Though Ford, Lincoln, BMW and others have mastered the art of parallel parking in tight spaces for their customers, it turns out the systems used do it too well, prompting Ford to give “unparking” a go.
Automotive News reports the 2015 Edge will include an improved automated parking system that will not only allow the crossover to parallel-park in those tight spaces, but be able to pull itself out. The system can also do perpendicular parking, such as the sort found at your nearest supermarket. An array of sensors — four up front, six in back — use echolocation to find objects and obstacles, allowing the crossover to calculate how best to get itself out of a rock and a hard place.
In addition, the Edge will have lane-keeping technology and adaptive cruise control, both using a combination of cameras and radar to safely guide the crossover from the house to the office and back.
All of the above will be available to consumers when the new Edge arrives in showrooms next March.
Generally, parallel parking involves slow manoeuvres around static objects. Pulling out is a completely different proposition. Traffic (from both directions), pedestrians, cyclists (not so much in NA) … nightmare.
Parking sensors to get all the way back, then full lock will get you out. Otherwise, the space is actually too small, thanks to the surrounding vehicles parking too close.
unintended acceleration, anyone?
I think this will become known for stranding a car with steering fully locked and waiting…waiting…waiting….
Sounds awesome for your steering pump.
Maybe Nature made parking difficult to prevent stupid people from driving. Now we mess with Nature and enable every idiotto drive…… rhe downside once they unparked they drive fast and kill people.
If parking is a challenge, that probably is nature’s way of saying you shouldn’t drive.
+1
Driving is often described as a privilege and not a right. Unfortunately, all contemporary evidence seems to contradict that statement. I’m not sure why we seem hell-bent to further dumb down the skills required. Makes my head hurt.
+10000, absolutely on point.
watch the movie “idiocracy”and you see what happens if we make it easy for the stupid.
Lighten up Francis, I am betting you drive one of them modern cars with hydraulic brakes and syncromesh transmissions. Real men double clutch it, and brakes are for sissies!
Is it significant that the render shows no other vehicles anywhere on the planet?
“Your Honor, my clients never once claimed or implied that their system was certified for an object-rich environment.”
Seriously?
I parallel park even if I don’t have to just to practice. Then again, I know people who will walk three blocks to avoid parallel parking, so…
No-one every laid on his deathbed and thought, “Y’know, I just wish I had practiced more at parallel parking.”
I live in the ‘burbs and parallel parking is not really a requirement. A couple weeks ago I went to a local high school, that still offers driver’s training and has a course set up, and parked in their practice spot. My roommate is still working to get her license and needed some practice so I tried again too. I got it right in without breaking a sweat.
Yes, I know, a closed course is a different animal than street parking, but I’ve always known that I was poor at parallel parking.
NERD! Lol.
Does the perpendicular unparking system require you to be in the vehicle to unpark? The Edge concept showed it being operated from the key fob, but I’m guessing they won’t be putting that into production.
I can parallel park just fine, but would welcome the ability to stop worrying about people parking me in in narrow urban perpendicular spaces.
Probably. It’ll use the same weight sensor in the seat that runs the seatbelt alarm.
I wonder if new cars will even start if they don’t detect any weight in the driver’s seat.
Weight sensors are for the passenger seat, to turn off the passenger airbag if a small child is sitting in it. It is assumed an adult is driving the vehicle.
Don’t these systems just steer for you? I thought the driver had to do the gas and brake?
That said, if you can’t park, you should not have a license. Basic driving skills…
As I understood it from Ford’s initial release on this system a year or two ago, part of the idea was that it would automagically back the car out in other tight situations, not just parallel parking. For instance, when someone parks so close to you in a parking garage that you can’t squeeze in the driver’s side door, you could remotely tell the car to start up and back itself out. I don’t know if that part is headed to production in the Edge, though.
If ya cant squeeze in the door, you press the remote button to open the windows or sunroof, and climb in that way!