Self-parking cars are not too uncommon these days. The technology has matured enough that we are now beginning to see it move down the food chain into cheaper cars – like the Proton X50. Doing so without a driver in the seat though? Those are rarely seen even on the most luxurious vehicles on sale, but Volkswagen’ flagship Touareg SUV can now join the elite club.
Building on to the existing auto-park assistant feature which uses a suite of four cameras and 12 ultrasound sensors, the new remote-parking system will allow for the large SUV to automatically manouevre into a parking space completely by itself, while the driver stands outside and watch from a distance.
The auto-park system is activated as usual via the infotainment system. Once the system detects a suitable parking space, the driver can then select the remote control option, whip out their smartphone, and step out of the car.
The physical Drive button, which is required to be held by the driver while executing the automated parking manouevres (also like the Proton X50), will automatically be transferred onto the VW Remote Park Assist Plus on your mobile phone.
For safety reasons, the virtual drive button must also be held constantly while the car remote parks itself. Just like the button in the car, the parking manouevre will be automatically paused if the driver lifts off from the button – and if required, the driver can resume control.
Unlike most of these systems which can only support forward and reverse motions, the remote Park Assist feature can also park itself in a parallel parking spot while the driver monitors from outside.
Additionally, the remote parking system can also automatically start the car and exit from the parking spot, which means you’ll never have to squeeze into the tight door openings again in fear of dinging someone else’s car! You can check out the full demo of the remote parking assistant feature here.
GALLERY
