Automatic car parking system

The content of the article:

• System nuances
• Device
• Principle of operation
• Naming options
• Advantages and disadvantages

The automatic car parking system is an intelligent mechanism capable of autonomously parking a car at the request of the driver. The mechanism is widely used today in modern cars. Many manufacturers began to use the mechanism as standard, as this not only has a positive effect on safety, but also increases the status of the car.

For an inexperienced driver, parking, even in tight traffic or in a full parking lot, can be compared to an exam in which there is no room for error. This is not the easiest maneuver that forces the driver to calculate the trajectory, think over every movement, and, of course, monitor the surrounding situation. If everything is very difficult, then some drivers may even leave the car on the side of the road or park it on the lawn. To avoid such a situation and thereby facilitate the moment of parking, engineers have come up with an automatic parking system, with sophisticated intelligence and full autonomous control. Let's consider in more detail the system, as well as the device and principle of operation.

What is automatic car parking

The car must be parked in such a way that it does not interfere with other road users in the future. As already mentioned, for an inexperienced driver, this can turn into a tragedy. To make it as easy as possible for the driver to park or completely eliminate the need to drive the car. The main feature of automatic car parking is complete control from the moment of start to completion without the participation of the driver or with minimal intervention.

There are two main types of parking systems - automated or automatic. The automated car parking system provides for partial intervention, the mechanism works out a certain cycle and further informs the driver about the necessary actions (shifting the gearbox, turning the steering wheel, etc.). As for the fully automatic parking mode, a completely different technology is used here (better to say, a set of technologies and security systems). In such an automatic parking mechanism, there is intelligence, as well as the absence of any driver intervention.

It turns out that the main task of the automatic car parking system is considered to be the minimization of the driver's efforts at the time of parking and the minimization of minor accidents, especially for large cities where there is a high density of transport. With the additional advantages of automatic parking, it is worth noting the search for a suitable place and the calculation of all the necessary dimensions. For the first time, this type became known in 2006, when manufacturers installed and tested it on Volkswagen Touran cars. The work on the elimination and adjustment of the system lasted 4 years. Only after so many years, the company's engineers were able to bring the mechanism to the ideal, thereby reducing the chances of error to almost zero.

When choosing a parking assistant, you should check with the manufacturer if it is automated or autonomous, since at first glance it seems that there is no difference, but the principle of operation and the basis of intelligence are different. On the other hand, the very presence of such a mechanism already speaks of the status of the car and the fact that the engineers thought over every detail, since the system has no room for error.

How the automatic parking system works

If everything is clear with an automated parking system, there, in fact, the software works, and all other physical actions are performed by the driver. Then, in the automatic parking system, the principle is completely different, in addition to the presence of intelligence, the system controls all mechanical actions, in rare cases the driver needs to switch the gear lever, but the driver never touches the steering wheel.

The simplest automatic parking includes:

• ultrasonic sensors;
• indicators and control panel;
• electronic control unit;
• other auxiliary systems of the car.

The eyes of the part assist system are considered ultrasonic sensors, it is at their expense that the control unit recognizes the distance to the neighboring vehicle and the nearest obstacle. Depending on the manufacturer, make and model of the car, the number of sensors may vary. On average, from 12 to 25 sensors are installed along the perimeter of the car, but it is possible that there may be more or less of them. Standard layout of 12 sensors, 4 in front and 4 in the back, as well as 2 on the left and right side. In fact, the same ultrasonic sensors are used in a passive parking system, but their operating range is up to 4.5 meters.

Indicators and the control panel play an equally important role. Modern cars can not only automatically park, but also offer the driver a picture on the central display while parking or warn of any obstacles. The control panel is most often a button. The system is activated forcibly when parking is required, but it turns off automatically. Most often, the activation button for the automatic parking system is installed on the steering wheel.

The main task, more precisely, ensuring the operation of the entire mechanism falls on the electronic control unit. It is in it that artificial intelligence is stored, thanks to which the system calculates all parking parameters, controls the car systems and gives signals to the driver. The heart of the control unit is the software, which is specific for each car model, up to the configuration. All parameters and characteristics of the car, the presence of security and comfort systems, up to the number of passengers are programmed in the memory of the control unit. Each manufacturer organizes the work of the unit in its own way, but at the same time the final result and the task remain unchanged. The more complex the control unit is, the larger and better the intelligent automatic parking system will be. As a result, the system can think through more situations and anticipate possible collisions or damage.

As for other auxiliary automatic parking systems, as a rule, this is a method of parasitizing already existing security systems. To be more precise, the electronic control unit uses completely or separate mechanisms of safety and comfort systems. Such an example would be a laser radar or lidar, cameras around the perimeter of a car, various sensors, as well as electronic steering. Having understood how the automatic parking system of a car works, we will consider the principle of operation, which will give an understanding of the principle of the mechanism.

How automatic car parking works

As already mentioned, the automatic parking system can not only work to perform parking, but also to find a place. Accordingly, experts distinguish two stages of automatic car parking. The first thing to start with is finding a place, it is worth noting that not every car, or rather a parking system, can search for a place, but most modern cars still have such a function.

The start of the method for finding a suitable parking space for a car begins with ultrasonic sensors. Volkswagen's Park Assist system has 12 sensors, 4 front and rear and 2 on each side.While the car is moving along a row of parked vehicles, at a speed of 40 km / h in parallel parking and 20 km / h in the case of transversely parked cars, sensors scan the distance between these very parked cars. The control unit processes the information received, thereby recognizing parallel or lateral parking.

At the same time, the control unit calculates a suitable parking spot. If the distance meets most of the criteria, a signal is given to the driver, and an information message is displayed on the center display or instrument panel. Often this distance should exceed the length of the car by 0.8 meters (for Park Assist from Volkswagen) or 1 meter for Advanced Park Assist from Ford and Mercedes-Benz.

The next step of automatic car parking is the parking itself. Depending on the manufacturer, the mode can be semi-automatic or fully automated. The first case is when the driver is given commands, and he follows the instructions of the instruction, turning the steering wheel, changing gears and operating other mechanisms. Most often, this technique can be found in the Advanced Park Assist system from the Opel manufacturer.

The second option is fully automatic parking, and today in 2019 it is considered more common than 5 years ago. As a rule, the automatic method has orderly actions and a refined operating principle of the actuators. In this case, there is simply no room for error. Most of the systems that are used for automatic parking are completely electronic, therefore, they can be operated without human assistance.

The electric power steering motor is responsible for turning the steering wheel in the right direction in a timely manner. It is this part of the entire system that has the most accurate calculations, since the further trajectory of the entire car, and therefore the safety of passengers, depends on the steering angle. An equally important role is played by the pump and brake system valves, thanks to them, the car can stop in time, thereby avoiding a collision with another vehicle.

Another important part of the automatic parking system is the electric throttle motor (car engine control). Depending on the required situation, the electronic control unit decides how much to open or close the damper, thereby increasing or decreasing the engine speed. As a result, the car will go faster or come to a complete stop.

The last component of the large mechanism is the automatic transmission solenoid valve of the machine. The main task is to shift gears, forward backward or park mode. Although, as practice shows, the system often switches the mode forward or backward, the driver enters the parking mode. We can say that these are the minimum set of those parts and functions that can be found in modern cars. Also, many automatic parking systems parasitize on other security mechanisms, for example, directional stability, electric power steering, parking sensors, all-round visibility system, recognition of pedestrians and road signs, and others.

Modern developments of engineers do not allow the driver to interfere with the parking process at all. Premium car models are equipped with a system that allows you to park your car with or without a driver. The car owner just needs to press the corresponding button on the key fob to park. The reverse process is no exception, when a parked car can be called to the location of the driver. The principle of operation is similar to parking, but the navigation system is involved. This function is especially important in bad weather (rain or snow), as well as when the car is parked in a puddle and it is almost impossible to get into it without getting wet.

Naming options for automatic parking

Despite the fact that the leadership in the development of an automatic car parking system belongs to Volkswagen, many premium brands have long mastered this mechanism of comfort for drivers. The main list of name variations looks like this:

Advantages and disadvantages of an automatic parking system

Like any mechanism, the automatic parking system has its own advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include a significant simplification of parking, minimizing the situation of a collision with another vehicle or damage to the car during parking.

With the lack of an automatic car parking system, poor performance in non-standard situations can be noted. For example, while parking, one of the neighboring cars starts moving. Often in such situations, the intelligence can malfunction or even stop the parking process. Another disadvantage is that the weight and dimensions of the driver are not taken into account. Therefore, after parking, there may be a situation that it will be difficult for a driver or a passenger of large build to get out of the car. Nevertheless, progress is going on, and engineers reduce such situations to zero, teaching the system to quickly readjust to new parameters and calculate many new situations.

Whatever the situation, even the most premium cars provide for a moment when the driver can take over control of the car at any moment, thereby avoiding an emergency. Thus, whatever the modern and progressive automatic parking system, and the intelligence of the program is developed by the best specialists, the last decision in any situation is always for the driver.