Automatic parking

Automatic parking is an autonomous car maneuvering from a traffic lane into a parking place to perform parallel parking, perpendicular or angle parking. The automatic parking aims to enhance the comfort and safety of driving in constrained environments where much attention and experience is required to steer the car. The parking maneuver is achieved by means of coordinated control of the steering angle and speed which takes into account the actual situation in the environment to ensure collision-free motion within the available space.

The car is an example of a nonholonomic system where the number of control commands available is less than the number of coordinates that represents its position and orientation.

One of the first assistance systems for car parking used four jacks with wheels to raise the car and then move it sideways into the available parking space. This mechanical system was proposed in 1934, yet it was never offered on any production model.

One of the world-first experimental prototypes of automatic parallel parking was developed at INRIA on a Ligier electric car in the mid-1990s. It was extended to an automatic perpendicular parking in the early 2000s.

Development
In 1992, Volkswagen proposed an automatic parking technology by four-wheel steering in its IRVW (Integrated Research Volkswagen) Futura concept car, allowing the driver to get off the car and watch the whole process of parallel parking. Yet no commercial version of this technology was ever offered.

In 2004, a group of Linköping University students in Sweden with Volvo developed a project called Evolve. Evolve car can automatically cis-row parking. These students installed inductor on the sensor and carputer in the trunk to control steering and acceleration and brake pedals computer with the Volvo S60.

How it works
Automatic parking system is using various different methods to detect objects around the vehicle. Some of the sensors installed on the front and rear bumpers, they can act as both a transmitter and a receiver. These sensors send a signal, and the signal will be reflected back when it encounters an obstacle around the vehicle. Then, the carputer will use the time signal it receives to determine the position of the obstacle. Other systems use mounted on the bumper of the camera or radar to detect obstacles. But the result is the same: the car will detect the vehicle has been parked, parking space size and distance with the roadside, and then lead the car into the parking space.

Present
In 2003, Toyota began to sell their Japanese Prius hybrid vehicle with an automatic parallel parking capability offered as an option, named Intelligent Parking Assist.

In 2006, Lexus added a self parking system to the redesigned Lexus LS sedan it parallel parks as well as parks back-in perpendicular.

In 2009, Ford introduced their Active Park Assist beginning with their Lincoln models it works in parallel parking.

In 2010 BMW introduced a system called Parking Assistant on the redesigned 5-series it works in parallel parking.

Up to 2012, automatic parking systems are being developed by several automobile manufacturers.Ford and Lincoln offer active park assist on Ford Focus, Fusion, Escape, Explorer and Flex and Lincoln MKS and MKT. Toyota and Lexus have advanced parking assistant on Toyota Prius V Five and Lexus LS460 and LS460 L. BMW all-new sixth-generation 3 Series are using a system called parking assistant. Audi A6, Mercedes-Benz also offer parktronic on their C-Class, CLS-Class Coupe, M-Class SUV, E-Class, S-Class, GL350, GL450 SUV (standard on GL550) and R-Class in different prices.