Self-Parking Cars To Be Introduced In U.S.

Toyota has recently introduced a new hybrid (gasolene-electric) car named Prius Sedan, which employs a self-parking mechanism that can glide the car into tight parking spaces without intervention from the driver. This attachment known as "Parking Assist" relies on power steering and computerised sensors is available at an additional cost of $700.

The only role the driver plays in this is to control the speed of the car by holding the accelerator down.

Apparently, once the car is safely tucked into the parking space, the computer is heard saying -"The assist is over."

See demonstration videos and read more at: Self-Parking Cars Coming To U.S.

Hi, BMW introduced this system around one year ago on german tv. They compared it with a real person vs the parking sysytem. The human was slower to park the car...

Hi, BMW introduced this system around one year ago on german tv. They compared it with a real person vs the parking sysytem. The human was slower to park the car...

Wow, this is some amazing news! I am sure this kind of technology is going to help reduce some frustration when it comes to parking in tight spaces.But have you ever seen those videos (or in TV) where these drivers go 30 miles per hour and there's a place like this to park the car..[==] ...... [==] [==] [==]He comes from one side, slams on the breaks while steering to the left, then in less than a second, his car is placed right between those two cards, almost perfectly parallel with the line of cars![==] [==] [==] [==] [==]Amazing. I was like... jaw-droppingly amazed, seriously. He was like "Heh, it's easy" I was like, "Yeah right!"I want to do things like that Something cool to show to my friends, really.

But have you ever seen those videos (or in TV) where these drivers go 30 miles per hour and there's a place like this to park the car..

I'd rather park the car/truck/whatever myself. Call me old-school if you will, but I take a tiny bit of pride in being able to park a full-sized pickup truck *without* power steering, in a standard-sized parking lot. Without taking up more than one space or hitting anybody/anything.And if the parking assistant is Windows-based, the thing will lock up your brakes, interfere with your stereo system and probably start a small fire somewhere in the engine compartment. *smirks*

this shows how people are making others lazier, unless for parallel parking.xboxrulz

wonderful... just what I need, more tech support calls from people saying "can you help me with my car???" Like the Onstar thing where your car emails you (well, of couse it "calls" Onstar and then Onstar's computers generate and send the email... I highly doubt a car has its own mail server! )But this does seem cool... I'd use it for sure because I'm lazy like that! lol[N]F

Cool - do they have videos of the BMW too ? If so, can you post the link here?

I think a system like this would be cool for the first few months of owning the car. But really, are we really incompetent/lazy/impatient motorists that we require such a technology? If we are so hellbent on not driving a car, when we are actually in a car, then I believe there are more low-tech solutions: cab, bus, subway (mass transit... etc etc.)

This is very interesting news!!! But it seems a little bit too good to be true, how would the computer handle the situation if it had to parallel park? Im quite interested in seeing the computer at work with that. But even if this technology passes, it just makes humans more reliable and dependent on computers to do the work for us, which is a very bad thing. Because, whos to say the computer wouldnt glitch, we all know that glitches among computers always happens and this could lead to more problems. For example, would this computer to glitch during an event where cars are passing by the computerized parking car when the sensors somehow glitches, a accident might occur from the defect of the sensors. Many other situations may arise if we depend too much on the computer to do things for us. Driving relies more on human instinct then a measure of sensors. If it was me, I trust myself in parking and not that of a computer...

Heh gotta see this.. Only problem is that if they do get released they will be slow. I'm not sure about the hybrid models though, they might be a bit faster.When the companies actualy get these out on the streets you can expect alot to change, first of all there will be less air pollution so it will make a more healthier environment for people to live in. I think they are cheaper too so that's another reason.The major downside would be the battery. Charging it could take a while-HellFire

It would end up making just as many mistakes as we do, if not more fatal ones but there may be situations where it's best to leave it up to the car to handle parking or whatever else it is capable of.I don't like cars much though so you certainly wouldn't see me using it.