Bosch and APCOA are installing automated valet parking in 15 new parking garage locations in Germany, after it has been approved for commercial use in the P6 parking garage at Stuttgart airport.
The new driverless and automated SAE Level 4 parking system is set to start in 2023. Firstly, Bosch and APCOA are planning to make up to four parking spaces per parking garage ready for automated valet parking.
“We will expand the number of such parking spaces based on the expected ramp-up of vehicles featuring automated valet parking. Our experience with charge spots for electric vehicles shows us how important it is for infrastructure growth to keep pace with the technology. Together with our partner APCOA, we are now making sure that this will be the case for automated valet parking,” says Dr. Markus Heyn, member of the Bosch board of management and chairman of the Mobility Solutions business sector.
The company has said the Bosch’s modular system will allow the number of parking spaces featuring the new technology to be quickly expanded to up to 200 parking bays at each of the 15 locations.
The release stated that the goal is to equip several hundred parking garages across the globe with automated valet parking in the years ahead.
“Germany is only the beginning – we’re expecting to soon be able to gradually roll out automated valet parking in other countries around the world as well, once the corresponding laws have been passed,” says Claudia Barthle, who heads up global software and service sales in the Cross-Domain Computing Solutions division at Bosch and is responsible for the partnership with APCOA.
New smart parking takes away the need to search for parking spaces and the damages of hectic maneuvering.
The release states that Bosch stereo cameras will identify vacant parking spaces and monitor the driving aisle and its surroundings, and reliably detect obstacles or people in the aisle. If an unexpected obstacle is detected, the vehicle brakes and safely comes to a complete stop.
Through using APCOA’s Flow platform, the service is not only driverless but also ticketless and cashless. Drivers will be able to use the app to reserve parking spaces and use contactless entry into parking garages.
The system will also register a vehicles licence plate which will open barriers automatically. This is hoped to accommodate up to 20 percent more vehicles in the future.
Press release and picture: Bosch
