Auto supplier Bosch, automaker Mercedes-Benz, and parking garage operator Apcoa plan to soon introduce driverless, fully automated parking at the Stuttgart airport. This signals that the automated valet parking (AVP) system, codeveloped by Bosch and Mercedes-Benz, is being readied for commercial operation.
The new Mercedes-Benz S-Class is said to be the world’s first production vehicle to feature the technology required for the future infrastructure-based AVP. Customers can specify Intelligent Park Pilot, which makes the S-Class capable of receiving a smartphone command to drive itself to a reserved parking space.
The P6 parking garage at the Stuttgart airport will serve as the pilot for the planned commercial automated parking service. Here the companies will test how the vehicle technology onboard the S-Class interacts with the intelligent Bosch infrastructure and Apcoa’s Flow digital platform, making the parking process ticketless and cashless.
“Apcoa, Bosch, Mercedes-Benz, and Stuttgart airport want to work together to make parking fully automatic,” said Christoph Hartung, Member of the Executive Management of Connected Mobility Solutions at Bosch.
In the garage, preparations are underway to begin piloting the service. The aim is to ensure that interactions between the vehicle, infrastructure technology, and parking garage operator run smoothly and are optimized for the customer.
In July 2019, Bosch and Mercedes-Benz received the world’s first special permit to operate AVP for E-Class vehicles without a safety driver in real, mixed, parking-garage traffic at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. The S-Class is now said to be the first production vehicle to feature optional AVP technology, which enables it to park without a driver. That would make it the world’s first vehicle to feature a pre-installation for an SAE Level 4 automated driving function, the second-highest level of automation. However, parking garages need the appropriate infrastructure and legislators have to give a green light.
“With automated valet parking, Mercedes-Benz is demonstrating that driverless parking will soon be possible,” said Dr. Michael Hafner, Head of Automated Driving at Mercedes-Benz AG.
To facilitate the one-touch parking function, a spacious drop-off and pick-up area will be set up directly behind the entrance to the P6 garage, giving AVP users a convenient place to leave their vehicles. As users make their way to the terminal and check in, their car will park itself in the basement, guided by information from the infrastructure technology.
“Automated valet parking really enhances our passengers’ comfort and convenience and saves them time, especially when they’re in a hurry and just want to drop their car off quickly at the airport,” said Walter Schoefer, Management Spokesman for Flughafen Stuttgart GmbH.
For the test phase that is about to start, P6 will initially have two spaces available for self-parking vehicles. More spaces will be added when driverless parking becomes standard and demand increases.
Drivers are already using Apcoa’s digital platform for applications such as making reservations for parking spaces, contactless entry into the garage, and fully automated payment, invoicing, and contactless exit.
The pilot will be a premiere for new Bosch video cameras that can identify vacant parking spaces, monitor the driving lane and its surroundings, and detect obstacles. LiDAR sensors have been used for this purpose, say the developers. A dedicated control center in the parking garage then calculates the route the vehicles need to take to reach an available space. In the future, Bosch’s aim is to equip more and more parking garages with AVP infrastructure technology.
As Europe’s largest parking garage operator, Apcoa also has a strategic interest in offering innovative premium services like AVP in more of its parking garages. The company manages bout 1.5 million individual parking spaces at over 9500 locations in 13 European countries. By increasing the availability of driverless and fully automated parking services, the same amount of space could accommodate up to 20% more vehicles. In addition, driverless parking is especially suitable for narrow, remote, and therefore unattractive parking areas that people would otherwise avoid.
