, not a smartphone app from a designated platform. Once that technology is perfected, then automakers will turn to apps and remote valet parking.

Related source: Business Insider

Car-to-Car Communication Could Prevent Crashes

Screen Shot 2015-07-16 at 10.33.10 AMRegulators in the auto industry may soon require automakers to install crash-avoidance communication systems in all new vehicles, according to statements made by the Transportation Department. 

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said the Obama administration is intent on moving forward with vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems that prevent accidents by providing location and speed data. Foxx hopes the communication systems will be mandatory within a few years.

“Our goal is to have a proposal that will be developed before the administration closes its doors,” Foxx said in news conference. He added that traffic data suggests that cross-car communication could prevent 70-80 percent of accident situations involving sober drivers.

Complex Systems

The raw data suggests that automobile communication systems could eliminate a large portion of crashes caused by driver error, but the technology still has a few hurdles to overcome. Researchers say some points of contention include:

  • Creating a large enough network for the system to function appropriately
  • Consumer privacy and security
  • Affordability
  • Consumer acceptance
  • Legal and regulatory framework

Of the above issues, automakers are primarily concerned about consumer backlash over privacy issues. Mr. Foxx said consumer security is one of their main areas of focus, and he added that vehicles wouldn’t share identifying information.

Automakers are also hesitant to aggressively pursue vehicle-to-vehicle communications before liability issues are fully addressed.

How It Would Work

According to the Transportation Department, early studies have examined the proficiency of short-distance radio networks in reducing vehicle crashes and collisions.

Their current tests feature a radio network that sends signals up to 300 yards that project a vehicle’s position, speed and direction. By analyzing the variables of all the other cars on the road, the communication system could provide early warning signals before they become apparent to the driver.

While the technology may not be mandatory for years, it’s clear that new automobile safety measures are needed. There were 33,561 traffic deaths in 2012, up nearly 1,000 from the previous year. 2012 marked the first time in seven years that the number of traffic fatalities rose. It is believed that number declined in 2013, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is still working on the official tally.

Related source: The Wall Street Journal