Volvo pioneers autonomous self-parking car tech

Volvo Car Group has pioneered a working concept for an autonomous self-parking car. The new feature allows the car to find and park itself without the driver inside, while also interacting safely and smoothly with other cars and pedestrians along the way.

With this new technology, drivers no longer need to withstand the time-consuming task of finding a vacant parking space. Just drop the car off at the entrance to the car park, activate Autonomous Parking on your smart phone and the car does the tedious work for you.

The concept uses sensors to localise and navigate the car to an available parking space, while Volvo’s existing auto brake and vehicle/pedestrian detection will actively interact with other road users. The procedure is then reversed when the driver sends the signal to “pick me up”, again through a mobile phone command.

Watch the video above to see how it works. The autonomous parking feature is still in its infancy, however, and it will need some time yet to reach full production. As a start though, Volvo promises to introduce some aspects of autonomous steering in the all-new XC90 SUV that will be revealed at the end of 2014.

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Hafriz Shah

Preferring to drive cars rather than desks, Hafriz Shah ditched his suit and tie to join the ranks of Malaysia’s motoring hacks. A car’s technical brilliance is completely lost on him, appreciating character-making quirks more. When not writing this ego trip of a bio, he’s usually off driving about aimlessly, preferably in a car with the right combination of three foot pedals and six gears.

 

Comments

  • Made in China Car on Jun 21, 2013 at 11:11 am

    Stupid technology. Waste of time. Volvo should do R&D to improve on quality and reduce prices. Anyway, I dare not buy any Volvo. went to the showroom and saw every part on the Volvo car with the words, “Made in China” on it. When Geely took over Volvo, they promised that Volvo will be purely Sweedish made. Now, typical China company, has lied to the world. Some people will say though Made in China still got QC, well you and me know better. We know the nonsense that goes about in China. So, are you willing to pay RM300,000 for a China made car? Those XC60 buyers paid over RM300,000 for their Geely XC60. Might as well pay RM137,000 for a Mazda CX5. Better to even change the name to Geely XC60

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 55 Thumb down 45
    • Jimmy on Jun 21, 2013 at 12:53 pm

      1. What about during the finding and parking process, somebody knock on my Volvo? Will this incidence activate my cellphone to inform.
      2. Enhanced antitheft mechanisms?
      3. How do I know when there is component malfunction, say after 5-year usage? (Of course we don’t expect any component to last for say 15 years in Malaysia, this is a different issue, stay focussed)
      4. Should Volvo be more focussing on safety rather than convenience items? Make XC90 bigger than Ninja King, solid like a tank with improved side impact protection, and total airbag protection, both internally as well as externally. What about a car with double layer of rigid cells with all-round crumple zones?

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 3
    • Hadi75 on Jun 21, 2013 at 2:37 pm

      Ever try looking at your phone or other electronic gadgets….most probably all of them are made in china…yet you still use them….why????

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 37 Thumb down 1
    • klguy on Jun 21, 2013 at 9:01 pm

      bullshit wisely bro. even the CKD S40 all the parts were from belgium and europran countries

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0
  • i think they need to build a car with hand first~Lols..else how to collect the parking ticket? :D

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 2
  • I Love Car on Jun 21, 2013 at 11:45 am

    ABS, EBD, BLISS, SRS Airbag, Auto Park Assist,LED DRL, etc… are all once upon a time called as a stupid tech…but now, look what happend? Any car manufacturer dare to produce a car not even w/o an airbag? It may sound stupid now but one day will become a necessary and you might want 1.That’s what we call Technology Advancement.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 34 Thumb down 1
  • llgriver on Jun 21, 2013 at 11:47 am

    Get a chauffeur, I insist

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 11
    • Jimmy on Jun 21, 2013 at 12:59 pm

      Not every rich man wants helpers in all areas. It is cheaper to employ driver than paying electricity bill; house guards are different, worth.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 4
  • Volvo cars in Malaysia are made in Malaysia dude. Not China. Get your facts right.

    And since TATA owns LandRover/Jaguar why don’t you name the cars TATA Evoque & TATA XF.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 32 Thumb down 1
  • Yuzdi8 on Jun 21, 2013 at 11:57 am

    Such a clever car. Like a dog. But this car will look stupid in Malaysia because it doesn’t know how to do double parking.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 40 Thumb down 4
  • Rogyuu on Jun 21, 2013 at 12:11 pm

    Such great tech! Now its easier to steal parking from VOLVO!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 2
  • Audi4good on Jun 21, 2013 at 12:12 pm

    Not all made in China are bad. While the Germans are busy raking up horsepower in their cars, Volvo took a different direction emphasizing on safety and the mobility function of the car. I find that good for ppl like us because we have more choices. Volvo is made in China but engineered in Sweden same as Iphone, Galaxy S#.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 21 Thumb down 0
  • EDDIE on Jun 21, 2013 at 12:22 pm

    So…What happens when the electronics F-up during auto park?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 4
    • swedish house ma fi ah on Jun 21, 2013 at 2:28 pm

      It rams rams hard the car at the rear, smashes into
      another at the side, unlocks all doors and then finally playing the Taylor Swift song… ‘I knew you were trouble’

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 12 Thumb down 1
  • Hondasalesman on Jun 21, 2013 at 2:03 pm

    Car jockey swill hate volvo… Btw, google has been testing the same technology, right?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
  • Hondasalesman on Jun 21, 2013 at 2:04 pm

    Car jockeys will hate volvo… Btw, google has been testing the same technology, right?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 3
  • sonyman on Jun 21, 2013 at 2:10 pm

    fantastic. just nice, so proud of the car company, not just safety, but about convenience. nowadays car company need to design car which are smarter and smarter. Till we need not drive at all. But thats many more years to come.

    Anyway, great for other countries. But not so good in Malaysia. But never the less, having such development is great.

    BTW, most of you ppl have many questions. IT is great because at least make the designers develop even better systems. Volvo also developing Cluster system. group of vehicle autonomous driving on highway. That one really suits me, while traveling to customers place, i can do my paper work or make calls.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 0
  • not all china made is poor la bro.
    my edifier is good what..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 4
    • flat_tire on Jun 21, 2013 at 10:29 pm

      edifier s330.. really good for what it’s worth.. was skeptical of the brand before.. but no more after i actually owned one..

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 9 Thumb down 0
  • c14man on Jun 21, 2013 at 2:53 pm

    This might look primitive but it’s a small step towards autonomous self driving car, which will inevitably arrive in the near future. As with many new radical techs, its safety and reliability will be scrutinised before it can prove its worth. A hopeful thought: would like to see proton contributing to game changing, field leading techs one day. Not just manufacturing cars based on yesterday’s techs.

    On another note, isn’t this tech been debuted by audi few months back?
    http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AExusyOAD5s

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 0
  • AlmostThere on Jun 21, 2013 at 2:54 pm

    Skynet would love to it’s hands on this.
    The end is nigh!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
  • Vince on Jun 21, 2013 at 3:38 pm

    feel like james bond man..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
  • Johnny on Jun 21, 2013 at 6:02 pm

    Who the hell needs help to park straight!? They should’t be driving then in the first place!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
  • Johnny on Jun 21, 2013 at 6:02 pm

    Volvo dropped Hitman off.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • BlueV12 on Jun 21, 2013 at 9:22 pm

    Well, in Malaysia, i’m guessing once the Volvo drops us of at the drop-off zone, that will probably be the last time we’ll be seeing that car.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 6 Thumb down 1
  • flat_tire on Jun 21, 2013 at 10:24 pm

    yeah yeah complain this complain that.. ya know that by 2015 we should already have flying cars around.. just like in the Back To The Future movie.. there’s a lot of catching up to do..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 0
  • what if no lot on Jun 22, 2013 at 1:24 am

    What if there’s no lot to park in? Then what?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • Hadi75 on Jun 22, 2013 at 2:22 pm

      The car will circle the parking area until it find one or until it run out of gas…. :)

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • cedyy on Jun 22, 2013 at 11:48 am

    will it know if the lane is one way or no entry?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • Chris on Jun 22, 2013 at 12:24 pm

    Good idea but how to take parking ticket?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
  • jdmftw on Jun 22, 2013 at 2:41 pm

    This technology was first made by Nissan, planned production in 2015.

    Volvo’s pedestrian detection/cyclist detection is similar to Subaru’s Eyesight technology, which Subaru made it quite some time ago.

    Volvo ? Mehh

    JDM Japanese cars ? Yeaa

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 3
  • Robert F on Aug 18, 2013 at 12:55 pm

    I am an unfortunate owner of the 1st generation Malaysian made Volvo XC60 bought back in 2011.

    Having been a previous Volvo owner in North America (ie Swedish built), the build and after sales service (lack thereof) and non honouring of obvious warranty issues here in East Malaysia, as an expat, I will never buy another made Malaysian made car and honestly advise others to avoid like the plague….In the end, it’s all about the “local” Malay standard which is hard to overcome…..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 1
 

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