With the introduction of cars, parking service became a necessity for its owner, community as well as law enforcement agencies such as police and local government administration. For car owners and drivers because it saved his time to go looking for a safe parking area. Community benefited because improper parking caused nuisance for others which resulted in traffic jams. The police were happy because traffic was easy to manage. Local government enjoyed it because it got good earnings from these parking slots. In this article, we also take a look at inbuilt park assist facilities in cars.
Construction Parking Systems:
The invention of parking systems dates back to 1905. The most common being, the drivers drive in their cars to the parking entry gate. The sensors scan the car number. A small receipt with car number and IN time gets printed via the printer on the service pole. This service pole is positioned in such a way that it can be accessed from the driver seat. The driver then parks the car. He wanders, does the shopping or whatever. When he wants to leave the parking bay, he brings his car to the exit gates. The sensors scan his car number. The parking fee is calculated and shown on the small display on the service pole. The driver can choose to pay by cash or card, whatever. With the evolution of technology, the mode of payment changed. Cash made its way to cards and then rfid tags. This allowed cars to drive in and out without stopping at gates, the charges getting deducted automatically from the accounts.
According to NewAtlas, the primary of automated parking systems was built in Paris. It had an associate in a nursing elevator that transported unaccompanied cars to the deck.The attendant on the upper deck would drive the car to an available parking zone. The next generation saw “paternoster” which had a Ferris-wheel design become a popular mode for parking. This made it possible to fit eight cars in each compartment. It allowed maximising vehicles parked in minimum space.
The first driverless parking garage was built in Washington D.C., where mechanical maneuvers transported cars. It means car parking requires the help of an attendant to either drive into the machine or help after the car arrives at the parking space. Where time is the essence, the companies started investing in creation of fully automated parking systems. APS soon became a hit in the US. It helped in pedestrian safety as it prevented car-pedestrian accidents from occurring. APS conjointly helped in reducing carbon emissions as some people drive in circles to find space. The APS expertise allowed a better experience for the handicapped to exit on level ground so as to avoid navigating gradients and avoid staircase. The negative of APS was the inexperience of some customers in using it. This led to bad user experience for others.
However, necessity is the mother of invention and so came the evolution of robotic parking systems or robotic valet parking. Needless to say, these are self-trained automated parking systems. Here, the car is driven into an APS entry area. This is the transfer area where the driver and all passengers exit the car. An automated terminal now waits for the driver to make payment and fetch receipt of the ticket. When the driver and passengers leave the entry area, the mechanical systems swing into action. It lifts the car and transports it to a predetermined parking space in the system. More sophisticated fully automated APS obtain the dimensions of cars on entry in order to place them in the smallest available parking zone. This helps in better use of space resources without any manual intervention.
While getting back the car, the driver retrieves a car by inserting a ticket or code into an automated terminal. The APS is activated and it lifts the car from its parked spaces and swiftly gets it to the exit area. Most APS have the facility to turn the retrieved car by 180 degrees so as to eliminate the need for the driver to reverse before he exits.
Inbuilt Car Parking Systems:
The automobile makers were not behind in bringing such a facility in their cars. The cars makers started having park assist facilities or self parking technology to woo the owners in providing this value addition. Some of the park assist systems are:
Parking Assistant Plus (BMW)
Intelligent Parking Assist (Toyota)
Automatic Parking Assist (Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Cadillac, Buick, GMC)
Autopark (Tesla)
Park Assist Pilot (Volvo)
Active Park Assist (Lincoln)
Park Assist (Volkswagen, Jaguar, Land Rover, Audi)
These park assist technology uses smart sensors and cameras to find suitable parallel, perpendicular or angular space. When the driver activates the park assist system, it calculates the best path movement into the space. Sensors are installed on the front and rear bumpers and they act as a transmitter as well as a receiver. The sensors alert the system by emitting signals when negotiated with an obstacle. The actionable data is generated on a real time basis which provides guidance to the car for steering movements and number of maneuvers needed. These systems have reduced the stress on inexperienced drivers who can safely park without risk of an accident.
