Park your car with the push of a button

Basically, today's smartest cars are capable of parking you in the right spot with the push of a button. And in the future, as they get smarter, it will be much easier.

You have to admit that even if you are a good driver, parking is always one of the most tiring operations for you. Therefore, new cars equipped with parking assistance systems are always warmly welcomed by customers.

In addition to making life easier for “lazy” drivers, these systems help make parking faster, more accurate, and safer. However, these systems have different levels of “smartness,” and here are some of the types of parking assist technology available today.

Passive parking technology

At its most basic, parking assist technology is any device or feature that increases the convenience and safety of parking. This can include passive systems such as a rearview camera (which helps the driver see behind) or lines on the camera display (which help the driver identify obstacles and spaces behind).

Passive parking assist system on the BMW 5 Series with distance measuring cameras and thermal sensors. Photo: CNET

Slightly more useful are proximity sensors (which alert the driver when the car is approaching an obstacle). These are particularly useful because they provide an audible warning, so the driver can still hear the warning while continuing to look and park. However, visual guidance on the car's display (like the proximity sensors from BMW and Audi) can also help the driver when parking in tight spaces.

Activating the parking assist system is now as easy as pressing a button, like with Ford or Lincoln cars. Photo: CNET

Most of these systems use ultrasonic sensors to detect objects (fixed or moving) in parking lots or even to monitor blind spots on the road. The most advanced features of this technology can even automatically brake when it detects that the car is about to hit a wall or a pedestrian. Although automatic braking can be a nuisance at times, it can be a useful feature for inexperienced or distracted drivers.

BMW's Park Distance Control and Audi's Parking System Plus are two of the best passive parking technology systems available today.

Active parking system

Just like Passive Parking Systems, ultrasonic sensors are also an integral part of Active Parking Systems (also known as semi-automatic parking assist systems). This technology is effectively supported by a computer and an electronic power steering system (EPS).

Active parking assist systems are now available on modern cars, from the low-cost Ford Focus to expensive Land Rovers. Photo: News Atlas

Here's how the system works: when it's activated, ultrasonic sensors in the front and rear of the car activate and scan the area around the car to detect surrounding vehicles as well as the space between them and measure the distance.

The system will default and scan the area on the opposite side of the driver (for example, if in Vietnam, the driver sits on the left, these sensors will default to scanning the right side), where parallel parking can be performed. However, you can change this. Newer luxury cars have more options, when you can choose to parallel park (on the street) or parallel park (in a parking lot).

Once the car passes the safe parking spot, it will give a warning so you can immediately stop and adjust. One shortcoming is that this system cannot detect fire hydrants, no parking signs on the road surface… so the driver has to determine this himself.

If the parking space is suitable, you can let go of the steering wheel, and the car's computer system will then take control of the steering wheel and help the car steer. But even then, you still have to control the pedals (gas and brake) to help the car move. The system may also ask you to put the car in reverse and drive if necessary.

Best of all, at any time, you can override the computer's control of the steering wheel and take back control of the car during an automated parking maneuver. If the computer detects that your hands are on the wheel, it will cancel the assistance and return control to you.

Another cool feature is that if the parking lot is too tight, or the position of the cars parked around you changes while you are away, the system can also help you with the pull-out feature. This feature will control the steering wheel while you move around the parking lot in difficult and tight areas, and will let you control the car when the area is clear.

Active parking systems are extremely useful even for experienced drivers, and for new drivers, this feature often helps them park faster, more accurately and certainly more conveniently. The parking space measurement feature is extremely practical for large vehicles such as SUVs. Not only that, it also eliminates the "unfamiliar car syndrome" when you can completely lend your car to a friend without worrying about having a few more scratches on the body.

Some of the active parking systems available today include Ford/Lincoln's Park Active, FCA's ParkSense, Volkswagen's Park Assist, and Toyota's Intelligent Park Assist.

Remote parking control technology

Both of the above support systems have in common that the driver must be in the car to perform or assist the operation. However, with smart parking technology, we can remotely control the car into the parking space.

Remote parking systems allow the driver to get out of the car and control the car into or out of a parking space. With this feature, you can park your car in tight spaces where you can’t open the door once you’re in the parking space, or you can get your car out of the garage when you’re at home. There are three levels of functionality with this technology.

Remote parking technology has been available on luxury cars, notably the Parking Pilot System from Mercedes-Benz. Photo: Daimler Global

The first is remote control. You can park the car or take it out by controlling it on your smartphone. It's as simple as playing a car simulation game.

Tesla's Autopilot Summon feature is an example of this functionality, as is BMW's Remote Parking in its latest 5 and 7 Series sedans. However, it's worth noting that remote parking in public areas is still not legal in many countries, so you'll only be able to do this in your own home.

The second level is “trained parking technology”, which is available on Volkswagen or Continental cars. First, you have to “teach” the car a route, for example, from the garage to your doorstep by driving yourself. During the “teaching” process, the car will collect information about the road through GPS and surrounding sensors. And with the route memorized, the next time you just need to press a button on your smartphone and the car will automatically follow the “taught” route. Each time it drives on that route, it will activate the sensors to monitor new obstacles, people or pets, and from there “learn” how to avoid them.

The final level is self-parking, where the driver simply tells the car to park and it does so without being “taught” or a driver in the car. You could drive to the airport to go somewhere, and then ask the car to drive itself home to park. Likewise, a self-driving car will need to be able to find its way to its owner, no matter where they are.

However, with self-driving technology still being tested, it will be a while before we actually see a car parking itself./.

According to TTO/CNET