Bosch and Daimler have now obtained approval from authorities in Baden-Württemberg for their SAE Level 4 automated valet parking system in the Mercedes-Benz Museum parking garage in Stuttgart.
The automated valet parking service can be accessed via a smartphone app and requires no safety driver. Once the driver has left the parking garage the car drives itself to an assigned space and parks. Later, the car returns to the drop-off point in exactly the same way.
This process utilises parking garage infrastructure from Bosch and Mercedes-Benz automotive technology. Bosch sensors in the parking garage monitor the driving corridor and its surroundings, providing the information needed to guide the vehicle.
The technology in the car converts the commands from the infrastructure into driving manoeuvres. If the infrastructure sensors detect an obstacle, the vehicle stops immediately.
Bosch and Daimler first started developing fully automated driverless parking in 2015 and by 2017 they piloted the solution in the Mercedes-Benz Museum parking garage in Stuttgart in real conditions, with and without drivers at the wheel. Further testing followed then in 2018, museum visitors could use the parking service live, accompanied by trained safety personnel, and share their experience.
“This decision by the authorities shows that innovations like automated valet parking are possible in Germany first,” said member of the board of management of Robert Bosch Dr. Markus Heyn. “Driverless driving and parking are important building blocks for tomorrow’s mobility. The automated parking system shows just how far we have already progressed along this development path.”
