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Volvo builds a self-docking yacht
There are plenty of things that can go wrong when you dock a boat, and if they do, the consequences can be expensive. It's a problem that Volvo Penta claims to have solved after building a "self-docking yacht" that can park itself in spaces no sailor would contemplate. The Volvo subsidiary, which makes engine and maritime gear, is designed to navigate a vessel while taking into account the environmental conditions.
VW will debut cars with autonomous parking in 2020
Automakers are fond of experimenting with self-parking cars, but VW intends to make it a practical reality. It's promising that vehicles in the company group (which includes brands like Audi, Bentley, Porsche and Lamborghini) will start including autonomous parking as of 2020. The system will only be available in "selected" parking garages at first, but it relies on pictorial guiding markers that are theoretically usable in any garage.
Jaguar Land Rover tests autonomous parking on public roads
Plenty of cars will help you park, but the biggest challenge is frequently finding a spot in the first place -- it's no fun to circle the parking lot for 10 minutes. Fully autonomous cars can ultimately take care of this, but Jaguar Land Rover is demonstrating a feature that would help in the meantime. It recently expanded its public semi-autonomous testing in the UK to include a "self-driving valet" where vehicles both find open spaces and park themselves. The company pitches it as eliminating some of the drudgery of driving, letting you take the wheel when you'd genuinely enjoy it.
At the Mercedes museum, your rental car parks itself
The concept of a self-parking car certainly isn't new, but Daimler is about to take the next logical step on that front. It's partnering with Bosch to launch an Automated Valet Parking service at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. When it launches at the start of 2018, anyone (not just museum guests) can rent cars that will not only drive themselves out, but park themselves upon return. You just need a smartphone app to both make the reservation and the virtual handover when you're done.
Audi teases self-parking A8 ahead of launch
Audi will launch its next generation A8, which is expected to have level 3 autonomous, on July 11th. Ahead of that unveiling, the company released a video of the new vehicle parking itself.
Nissan's self-parking chairs keep lazy offices tidy
While motorized human transporters have yet to truly take off, the folks over at Nissan have come up with something more practical for the time being: self-parking office chairs. With a single clap, these futuristic furniture will automagically tuck themselves back into their rightful positions, thus keeping your office or meeting room neat and tidy. And of course, it's also fun to watch, as you can see in the video after the break. Nissan says these modified Okamura chairs are actually tracked by four motion cameras on the walls, and then they are simultaneously controlled via Wi-Fi.
Hands-on with BMW's self-parking i3
BMW was keen to show off some ConnectedDrive technology at CES in its new i3, so it trucked us -- well, i640'd -- out to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a demo. We had a brief look at the BMW i Remote app installed on a Samsung Galaxy Gear, where the car's battery state, range, lock status and other niceties are displayed. Lost your car on some street after it parked itself? Communication flows both ways with the BMW i3 and by simply asking the car to "make some noise" using the watch, the horn will honk after a short delay. One of the i3's most compelling features is its $1,000 Parking Package. At the push of a button using ultrasonic sensors, the car will both find and then park itself in a spot with as little as 22 inches of extra space. Self-parking cars aren't new, but the little electric i3 does the complete procedure and doesn't need driver input on gas or braking. We tried the entire parking procedure and it worked flawlessly as it backed into the spot and then adjusted back and forth a bit to get properly aligned with the curb. Is it worth the $1,000 bucks? If you're not the most adept driver when it comes to parallel parking, we'd say it absolutely looks worth it. Don't believe us? Take a peek at the video right below.
