Autonomous cars may be getting some unwanted attention following recent incidents involving Tesla and Uber but that isn't stopping the industry at large from moving forward. Companies like General Motors and Volkswagen are continuing to work on their own self-driving car technology independently.
In the latter company's case, we finally have a bit more information regarding what they're working on behind closed doors. In a news release today, Volkswagen announced their intention to produce cars with fully-autonomous parking systems sometime in 2020.
"Autonomous parking can make an important contribution to creating convenient, stress-free mobility for our customers," Volkswagen said in their announcement. "We therefore want to democratise the technology and make it accessible to as many people as possible."
From the information Volkswagen has provided so far, it sounds like the company will be using Audi and Porsche vehicles to test their auto-parking technology in "selected multi-storey car parks."
Initially, the company's semi-autonomous vehicles will have their "own, separate traffic flow" to keep them away from human-controlled vehicles.
To ensure the technology is completely safe, Volkswagen will be rolling it out in stages. Initially, the company's semi-autonomous vehicles will have their "own, separate traffic flow" to keep them away from human-controlled vehicles. In later testing stages, the company intends to mix them in with the general population to see how they behave.
"Our clear objective is autonomously driving vehicles that facilitate mobility for everyone at the push of a button and that gives people back time and quality of life as well as greatly improving safety on the roads," Volkswagen's Johann Jungwirth said in a statement. "Autonomous parking is a milestone on the way there."