We have known cars that park themselves for years. However, a car that drives to a spot in a parking garage all by itself and parks itself there, without a driver on board, is a very special innovation. The Mercedes-Benz S-Class can do it.
The new Mercedes-Benz S-Class is of course packed with the latest autonomous driving techniques. This will soon be able to be used in a special way in practice. The S-class can park completely independently in the parking garage at Stuttgart Airport.
In the hometown of Mercedes-Benz, they have worked on this possibility together with Bosch and parking garage manager Apcoa. In the parking garage, a number of places have been reserved for new S-classes, who find their place there independently. The owner does not have to do anything anymore upon arrival at the garage. The Apcoa system registers the number plate (communicated online in advance when booking), then the driver can get out and catch his flight. The S-class then drives itself through the garage and parks itself.
According to Mercedes, the intention is to eventually set up more of these types of parking spaces as demand increases. Apcoa also wants to equip its garages more accordingly. It is now already possible for all other cars to gain fully automatic access to the garage based on license plate recognition and a linked reservation of a parking space. If, in the long run, more cars can park themselves through a smart collaboration between the infrastructure of parking garages and autonomous technology in vehicles, according to Apcoa, up to 20 percent more cars can be parked in a garage. After all, getting in and out at a tight place is a thing of the past.